INTERVIEW
Welcome Donna! It’s great to have you back visiting today to talk about your newest release. Thanks for stopping in! Where do you dream of traveling to and why?
I would love to go back to England. I lived there for several years as a child and fell in love with its beauty and history. I’ve just started writing a young adult fantasy novel full of medieval flavor involving kingdoms, intrigue, and betrayal with a dash of romance
—and visiting England’s castles again would fuel that story with rich details. I sense the need for a research trip!Tell us about your next release.Joshua and the Arrow Realm, book 2 releases December, 2015. In the book Joshua is called to free his friend, who’s been enslaved as a power pawn in a queen’s quest to rule all. But when Joshua becomes bait in her hunting game, loses his powerful lightning orb, and his friends turn on him, he wonders if he can survive on wits and instincts alone and not only save his friend—but himself.
I’m plotting out book 3, Joshua and the Fire Realm, right now! It’s more adventure set in a volcanic landscape, filled with lots of friendships, battles, and bad guys.
Do you hear from your readers? What kinds of questions do they ask?
I do! This wonderful book blog run by an inspirational young teen, This Kid Reviews Books, read and reviewed Joshua and the Lightning Road and had some fun comments about it. He wrote:The first line of your book is awesome: “I never knew lightning could zap you without burning you to a crisp.” I love it when a book hooks you from the beginning. And scents and smells play a big part in your descriptions, more than I usually find in stories. I think it made your settings even more realistic. When you say “He smelled like a wet dog that had been swimming in sour milk,” I know exactly how revolting that is!
You can read the entire interview here.
Are the names of the characters in your novels important? How and why?
They are very important. First, the hero of Joshua and the Lightning Road is named after my son, Joshua. Also, my hero’s grandfather, Bo Chez, is short for ‘Big Cheese’ and that’s exactly what he is—a larger-than-life man in spirit and form. I named another character Leandro, meaning ‘lion of a man’ and that is representative of his personality as well. He is all heart and warrior when it comes to finding—and protecting—those he cares about.
Have you ever read or seen yourself as a character in a book or movie?
As an only child I grew up acting out most stories I read or wrote, so yes! When I was a teen I loved Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings and dressed up as Aragorn ‘Strider’ (or what I envisioned he would look like at the time before the movies!). Of course no one knew who I was in my cape and boots and hair.
Is there one passage in your book that you feel gets to the heart of your book and would encourage people to read it? If so, can you share it?
I pulled on the ropes binding my wrists. They were snug and scratched my skin, but there was enough room to wiggle my way out.Leandro tugged on the cords. “Not too tight, boys?” Charlie and I both shook our heads. “Good. Now if this plan only works.”A trumpet blared through Cypress Woods, ringing like a battle cry and different from the other horn we’d heard. With that call, every sound grated on my nerves. The breeze roaring in my ears. The twigs crackling beneath my feet. And the breaths of my friends heaving in and out, like the very mountain itself was breathing us in with a great groan.“What’s happening?” I said. The shadows revealed nothing, but grew bigger as if stalking us too.“It’s Hekate’s horn,” Sam said. “It always brings trouble.”“And vapes,” Charlie said. “Lots of vapes.”I gulped hard then I remembered. “In the power mill I heard her say the word ‘tomorrow’ to the Child Collector, like she had something planned,” I said.“And tomorrow is here,” Leandro said. “Let’s hope for more tomorrows.” He scanned the sky that held the cold blue sun high over our heads, pale against the purple background. All of our eyes followed his, watchful for more threats, and then I looked at my friends across the blowing fog. One tall, dark, and loyal. One short, pale, and daring. One strong, battle-scarred, and determined. How did they see me?
What are your hero and heroine of the story like?
Twelve-year-old Joshua is a thinker, which means he can also worry a lot and has an overactive imagination. To Joshua, loyalty and friendship mean everything. Raised by his grandfather, he’s an only child who’s moved around so much that he never felt like he belonged anywhere. He soon learns how belonging and family can take on very different meanings, and he must trust his instincts to understand, and survive in, this new reality.
About Donna:Donna Galanti attended an English school housed in a magical castle, where her wild imagination was held back only by her itchy uniform (bowler hat and tie included!). There she fell in love with the worlds of C.S. Lewis and Roald Dahl, and wrote her first fantasy about Dodo birds, wizards, and a flying ship. She’s lived in other exotic locations, including Hawaii where she served as a U.S. Navy photographer. She now lives with her family and two crazy cats in an old farmhouse, and dreams of returning one day to a castle.
Donna is the author of the Joshua and The Lightning Road series (Book 1, May 2015, Month9Books) and blogs at Project Mayhem. Visit her at www.donnagalanti.comor on Amazon.About the Book:
Stay away from the window, don’t go outside when it’s storming and whatever you do, do not touch the orb.
Twelve-year-old Joshua Cooper’s grandpa has always warned him about the dangers of lightning. But Joshua never put much stock in his grandpa’s rumblings as anything more than the ravings of an old man with a vast imagination. Then one night, when Joshua and his best friend are home alone during a frightful storm, Joshua learns his grandpa was right. A bolt of lightning strikes his house and whisks away his best friend—possibly forever.
To get him back, Joshua must travel the Lightning Road to a dark place that steals children for energy. But getting back home and saving his friend won’t be easy, as Joshua must face the terrifying Child Collector and fend off ferocious and unnatural beasts intent on destroying him.
In this world, Joshua possesses powers he never knew he had, and soon, Joshua’s mission becomes more than a search for his friend. He means to send all the stolen children home—and doing so becomes the battle of his life.
Praise for Joshua and The Lightning Road:
"Vividly imagined characters in a gripping action fantasy that never lets you go until the very last page." —Jenny Nimmo, New York Times bestselling author of the Charlie Bone series
Amazon: http://amzn.to/1Iu6ETwBarnes & Noble: http://bit.ly/1DBVtc9
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Website: http://www.donnagalanti.com/Twitter: https://twitter.com/DonnaGalantiFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/DonnaGalantiAuthorGoodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/20983429-joshua-and-the-lightning-road
