Interview with young adult fantasy author C. B. Oresky

Today’s special guest is YA fantasy author C. B. Oresky to chat about her new novel, The Warlock’s Curse.

During her virtual book tour, C. B. will be giving away a $50 Amazon or Barnes and Noble (winner’s choice) gift card to a luck randomly drawn winner. To be entered for your chance to win, use the form below. To increase your chances of winning, feel free to visit her other tour stops and enter there, too!

Bio:
Fascinated by the works of Tolkien and C.S. Lewis, C.B. Oresky began writing her own fantasy novel, The Warlock’s Curse, after dreaming of being whisked off to an alien realm. Besides her debut novel, she has seen four of her short stories published in a small, national literary press: Conceit Magazine. When she’s not writing, she can be found wandering through the  woods, dancing flamenco, or planting flowers in her garden. She currently lives in a small town in Connecticut with her bodybuilder husband, their exceptionally naughty Scottish terrier and Siamese cat, ten chickens, Mr. Tiggy the hedgehog, and a yard filled with majestic flowers.

Welcome, C. B., please tell us a bit about your new release.
Clara and Angelica Grace have never met ghosts. They’ve never sailed on a tall ship, ridden wild unicorns, or fought with magical weapons. Instead, the teenage twins have a wretched existence, ignored by their troubled parents in a rundown home and tormented by the town’s snobs.

Everything turns topsy-turvy all of a sudden when discovery of an ancestor’s hidden journal with an odd key to an unknown door leads them into an entirely different realm.

The girls go on a thrilling oceanic voyage to search for mysterious whales, train with a seasoned warrior, and are befriended by a wise Master. But all is not a bouquet of lovely lilies…they are hunted by a cunning warlock and must rid themselves of The Warlock’s Curse.

 

Excerpt from The Warlock’s Curse:
“Help! Please help!” Angelica cried, turning toward the direction the voice had come from.

Veils of darkness greeted her eyes.

Suddenly, a strange sight seized both girls’ attention. The oddest-looking creature the girls had ever seen emerged from the gloom, waddling along a curved path near the pool’s edge. Its shape gradually came into view.

The squat creature stood about two feet tall, an amethyst stud adorning its short nose, its long face crowned by a single lock of fair curly hair. In place of normal clothing, a grasshopper-green mossy material covered its small hands and feet, while an amber mesh filament, appearing like thinly braided laces, swathed its arms and back. It eagerly flew toward the girls, appearing like a goldfinch, its smooth, translucent body quivering like firm jelly and glowing as the shimmering sun. The creature’s unforgettably deep eyes were grave and dark and splashed with touches of ocher, like glossy black beetles.

Clara trembled in her well-worn boots, imagining the approaching creature as a monster in some horror movie. She wrapped her wool cape more tightly about her, wishing it might somehow guard her from harm.

Angelica also eyed the peculiar-looking being fearfully and staggered back a step.

The golden creature stopped just short of them.

“It smells good…like meadow grass and flowers,” Clara whispered.

“Hummmmmm, Hummmmm,” its melodious voice buzzed, like bees flitting over flowers. The odd creature licked its rubbery lips.

 

How do you develop your plot and characters?
This may sound strange, but I don’t develop my plot and characters. I find most of the answers and the characters come to me: they just pop into my head or I see them in a dream.

That and just experiencing life. I never would have guessed that walking around the beautiful New England seacoast, seeing all those old houses on their flower-lined streets, would inspire me to write about Seacrest, the creepy Victorian mansion in my book.

What is your favorite ice cream flavor?
Chocolate is my favorite go to ice cream flavor. It is delicious! Plus, it makes me feel so good as it releases all those endorphins. I just love chocolate ice cream…the more extreme the better!

Which mythological creature are you most like?
I believe I am most like a mythological dragon… Afterall, I was born in the Year of the Dragon. Like the ferocious scaled dragon, I am majestic, powerful, and headstrong: unruly dragons have no master. Though strong and independent, beneath it all dragons yearn for love and support. They are symbols of strength and enlightenment…traits I admire and emulate.

What is the first book you remember making an indelible impression on you?
The first book that made an indelible impression on me was The Hobbit. A real page turner, The Hobbit is an amazing tale of adventure and valor with important messages about the evils of war. Set in the fantasy realm of Middle-earth, I love how Tolkien’s artistry with words, masterfully paints scene after scene about a magical world where creatures talk and everything from the trees to the mountains seem alive.

I adore the main character, Bilbo Baggins, a funny, fat, hairy-footed Hobbit who never-ever dreamt of leaving his comfortable Hobbit-Hole. After he’s recruited as a burglar by a party of dwarves and thrust into adventure, Bilbo discovers a magical ring, which makes him invisible. With this boon and facing adversaries such as the mighty dragon Smaug, Bilbo maturates into a confident leader and is changed, forever.

Please describe your writing space.
I don’t have a set writing space. As a tech-savvy member of Generation X, I have a laptop and love to be on the move.

My favorite writing space is the coffee house at Books a Million. I love sitting back in their large brown armchairs and guzzling down a frozen hot chocolate topped by a mound of whip cream. I find coffee houses are inspiring places to write. The flood gate just opens, and the words pour out.

I also enjoy writing in my bed. It may sound strange, but my room is full of wonderful stuffed animals and magical books that have inspired me. Mr. Tiggy, a silly pet hedgehog who loves to run round-and-round in his wheel, calls my room home. Alone in this space, my imagination has always been able to soar swiftly like a bird through an untroubled blue sky.

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