Interview with Author Krista D. Ball, & Giveaway

*****Giveaway Closed*****

Today I have with me an author of a fantasy book I've recently read and thoroughly enjoyed.  Tranquility's Blaze by Krista D. Ball.  Please give a warm welcome to Krista!

M:  Hi Krista!  Thank you for joining me for an interview. J  I have to say, I started thinking up ideas right away when I started the book.  Some interviews just pop so easily, so I’m thrilled you agreed to join me.

I had learned about a month or so ago about Tranquility’s Blaze, and couldn’t wait for it to be released April 17^th.  Have you always been a Fantasy buff?

You mentioned to me that Tranquility’s Blaze was the kind of fantasy you wanted to read as a 16 year old girl.  What really stuck in your mind when you where younger that you wanted to expand on in Fantasy?

KB:  Mel, I’m going to answer both of these together, since they are related.

M:  Please do Krista!  I had a feeling these two questions might blend together. :)

KB:  I’ve been an everything buff, to be honest. I grew up in a small town (4000 people) in Newfoundland – at the time, Canada’s poorest province. Our public library was tiny and they didn’t have a lot of current books, though they tried to bring in as much as a small town library could. I lived at that library so much that my mother would often call down and ask the librarians to send me home for supper.

I read everything I could get my hands on, so I read pretty much everything there. They didn’t have a lot of fantasy, so I never read the typical spread – Dragonlance, anything by Piers Anthony, and the Wheel of Time series. I missed all that. Instead, I was reading more obscure authors and books.

But, whenever I picked up a fantasy at that age, I was generally disappointed. I didn’t care about vapid women, fainting at the sight of blood. I didn’t get books where the women whined and complained about doing any labour. I grew up chopping cord wood, for Pete’s sake, yet these books always featured helpless and useless women.

Fast forward a decade or so. I decided that it was time to write a novel and to write the novel that I had wanted to read when I was younger. So, that’s where Tranquility’s Blaze came from.

M:  I will say, I enjoyed the view of the fantasy from a strong woman character here.  It was a wonderful journey and she worked hard to get where she is.  As I've always wondered why woman always have to be so sub-servant.

M:  What are a few of your favorite fantasy reads/authors?  (I have to say authors, since several might be in same series.)

KB:  This is a tough question for me, since I don’t have favourites so much as binges. Now, I confess I am a Harry Dresden fan and have the audiobooks, ebooks, and hardcovers. Generally, however, I’m not that fanatical. One thing I do like is to read obscure authors and books. I heavily read Canadian science fiction and fantasy, however.

M:  I mention in my review that I am a sucker for the verses at the beginning of each chapter.  This is the prophecy, line by line?  Do you think they set the mood for the chapter to come?  (And yes, I had to go back and read them all after I was done with the book ~ told you, sucker.)

KB:  Prophecies and “the chosen one” are pretty standard for epic fantasy. Sometimes, they help and sometimes they get in the way. I wanted to take that trope and have some fun with it. For one thing, “the chosen one” doesn’t give a flying fig. For another, the other “chosen one” is too stupid to know. Also, we work with the issue of the prophecies being understood wrong, and there is a rather large, scary issue with the prophecies that comes up in later books.

For setting the mood, I like to use the verses at the beginning of each chapter. Some are to tell you what’s about to happen. Others, are meant to lead you astray for the entire series.

M:  Now, chatting with you on Twitter I’ve learned you are the goddess of mass destruction and death.  Oh, maybe you destroy a whole village or two, or even a planet?  Would you please explain you powers in this area. LOL.

KB:  I love blowing shit up.

One of the coolest days of my life was the first time I got to fire a rocket launcher at a tank*. It isn’t like in the movies, though. There was no fire ball, and my ears rang for quite a while afterward despite ear protection.

In my books, I’ve had a village overrun with Viking and Beothuk spirits. I’ve blown up a brothel. I’ve destroyed the atmosphere of a planet. I’ve burned a town to the ground.  I caught a holy place on fire.

Yeah. Property damage is hawt.

*No one was inside and it was a decommissioned one.

M:  Okay,  now a few fun questions for you Krista…

One question I ask all visitors on their first visit… If you could travel anywhere in the world where would you go?

KB:  I’d like to see the UK and also the far north.

M:  Tea or Coffee?

KB:  Tea, though I’m a fan of lattes.

M:  Favorite Color?

KB:  Green

M:  Favorite Childhood Fictional Creature?

KB:  I didn’t have one.  Or, at least not one I can remember.

M:  Now as an adult what’s your Favorite Fictional Creature?  (Can be the same as when you were a child.)

KB:  Same thing, I don’t really have one.

M:  Favorite Word?  (Any word at all)

KB:  Huh

That’s probably the word I use the most LOL

M:  Thank you Krista for stopping by!  Really.  I’m thrilled to have read Tranquility’s Blaze and look forward to Tranquility’s Grief.  And in the mean time, I think I need to look into some of your other works as well.  I see you have a serial on your site you are working on, and a paranormal novella series, and so much more! 

Thank you again, and here’s wishing you all the best in words and pages.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I have a lovely surprise. I feel generous this week, maybe it was the fun weekend, but I want....

to giveaway 1 ecopy of Tranquility's Blaze.

I've decided on 1 eCopy (any format you need) to make this easy to include my International Friends.
Must be at least 18 to enter in this giveaway.

I want everyone to comment whether you want to enter for a copy or not. So, I'm giving a question, and ONLY those that answer the question will be entered to win a copy. Otherwise, comment away so Krista knows you were here.

~~~ What is one of your favorite fantasy reads? And one reason you remember it sticking out to you.

Giveaway Ends:  June 9, 2012 11:59 pm EST 

**Leave an email address so I can contact you.  If you don't feel comfortable leaving an email address, please email me.


If you don't want to wait, you can purchase the book at any book store.  But here's links to Amazon:
Ebook:




Print: