Sunday, September 12, 2010

Why I Write Fantasy - Krista D. Ball

Welcome Krista D. Ball, author of Native American fantasy. 
Amber: Why do you write fantasy? 
Krista: I really enjoyed making my own rules. The conventional world is so constraining at times. It can be more fun to bring the otherworld into things and mix it up.
 
Amber: Why did you choose to write Native American Fantasy?
Krista: First Nations, actually J In Canada, that’s what we call our Aboriginal, Metis, and Inuit peoples. Too often, the stories out there deal with a very small segment of the North American native population. I really wanted to present a different group of people, who aren’t often represented in stories outside of Canada.
Amber: Why do think readers love fantasy?
Krista: I think it’s the same reason I want to write it; mixing it up!
 
Amber: Would you write fantasy even if no one read it?
Krista: I wrote for four years with no publications to my name. No one was reading me and I still kept doing it. I can be stubborn like that.
 
Krista D. Ball is a speculative fiction author who dabbles in freelance non-fiction and snarky literary fiction. But don’t tell anyone. I have a reputation to keep. She was born and raised in Deer Lake, Newfoundland, where she learned how to use a chainsaw, chop wood, and make raspberry jam. After obtaining a B.A. in British History from Mount Allison University, Krista moved to Edmonton, AB where she currently lives with her partner, two crazy but likable step-boys, seven cats, and a very understanding corgi.

Like any good writer, Krista has had an eclectic array of jobs throughout her life, including strawberry picker, pub bathroom cleaner, oil spill cleaner-upper and soup kitchen coordinator. These days, when Krista isn’t software testing, she writes in her
messy office.
  

Dancing Cat angers her Ancestor, whose harsh punishment teaches her that true strength comes from the spirit within.  Cursed, abused, and desperate to know her future, Dancing Cat sneaks a glimpse inside her tribe’s Sacred Bundle, a powerful source of spirit magic. Instead of the future, she sees her most powerful ancestor, Small Tree and incurs her wrath. Small Tree strips Dancing Cat of everything —her home, her identity, even her gender – and drops her in the middle of enemy lands.

Injured, and in a strange, new body, she is befriended by Bearclaw who is on a spirit quest. He offers her assistance and asks for nothing in return; a kindness Dancing Cat had forgotten existed. She struggles to weave a path around the obstacles of friendship, identity, and longing in order to survive her eventual return home to face even further punishment. And she does it while wearing someone else's skin.


When Robert is bitten by his nephew, he's convinced that he isn't really going to turn into a werewolf. After all, werewolves aren't real. Unfortunately for Robert, mischievous Pan is nearby, lamenting that there aren't enough shapeshifters in the world.
Find out more about Krista D. Ball 
and her Blog

Special Bonus
A coupon for a free copy of Wicca Dog 
Valid until Oct 31. 
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