Today we are joined by author Kamilla Reid, author of “The Questory of Root Karbunkulus,” a new young adult fantasy novel I reviewed yesterday. Kamilla, we’re so glad you could be here today.
How did you get the idea for your book?
I had the idea for DréAmm, the location for my book, eons ago and because I was involved in live theatre I wrote it as a musical. But I never really liked the feel of it in this format. It felt limited. Plus, I hadn’t quite come into the ‘hook’ yet, that thing that made me go “yes, this is it!” It wasn’t until years later when I caught a snippet of that TV reality show “The Amazing Race” that I finally got that ‘aha!’ moment. I loved the idea of teams of kids all racing against each other in a glorified kind of scavenger hunt to find something very, very important. DréAmm then became a magical land where virtually anything could happen. That’s when the main character, Root Karbunkulus, just showed up and led me around. Of course then the plot got really got good with all sorts of agendas going on, personal and otherwise. In the end, the name ‘DréAmm’ stayed but everything else was ditched. Around this same time I was leaving the theatre and facing a new role as Single Mum; the perfect combination for finally doing that thing that you promised yourself that you would do but never did.
What was the most fun part for you to write?
The best part about writing, to me, are those moments when an idea pops up that is even better than what I was searching for. Or when something from Book 1 ties into Book 4. Being that this is a series, I had to ensure that some of the mystery would unfold over the course of the story. So, the reader will learn things at the same time that Root does. I love that. I love knowing that the reader will go “Hey! I remember that from Book 1!” or “Oh! Wow! That’s why!”
How many books will be in the series?
There are five more books to come in the series, one for each successional item and each ending with the elimination of a team. So, in this first book, out of all those hundreds of teams, only six remain to compete for the next item (Book 2). And of those, only five will advance to the next item (Book 3), and then four teams will race for item three (Book 4) and so on until only two teams remain to go after the last item. Of course there is another, deeper, darker agenda going on and Root will learn the terrifying truth behind the mysterious items. She will also discover, to her horror that she is not a player in an innocent kid’s race but a pawn in a vicious adult game. It gets ugly…in a good way.
When will the next one be out?
I’m aiming for the fall…fingers crossed. I will definitely keep you posted.
Please do!
We will continue our chat with Kamilla Reid tomorrow. In the meantime, click here to visit her website, which, I have to say, is one of the coolest I’ve ever seen.
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