Book Nerd Interview
Mid-Winters Eve Blog Hop
Hosted by I am a Reader, Not a Writer
Co-Hosted by Oasis for YA & The Daily Harrell
San Francisco City Hall
"San Francisco has only one drawback. ''Tis hard to leave"
~Rudyard Kipling
San Francisco City Hall
San Francisco is one of the great cultural plateaus in the world….one of the really urbane communities in the United States…one of the truly cosmopolitan places – and for many, many years, it has always had a warm welcome for human beings from all over the world. ~Duke Ellington
Christmas at the Golden Gate Bridge
"The Bay Area is so beautiful, I hesitate to preach about heaven while I'm here. "
~Billy Graham
No city invites the heart to come to life as San Francisco does. Arrival in San Francisco is an experience in living. ~William Saroyan
Golden Gate
"The Golden Gate Bridge's daily strip tease from enveloping stoles of mist to full frontal glory is still the most provocative show in town."~Mary Moore Mason, editor of British magazine Essentially America
Golden Gate Bridge
"A synonym for San Francisco: Inspiration. What ever one's field of study - arts, humanities, science - SF is a microsphere of everything inspiring to the human spirit."~Denise , SF native
Golden Gate Bridge
San Francisco is the longest lasting love affair of my life. Her beauty inspires me anew each day and I am very thankful to be able to live here on the edge of the continent in what I feel is the heart of the world. ~Nicole ,sfheart.com
The Painted Ladies
San Francisco is the greatest…the hills…fabulous food…most beautiful and civilised people. ~Duke and Duchess of Bedford
China Town, San Framcisco
If you’re alive, you can’t be bored in San Francisco. If you’re not alive, San Francisco will bring you to life. ~William Saroyan
China Town, San Francisco
You wouldn’t think such a place as San Francisco could exist. The wonderful sunlight here, the hills, the great bridges, the Pacific at your shoes. Beautiful Chinatown. Every race in the world. The sardine fleets sailing out. The little cable-cars whizzing down The City hills….And all the people are open and friendly. ~Dylan Thomas
Alcatraz
Leaving San Francisco is like saying goodbye to an old sweetheart. You want to linger as long as possible. ~Walter Kronkite
Alcatraz
In all my travels I have never seen the hospitality of San Francisco equalled anywhere in the world. ~Conrad Hilton
Alcatraz
The cool, grey city of love. ~George Sterling
Ojai, California
San Franciscans are very proud of their city, and they should be. It’s the most beautiful place in the world. ~Robert Redford
Ojai, California
I don’t know of any other city where you can walk through so many culturally diverse neighborhoods, and you’re never out of sight of the wild hills. Nature is very close here. ~Gary Snyder
Golden Gate, San Francisco
The ultimate (travel destination) for me would be one perfect day in San Francisco. It’s a perfect 72 degrees, clear, the sky bright blue. I’d start down at Fisherman’s Wharf with someone I really like and end with a romantic dinner and a ride over the Golden Gate Bridge. There’s no city like it anywhere. And, if I could be there with the girl of my dreams, that would be the ultimate. ~Larry King
Hope you enjoyed some of the places that took place in Michael Scott's "The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel Series". You can start your Journey with The Alchemyst and soak in all the remarkable settings that Scott created for us.
Irish-born Michael Scott began writing over twenty-five years ago, and is one of Ireland ‘s most successful and prolific authors, with one hundred titles to his credit, spanning a variety of genres, including Fantasy, Science Fiction and Folklore. He writes for both adults and young adults and is published in thirty-seven countries, in twenty languages.
He is considered one of the authorities on the folklore of the Celtic lands and is credited with the resurgence of interest in the subject in the mid-1980′s. His collections, Irish Folk & Fairy Tales, Irish Myths & Legends and Irish Ghosts & Hauntings have remained continuously in print for the past twenty years and are now included amongst the definitive and most-quoted works on the subject.
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Can you tell us a little bit about yourself?
Interestingly, always the hardest question. I am a writer (and one day I’ll be an author). For a long time I was a bookseller (who wrote) or a TV producer (who wrote), but for the last decade or so, its been “writer.”
Where were you born and where do you call home?
I was born and raised in Dublin, Ireland and it is still home to me. My writing has taken me all over the world, but this is the place I come back to and the place where I find it easiest to write.
As a child, what did you want to do when you grow up?
I wanted to be a librarian from a very young age. Some of my earliest memories are being taken to the local library. I ended up working as a bookseller (which I thought was the next best thing). Becoming a writer was the logical offshoot of being a reader.
How long have you been writing?
I published my first book in 1982 – a collection of Irish folklore called Irish Folk & Fairy Tales. It is still in print today. My first young adult book was published a couple of years later, and I’ve been writing in both genres ever since.
