1. Your book, Water & Earth is the first of your Messengers Series. Please share with us an overview of the series and this book in particular. Messengers is a ten-year project that began in my best friend’s living room and is still in the works today–I never imagined it would become what it did! The series follows the Skylark siblings, Majest and Aletta, through the northern wilderness of what was once Canada, now known as Cognito. After a war between gods and demons destroyed their land, one god attempts to make things right by gifting the Skylarks with elemental powers that he hopes will bring new life to the planet. Unfortunately, things don’t begin so easily! This book sees the Skylarks become runaways in the dangerous northern winter, facing off against a rising evil dedicated to the destruction of powers like theirs.

2. How many books can readers expect with this series? Is there a theme?
Messengers is a trilogy, so the Skylarks will have two more books after this one. However, I also have a sister series in the works that takes place across the ocean from Messengers in the same timeline, as well as a prequel featuring characters you meet later on in the Messengers trilogy. The theme to me has always been about peace and war–namely, that you cannot create peace through war.

3. I typically don’t read much from the Fantasy/Dystopian Genre, but absolutely LOVED your book (it even traveled to Florida with me). You’ve created a mystical world with elements characteristic of both the Twilight Series (think Volturi) and Harry Potter. How in the world did you dream up your characters and what inspired your plot-lines? Thank you so much for the flattering comparisons! I can’t take all the credit, as this project was a joint effort between myself and my lifetime best friend (and cover designer!) Sunny. We like to create characters together, and build them slowly over time. You say “dream up” characters, but some of them genuinely came straight from dreams! The character of Letty has been around for so long that most people I know call me “Letty” as a nickname, even though Letty Skylark was based off a minor character in an old comic. Sunny and I wanted the plot to be our own spin on a traditional good versus evil story, and we were inspired by the dark fantasy video games and internet culture we were into at the time. We kept picking out elements (pun intended) we thought were interesting, and wove them together into Messengers from there.

4. Is it true that this project began ten years ago while you were in high school? What made you decide to write a book and what has kept you motivated with this manuscript in particular? Have you always known you’ve wanted to be a writer? Yes! Even earlier, actually. I wrote the first draft of Water & Earth in 2011, my freshman year of high school, but Sunny and I created a bare-bones timeline and character sheets three or four years before that. I always knew I would turn those ideas into novels, and I always knew I would be a writer. As a three-year-old, I wrote and illustrated a book called “Fresh Cool Air,” and while even today I’m not sure what it was about (it had a horse in it, and the Earth as seen from space), it was the first of many, many stories. I’ve kept Messengers going so long simply because I had to–the first drafts were very obviously written by a fourteen-year-old, and it needed several reworks before it was in shape to submit for publication. I grew up with these characters, learning their hearts and telling their stories, and they’re worth every round of edits.

5. Do you have a writing routine?
My writing routine is built into my current schedule. In high school, I wrote between getting home and eating dinner. In the summers, I would write first thing in the morning. During college, I snuck bits and pieces of scenes in where I could between classes…or during. Now, I work full-time sending emails, but thankfully, that leaves me with a lot of time waiting for people to email me back. Writing in a cold office with no windows isn’t exactly a furnace for creativity, but it’s where I have the most time, and where my brain is in gear. Once I’m home from work, all bets are off! Nights are for snuggling with my cat and eating Taco Bell.

6. As a professional editor, which is your favorite: writing the first draft or the editing process on your drafts? Why? Oh, definitely the edits. I feel like I hear from a lot of authors that their first draft is an apocalyptic mess and the editing process is where the real magic happens, but I guess I’m backwards. I do so much outlining and planning before every scene that my first draft will already have most of what I want inside it, give or take some plot hole superglue and fancy wordplay. Editing, then, I get to focus on advancing character development, coming up with more exciting dialogue, and just tweaking parts that aren’t working or could be working better, rather than overhauling the entire manuscript.

7. What advice could you offer inspiring writers? You’ll hear a lot of authors preach that you have to write every single day–and I was absolutely a believer in high school–but it’s just not possible for everyone. People work long hours, struggle through physical and mental illness, and just have other things they want to do. That’s okay! It doesn’t mean you’re less of a writer, or that you don’t have passion. Find what works for you, and don’t let anyone tell you you’re doing it wrong. More importantly, don’t let anyone make you feel like you’re doing it wrong. There is no correct pace for writing (unless you’re on a deadline, of course). The only rule is, no matter what you do, don’t stop!

Readers can pre-order this book at:  https://writtendreams.com/store/PRE-ORDER-Water-&-Earth-Book-1-of-the-Messengers-Series-by-A-L-Mundt-p129609460