by Joanne Kershaw
YA Fantasy
Published by Xchyler
Published on April 25th, 2015
What inspired you to write the Vanguard Legacy series?
I had always wanted to write a book. I wrote something truly awful when I was seventeen, but it helped me realize I could maybe write something book length. Cut to more than ten years later and, with a few spare weeks, I decided to give it a go. I don’t think I ever envisioned it being a trilogy at the time, I just wanted to see if I could write something as good—if not better than—books I was reading.
When or at what age did you know you wanted to be a writer?
When I was eight, I had a short story published in our local newspaper. Writing was something I did all the time, including dreadful poetry as a teenager.
What is the earliest age you remember reading your first book?
I was always reading. My dad always had a book in his hands, and I followed suit. I don’t remember a young age, I just know that we were always reading.
What genre of books do you enjoy reading?
That has evolved over the years. As a teenager, I liked to read love stories and huge sweeping sagas, including books by Virginia Andrews. In my twenties, once I finished reading what I had to for my English degree, I read a lot of crime and thrillers, particularly Harlan Coben. As I headed into my thirties, I fell into the YA genre – mostly fantasy and paranormal books. I’m not ashamed to admit that it was Twilight that did that, and I read voraciously in the genre (still do!).
What is your favorite book?
I don’t have one, because that’s like picking a favourite child! I have books that I recommend to people wanting to try different things, but I don’t have a go-to book that I will read over and over again. I love the Timeriders series by Alex Scarrow, any of Toni Morrison’s books, The Raven Cycle by Maggie Steifvater, anything by Richelle Mead—see, this list just goes on and on!
You know I think we all have a favorite author. Who is your favorite author and why?
See above! I don’t have a favourite author, I have several and it depends on my mood really. I am just so indecisive when it comes to this sort of thing. Perhaps I need to keep reading because I haven’t found ‘the one’ yet!
If you could travel back in time here on earth to any place or time. Where would you go and why?
The Roman period – providing I was rich! I don’t know what it is about that period in time, but it has always appealed to me. Perhaps it’s my romantic side.
When writing a book do you find that writing comes easy for you or is it a difficult task?
It’s so well thought through and planned out before I start that it comes quite easy. I have very limited writing time due to my full-time ‘proper’ job (I teach 9-10 year olds). Foretold took six weeks to write (the first draft, editing was painful on that one as I learned just how little I really knew!), Reflected was written in five and a half weeks and Fated in eight. And when I say weeks, I’m talking three or four sessions in those weeks of just a few hours each, not the whole week.
Do you have any little fuzzy friends? Like a dog or a cat? Or any pets?
We have an old cat. She was the first responsibility that my husband and I took on just before we got married. She was born with a heart murmur and we were told not to hold out too much hope for her. Fifteen years later, and a car accident that has led to almost bionic level hip upgrades, she is still going strong. Her name is Dipstick.
What is your "to die for", favorite food/foods to eat?
I eat a LOT of chocolate (and cake, and biscuits)! I’m not the best role model when it comes to eating, though. I go through phases with what I want to eat. One week all I’ll want is pizza, the next I’ll want roast dinners. Having four children who all like different things doesn’t help!
Do you have any advice for anyone that would like to be an author?
Read everything you can get your hands on from your chosen genre, know what works and see the errors. Then write and write and write and write. The more you do it, the better you will be. Research how to lay out your work, what the rules are for grammar and style. Find and editor who will be honest with you—there are a lot of freelance editors, they are worth their weight in gold. Only then, when you have drafted and drafted and your editor has seen it several times, start trying to sell it. Publishing houses and agents see errors instantly and are unlikely to want to spend the time helping you improve. (Thinking about this, I was really lucky to be picked up by Xchyler – my manuscript showed promise but I didn’t do all of these things and I really should have. As I said above, editing Foretold was painful, and I could have avoided that if I had approached it correctly.)
And finally? Believe you can do it!
Defeated but not vanquished, the foes of light have retreated. But
victory came at a terrible cost to Elora Walker, with her friends lost and
scattered. Eleven months later and just seventeen, she commands her own
Vanguard quad but struggles with a past that won’t release her and a future she
hesitates to embrace.
The barriers between worlds continues to weaken, Dark Seekers are
emboldened, and David still plans to engulf humanity in eternal night. Elora
means to end the threat once and for all but dreads the personal consequences.
Will saving the world demand the ultimate sacrifice? And who must pay it?
Other books in the series
Foretold (Vanguard Legacy #1)
Reflected (Vanguard Legacy #2)
Fated Excerpt:
I thought that, with this being book three,
it might be a good idea to introduce you a little to Elora’s new world and the
new cast of characters in her life. The main events of Fated take place almost
a year after the conclusion of Reflected, and a lot has changed for Elora. Now
an active Vanguard, she is finally living an ‘ordinary’ life—you know, aside
from the mind-reading and exceptional speed, strength and senses! Enjoy!
