Hysteriata by D.A. Botta
(Elyzian Chronicles #1)
Publication date: March 21st 2014
Genres: Fantasy, New Adult
Synopsis:
Emily Hobbs is off to Salem State College when a chance encounter with a fortuneteller changes everything. Emily is transported to the realm of Elyzia and learns that she is, in fact, one of the most powerful witches in existence.
Madame Lavache, the strict headmistress of Cedalion Covenstead, has her sights set on Emily. In her desperate cling to power, Lavache attempts to protect her tyranny by invoking sinister forces, including bloodthirsty pirates and The Devil himself, to rid Elyzia of the rebellious witch.
Along with her companions – an old hermit, a small coven of witches, and their totems – Emily sets out on a collision course with destiny.
Just as the tarot foretold.
A powerful witch
A simple tarot read
And all hell breaks loose
Purchase:
Q: What is unique about your fantasy series?
A: First, the plots of the novels follow a tarot
reading set out early in the stories.
This gave the novels a structure and theme I could really work
with. Each chapter involves the decoding
of a tarot card in the spread. Secondly,
I incorporated elements from witchcraft, tarot, astrology, mythology, and runes
into each story. This gave Elyzia its
richness. It made for interesting
characters, suspenseful plot threads, and themes that I could string
throughout. It’s really a comprehensive blend of fantasy.
Q: Are there spells in your stories?
A: There just may be. I strongly advise not attempting them at
home. Only experienced witches should
meddle in magick and spellcasting. I did
alter some recipes slightly … for no good reason.
Q: What does New Adult offer your stories?
A: New Adult is a real shift from young
adulthood to adulthood. It’s that brief
space in time where things are really exciting and a person has to figure out
who they are. For some people, it’s a
traumatic experience. It can be
tremendously invigorating too. I think,
for stories, it makes for extra dramatic (any perhaps traumatic) events –
psychological, emotional, spiritual or physical. I try to capture a lot of these perspectives
throughout the series.
Q: What is the main theme of The Elyzian
Chronicles?
A: There are a lot of themes interwoven
throughout the chronicles, but if I can sum it up it’s: to truly know yourself
is to have all the power in the world. I
think that can be dissected in many ways, but essentially its understanding and
embracing your own unique identity despite a world that tries to change
you. Understanding your fears, knowing
your limits (or the cause of your limits) is a liberating thing. I think people learn who they are forced by
people or circumstance to honestly look at themselves. I believe it’s a powerful thing, and
ultimately a positive one.
Q: What is your writing process like?
A: Painful and slow. I have a natural impatience. Writing for me is grueling. I did a ton of research for the chronicles,
not just for world-building but also for the magick and mythology. I wanted to keep true to the various elements
(witchcraft, tarot, mythology) I was using, to a degree. I wanted to be respectful of those things and
still push the envelope a little. I
think once you understand something, you figure out where you can play with it
a little to make it distinctive. I write
at night, often late into the night. It
makes for foggy mornings, and with a 3 year old daughter that’s pretty trying. I write linearly, mostly. I did skip forward when I got stuck, and
revisited places once I fleshed out some of the heftier parts. But, I’m not one for rules. I wrote poetically where I wanted to. I wrote flowery where I wanted to. I think the modern convention of chopping
hundreds of words has some merit, but in fantasy I think you need to build
entire worlds and civilizations. That is
done with words, so it is a real challenge to strike that balance.
Q: Who would play your main characters in a
movie?
A: I’ve gone over this a million times in my
head over the past few years. I think a
majority of authors want to see their books become movies. It’s a natural progression. If an author says differently, they could
possibly be lying. Emily is such a
complicated character. I’d have to say
Kate Mara would be a top choice. I’d
love to see upstart talent in any role.
I always pictured Uma Thurman as Madame Lavache. I’d have loved to see Robin Williams play
Paronskaft, the quirky old hermit.
Q: Why did you choose to write a female
protagonist?
A: Witchcraft, and paganism in general, is
strongly influenced by feminine power.
It was a simple choice, really.
One of the great things to come from Dan Brown’s Da Vinci Code was a reintroduction of the concept of the sacred
feminine into our lexicon. I think Brown
really helped to educate a generation about the suppression and obfuscation of
feminine spirit and the historical importance of goddess worship. For me, it was about honoring the struggles
of a strong female, against other strong women and men. The gender stereotypes are broken down and
juxtaposed in the chronicles. We see
this with Emily’s sexuality, and with the contrast with, say, the pirate
captains Brodish and Dresden
Q: What readers would enjoy Hysteriata and the rest of The
Elyzian Chronicles?
A: Definitely folks who read Rowling, but also
readers who really enjoy some hefty NA.
My characters endure some pretty intense situations. There are struggles between love and hate,
power and weakness, fate and freedom, life and death, action, suspense, drama,
satire, romance – all wrapped up in this magickal world. The series has believable characters with
complex relationships. There is a lot
for everyone really.
Q: What is your all-time favorite book and why?
A: It’s going to sound a little strange, but my
absolute favorite book is The Phantom
Tollbooth by Norton Juster. It was
one of the first books I read where I was like, “Wow! This is how you can play with words! This is art!” It shows in some
of the words I created and my book titles.
I believe that type of creative license makes treetrunk and springwater
single words. Sometimes, as a writer,
you just ignore parts of spellcheck when you know it works. My all-time favorite New Adult read, so far,
is Butterman Time Travel Inc by PK Hrezo. It’s some awesome sci-fi. Very solid contemporary and super fun.
Q: What’s your advice to other writers?
A: I don’t typically offer writing advice. It’s just a very personal and private
craft. But I will say this: I think one
of the biggest mistakes writers make is they select a time for writing, and
everyday they sit down at whatever-o’clock and open their laptop to begin
typing. It’s the wrong approach – and apologies
to any NaNoWriMo-ers out there. I don’t
believe in it. I think we put an
enormous amount of pressure on ourselves, myself too, to produce. Perhaps the best
nights I spent “writing” were those I actually didn’t write a single word. I just daydreamed of that place or those
characters. Sure I beat myself up over
it, but looking back over four years of writing a series, I find that those
were my most successful nights. Just
thinking. Just owning that space. Just being in that story for awhile. The words will come when they come.
~~~~~~
AUTHOR BIO:
D A Botta has written four New Adult Fantasy novels, The Elyzian Chronicles, and has also published a collection of poems There in Them Blues. D A is currently working on a New Adult Mystery series, Seriously Confidant, projected for debut in the fall of 2015. D A is a Fantasy Representative for NA Alley and frequents #NALitChat on Twitter. When not writing, D A plays guitar and dabbles in graphic design. D A lives with his family in Massachusetts.
Author Links:
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thanks so much for having me!
ReplyDeletei hope your readers enjoy it.
:)