How long does it take you to write a book?
The shortest time was over a three day weekend (but it was a picture book with not much text.) The longest was a huge adult historical novel called Seasons. There were three years of research and three years of writing before I completed the first book in the series.
The Flamel series took ten years of research before I wrote a single word, and then each book has taken about a year to complete.
The Thirteen Hallows took about 10 months in total from start to finish, including research and travel.
How has your environment/upbringing colored your writing?
I was brought up in a home where I saw my parents read and I was taken to bookshops and libraries, so I grew up feeling very comfortable around books. Also, Ireland is a country which has honoured its writers and poets, so when someone says they wanted to be a writer, its not mocked or looked down upon.
What, in your opinion, are the most important elements of good writing?
It has to be clear. That is as true for fiction or non-fiction. The writer has to really know their subject. It is really important to remember that the readers are a lot smarter than the writer. Also, good writing has to do with rewriting. You will never get it right the first time. So you rewrite and rewrite again until you get it right. Until you, and the reader, will be able to visualize what you’re writing about.
How many books have you written? Which is your favorite?
I’ve published over 100 books now – and that is divided about 50/50 adult and young adult. Lately, I have been writing more YA, which is such a great genre to write it. I don’t have a favourite (I usually say it’s the last book I’ve written), but certain books do stick in the mind. My very first YA novel, The Children of Lir, will always be special to me, and, of course The Alchemyst because it was a series I’d wanted to write for ages.
What do you think makes a good story?
A good story is always a journey. It is about taking the journey, the people the hero meets along the way and how they change him or her. All stories are journeys. They don’t have to be shocking or outrageous: they simply have to be interesting.
What were your feelings when your first novel was accepted/when you first saw the cover of the finished product?
It did not feel real – and, by the way, it still does not feel real. When I look at the covers, they look like they belong to someone else. The Flamel series is even odder, because the covers are designed long before the books are finished. I send Michael Wagner, the artist, my notes for the covers, and he creates these beautiful and amazing images. So when I get to see them – they are almost familiar, as if I have seen them before.
The best moment is when you walk into a bookstore and see a pile of your books – that is the oddest experience in the world!
What was one of the most surprising things you learned in writing The Secrets of The Immortal Nicholas Flamel Series?
Just how small the world was. Flamel started selling across the world fairly quickly – now the books are in 37 countries – and soon I started getting emails and letters from across the globe. Everyone was reacting to this story which was grounded in mythology – and it brought it home to me just how universal myth and legend are. I also discovered how kind and considered people are. For example, I got an email from a gentleman who has an apartment over Nicholas Flamel’s house in Paris. He asked me if I would like to stay there. Fans send me jewellery based off the series, children send me drawings and pictures. Its been fabulous.
What was your inspiration for the series?
The original idea was to write about Dr John Dee. I’ve written about him before and he was truly a fascinating man. I knew I wanted to write about world mythology in a contemporary setting. As I began to develop the series, it was clear that Dee was not “right” for the hero, but would make a perfect villain. Then, one day I was in Paris, and found myself standing outside the house of Nicholas Flamel – the Auberge Nicholas Flamel – which still exists in Paris today. I was working as a bookseller then, and I remembered that Nicholas Flamel was a bookseller who had bought a book which changed him life forever. I knew then he would make the perfect hero, and I knew at that moment I had my series.
If you gave some of your characters an opportunity to speak for themselves, what would they say?
They speak to me all the time! In fact some of them (and I’m think of Billy right now), never shut up!
How much does the real Perenelle, Nicholas Flamel and John Dee influence their characters?
I had tried to stick as closely as possible to the original historical characters, but we know so little about the original Nicholas and Perenelle that I have plenty of opportunity for licence. I’ve stuck very closely to Dee’s character. All of the historical facts in the book – eve the tiny throw-away notes – are correct. Perenelle was ten years older than Nicholas for example; they really did work as booksellers and buy the untranslatable book. Dee really was a spy working for Queen Elizabeth I.
The Alchemyst series is a journey on its own and definitely worth following. Did you have to travel and research the real places in your books?
Yes, I travel to every single place. I have to because I will be writing about places which some of my readers are going to know very well. Also, it is much more fun if the story is set in real places and verifiable locations. All of the setting in the Flamel series – San Francisco, Ojai, Paris and London – I have lived in and know very well. Also, writing is the great excuse to travel across the world!
You delivered quite a remarkable story, taking characters from some of the oldest myths and legends. What got you interested/started with the series and How much time did you spend researching before you began writing?
