Wow, you guys really came up with some good questions!

I’m sure you caught some of my excitement about finishing my superhero WIP, Embers. I mean, I basically yelled about it all over the place: here, Instagram, my newsletter. I was so touched to see that so many of you are excited about this too! So OF COURSE I had to a Q&A…

Thank you all for the awesome, fun questions you gave! You all are awesome. *sends you much virtual chocolate*

Let’s not delay this too long, because there are A LOT of questions. 😀 Oh, if you want to learn more about Embers besides just the blurb, visit this post for all the aesthetic goodness.

Who’s your favorite character?

Now that’s just cruel. You expect me to play favorites?

…

Okay, well I’m gonna be boring and say my favorite is probably the MC, Scarlett.

What was the hardest scene to write?

Honestly, all the fight scenes. There weren’t many (surprisingly/as of yet), but I’ve never really written high-action scenes before. Add in superpowers and it makes things even more difficult.

What kind of awesome, unique superpowers do you have in store for us?

Hmm…

Quite honestly, the superpowers in Embers aren’t super unique. I mean, the main character just has fire powers. BUT I do hope that I described superpowers in a new, unique and real way.

Share a snippet?

Hehe…he…

Not yet, my friends. But it shall come soon, hopefully. 😉

Who’s your favorite side character?

Man, this is so hard! I love them all! I really like Ares and Seth though….and Nadia…and Jordan…

So yeah all of them.

Do you have a favorite sentence?

Not as of yet. Maybe I’ll come across a good one while I’m editing. I probably have one in there somewhere…

Superheroes’ superpowers?

I love this question! 😀 Here’s a quick explanation of the characters’ powers:

Scarlett Marley

Agnikinesis/agnigenisis

The ability to manipulate fire/the ability to generate fire

Other notes: is easily dehydrated; does not withstand cold weather well; has limited amount of fire energy

***

Seth Calvin

Hyper-speed

The ability to move faster than the average human being

Other notes: increased metabolism; is easily tired

***

Nadia Farlan

Seismic energy emission

The ability to generate earth-quake scale vibrations

Other notes: this power is hard to control, therefore very dangerous

***

Ares Cole

Cyrokenesis/cyrogenesis

The ability to manipulate ice/the ability to generate ice

Other notes: does not withstand warm weather well

***

Jordan Hendricks

Electrokinesis/electrogenesis

The ability to manipulate electricity/the ability to generate electricity

Other notes: sometimes user can become “too charged” and cause self-harm

***

I got all sciency and stuff with the technical terms. 😛

What’s the hero/villain interaction like?

Considering there’s actually more than one villain, it can be kind of interesting. A lot of the interaction is connected with the MC’s internal conflict and backstory of a lot of the characters. 

How did you get the idea for Embers?

It’s really hard to pinpoint exactly what inspired this idea. I had a superhero book idea a long time ago that wasn’t really going anywhere, then one day I revisited it and a different story was birthed from it.

Chat with us about the villains of your book.

Considering I might accidentally release a spoiler, I shall refrain from answering this one…for now. 😉

Did any characters barge in unannounced and out of the blue and steal your heart while you were writing it?

Actually, no. Which is kinda sad because I like it when this happens. A pleasant surprise, you know?

What is your novel’s soundtrack?

Here is the playlist I used while writing the first draft.

Will you ever open Embers to alpha/beta readers?

While I do plan to have beta readers look over the manuscript, I don’t plan on making this publicly open. I don’t know if that’s how I’ll do it for each book I write, but I’m experimenting and this is the plan for Embers. 

Which character would be most likely to open a puppy orphanage?

Probably Nadia and/or Ares because they’re just soft and sweet like that. <3

Which character would be most likely to sleep through an Earthquake?

Should I say Nadia because that’s her superpower anyway?

How do you balance weaknesses with superpowers in your characters?

I didn’t want the characters to have these superpowers and then be flawless, invincible, etc. They have limitation to their powers and they’re not masters at using them, and they also have their own backstories and internal conflict that shows in the story. Despite having powers, I wanted the characters to still feel like real, relatable people. 

Did you draw any inspiration from the MCU?

The MCU did inspire me, but more so in just pumping me up about all the superhero things rather than directly influencing the story.

(#teamcap by the way 😛 )

What is your word count goal?

I didn’t really have a super specific word count goal when writing this, but it ended up being pretty satisfactory (at about 82k). I expect this might end up being longer as I edit though, we’ll see.

Did you base any of your characters off anyone you know in real life?

Not really, but Scarlett did end up being a lot like me.

Would you like to have any of the superpowers that you gave your characters?

I think fire powers would be pretty epic. But since I am more of a cold-loving human, ice powers may be more like me.

What genre would you say Embers is?

Honestly, I’m having a hard time figuring out its genre. I want to say superhero, but is that a genre? And I don’t know if it’s quite considered sci-fi (though there are sci-fi elements). So… *shrugs* Still figuring out that detail.

Which character is your favorite and why?

Scarlett is my favorite character because, as the MC, I think I know her the best. Also, she and I are very similar personality wise. 

What is a major theme in this story?

This verse is kind of the theme of the story: “As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God’s varied grace.” 1 Peter 4:10 (ESV). 

Can we count on lots of danger and breakneck antics?

Danger, yes. But no necks were broken, thank goodness. 😛 

While this story isn’t as packed with fight scenes as your typical superhero book might be, there is danger. 😉

Which character is the most complex, and why?

Ooh, good question. I think it’s kind of hard to tell right now, because the story is so rough at the moment. I think as I edit and continue to develop the characters, this will become more clear. All of their backstories are pretty complex.

Phew, we made it through them all! Thank you all SO MUCH for all the great questions! I enjoyed talking about Embers. 🙂 God willing, this book will be published summer of 2021 and you all have the opportunity to read it. 😀

Have a nice day!

Tell me three things about your WIP!