A Time for Questions! An Interview with Author Nadine Brandes

Author Nadine Brandes
I've recently come to know YA dystopian author Nadine Brandes through my blogging and am very excited to have the opportunity to interview her today and be a part of her launch team for her latest book, A Time to Speak, which releases October 16th!

Thanks so much for stopping by The Artist Librarian, Nadine! Let's start off with an elevator pitch: Describe the Out of Time Series in three wor--no, let's make that three sentences.
--These books are about a culture where everyone has a Clock telling them exactly how long they have to live. My main character — Parvin — has one year left on her Clock, but feel she’s wasted her life. She spends that last year trying to find purpose.

And they’re so intense!  My review of book 1, A Time to Die (I struggled not to spoiler anything) and stay tuned for my review of the sequel, A Time to Speak, coming soon!

Why dystopians? Like the fantasy and sci-fi genres, some Christians look at dystopians with a skeptical eye. Why do you write Christian Speculative Fiction and what would you say to convince someone to give it a shot?

--Well, I chose dystopian because I wanted to convey that there can be hope in even the darkest situations and darkest times. I write speculative fiction because sometimes it’s easier to understand the world when you step out of it for a time. [grin]

Personally, the fantasy and sci-fi genres have affected my walk with Christ and my journey in this world much deeper than real-life fiction. I guess that’s why I gravitate toward writing it. There’s power in created worlds. Besides, we were created to create. :)

I am also drawn to speculative fiction for similar reasons and only recently began reading more contemporary fiction.  Plus, it's just neat to see the world-building that goes on in fantasy or sci-fi books!

I was an art major, so I have to ask: Can you briefly describe the book cover art/design process for you as the author? How much input did you have? Is it what you envisioned?

--Kirk DouPonce from DogEared Design does my covers and he’s amazing! With book 1, A Time to Die, when I received the first draft it was like seeing my imagination on paper. Not a lot of authors can say that. Generously, Enclave Publishing and Kirk both allow me quite a bit of input. It’s more of a team effort, where Kirk and I will discuss ideas and then he’ll execute what he envisions will be best. That way he still gets creative freedom and I still get a say in the matter. I’m extremely pleased with the set-up.

That's wonderful!  I always enjoy learning how similar (or different) authors' experiences are with that process (such as Jill Williamson's).  As a reader, it throws me off when a book cover doesn't match the character descriptions in the text ... Kirk did a great job with your books and I can't wait to see what book 3's design will look like! 

 Today is the 4th annual Star Wars Reads Day (with events across the nation at local libraries and bookstores/comic book stores), so I thought I'd be fun to close out this interview with some Star Wars themed questions!

Ooh, I love this idea! *Didn’t know it was Star Wars Reads Day* :P

Original Trilogy or Prequel Trilogy?

ORIGINAL! duh. ;-) Always and forever.

Yes! *high fives*  Though I do love the costumes and lightsaber choreography in the Prequels, the Original Trilogy holds my heart ... With Episode VII: The Force Awakens coming out in December, I wonder what they'll call that trilogy ... "The Sequel Trilogy?" Hmm ...

Who is your favorite Star Wars character?

Han Solo. But isn’t he everyone’s? :) (My bestie’s favorite character is Boba Fett, so I guess that answers that question.)

Harrison Ford as Han Solo
Haha, I know.  <-- Han reference ;-)  I've seen fans of Boba Fett (or Mandalorians in general) called "Fandalorians" which I think is kind of a neat "fandom name" ... I've never been able to figure out what Star Wars fans are called ... Most of my favorite SW characters are from the books, but Princess Leia (and Luke Skywalker) are my favorite film characters. =)

The Death Star is heading to your home planet, what do you do?

Die. LOL. Oh, you mean that I’m on the Death Star while this is happening? Well, I’d try and snag a blaster from some oblivious stormtrooper and blast the controls off of that beam-director thing before Vader strangles me. Yup.
"That's no moon ... "

That would be a different time to die [okay, I'll stop with the references] ... Great answers!

Since it's Star Wars Reads Day, have you ever read a Star Wars novel?

No. But I’ve recently grown more interested in reading sci-fi. I used to be a fantasy-only girl.

Star Wars books are the only sci-fi novels I've read --not counting Ender's Game and dystopians (which are technically a sci-fi sub-genre), so if you ever want a recommendation on pre-2014 published SW novels, feel free to ask me, LOL!

Thanks so much Nadine! Anything else you'd like to share with the readers?

Thanks for chatting! I guess I’d like to ask readers…What do you want to know about me? I’m pretty open to answering all sorts of question. Ask in the comments! ;)

There you have it --feel free to ask Nadine any questions you have!  I was just perusing her "About" page on her website and saw she's a huge Miyazaki fan! I'm working on watching all of Studio Ghibli's films, so I'd ask her if she prefers watching his animated films with the English dub (voice overs) or in the original Japanese with English subtitles and why?  ;-)

More about Nadine:
"Nadine learned to write her alphabet with a fountain pen. In Kindergarten. Cool, huh? Maybe that's what started her love for writing. She started journaling at age nine and thus began her habit of communicating via pen and paper more than spoken words. She never decided to become a writer. Her brain simply classified it as a necessity to life. Nadine is a stay-at-home author and writes stories about authentic faith, bold living, and worlds soaked in imagination. She lives in Idaho with her husband and works as a freelance editor. When she's not writing, editing, or taste-testing a new chai, she is out pursuing adventures. A Time to Die is her first novel. Visit Nadine at  www.nadinebrandes.com" or check her on on social media sites such as Goodreads, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, or Google+.

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