1. What was
your inspiration for Griffin's Daughter, and the series?
Back when I was a freshman in college, about a hundred years
ago, I had an idea to write a short story about a girl who was half-human,
half-elf, except I didn't want this to be a typical fantasy tale where humans
viewed elves as stunningly beautiful, ethereal and somehow better than they
were. I was more interested in the hard truths of racism and how a person deals
with being born mixed race in a society that despises the other race and looks
down on those born with mingled blood. Humans in the world of Griffin's
Daughter are not in awe of elves; in fact, they view elves in the light of
religious bigotry. They are taught by the Soldaran church that elves are
demonic in origin and therefore without souls. Of course, the elves have an
entirely different view of themselves and of humans, but they are not without
their own racial prejudices, as Jelena eventually learns.
Another important inspiration for
the series was my feelings about imperialism and war, but this happened much
later, when I actually started writing the books in earnest. I began developing
the plot outline in 2001, right after 9/11. I was against the Afghan invasion
and the Iraq war from the very beginning, and I felt a lot of anger and
frustration over the direction our nation was going in. I participated in
several anti-war marches and rallies, but ultimately, our voices were ignored.
It seemed like a logical leap to me to parallel in my fantasy world what was
happening in the real world. The Soldaran Empire is huge and rapacious and
needs a steady supply of natural resources to maintain itself. The elven
nation, Alasiri, is rich in natural resources, but small in population and no
match militarily for its human neighbor. The Soldarans justify their invasion
to themselves via their bigotry, but it's much more about expansion to ease
overpopulation and the control of resources than it is about racism. Lest you
think I spend all my time brooding about grim realities, I must confess I'm
really a hopeless, or more accurately, a hopeful, romantic! More than anything,
I wanted to write a love story about two people who overcome great odds to be
together. The love in this series is MONUMENTAL!! It is the kind that I yearned
for and eventually found, and I am so very grateful!
2.
I loved the opening chapter with Jelena's mother. How did you decide how to
open this book?
I needed to give my readers some
some important back story so the rest of the plot would make sense as it
unfolded. This was to avoid too many info-dumps in the main body of the story.
It made sense to do this as a prologue. That whole mini story is really more
about the group of elven mages who set everything in motion than it is about
Jelena's mother. I do have great sympathy for her, though. She chose to go
against everything her culture had taught her to seize on love, and she paid a
terrible price. Maybe one day, I'll write in short story form the tale of
Jelena's parents.
3.
Griffin's Daughter opens with so much history already developed in your world.
How long did it take you to work out the details of the history and structure
of Soldara?
I worked on the world building
for almost six months. I have detailed files on both Soldara and Alasiri, which
include a lot that never made it into the books. I also have notes on other nations
and groups of people that are only mentioned in passing, but may one day get
more 'stage time' in future books set in this universe. One of the most fun
aspects of being a fantasy/sci-fi writer IS the world building. The only
limitations are those the writer's own imagination places on her or him. I
think the reason why so many fantasy books are these massive 800-page tomes is
because of all the world-building details that have to go into the story.
People writing stories placed on modern-day, reality-based Earth can leave so
much explaining out because the audience already knows what a cell phone is,
for instance, or that France is in Europe.
4.
You do a great job with the politics within Asmara castle, and between the
humans and Alasiri elves. How did you develop the social structures in this
book?
Both societies are hierarchal, with
fairly rigid social strata, typical of human societies throughout history and
into modern times. Soldara is loosely based on Imperial Rome, while Alasiri is
based on feudal Japan, and I do mean loosely! The main difference is with
gender equality. Both the Soldarans and the elves are much more egalitarian
across the board and this was deliberate. I wanted to write a story that had
many of the familiar tropes most fans of the genre expect with so-called epic
or high fantasy--most of which is based on medieval technology and social
structures--but I was tired of the inherent stereotypical gender roles that
went along with that. Yes, there is a fair amount of oppression going on, but
it is more class and hierarchy-based, rather than gender-based. For instance,
and this may be a bit of a spoiler, so beware, Jelena's uncle would have sold
her off just the same, even if she'd been a boy.
5.
The story in Griffin's Daughter isn't just about Jelena. Her cousin Magnes
plays a significant role as well. Was his story part of your original plan, or
did it develop along with the story?
Magnes is an original character; in
fact, he goes back to the original short story, although his name wasn't
Magnes. Jelena had to have a human ally from the beginning, because I wanted to
make it clear that not all humans believed the bigoted crap the church taught
them about elves. Magnes represents the hope that someday, humans and elves can
co-exist in peace and with mutual respect. He is all that is good and decent
about humanity. Though he does disappear halfway through the first book, he is
integral to the plot and his story arc plays out fully over the next two books.
