Moonburner by Claire Luana
Release Date: June 14, 2016
Publisher: Soul Fire Press
Publisher: Soul Fire Press
When 17-year old Kai is
exposed as a female sorceress—a moonburner, she knows the punishment is death.
Despite the odds against her, Kai escapes her fate and undertakes a harrowing
journey to a land where moonburners are revered and trained as warriors.
But the moonburner citadel is
not the place of refuge and learning that Kai imagined. The ongoing war against
the male sorcerers, or sunburners, has led the citadel leadership down a dark
path that could spell the end of all magic. Armed with a secret from her past
and a handsome but dangerous ally in the sunburner prince, Kai may be the only
one able to prevent the destruction of her people.
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Excerpt:
He
stood before the small basin of water, resting on a rickety table on the other
side of the cabin and unwrapped their daughter. She was so beautiful. Even red
and wrinkled, he could tell she had her mother’s fine hands, delicate but
strong. She had his square jawbone. He wondered whether she would be as
stubborn as he was in his youth. But he was delaying.
He
plunged her into the water and held her there, his own heart hammering in his
chest like a wild beast desperate to be set free. He began counting. Ten. She
flailed under the water, her tiny limbs no match for his strong calloused
hands. Thirty. At sixty, he could let her up. And try to save her. Fifty.
Relief and hope began to well in him.
And
then a bright white light exploded from his daughter. He stumbled back,
throwing an arm over his eyes. She illuminated the cabin, shining silver light
into cobwebbed corners and dusty crevices.
After a
few seconds, the light died and his daughter was herself again. Tiny, pink,
floating on top of the water peacefully. He and Hanae locked eyes. She had
turned over and was half sitting up on her cot. The look of helpless horror on
her face was mirrored on his own.
“I knew
she would be,” Hanae said softly. “A moonburner. And a strong one.”
Interview with Claire Luana
What inspired you to write Moonburner?
My inspiration for Moonburner was loosely based on
China's One Child policy, which led to generations of Chinese families choosing
to have boys over girls. It made me think: what would happen in a world where
families didn't want girls because those girls had some magical ability that
was forbidden? This led to the premise of Moonburner, where Kai, the main
character, is born into a land where magic is forbidden to women, and she is
forced to masquerade as a boy to hide her powers. This inspiration is also why
I set Moonburner in a world with more of a medieval Asian influence, rather
than the typical European fantasy world readers are used to.
When or at what age did you know you
wanted to be a writer?
I wrote a
lot as a kid and teenager, but then gave in to practicality and pursued a law
degree. I didn’t pick creative writing back up until two years ago, when my
husband and I were on our honeymoon. We talked a lot about what we would do for
a living if we could pick any job in the world. I realized that I would choose
to be a fiction writer. And you don’t get there without trying! So I started
writing.
What is the earliest age you remember
reading your first book?
I
read a lot starting from a very a young age. I don’t have a specific memory,
but I do remember as a kid that my mom had to put a limit on my library book
haul each week: only as many books as I could carry.
What genre of books do you enjoy
reading?
I
have always loved reading fantasy. Reading is a release and an escape for me,
and so I gravitate towards books filled with magic and wonder.
What is your favorite book?
It’s
SO hard to pick just one! Right now, I think it might be Daughter of Smoke and
Bone, by Laini Taylor. The book was so unusual and inspired, beautiful and
sinister too. It really stayed with me. It was one of those that you didn’t
want to end.
You know I think we all have a
favorite author. Who is your favorite author and why?
Brandon
Sanderson. I consistently love everything he writes, and I am so impressed by
anyone who can write such epic fantasy. As a writer, I’ve struggled with
figuring out how to weave multiple plot threads together to form a cohesive
whole, and he does it over the span of hundreds and hundreds of pages and
multiple books. It’s really inspiring.
If you could travel back in time here
on earth to any place or time. Where would you go and why?
Probably
waaay back to when we were all hunters and gatherers. In my free time, I spend
a lot of time outdoors, hiking and camping. There is something transcendent
about our relationship with nature, and I like the idea of sitting on the side
of a pristine mountain and looking up at the Milky Way in a perfectly dark sky.
When writing a book do you find that
writing comes easy for you or is it a difficult task?
It
depends on the day! I find writing easy but editing to be difficult. When I
know what is going to happen next, the words flow fast and furious. But when I
have to sit back and ponder whether my characters have sufficient depth,
whether the novel’s pacing is off, or whether my themes come through, I second
guess myself a lot. I hope that gets easier with practice.
Do you have any little fuzzy friends?
Like a dog or a cat? Or any pets?
Yes!
I have two fur-babies, a Cavalier King Charles Spaniel named Guinness, and a
Brittany Spaniel named Jameson.
What is your "to die for",
favorite food/foods to eat?
Fresh
berries. And chocolate.
Do you have any advice for anyone
that would like to be an author?
Take a long term viewpoint and approach. We are an
instant gratification society, and it's easy to get discouraged when you don't
see instant results or success. But if you are truly want to be a writer, keep
at it. Learn how to do it better. There is no special sauce, only hard work. So
do the work, and little by little, you'll get there.
Claire Luana grew up in
Edmonds, Washington, reading everything she could get her hands on and writing
every chance she could get. Eventually, adulthood won out and she turned her
writing talents to more scholarly pursuits, graduating from University of
Washington School of Law and going to work as a commercial litigation attorney
at a mid-sized law firm.
While continuing to practice
law, Claire decided to return to her roots and try her hand once again at
creative writing. Her first novel, Moonburner, will be published in 2016 with
Soul Fire Press, an imprint of Christopher Matthews Publishing. She is
currently working on the sequel, Sunburner. In her (little) remaining spare
time, she loves to hike, travel, run, play with her two dogs, and of course,
fall into a good book.
Giveaway Information: Contest ends August 5, 2016
·
One (1) winner will receive a copy of Moonburner, a free e-copy of
Burning Fate, the prequel to Moonburner (only available in electronic form),
and a $50 Amazon gift card (INT)
1 comments:
Thanks so much for featuring me and Moonburner on the blog!
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