You are stranded on a desert island, which one of your characters would you want to be stranded with and why?
Lia, of course. She can search out and craft remedies from the plantlife, forage for edibles, and have the trees call to her if they spot any ships in view.
Your character has died and gone to…
Heaven, or more specifically, the Summerlands. The garden gods would welcome her and maybe even gain a few tips.
If you could live anywhere in the world where would it be and why?
Right where I am. The climate of Northern California is hard to beat. We enjoy all four seasons, but they are mild in comparison to many other places. Also, I am located so that I can visit the mountains one direction and the ocean in the other direction in less than 2 hours either way. Of course, having a vacation beach house would top things off nicely!
Where do you get ideas for your stories?
Since childhood I’ve had an active imagination and searched out stories of fantasy and magic to feed my love of them. Raising kids helped keep me young at heart, and I also make a continued effort to play out “what-ifs”, no matter how goofy, in my mind.
What was the hardest scene/chapter/section to write from one of your stories?
I don’t want to give any spoilers, but I will say the hardest scene in Arrow of the Mist was during the climax with the discovery of a beloved character’s death. It pulled at my heart strings on a very personal level.
What do you enjoy most about writing?
An author is the master of her world, from the overall setting and plot to the details of her characters’ thoughts, actions, and reactions. Writing puts me in a world of my own making, and though there are certain parameters to novel crafting, there’s tremendous freedom within those boundaries to “play”.
In your writing where do you see yourself ten years from now?
The author of many fine books for children and teens. I see continued growth and success in my writing, and also with my work at Indie-Visible.com.
A character of yours is on the TV show The Taste…
Lia would craft up some elderberry jam using a good dose of honey. The judges would rate it number one for slathering on morning bisquits, and Lia would advise them to eat plenty whenever they felt a little snuffly.
What is your favorite genre and why?
Young Adult Fantasy is my favorite genre because I get all the magic a Fantasy brings with the freer, more adventurous, spirit of a teen.
Who would enjoy reading your stories and why?
Tweens and teens who love fantasy, who enjoy “old school” fantasy settings, who like a strong girl lead, and who’d enjoy a magical twist on the natural world.
Arrow of the Mist book blurb:Terror strikes the Celtic inspired kingdom of Nemetona when barbed roots breach the veil of a forbidden land and poison woodsmen, including 15-year-old Lia’s beloved father. Lia and three others embark on a quest to the forbidden land of Brume to gather ingredients for the cure. But after her elder kinsman is attacked and poisoned, she and her cousin, Wynn, are forced to finish the quest on their own.
Lia relies on her powerful herbal wisdom and the memorized pages of her late grandmother’s Grimoire for guidance through a land of soul-hungry shades, trickster creatures, and uncovered truths about the origin of Brume and her family’s unexpected ties to it. The deeper they trek into the land, the stronger Lia’s untapped gift as a tree mage unfolds. When she discovers the enchanted root’s maker, it forces her to question everything about who she is and what is her destiny. Ultimately, she must make a terrible choice: keep fighting to save her father and the people of the lands or join with the power behind the deadly roots to help nature start anew.
Author bio:
Christina Mercer took Writer’s Best in Show at the 2012 SCBWI CA North/Central Regional Conference and was a semi-finalist in the 2010 Amazon Breakout Novel Award Contest. Christina resides in Northern California enjoying life with her husband, two sons, four dogs and about 100,000 honeybees. You can find her at christinamercer.com or blogging with the girls at indie-visible.com
Connect with the author:
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