My back slammed into the red brick
wall, and a hot breath rushed out of me. Gasping, my eyes flickered shut for a
second before I felt myself rise again. Cold, hard hands gripped my neck and
lifted me until my face was level with a pair of menacing, soulless black eyes.
I didn’t wriggle or squirm, not that I didn’t want to, but the hold the vampire
had on my neck was choking the life out of me. Pushing out with my mind, I
tried to find my back-up. Where on the Spirits was the rest of my quad?
My quad, however, seemed oddly
absent, and I felt my heart beat grow a little more frantic—and probably more
delicious-sounding considering my current company. Desperate now, I swung my
legs up hard and punched my feet into the centre of the vampire’s chest. A dead
thud reverberated through me. He snarled derisively while I pushed against him,
trying to force him to release his grip on my throat. One shove, another. The
third time, I summoned all of the Vanguard strength I had in me.
I caught the smug creature
off-guard—my short stature often led my enemies into a false sense of security.
His grasp loosened for a fraction of a second and I twisted away, both of us
falling in a tangled heap on the floor while I gasped for breath. I scrambled
away, the dirt from the alley pushing up under my fingernails as I skittered
backwards. The vampire moved fast, and I was unable to put any real distance
between us before his shadow loomed above me.
I cast my eyes towards the shadow,
trying to anticipate the creature’s next move. It was not the vampire but my
quadmate and commander, Marcus. He held his finger to his lips and I listened
inside instead.
“The rest of the quad are behind you, Elora,” came Marcus’ calm, calculating voice. “We need to draw him that way if we’re going to take him alive.”
This steady-in-the-face-of-danger attitude was something I had come to expect
of Marcus during the last few months, and so I nodded, the panic fading as
quickly as it had come.
Marcus slipped back behind a portion
of the wall and continued his commands, relying on me to pass them around the
quad. This was what I did, after all—human telephone. A sudden lump rose into
my throat as the phrase fluttered through my brain, my assigned Vanguard
Superior had coined it and he had died a little over six months ago whilst
trying to protect me. He was an honourable man. I had trusted him and he had
believed in me. It still hurt that he was gone. I had little time to think
about it, though; the vampire had hold of my ankle and was slowly lifting me
up. The tendons in my ankle popped, straining against my weight. My short,
auburn hair slipped from its ponytail as I was lifted completely off the
ground.
“They sent a little girl for me?”
laughed a dry voice. We had reached the obligatory ‘just before you die’
gloating, and I steeled myself for the usual barrage of taunts and mockery.
“Did they really think you would be able to take me down?” the vampire
continued. I squirmed a little, making it look good. I knew the others were
about to make their move and I was waiting as patiently as I could. “Little
girl, I am Ramos. I have been alive probably ten times your lifespan! How dare
you think you can kill me?” It was clear that Ramos needed this to be a two-way
affair, so I joined in—if only to shut him up.
“Maybe I just look good for my age?”
I coughed. It turned out it was difficult to speak when suspended upside down.
Marcus whispered to me that it was
probably best not to antagonise the monster any more, but it was a little late
for that.
“Good for your . . . ha!” Ramos mocked.
“The lack of marks on your uniform show me just how little you are, girl.” The silver flecks on my sleeve
were on the sparse side—but I was still new, really, so twelve was pretty good.
With a sudden surge, the vampire wrenched me up and around, spinning me so that
he once again gripped my neck rather than my ankle. Then he whispered darkly,
“I think I will drink you slowly, painfully. Punishment for your arrogance.”
“Now would be a great time to perform your daring rescue!” I urged my quadmates silently. I saw them about the same time as
Ramos heard them. They slipped in from three sides and completely surrounded
him, like moths to a flame. His grip tightened on my neck for a moment and then
he lowered me. Turning slowly, he looked to each of my team in turn. He was no
doubt realising that I was the very junior of juniors when it came to
Vanguards, and that my quad most definitely were not.
Marcus had his arms folded loosely
across his chest. His forearms glistened in the faint orange glow from the distant
streetlights. He had many more kills and captures to his name and he was not
alone. Simon had an equally glittering past. Finally, Maria, who had been here
only six months longer than I, certainly had her fair share.
“Well, well! I see this has become more
of a banquet than a snack!” Ramos ran his tongue slowly over his teeth as if to
prove his point. All at once, I lashed out with my foot, striking him in the
back of the head and nudging him forward. Simon and Maria each grabbed an arm,
and Marcus pushed his iron stake firmly through Ramos’ heart. He gasped a
chalky breath before disintegrating gently into a fine grey powder. He really
never saw it coming, how would he when the signal was invisible?
