FANtastic Interview with Pam Halter

Today I have another Fantastic Interview. Today’s guest is Pam Halter and she is sharing about her debut novel Fairyeater.

Here’s a bit about the book first:

9781943788040-Perfect.indd All fifteen-year-old Akeela has ever wanted is an ordinary family who will love her. But the only mother she has ever known is the old hag, Krezma, who berates her night and day. Why did the old woman even take her in?

But Krezma knows her charge is no ordinary child. She can see the auras surrounding living things and can communicate with fairies. And the birthmark on her palm reveals a secret Krezma must hold close for the child’s safety.

A secret that the witch, Tzmet, hunts for night and day, drying and eating fairies for the power they contain. When Akeela discovers her fate lies in being the next Fairy Guardian, all hope for an ordinary life dissipates like the dreams they were. She must protect the fairies from the witch—and an even darker power that threatens them all.

Akeela is unwillingly thrust into an adventure that will not end until she decides to accept her fate and give up on her dream.

Maybe even her life.

Purchase Link (L2L2 website):
https://www.love2readlove2writepublishing.com/books/fairyeater/

And now . . .

A FANtastic interview with Pam Halter:

1. You are asked by the casting director who you envision as the main characters of your novel Fairyeater. What do you tell her.

This is always a hard question for me because I’m just not up on who’s popular, especially younger actors. So, I don’t know who would play Akeela, but I can see the fabulous Bette Davis playing Tzmet because she does whatever’s needed for a part. For Krezma, maybe Maggie Smith. For Tar, Karl Urban.

I love Maggie Smith for this role, and Karl Urban is one of my favorite actors. Love these choices.

2. Anyone who has met you knows that you are the Fairy Queen. What made you first love fairies? Or what is your earliest memory of fairies?

I’ve always loved fantasy, and when I realized I wanted to write it, I chose to feature fairies, because 12 years ago, fairies were not popular. And I wanted to brand myself with something, so I worked to become The Fairy Lady (or whatever anyone wants to call it.) Now fairies are very popular, so I’m not as unique as I’d like to think. That being said, I also like making up my own fae groups, and that’s helped me in the unique area.

3. Fairyeater may be your debut novel but it’s not your first published book. How does your experience with novel writing differ from Children’s book writing? Which do you enjoy more?

Wow, picture book writing is about as different as you can imagine. I enjoy them both, but I had to learn to add to my longer stories. I was so used to telling a story in 800 words or less, it was difficult to add description and more narrative. I’m not one who likes too much description anyway – get me to the story! Haha. But I have a fabulous mentor who tells me things like, “Linger a bit longer here” or “What is she feeling here?” “What does it look like?” Stuff like that.

I’ve also learned you don’t always need to add a paragraph to expand the moment. Sometimes just a sentence is perfect.

Here’s something to consider, though. People think writing for children is easier because there are less words. But picture books can be harder to write because you need to take a 10,000 word story and tell is in 800 words or less. Every word counts.

Sounds like Children’s book writing is a lot like Flash Fiction.

4. Obviously fairies come in many flavors, (Pun intended, because Fairyeater) Hahaha! which do you prefer. The small and magical, elemental kind or the Majestic and mystical, Fae?

I prefer more realistic, beautiful fairies. And here’s a secret: I can’t stand Tinker Bell. Seriously. I want to smack her. I don’t really consider her a fairy. She’s more of a pixie, I think. But she’s really annoying.

Fairies don’t have to be life sized or teeny weeny. For me, it depends on the what the story requires.

I love the fairy art of Amy Brown and Cicely Mary Barker.

5. I think my favorite character is Anon the Faun. He’s fun and sweet. He is also on the autistic spectrum. I love that there is an autistic character, but I love more that he is a mythical being. What was the inspiration for this unique character?

Actually, Anon has Down’s Syndrome. The inspiration for him is my daughter, Anna. Since I have a special needs adult daughter, it’s a normal part of my life, so pretty much all the stories I write have characters with some kind of special need.

Anna does not have Down’s, though. She has Pervasive Developmental Disorder, which is on the Spectrum. She’s mostly non-verbal, and I needed a verbal character, so I chose Down’s. I’ve known several kids with Down’s from Anna’s class when she was in school, as well as kids with all various special needs and abilities. It simply felt normal to me to included Anon.

I’ve also included Tar and Ode Janmar who both have physical disabilities.

6. Akeela is the Fairy Guardian, but fairies are magical, Why do they need guarding?

A Guardian doesn’t always mean “to guard someone”, it’s also a person who supports and helps. When Riss’aird was creating the BIG spell, more than just fairy magic was needed to combat it, so the Guardian was created. I do give details in the book and am planning to go into a lot more detail in the Prequel, which I’m working on now.

7. Without giving spoilers, where do you see the Fairy Gaurdian series going from here? How many books are planned? What are you working on next?

Oops – I gave that away in the previous question. That’s okay. I’m working on the Prequel now. A friend suggested it might be interesting to see how a person becomes a Dark Lord. I thought that was a great idea and I’m running with it.

And because we typically like sets of three, I do have a basic plot idea for the third story. And writers will get this – that story wants to be written NOW. I keep making notes and tell it to quiet down and wait its turn. Haha!

8. In the Fairyeater there is a Minister character who leads worship to a single creator. would you classify Fairyeater as Christian fiction? How does Celtar differ from our God.

Every world has some kind of religious system or beliefs. In Fairyeater, I chose to have the main set of people serve the One True God, who is the God of the Bible. I gave Him the name Celtar on the advice of a senior editor from Scholastic who I met at a conference. Back then, publishing houses were leery of using the Christian God in fantasy, so she said to simply give Him a name. But not everyone believes in Him or worships Him. The Kazmura are atheists, and the Salt Dwarves worship a goddess.

I also chose to stay more Old Testament, but not real in-depth. That means, no Jesus dying to save sinners. I don’t know why. It just felt appropriate for the story to not include that part of my faith.

I don’t classify Fairyeater as Christian fiction. It’s high fantasy, more specifically, quest fantasy, which happens to be written by a Christian, so my worldview comes through.

My business cards describe me as an “Inspirational Fantasy Author” and at the bottom, I have “Everyone is created with a purpose.” Christianity is part of who I am, so even if I were to choose to write a story without a higher being, my worldview would still come through.

Thank you so much for having me on your blog, Cathrine!

The honor was all mine.

Pam-Halter Pam Halter has been a children’s book author since 1995. The first book in her Willoughby and Friends series, Willoughby and the Terribly Itchy Itch, won the 2018 Realm Award in the children’s category, and she also received a Reader’s Choice Award in 2015 for her short story, “Tick Tock,” in Realmscapes. Fairyeater is her first fantasy novel. She lives in South Jersey, deep in farmland, and enjoys long walks on country roads where she discovers fairy homes, emerging dragons, and trees eating wood gnomes. Visit Pam at http://www.PamHalter.com.