Ella-Earth | Rosie Amber

Today our guest is author Julia Hughes who wrote yesterday’s book “The Griffin’s Boy” here is a link to it if you missed it. http://wp.me/p2Eu3u-4oS

1) Where is your home town?

London, the most beautiful city in the world.

2) How long have you been writing?

Always, and I’ve always enjoyed writing, but … around six years or so, something clicked. I realised that the books I most enjoy reading are those that allow me as a reader to fill in the gaps. As a fledgling author, I tended to paint the entire picture, but now, I have enough confidence in my stories to allow my readers’ imagination to take flight.

3) Why did you decide to write The Griffin’s Boy?

In “The Griffin Cryer”, my main character, Frankie, is in a hopeless place. Her brother, Michael, is in a coma. He shows no signs of recovery, and has had to be resuscitated several times. Frankie’s estranged father has already given his consent for medical staff to allow his son to die. Frankie’s mum begins to express her doubts that they are doing the right thing in keeping Michael artificially alive. Frankie feels suffocated by her mum’s over-protectiveness, and alienated from her peers at school. When she accidentally summons the griffin and his rider into this world, Frankie is forced out of her own misery. She’s determined to help griffin and rider back to their own world. Then she becomes aware that she can also help her brother back into this world. I wanted to write a story for young adults, and I know that often teenagers can feel very alone, and even powerless. But this isn’t the case, if you believe in yourself, you can change your own world; even something as small as taking up a new hobby, or learning a new art or craft can make a difference. Originally, the griffin and his rider served to illustrate the premise that out of the blue, something very special can happen in anyone’s life. But the griffin was awfully mischievous, and his rider was fantastically proud, and really quite arrogant (as befits someone who rides a griffin), and even while I was sketching out “The Griffin Cryer”, I knew I had to write their story.

4) Can you tell us more about the training a Griffin and his Rider would expect to get?

I put this question to Griffin Master Romulus. His response was “work hard and study, and who knows – maybe you’ll be selected as one of my recruits and discover for yourself what makes a griffin rider.”

5) How long is the training and what are their roles afterwards?

Again, Griffin Master Romulus answered: “Once a recruit is selected, training will continue until they can demonstrate their ability to patrol and protect both as a team, and individually.”

6) Where and when is the book set?

“The Griffin’s Boy” is set a few years before “The Griffin Cryer”, and takes place on Ella-Earth. Set in a parallel universe, Ella-Earth is our world’s twin, except evolution has taken a different path, and mythical beasts exist.

7) Can you explain ley lines in more detail?

Ley lines are another name for the telluric currents that criss-cross both this world, and our twin, Ella-Earth. They’re invisible to the human eye, but our ancestors were aware of them, and built many monuments along these ley lines to mark them, the most famous example being Stonehenge. In our world, birds and other animals use them to navigate. In Ella-Earth, they are used as conduits by spirits, both good and bad. Ley lines are visible to griffins, who are the sworn enemies of demons and bad spirits; and so griffins are the natural guardians of ley lines.

8) For those who haven’t read The Griffin Cryer how does it link to The Griffin’s Boy?

There are hints in “The Griffin Cryer” that the mysterious rider summoned by Frankie has no right to be a griffin rider. Once in a single generation, a person is born with the talent to cry down or summons griffins. However, it’s unheard of for a nameless nobody to be invited to join the elite Griffin Riders. I knew that Balkind’s rider must have achieved something very special for Romulus to select him as a recruit. This is his story.

9) Do you intend to write any more adventures for the Griffin Rider?
One of the Guardians of the Stones is still missing, as is his crystal. I’m certain there are still stories to be told. In particular, Samara is a strong character, and I’ve a feeling sparks will definitely fly when she meets Frankie.

10) Where can readers find out more about you and your writing?

Drop by my site anytime: JuliaHughes.co.uk, or visit my Amazon author page, it’s been a delight to meet with your readers, and I hope to stay in touch!