The Thoughts of a Book Junky!: Author Spotlight: Ednah Walters & Giveaway

Please Welcome Ednah Walters

Author of Awakened!

1) Could you tell us a bit about yourself?

Ednah: I hate talking about myself (sigh). I grew up in a large family, five brothers and two sisters, in a rural environment. With no access to a library, I grew up reading the bible, hence my…*clears throat*…obsession with angels/demons/Nephilim. But I didn’t show interest in writing about them until after I finished college and decided to be a stay-at-home mom. I now live in a picturesque valley with my husband of nearly twenty years, our five kids and two cats.

2) What was the inspiration for writing Awakened?

Ednah: I love to read about other cultures, so one day while reading about special weapons around the world, I came across an article on kris dagger (or keris dagger). Wow, the legend of this weapon blew me away. Kris daggers are believed to have been forged from a stone from the heavens and ore from earth. And they are believed to be vessels of spirits, good or bad, and can protect the owner. Soon I asked myself, who could have created such a weapon? From the list of the fallen angels, I chose Azazel, the fallen angel who taught humans the art of weapon-making. The back story fell into place after that. Soon, I was visualizing who the wielder of such a weapon could be. I wanted the story to take place in a different world, but after writing the first draft, I realized making it take place on earth made it far more compelling. Sorry for the long-winded explanation.

3) Were there any personal experiences that went in to writing Awakened?

Ednah: I was an awkward teen, tall and gangly. Even one of my brothers nicknamed me little giraffe. I wanted to write about a girl who didn’t really fit in, but finds the strength from within to rise to a challenge.

4) Was Lil and Bran characters based on anyone or were they purely made up character?

Ednah: I have teenage daughters and from some of their friends, I caught glimpses of Bran and Lil. The rest is fictitious.

5) What was your inspiration in the cover art for Awakened?

Ednah: Oh man, where to begin. I watch Supernatural. I mean, I looove Dean and Sammy. And when my editor asked me what I had in mind for the cover, I said I need a character with Sammy’s body and Dean’s smile. How crazy is that? They tried.

6) How many books do you plan on having in The Guardian Legacy series?

Ednah: I already plotted book two and three of the series, focusing on Lil and Bran. I have story ideas for the remaining four trainees, too. So if things go according to plans, I’m talking about seven books.

7) What do you plan on doing in the future?

Ednah: I’d love to write an adult paranormal romance series using people from the world I created in Awakened. I’d love to see some older Guardians, demons, or even better, the Outcasts, fall for human women. I see it as history of the fallen repeating itself.

8) What are you reading right now?

Ednah: The Hunger Games…it is slow going though because I’m working on Betrayed and when I write, I try not to read. I bought the three books, my son hijacked them for a while, but he finally finished the Hunger Games.

9) Who are a few of your favorite authors?

Ednah: Cassandra Clare and J.R. Ward (I’d be a proud shellan to a hellren)

10) If you could jump into any book and live in that world, which would you choose?

Ednah: Awakened. I get to be immortal and have powers, and never have to worry about money. Of course, the flipside is you spend years hunting down demons.

11) What is your favorite writing music?

Ednah: I love to write to music. When I wrote Awakened, I listened to Evanescence a lot, especially Bring Me Back to Life and Immortal.