Interview and Giveaway with Annastaysia Savage

Any Witch Way

Annastaysia Savage

                                First off, Thank you so much for agreeing to do this interview.
                                I also would like to welcome you to Purple Jelly Bean Chair Reviews, and thank you 
                                Annastaysia for doing this interview and giveaway with Cambria and my blog as well. I
                                can't thank you enough. :)

Your book Any Witch Way is a delightful read that was published this year by JournalStone Publishing. This is your first full length novel to be published. Could you tell me what it was like when you first got your book in the mail and was able to hold it in your hands?

First, thank you so much for enjoying Any Witch Way.  It means a lot to me if someone enjoys what I’ve written.  As for what it was like when I held my first book in my own hands, I literally cried.  It was such an exciting and emotional experience for me, especially because getting published is such a tough thing to do.  I felt like all my hard work had finally paid off.  And though I can’t explain it fully, I felt like I had been holding my breath for so long and finally, I could breathe again.   I also felt like I had proven all the naysayers wrong, I felt gratification.  While in graduate school, I had a fellow classmate constantly ridicule the genre I write in, he was condescending and very rude in his critiques of my writing,  so much so to even tell me, “I’m sure there’s a place somewhere in the literary world for you.”  I don’t know if it’s like that for others who write within the fantasy genre but for me, it was so hard to keep going sometimes, knowing that some people mocked what I truly loved – fantasy.  I do know that we’re not going to please everyone all the time, and a thick skin is a good thing to have when so many out there are quick to have an opinion about your writing.  Having my first book to hold in my hands was like the world was saying to me, “Hey, what you write about is pretty okay.”   

Who is your favorite character in this story?

        I think it’s a tie between the duo of Whistle and Elgarbam, I love the banter between the two. I can        identify with Sadie, a lot, so she runs a close second to the gnomes. In all honesty, I love all the characters, but there are some I would rather “hang out with” than others.   

    When writing this book did all of your descriptions come from your mind or did you look some of it up on the internet?

     All of my descriptions came from my mind, my imagination.  And I’m sure that the descriptions incorporate a lot of my past reading experience within the fantasy genre.  I wanted to give all the characters my own spin on how I see them.  In the end, it’s all about what we bring to the table and I guess they truly are a mix of my own creation and the status quo already in play for those types of fantasy creatures. 

 

Is this book the first of a series? If yes, can you tell us a little about the future books? Will Sadie be older in the books and will there be a love interest for her?

I can’t say right now if this will lead to a series, though I constantly have different books/stories about Sadie going on in my head.  I’m getting a lot of positive feedback from readers that they would like to see Any Witch Way as a series, so the more “requests” I get I guess will be the determining factor.  And yes, should there be a series, Sadie will be older (eventually) and love does seem to play into our older years so....   But in the end, who really knows what will happen in Sadie’s world/life.  I guess in reality I’ll have to see how it writes itself, which I know isn’t the answer you want but nothing is truly set in stone.    

       Do you listen to music as you write? If yes, what do you listen to?

When I write, I need the windows to the outside open so that I can hear the sounds of nature; birds singing, geese honking, crickets chirping, the rain, or whatever else is going on outside my window.  I’ve tried to write to music and I find myself writing the lyrics of whatever song is playing at the time. (With some very funny results)  So no, I can’t write to music, just nature sounds.   Music distracts me; I’m an “in the moment” kinda girl so when I listen to music I am “in” the music. 

I’ll give you a word you say the first thing that comes to mind when you hear/see it.

    -books  Escape from reality, A constant in my life, Dependable

    -rain   Peace, Tranquility, Freshness, A Cleansing

    -the color blue  The Endless Sky and for some strange reason – Marshmallow Peeps

    -chocolate  my favorite food group and my worst (best?) addiction, lol

    -witches  Delightfully different, strong and independent people who have the power to do such wonderful                   deeds in life.

  

      What is your favorite book and why?

Oh my, that’s a tough one.  My favorite of anything changes on a weekly basis, depending on the mood I’m in. For instance, last week my favorite book was The Enchanted Forest Chronicles by Patricia Wrede, the week before was The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman, this week; I’m stuck on Harry Potter – again.  And that’s just the fantasy genre.  I could list a book under every category and change it whenever the wind blows, lol.   

A big lesson in the book (to me) is that you must accept yourself before anyone else can. Sadie gets made fun of a lot in the book, from her classmates and even some of her foster parents. Did you ever deal with that as a kid? If yes, do you think that influenced you in writing Sadie’s character?

Yes, I definitely dealt with that as a child.  And even some as an adult unfortunately (and I mentioned earlier).  Sadie was definitely carrying parts of me with her as I wrote her.  I think she’s a reaction to what I’ve learned so far in life.  It’s as if I wish I knew then what Sadie figured out in a short period of time.    And she’s definitely a response to the “adult” teasing I used to get at school for not being “literary” enough because of the genre I love to write in.  I wanted to get the message across to young readers that you should love yourself and accept yourself for who you are.  There is a place that you fit in in life and you WILL find it one day.  Be strong and don’t give up and remember, people can only hurt you if you let them.   

Finally, do you have any last minute advice/encouragement to any aspiring authors out there?

If you just keep at it, just keep dreaming and trying, never give up – you will eventually get where you are supposed to be or need to be within the writing world. Everything and anything is possible if you just don’t quit.  Determination coupled with skill (whether learned or innate) will get you where you want and/or need to be.  And also, I think luck has a little bit to do with it.  We all have some luck come into play at points throughout our life.  And like I said before, we’re not going to please everyone all the time.  People are quick to give opinion.  But looking at it with the mindset of “I’m writing what I love and if a few people like it, great, if no one likes it, that’s okay too.” If you have that mindset you won’t be so quick to want to quit, like I was.  Be strong, have conviction in what you do and just keep doing it!  And always stash some chocolate in your writing area for a quick “feel better” when you’re having “one of those days”… Oh and most important probably: Don’t let rejection letters get you down.  I’ve found through my own experience that what one person hates another will love.  Just keep at it- whatever it is.


Thank you Cambria for your Review and Interview for Any Witch Way by Annastaysia Savage.  Now for some more fun, Cambria has been wonderful and enabled us here at the Purple Jelly Bean Chair Review to have a fantastic giveaway, I love giveaways, and this will be my very first giveaway. Yay!!!!

So here are the rules, you must be a follower of my blog and Cambria's blog, it's only fair as she and Annastaysia have provided us with the ebook Any Witch Way that is up for grabs, also leave a comment with your email address so I can contact the winner.  Here is the link to follow Cambria's blog  http://theunlockeddiary.blogspot.com/  and give Annastaysia Savage lot's of love as well. The contest will close this Sunday July 10th and I will announce the winner Monday July 11th. Good luck to all I hope you enjoy I know I did!!!!