6.
Jelena's true heritage is a mystery through most of the book. You
did a great job of slowly revealing her background. Did you plan out each step,
or let is develop more naturally?
Each step was plotted in advance.
I'm not one of those writers who works without an outline; in fact, my outlines
are very detailed. That doesn't mean I don't depart from an outline once it's
finished. Sometimes, my story will veer radically away from the outline, which
can be very surprising! An example of that is a character who has yet to show
up, but debuts in book two, Griffin's Shadow. This particular character was
completely plotted out in advance, but kept telling me that it (and I use 'it'
to not give away the gender!) was totally miscast! The role I'd chosen for it
was not its true one. I listened, and now this person is completely different
from how it was originally written. That's the most specific example of a
character developing naturally as the story progressed.
7. Behind
Jelena and Magnus and their stories is a darker, more encompassing evil. This
threat is the basis for the trilogy, yet is only a small portion of the first
book. Does the focus switch in the second book, or is it a slower transition?
The nature of the dark force that
lurks in the background for much of Book 1 does become more evident in the
second book. The reader learns just how dangerous and ruthless this adversary
is, and more of its plans. At the same time, the reader learns that there are
people who are committed to defeating this evil, but the price they must pay is
devastatingly high. The climax comes in the third book, where this courageous
band of people are tested with choices that would break all but the most
determined of warriors, and I use the term 'warriors' to mean those who battle
an opponent and not necessarily through force of arms.
8.
Do you have an interesting quirks or rituals when you write?
Not really. I do a lot of my work in
coffee houses and cafes, so I like to drink hot coffee or tea while I'm
writing. When I'm home in my office, I'll sometimes make a bag of popcorn to
munch on. That's about the extent of it.
9. Can you tell us about your publishing experience?
9. Can you tell us about your publishing experience?
Griffin's Daughter was first
published by a small, indie outfit out of Pennsylvania called Avari Press. I
had sent the manuscript to them on recommendation from an acquaintance who had
heard they were looking for submissions. It turned out that my book was chosen
to launch their company. GD went on to win a Ben Franklin Award for Best First
Fiction of 2008, given by the Independent Book Publishers Association, a large
trade group of indie presses both tiny and huge--St. Martins Press is their
biggest member. So, it was a very prestigious award and I'm very proud of it.
Sadly, the award didn't help Avari. They became victims of the recession and
went bankrupt, shortly after publishing Griffin's Shadow, book 2 of the series.
That left me orphaned, two thirds of the way through my series. Well, after
indulging in a very short pity party for myself, I got on to my various social
media sites to let my tiny group of fans know what had happened. Within 24
hours of my post to the Goodreads Fantasy Group, I was contacted by Robin
Sullivan, a fellow member and wife of fantasy author Michael Sullivan. She was
starting up her own indie publishing business and wanted to pick up my series.
Needless to say, I was relieved and several months later, Ridan Publishing put
out new editions of both Daughter and Shadow, and then published Griffin's
Destiny, the third book, thus completing the series. Things started out slowly,
but sales have really picked up steam recently. The books have done well for
Ridan.
10. Can you tell us about any future projects?
I've just completed writing the
first book in a new trilogy. It's a retro-futuristic, political action/adventure
story, loosely based on a well-known fairy tale. I've chosen to refer to it as
retro-futuristic, rather than steampunk, because it isn't hard-core, though
there are definitely recognizable steampunk elements woven throughout. Book One
is finished, and the second and third are outlined. There are no definitive
titles yet, but a lot of the time, publishers choose titles anyway, so I'm not
sweating it. I plan on delivering the manuscript to Ridan within the next
couple of weeks. I also have a couple of collaborations in the early stages
with my fiancee Aaron Mason. We have a couple of children's books we want to
do, as well as a screenplay. I also have a paranormal romance/horror novel I've
begun work on, though it's on the back burner for the foreseeable future.
Thanks again to
Leslie for answering my questions!
If you’d like
you learn more about Leslie and her work, visit www.leslieannmoore.com
or connect with her on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/pages/Leslie-Ann-Moore/256313141074775
(Don’t forget to “Like" Leslie’s page!).
Leslie will
also be at the Los Angeles Times Festival of Books on the campus of the
University of Southern California, on 4/21-4/22 to sign copies of the Griffin's
Daughter Trilogy. She'll be with the Greater Los Angeles Writers Society at
Booth 970.
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