Meet Emma Right, author of 'Keeper of Reign'

Please welcome Emma Right to the blog today! Get to know her and her book a little bit better in this interview. Be sure to leave her a question or a comment!

What was the inspiration behind 'Keeper of Reign'?

When I first heard the Switchfoot song , "Meant to Live" (for so much more) it got me thinking about how far short each of us fall from our true potential. Christ really came to give us life, and life more abundantly, and yet the trials and troubles of this world reduce us, and it feels that our troubled world is so big. This is just like how it was for the Elfies. Also I'd read Destined to Reign, and it inspired me to think of possibilities.

I wanted to write an allegorical fantasy about the fall of man and the redemption story set in a fantasy setting that's filled with danger and adventure. Something young readers can enjoy but still have a Christian message.

Which character spoke to you the most during the writing process?

Eleazer in the prologue. He's the King's helper, and he knew the King personally, yet even he felt fear, and didn't have total confidence that what the King had left for the people of Reign, Books written in the King's own blood, was enough to overcome Gehzurolle (german word for "confounder'). And that feels like how things are for me sometimes. Even after all the miracles I have seen and witnessed I still have fear, and that is what the enemy will use to try to overcome me.

Which scene was your favorite?

(Spoiler time)

The last scene when Jules has nothing but the pouch of stones to overcome Whisperer and his evil ways--the pouch of stones Jules has had all along and which, time and again, the enemies tried to take away from him. It is sort of like us, we have Jesus, the Rock, all along, and sometimes we need to be at the end of ourselves to realize God has given us all we need to overcome our greatest enemies. Seek and we will find.

What message do you hope to send with this book?

I hope my readers can see that with the power of the Gospel, we can overcome our problems and difficulties. I want to empower young readers with this message, that if they seek the truth (the Ancient Books, in Keeper of Reign) they will find wisdom and answers to life's problems. It doesn't mean the answers are going to come easy, but persistence will pay off, and the BIble has the answers to help each person live triumphantly, in essence, to reign in life.

This is the first book in a series. How many do you anticipate there being?

Maybe three more, maybe four.

When can we expect the next installment?

Early 2014.

How do you make yourself stand out in this competitive YA genre?

I made Keeper of reign free for several weeks and it reached no. 1 for Kindle free in the secular teen fiction category, as well as epic fantasy. This has helped it's ranking. Now I have it as a paid book, and naturally it isn't going to reach the number one spot so easily. But I believe the Lord will bless the book.

You homeschool five children. How do you find time to write?

Any which way I can get. I pray for strength and motivation everyday, many times during the day!

You like to create stories from them and to encourage them to read a lot. Will you publish more of your stories for them?

Yes. Keeper of Reign 2 is in the works and should be ready early 2014. I am also working (in the editing stage) another series , targeted more at girls (also YA), and it has more character development. It's titled, Dead Dreams.

How does your strong faith influence your writing?

I know that apart from Christ I can do nothing. I'm not being humble , it's the honest truth. And i hope that in every story I craft the Holy Spirit will work through me, and touch the readers with words that are meant to touch and transform them. And that's the power of words.

What is something readers may be surprised to learn about you?

That some may see me as naive, but I wholeheartedly believe, that ALL things are possible for those who believe.

Anything else you wish to add?

Thank you for giving me the time to connect with you all, and may the Lord bless you in everything He's called you to do. Please sign-up for my newsletter on www.emmaright.com website,and even ask for prayer requests any time you feel led.

Thank you so much for your time!

Author Bio:

Emma Right is a happy wife and homeschool mother of five living in the Pacific West Coast of the USA. Besides running a busy home, and looking after their five pets, which includes two cats, two bunnies and a Long-haired dachshund, she also writes stories for her children. When she doesn't have her nose in a book, she is telling her kids to get theirs in one.

Right worked as a copywriter for two major advertising agencies and won several awards, including the prestigious Clio Award for her ads, before she settled down to have children.

Visit Emma Right at her home site and blog for tips and ideas about books, homeschooling, bible devotions, and author helps of various sorts: www.emmaright.com and follow her on facebook emma.right.author

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Young Adult Fantasy
Date Published: 5/19/2013

Books written in blood. Most are lost, their Keepers with them. A curse that befell a people. A Kingdom with no King. Life couldn’t get more harrowing for the Elfies, a blend of Elves and Fairies. Or for sixteen-year-old Jules Blaze. Or could it?

For Jules, the heir of a Keeper, no less, suspects his family hides a forgotten secret. It was bad enough that his people, the Elfies of Reign, triggered a curse which reduced the entire inhabitants to a mere inch centuries ago. All because of one Keeper who failed his purpose. Even the King’s Ancient Books, did not help ward off that anathema.

Now, Gehzurolle, the evil lord, and his armies of Scorpents, seem bent on destroying Jules and his family. Why? Gehzurolle’s agents hunt for Jules as he journeys into enemy land to find the truth. Truth that could save him and his family, and possibly even reverse the age-long curse. Provided Jules doesn't get himself killed first.

Read an excerpt:

Jules peeked. The intruder had a walking stick and was tap- tapping the stone floor as his feet shuffled across the library ground. Except or the light from his lantern, a rusty can with a stumpy candle within, the old library was as dark as a cave. He kept his lantern low, making it impossible to see his face.

He and Miranda turned their dragonfly lanterns off just as they’d heard the door creak open as it slid on its tracks. From behind a particularly dusty book, Jules peered at the dark form shuffling and waving his stick as though testing every bit of stone on the floor. Jules felt his nose tingle as the moments wore on.

Then it happened. He sneezed. The muffled explosion wasn’t loud, but in the dead silence of the library with only the intruder’s shuffling feet and the distinct tapping of the stick, it might as well have been a blast.

Instantly, the tapping and shuffling ceased. From almost nowhere the metal tip of a stick rapped Jules gently on the crown of his head. “Come out,” the intruder demanded, voice stern and angry.

Jules could hardly believe it.

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