I have always been interested in mythology and history. The more I read, the more I realized that there have always been people at the edges of history – like Dee and Dare for example – that we know very little about. I wanted to use them in a story and bring them back into the public’s consciousness. Similarly with mythology: everyone knows some of the Greek or Roman legends, and maybe some of the Egyptian or Norse stories too, but what about the other great mythologies: the Celtic, Chinese, Native American? I wanted to tell some of their stories too. In total I did about ten years of research into the entire series, before I wrote a single word.
Have you based Josh and Sophie on someone you know, or real events in your own life?
No. I never base characters on real people – you can get into so much trouble that way! Sopie and Josh however, are the only created characters in the books. All the humans are based off historical characters, all the creatures and Elders from myth and legend. However, there are “twin” stories in every mythology across the world.
Who is your favorite character in the series, and why?
At one stage it would have been Dee – villains are so much fun to write. But Machiavelli is such a great character too. (But is Machiavelli a villain?) Also, villains often more the story along while the heros react to the villains, so the villain becomes the engine of the story.
What was your favorite chapter to write in the series and why?
For me, the favourite chapters have always been the last chapters in the books. The cliff hangers. I plotted this entire series well in advance, so I knew exactly how each book would end – and how the first chapter of the following book would begin. I knew I wanted to leave the readers with answers – and a bunch of new questions!
Can you see yourself in any of your characters?
I love the connection with Nicholas Flamel, because he was a bookseller and because I worked as a bookseller for a very long time. But no, most writers, I’m afraid, live very boring lives sitting in front of a screen. Mr Flamel and Dee have much more interesting lives. However, having said that: every writer puts a bit of themselves into the characters to bring them alive.
How is this series different from other young adult books that you've written?
It is certainly bigger, more complex and I’ve spent longer on this series than anything else I’ve ever written. It feels odd now to be writing the ending of book six after such a long time.
Any latest news on the upcoming movie of The Alchemyst: Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel?
There is no update I’m afraid. What I have learned is that Hollywood moves very, very slowly. However, I have seen a couple of draft scripts, so it is edging forward.
If you could leave your readers with one legacy, what would you want it to be?
To have an interest in folklore, to look back at those stories which founded tribes and nations, even religions. These stories survived many thousands of years for a reason: because they are good stories!
If you had to do it all over again, would you change anything in any of your books?
There are bits and pieces I would change, but because I was able to plot it in great detail, there would be not huge changes. The book I’d do the most work on is the first one The Alchemyst. I’d restructure it slightly, shorten the chapters, make it faster.
How did you come up with the title and cover for The Warlock?
All the covers have elements and icons from the stories, so it was a case of working with the artist to find the most interesting and exciting images. The covers to the Flamel series are full of little clues and hints about the stories. Even the color is a clue.
Are there any tips you would give a book club to better navigate their discussion of your series?
Because everyone is based out of history of myth, every single character has a back story. I’ve been very true to the history as I wrote the book, so it is possible to go back and investigate all the characters. All the locations are real, so it is possible on something like Google Earth, for example, to trace the twins routes across the cities. The other point to remember is that the stories take place in incredibly compressed time frames, two days per book for the early books, a single day for the later books.
Tell us your most rewarding experience since being published.
Without doubt, the most reward experience is having another writer come up to you and say that they started writing because they read my books. That is how writing as a profession continues: readers becomes writers who inspire new readers.
Favorite places to travel?
I have been very lucky: my writing has taken me across the world, and I have seen some extraordinary sites and sights. But for sheer breathtaking grandure, the Grand Canyon is unbeatable!
What do you like to do when you’re not writing?
I’m always writing – its what I like to do. But when I’m not writing, I’m reading.
Which author would you love to co-author a book with?
I have collaborated with several authors before. I’ve just completed a book with Colette Freedman and we’re working on another now. Collaborating is tricky: a combination of mutual respect and admiration is needed. I would love to work with Joe R Lansdale. I’m a huge admirer of his work and his last book, All the Earth Thrown to the Sky, was astonishing.
What are your current projects?
Finishing The Enchantress, the last part of the Flamel series, writing the sequel to The Thirteen Hallows and working on the new fantasy series, which I haven’t quite for a proper finished title for yet.
Can you share a little of your current work with us, The Enchantress perhaps?
All the questions will be answered, and you will discover the truth about the prophecy: one to save the world, one to destroy it.
What is your favorite Quote?
Imagination is more important than knowledge. For knowledge is limited, whereas imagination embraces the entire world, stimulating progress, giving birth to evolution. – Albert Einstein
Favorite food?
Hot spicy food – the hotter the better. And sushi.
What are 4 things you never leave home without?
Camera, laptop, proper notebook and sunglasses.
List 3 of your all time favorite books?
Huckleberry Finn, Mark Twain
The Borrowers, Mary Norton
The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, Arthur Conan Doyle
What book are you reading now?