An Interview With Joanne Kershaw
What inspired you to write the Vanguard Legacy series?
I had always wanted to write a book. I wrote something truly awful when I was seventeen, but it helped me realize I could maybe write something book length. Cut to more than ten years later and, with a few spare weeks, I decided to give it a go. I don’t think I ever envisioned it being a trilogy at the time, I just wanted to see if I could write something as good—if not better than—books I was reading.
When or at what age did you know you wanted to be a writer?
When I was eight, I had a short story published in our local newspaper. Writing was something I did all the time, including dreadful poetry as a teenager.
What is the earliest age you remember reading your first book?
I was always reading. My dad always had a book in his hands, and I followed suit. I don’t remember a young age, I just know that we were always reading.
What genre of books do you enjoy reading?
That has evolved over the years. As a teenager, I liked to read love stories and huge sweeping sagas, including books by Virginia Andrews. In my twenties, once I finished reading what I had to for my English degree, I read a lot of crime and thrillers, particularly Harlan Coben. As I headed into my thirties, I fell into the YA genre – mostly fantasy and paranormal books. I’m not ashamed to admit that it was Twilight that did that, and I read voraciously in the genre (still do!).
What is your favorite book?
I don’t have one, because that’s like picking a favourite child! I have books that I recommend to people wanting to try different things, but I don’t have a go-to book that I will read over and over again. I love the Timeriders series by Alex Scarrow, any of Toni Morrison’s books, The Raven Cycle by Maggie Steifvater, anything by Richelle Mead—see, this list just goes on and on!
You know I think we all have a favorite author. Who is your favorite author and why?
See above! I don’t have a favourite author, I have several and it depends on my mood really. I am just so indecisive when it comes to this sort of thing. Perhaps I need to keep reading because I haven’t found ‘the one’ yet!
If you could travel back in time here on earth to any place or time. Where would you go and why?
The Roman period – providing I was rich! I don’t know what it is about that period in time, but it has always appealed to me. Perhaps it’s my romantic side.
When writing a book do you find that writing comes easy for you or is it a difficult task?
It’s so well thought through and planned out before I start that it comes quite easy. I have very limited writing time due to my full-time ‘proper’ job (I teach 9-10 year olds). Foretold took six weeks to write (the first draft, editing was painful on that one as I learned just how little I really knew!), Reflected was written in five and a half weeks and Fated in eight. And when I say weeks, I’m talking three or four sessions in those weeks of just a few hours each, not the whole week.
Do you have any little fuzzy friends? Like a dog or a cat? Or any pets?
We have an old cat. She was the first responsibility that my husband and I took on just before we got married. She was born with a heart murmur and we were told not to hold out too much hope for her. Fifteen years later, and a car accident that has led to almost bionic level hip upgrades, she is still going strong. Her name is Dipstick.
What is your "to die for", favorite food/foods to eat?
I eat a LOT of chocolate (and cake, and biscuits)! I’m not the best role model when it comes to eating, though. I go through phases with what I want to eat. One week all I’ll want is pizza, the next I’ll want roast dinners. Having four children who all like different things doesn’t help!
Do you have any advice for anyone that would like to be an author?
Read everything you can get your hands on from your chosen genre, know what works and see the errors. Then write and write and write and write. The more you do it, the better you will be. Research how to lay out your work, what the rules are for grammar and style. Find and editor who will be honest with you—there are a lot of freelance editors, they are worth their weight in gold. Only then, when you have drafted and drafted and your editor has seen it several times, start trying to sell it. Publishing houses and agents see errors instantly and are unlikely to want to spend the time helping you improve. (Thinking about this, I was really lucky to be picked up by Xchyler – my manuscript showed promise but I didn’t do all of these things and I really should have. As I said above, editing Foretold was painful, and I could have avoided that if I had approached it correctly.)
And finally? Believe you can do it!
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Joanne Kershaw lives in
Wakefield, England, with her husband, four young children, and an uppity cat
named Dipstick. As a teacher of five- to eleven-year-olds, she spends her days
playing at being a grownup, then goes home to delve into Young Adult dark romance
and being sixteen again. Joanne lives and breathes books, whether reading,
writing, or marking them. She wrote her first novel in six weeks. Encouraged to
submit her work by a friend and fellow YA novel addict, Joanne now finds
herself a signed author at Xchyler Publishing.
INTERNATIONAL
GIVEAWAY
GRAND PRIZE:
·
$10
Amazon Gift Card + E-copies of the Vanguard
Legacy Trilogy
RUNNER-UPS:
·
E-copies
of the Vanguard Legacy Trilogy + swag
·
E-copy
of Foretold
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