Spellweaver
(The Spellweaver Chronicles)
Claire Bridgeman
Felicity Lucas never really knew her mother. Even though they had lived together for all the fourteen years that Felicity had been alive, they had barely even had a meaningful conversation. It was a relationship that was far from perfect.
So when her mother dies in a car crash and Felicity is sent to live with her estranged father in a deprived London borough, she is determined to move on. It isn't easy - content with her solitude, she's never had friends before, but the most popular girl in her new school won't leave her alone and she's forced to attend counselling. To make things worse, it's obvious that her father doesn't want her around.
It is only after she discovers a book of spells and is attacked by a strange boy who can conjure flames in his hands that she starts to realise that her mother was far more than what she seemed. She had a great many secrets, secrets that promise to thrust Felicity into a terrifying world of magic and straight into the path of beings who are determined to destroy her...
Author Bio:
Claire Bridgeman is a secondary school English teacher living in Norwich, England, with her husband, their 1 year old daughter Pearl and their black fluffy cat. She has written many books but it was only in 2013, at the age of 28, that she felt her work was good enough to be thrust upon the general public. She thinks it's an awful shame that there isn't more creative writing in the current education system of the UK and believes that every child should be encouraged to explore the wondrous depths of his or her imagination through an artistic medium.
Bridgeman loves all things fantasy. At the age of 16 she went to see The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring at the cinema 7 times. She recently replayed Neverwinter Nights: Hordes of the Underdark just to relive the Valen Shadowbreath romance. She wishes that Alistair from Dragon Age were a real person (so she could marry him). Her favourite book series is the His Dark Materials trilogy by Philip Pullman. She met him once. He was very nice.
web page: clairebridgemanauthor.com
Interview:
I would like to thank Claire Bridgeman for stopping by today to tell us a little about herself and her debut novel.
What is your favourite part of the story, Spellweaver?
There are many parts that I consider to be my favourites, namely the parts that show how Felicity, the heroine, is growing as a character. She starts off shy and desperately attempting to avoid any kind of human contact due to her lonely upbringing, but by the end she has discovered the meaning of friendship and doesn't want to let it go. It's those moments, the moments of realisation - of which there are a few - that I really enjoy, when a character makes a leap forward in his or her development.
How long did it take you to write Spellweaver?
Not including the planning, approximately six months. Including the planning - who knows?! I have been making notes in a particular notebook for a very long time, and it was only because of maternity leave - and the six week summer break from teaching! - that I had time to finally put my ideas to paper in a way that I wanted it.
If you were stranded on a desert island which of you characters do you want by your side?
I'd like to say Felicity, but at the moment I would have to say Oliver. He's probably the most interesting character so far, and also the one I have had the most fun writing. As far as the desert island situation goes, he is a competent magic user and will defend you to the last - if you're on his side, of course. Plus, as evil as he appears in the first book, I have plans to develop him in the future...
If you could be best friends with one of your characters, who would it be?
It would have to be Hollie Clarke. She is a totally genuine human being. She cares deeply for others, and they respect and love her for it. You'd think upon her first introduction that she would turn out to be an arrogant, horrible 'mean girl', but she doesn't have it in her. I like to think I broke a certain stereotype and character mould when I created Hollie, though doubtless I was not the first to create a 'nice' popular high school girl!
What books have most influenced your life?
It has to be the His Dark Materials trilogy by Philip Pullman, or the first one - Northern Lights (later the Golden Compass) - in particular. The first book was recommended to me by a teacher when I was 12. I was like a Harry Potter fan all those years ago (back in 1997!), desperately and impatiently awaiting the next book. It was the first and only book to make me shed a tear, and to this day I can quote the exact passage. If a book can unleash such emotion within you, then the author has done a fantastic job.
No comments:
Post a Comment