Dreamwalker, by Angela Wallace
It’s time for another edition of Meet the Author. I’m thrilled to introduce you to fantasy author, Angela Wallace. Angela is prolific writer. She’s got several series going, and as you’ll see below, she’s has a creative, rich imagination for storytelling. Please welcome, Angela Wallace!
Tell us a little about yourself.
Well, in addition to being an author I also work as an American Sign Language interpreter, a job I find very rewarding. I love cats, cop shows, and cheesecake. And perhaps the geekiest thing about me is I once learned how to write Tengwar, Tolkien’s elvish runes.
What inspired you to write the Dreamwalker series?
I can’t remember what inspired me to write the first Dreamwalker story, which came about over ten years ago, but the fact it became a series in 2012 is due to my readers. Though Dreamwalker was meant to be a one-shot, people begged for a sequel, and I was happy to oblige. (I loved writing Lexa.) And then the plot for Books Three and Four came while listening to Amanda Brown sing “Stars” on Season Three of The Voice. It was such a beautiful rendition, and the story just exploded in my head.
What does your heroine, Lexa, yearn for?
When we first meet Lexa, she’s hiding from her past. She thinks what she wants most is peace and quiet and to be left alone, but what she really desires is purpose. She can never escape being a soldier, but throughout the series, Lexa will find causes to personally fight for, rather than simply following orders—and she’ll discover that there are people willing to fight for her as well.
What’s the first book about, and who would enjoy it?
Dreamwalker is a fantasy tale about an ex-soldier with the rare ability to dreamwalk. When a dream assassin threatens her country, Lexa returns to the capital to resume her duties. But as she tangles with the cocky assassin, she’ll find an enemy even more sinister, one that threatens to destroy her home and the otherworldly dreamscape she loves so much.
Anyone who loves a strong heroine with a sharp tongue and ninja fighting skills will love Lexa. Not to mention magical realms, bloodthirsty Nightmares, and a roguish bad boy who may or may not have a good side.
What do you think makes for great fantasy fiction?
For me, great fantasy fiction provides an escape, a refuge from the often-crushing realities of our world. More than that, though, that escape should also take me on a wild ride of adventure to defy the odds. Because when heroes and heroines refuse to give up and eventually emerge triumphant, then I have gotten to vicariously experience what it means to fight with all you’ve got and survive. And for a child trapped in a mundane prison of chronic illnesses, there was nothing more liberating or inspiring.
Who are some of your biggest influences as a writer?
I love Patricia Briggs and her continued creativity in her Mercy Thompson series. Kelley Armstrong’s Women of the Otherworld was also influential in how I structure my own urban fantasy series.
How do you approach crafting a series?
I prefer books that have self-contained plots, so that’s what I write. I’m very detail oriented and a stickler for consistency, so I doubt I could publish a cliffhanger. The exception being the last two Dreamwalker books, which I only split into two so it wouldn’t be 900 pages, but I made sure both were completely written before publishing Part One. Other than that, I also like isolated plots because it allows me to play with a variety of protagonists—taking a secondary character from one book and making them the lead in the next, which is how I’ve approached my Elemental Magic series.
What’s ahead for you?
I’m currently working on a collection of short stories for my Supernatural Sleuth series, and then I will be diving into the fifth book of Elemental Magic.
Synopsis of Dreamwalker:
After Lexa’s comrade died saving her life, she retired from the special forces and retreated to a sanctuary in the mountains. A year later, war is brewing with the neighboring country, and Lexa discovers a threat even the army can’t stand against—a dream assassin. As the only other dreamwalker in known existence, Lexa returns to the capital of Artasia and her old post to protect her country’s leaders. But is the cocky, mysterious dreamwalker who seems to be stalking her the true mastermind? Or is something even more sinister threatening not just Artasia, but the dreamscape as well? As Lexa fights to protect those she loves, she discovers a power that can transcend worlds, and a destiny she never could have imagined.
About Angela Walker:
Angela Wallace has been penning adventures ever since she was sucked through a magical portal as a child. What she saw and whom she met gave birth to exciting and complex fantasy worlds where defying the laws of physics was a bonus. She has since come back down to earth, only to discover this mortal realm has magic of its own. Now she is also quite at home in the world of urban fantasy, though believes that love, faith, and hope are of a stronger magic than fire wielding and sorcery. She loves gun-toting good boys, and could have been a cop in another life except real blood makes her queasy. She’ll have to stick to solving supernatural mysteries. Language is her pleasure, whether it’s weaving words on a page or lassoing linguistics into translations as a sign language interpreter.
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Angela Wallace, Author of Dreamwalker
