I recently requested an interview with Donita K. Paul who is well respected for her Dragon Keeper Chronicles books. She has announced a new series and the concept was so unique that I just had to pose some questions to her.
Note: After you read the interview, please post a comment to be entered for the Christmas Giveaway!
Q: Lately the Christian fiction market has announced a couple new
fantasy novels that are original in their concepts and well-written. Can you
tell us what prompted you to write "One Realm Beyond" and what most
excites you about this story?
Mrs. Paul: I’m always excited when I get to let my imagination loose. I’ve
incorporated images from fantasy movies that I love. You want to know what they
are? Stardust, Ella Enchanted. Mr. Magorium’s Wonder Emporium, Return to Oz,
and Enchanted. Not that a reader would be able to pick something out of the
book and trace it back to a movie, but when I watch something like those
wonderful movies, sparks fly in my head. I’m visual so Pinterest is very good
for me. I see pictures that make ideal portals, or stunning backdrops, or hint
at character and personality. I think the thing that most excites me about this
book is the changing relationship between Cantor and his dragon and between
Cantor and Bixby.
As to what prompts me to write a particular story, it’s usually
characters chattering inside my skull and never leaving me in peace.
Q: How long did it take you to write "One Realm Beyond"?
A: About a year. It usually takes me a year to write a fantasy. I can
write a romance in two months and a picture book in about six weeks. But
fantasies need time to brew in the pot. More interesting things bubble to the
top if I allow time for the mixture to age. Also the sharp flavor of Christian
fantasy needs to mellow. I hope my work is not didactic, and I think the time
element has something to do with not coming across as proselytizing.
Q: Because you target the Christian fiction market, what is your
response when people ask why you write fantasy?
A: I’ll let the greats say it for me.
G. K. Chesterton:
• Fairy Tales are more than true; not because they tell us that dragons
exist, but because they tell us that dragons can be beaten.
C.S. Lewis:
• Literature adds to reality, it does not simply describe it. It
enriches the necessary competencies that daily life requires and provides; and
in this respect, it irrigates the deserts that our lives have already become.
• Reason is the natural order of truth; but imagination is the organ of
meaning.
Chesterton tells us that stories allow our imagination to conceive what
we cannot physically see. In that abstract determination, we can also see how
to remain upright in fighting of overwhelming obstacles.
Lewis tells us that through story we experience more than our everyday
world and while engaging this literary world we discover attributes which are
needed, such as courage, integrity, persistence, hope, compassion, and a host
of other noble traits. Having plowed the field and planted these seeds, the
story encourages our desert soul to bring forth a triumphant character.
And, Lewis also reminds us that truth can be represented in facts, (one
plus one equals two) meaning is rooted in imagination (if I have one apple and
you give me another, I have two apples to make an apple tart).
Q: You have become a household name with many readers. What components
do you feel have made your writing career successful?
A: Well for one thing, I didn’t have anything to do but invest time in
my career. The old adage
“Don’t quit your day job.” is sound advice. However, my day job kind of
quit me. I had a crippling infection in my leg and couldn’t teach full time
anymore, and then I couldn’t teach at all. So I was at home, driving my mother
batty. (She lived with me and my two teens, or we lived with her.) She was used
to having the house to herself all day. In order to protect her sanity, she ordered
me to my room to write a book. I had always wanted to and now was my chance.
Bless mothers! So years of being a Christian, years of reading, and obeying my
mom opened the door to being an author.
Q: So many readers have loved your Dragon Keeper Chronicles. Are you finished
with that storyworld, or is there a possibility you will revisit it in new
books?
A: I’m afraid so. There are a couple of short stories on the website
under Librettowit’s Library.
I may write more of those, but I’ve met these other characters and
we’re exploring a different world together.
Many thanks to Mrs. Paul for answering the questions! You can learn much more about her and her books on her website www.DonitaKPaul.com
Now, on to the Christmas giveaway. Two random comments will be selected by a random generator on the internet, and those two individuals will win one of these two items from Mrs. Paul:
1st Prize: a copy of "Two Tickets to the Christmas Ball"
2nd Prize: a fairytale necklace (if a guy wins he can give it to a girl as a Christmas gift!)