I have just finished Kim Newman’s: Moriarty: The Hound Of The D'urbervilles – which are the Sherlock Holmes stories from the perspective of the villain, James Moriarity and his henchman.
Where can your readers stalk you?
You can find me at
www.dillonscott.com
@flamelauthor on twitter
On facebook and also on Goodreads.
In the fifth installment of this bestselling series, the twins of prophesy have been divided, and the end is finally beginning.
With Scatty, Joan of Arc, Saint Germain, Palamedes, and Shakespeare all in Danu Talis, Sophie is on her own with the ever-weakening Nicholas and Perenelle Flamel. She must depend on Niten to help her find an immortal to teach her Earth Magic. The surprise is that she will find her teacher in the most ordinary of places.
Michael Scott continues to add more to what the world already loves in the Nicholas Flamel series. The Warlock maintained old characters and introduced unforgettable new ones. Josh and Sophie are still engulfed by all the magic and legendary people they see. They are far from their normal lives working at the bookstore and cafe, as they have become the Twins of Legend.
Scott seems to have set the bar high for this book. The writing style sets up a very compelling book that was fast moving. I originally thought I would have a difficult time with the time travel aspect but quickly discovered that it was easy to follow
Just as before, the dialogue and interaction between the characters are brilliant. Scott persists to display his talent on putting words together to place a genuine visual within the reader’s mind. He gets to the nitty-gritty in regards to details but still manages to follow the story line.
We are nearing the end of the series and many questions are answered here. We discover so many new and amazing things about characters that we know and even ones that were only mentioned once or twice. There are many questions still yet to be answered but we all know they will be exposed in the finale.
This book is your front row ticket to the upcoming finale of the series. Michael Scott is our guide and has done a tremendous effort preparing us for it. His use of fictional characters, along with historical and legendary people, makes it a real enjoyment to read. Your curiosity hits a peak level and your imagination runs wild reading the words within Scott’s work.
Scott seems to have set the bar high for this book. The writing style sets up a very compelling book that was fast moving. I originally thought I would have a difficult time with the time travel aspect but quickly discovered that it was easy to follow
Just as before, the dialogue and interaction between the characters are brilliant. Scott persists to display his talent on putting words together to place a genuine visual within the reader’s mind. He gets to the nitty-gritty in regards to details but still manages to follow the story line.
We are nearing the end of the series and many questions are answered here. We discover so many new and amazing things about characters that we know and even ones that were only mentioned once or twice. There are many questions still yet to be answered but we all know they will be exposed in the finale.
This book is your front row ticket to the upcoming finale of the series. Michael Scott is our guide and has done a tremendous effort preparing us for it. His use of fictional characters, along with historical and legendary people, makes it a real enjoyment to read. Your curiosity hits a peak level and your imagination runs wild reading the words within Scott’s work.
Click the pictures below for my Reviews
You can purchase The Warlock at these following retailers.
Click LINKS below:
Click the LINKS below to order your copy.
Pre-order The Enchantress
The Hallows. Ancient artifacts imbued with a primal and deadly power. But are they protectors of this world, or the keys to its destruction?
A gruesome murder in London reveals a sinister plot to uncover a two-thousand-year-old secret.
For decades, the Keepers guarded these Hallows, keeping them safe and hidden and apart from each other. But now the Keepers are being brutally murdered, their prizes stolen, the ancient objects bathed in their blood.
Now, only a few remain.
With her dying breath, one of the Keepers convinces Sarah Miller, a practical stranger, to deliver her Hallow—a broken sword with devastating powers—to her American nephew, Owen.
The duo quickly become suspects in a series of murders as they are chased by both the police and the sadistic Dark Man and his nubile mistress.
As Sarah and Owen search for the surviving Keepers, they unravel the deadly secret the Keepers were charged to protect. The mystery leads Sarah and Owen on a cat-and-mouse chase through England and Wales, and history itself, as they discover that the sword may be the only thing standing between the world… nd a horror beyond imagining.
The Thirteen Hallows is the beginning of a spellbinding new saga, a thrilling tale of ancient magic and modern times by a New York Times bestselling author and an award-winning playwright.
You can purchase The Thirteen Hallows at these following retailers.
Click LINKS below:
And now, The Giveaway.
Thank you Random House for making this giveaway possible.
1 Winner will receive one Copy of The Warlock by Michael Scott.
WINNER:
Michelle Wyatt
E-mail has been sent. You have 24 hours to claim your prize, if not another will chosen in your place.
WINNER:
Michelle Wyatt
E-mail has been sent. You have 24 hours to claim your prize, if not another will chosen in your place.
***If you're an Author and would like to do an Interview and Giveaway, you can e-mail me at jeanbooknerd@gmail.com****
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Thanks for another great comp :)
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