Description:
Fallen - the first book in the Guardian Trilogy...
Maggie is unaware of the terrifying fate that awaits her. It isn’t until she lands in New Orleans for a full year at a private high school and her unknown enemies find her does she realize that her life is in danger.
As a mystifying stranger repeatedly intervenes and blocks the attempts on her life, she begins to learn that there is more to him than his need to protect her and that he may be the key to understanding why her enemies have just now arrived.
MB's INTERVIEW
1. What is for you the most important thing that a story should have?
Entertainment value. A novel should be an escape from daily life, and the only way to do this is to entertain. An author can create a literary wonder, but if it is not entertaining it won't be read. As I write my novels, I repeatedly ask myself "Would I want to read this?" If the answer is no, I stop and rewrite. On the flip side, I've created work so riveting to me that I've had to pause and calm myself before continuing with the scene, such as when I wrote about my hero, Eran, being attacked by Elsics as he was chained to the wall and unable to defend himself. I took a fifteen minute break before finishing that part.
2. You fight for the animal rights. Are the animals present in your story? Why?
Oh, yes! Helping to protect and offer a better life to animals who have been and are being abused and neglected is an effort close to my heart. Two dogs are in Fallen and both are characters based off real dogs. I'm also working on a novella about a collection of animals living in a suburban area uniting to investigate a stranger's nefarious efforts against them. That work's proceeds will go entirely to animal charities. I just have to find time to finish it!
3. What is your opinion about how the image of angels evolved in people’s mind and in the literature? Is there a line that shouldn’t be crossed?
To be honest, I don't have an opinion about angels as they are believed to be in existence by others. I didn't take into account prior to writing Fallen or the rest of the Guardian Saga what other's concepts of angels might be, nor did I do any research on them in literature. The angels I created are a blend of my own insights and experiences. Interestingly, the characters and their characterizations seem to be in line with my reader's beliefs, so maybe we all have some collective foundational perception of them.
4. Angels, zombies, witches… how do you choose your fantasy characters and how much do you want to respect their “classic” features?
I actually don't conceive of the characters initially. I develop a world in my mind, then form my characters and drop them into that world, the exact opposite of every writing course on the planet. The characters themselves are formed as I write them. In the beginning of the story, they are like new acquaintances who I get to know better as the story progresses and who gradually become old, seasoned friends. In this way, they are not unique to their world and don't deliberately retain any classic features of the world in which they've been dropped, but are instead universal and therefore more relatable.
5. How can an author (or you) use the humor in their stories?
I'm the last person who should answer this question. I have it on good authority that I'm not organically funny. On average, people laugh at what I'm saying/writing when I don't mean to be funny. Sort of sad, really. Any humor in my books are naturally occurring and, unfortunately, by accident. That said, I've had reviewers mention laughing at parts in my books and when I reread some quotes I can see the humor in them, but again it's all unintended and therefore regrettably unexplainable.
EXCERPT
“So you’re warning me away from you?” I was appalled. “Then why are you doing this…guarding me at all? Why the torment? Why watch over me when you know that…that we should be more?” I felt on the verge of tears, which amazed me. How could pain be so sharp in the afterlife? “Answer me, Eran. Why?”
He sighed. “Because it is my job.”
I gasped, more offended than I’d ever been. “I’m a job to you?” I stared at him and waited for his head to rise but he refused to look at me.
“Yes,” he said weakly, defeated. His beautiful, rugged voice released as a whimper and the pain inside me grew. “You are just a job.”
I didn’t think it was possible but the emptiness I’d felt with Eran being gone those many weeks held no comparison to the magnitude of what I was experiencing right now.
I felt as if I had been gutted.
“No…” I shook my head. “I don’t believe you because you see, Eran, I can feel your emotions run through me. Whether you want to admit them or not, I know how you feel about me.”
Stunned, his head jerked up, his brilliant blue-green eyes drilling into mine. “You feel me too? How can that be?”
“I don’t know. But I do know that I feel in you the same emotions I have.”
He groaned and turned away. “That’s not possible…” he muttered, pausing. When he spoke again his voice was strained, determined. I drew in a breath as the intensity of these emotions ran through me. “It doesn’t matter. I won’t let this happen. This will not happen…I will not let us be together.”
“Because you are my guardian? Then let me make it easy on us…You’re fired.”
“It doesn’t work that way, Magdalene,” he said, quieter but still resolute.
“I didn’t want you to watch over me, Eran. I never asked for it.”
As if he’d become an entirely new person, his reply was flat and detached. “You’re a messenger. You require a guardian. It’s as simple as that.”
“Then we’ve just solved the issue, didn’t we?” I said causing him to finally look up. “This will be my last message. It’s from me to you…goodbye Eran.”
Turning swiftly, I walked away just before the tears came.
******
“I apologize for the delay, Abaddon.”
I turned my head to find Eran standing beside me, no more than a few inches away.
Excitement swelled inside me, so powerful I couldn’t have contained it if I’d wanted to. The nervousness now displayed on Abaddon’s face gave me even stronger encouragement.
I wanted so desperately to reach out and wrap my arms around Eran, wanted it more than anything in the world. My desperate yearning was only being held back because I still couldn’t move.
I’m not sure Eran would have allowed it anyways. He was a warrior, and he was now engaged in battle. Besides, I was nothing more to him than someone to save.
Eran didn’t look my way but kept his focus on Abaddon, who stepped back a few paces, his confidence faltering.
It was Sarai who strolled forward, self-assured, placing herself in the middle.
As she strolled by Abaddon, she mused, “Don’t worry, I believe I can handle this one.” Her face curled up into a hideous grin as she continued her approach.
I knew then what she planned…but it was too late.
“Eran, so good to see you again…” she whispered in a low drawl.
“No!” I screamed enraged, waiting for Eran to fall to the ground, whimpering with desperation as Rufus had done.
Eran remained standing.
A moment passed and Sarai’s face contorted, confusion setting in. Her state of shock became more defined, deepening further when he finally replied.
“You don’t work on me, Sarai…” I watched in disbelief as his gorgeous smirk, the one I missed so deeply, rose up. Eran turned and his stunning eyes settled on me, concentrating so intently I could not have mistaken his message. “I’m already in love.”
The world changed for me at that moment. As Eran’s confession hung in the air, I felt the passion and the power in me swell. Nothing was impossible now.
Sarai’s mouth fell open, a shaken sigh escaping. She then looked at me, her eyes narrowing in fury as Eran’s words sunk in.
Eran flippantly disregarded her, turning to address Abaddon. “You are outnumbered. You are overpowered. You have allowed yourself to be cornered. Shoddy work, Abaddon.”
As I watched their interaction, it dawned on me that Eran was enjoying this moment and that it appeared to have been long overdue. I felt a smile on my lips, nearly causing me to giggle.
It was then Abaddon released me. I fell to the ground, hitting it hard but overwhelmed with relief. I glanced up, wondering what power Eran had over Abaddon to give up his hold on me.
In an instant, I realized what had happened.
Abaddon had let me go willingly. He needed his energy – all of it – for another reason…
Leaning forward, Abaddon’s arms extended, his feet sweeping up from the ground, as he lunged for Eran.
About the author
Laury Falter is a bestselling author of young adult romantic suspense and urban fantasy. She has three series out: the Guardian Trilogy, the Residue Series, and the Apocalypse Chronicles.
2 comments:
I love this series!!! I downloaded them awhile ago on my kindle and I fell in love!!! :)
What a great interview and questions. My favorite was #4. great insight into the author's mind, incentives, motivation, and humor :)
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