Author Interview: Augusta Blythe

Reading Lark was so excited that the author of Winterborne, the first book in the Universe Unbound series, was willing to do an interview. If you haven't read Winterborne, I highly recommend it. You can read my review here.

Andrea @ Reading Lark: What inspired you to become a writer?  

Augusta: I've wanted to be a writer from an early age.  In nursery school, I won the award for Best Storyteller so I was making up stories before I could hold a pencil.   

 
Andrea @ Reading Lark: Where did you get the idea for the world that you created in Winterborne?  

Augusta: It's based on the area where I grew up, sprinkled with fantastical elements.  I like stories grounded in our reality with glimpses of 'otherness' and I wanted some of that otherness to be mythological.  I devoured mythology as a child.  There was one Edith Hamilton book in the local library and I can't tell you how many times I checked it out during my childhood.    

Andrea @ Reading Lark: Why did you choose to write a YA novel?  

Augusta: I love the teen voice and that feeling of being on the doorstep of the unknown, when your future still awaits you. 

      

Andrea @ Reading Lark: Which character from Winterborne are you most like? Why? 

Augusta: I would say I'm a mix of Loie and Mia.  I relate to Mia's can-do attitude, hopefully with the arrogance turned down a few notches.  Loie's humor and constant internal monologue is, for better or worse, all mine.    

   

Andrea @ Reading Lark: How many books do you plan on writing for the Winterborne characters?  

Augusta: Three.  I've already mapped out the next two books in the Universe Unbound series and I'm hoping to have the second one out in October.

 

Andrea @ Reading Lark: What's next for you writing wise?  

Augusta:I have a completed middle grade fantasy that I'm editing now, and a YA dystopian I've started to write, as well as the next two Universe Unbound books.  I need more hours in the day. 

 

Andrea @ Reading Lark: What are you currently reading?  

Augusta: I bought The Hunger Games trilogy and brought them with me to the US for our summer holiday.  My husband commandeered the first two books so I haven't managed to steal them back yet.  Maybe on the plane ride home.  I was in the middle of The Lord of the Rings when we left so I need to get home and finish that too.  

 

Andrea @ Reading Lark: Any words of wisdom for the aspiring authors out there?  

Augusta:You never know where you will find inspiration so read more than just the genre you want to write in.  Read the classics that you weren't forced to read in school.  Read articles that grab your eye.  One of the characters in the sequel to Winterborne was inspired by a horticulturalist I read about in a home and garden magazine!   

 
Andrea @ Reading Lark: What's your favorite bird? Why?   

Augusta: A phoenix, if we can go the mythological route, because I love the story of death and rebirth and all the associated imagery.  It's a very dramatic bird.    

Andrea @ Reading Lark: Thank you so much for your time, Augusta.