To celebrate the upcoming launch of TALON MARKED, we thought we’d interview Sue-Ellen Pashley, the author of this exciting novella!
Hello Sue-Ellen. To get started, can you tell us a bit about yourself – who you are, where you live, a hobby / passion you have outside writing?
Hi, I’m Sue-Ellen Pashley, author of Talon Marked. I live in a small coastal town in Central Queensland (the winter weather is beautiful at the moment) where I’m lucky enough to write with a view of the ocean – great for increasing that creative mojo! In my ‘other life’, I’m a social worker providing counselling in industry settings so it’s a real mix of environments and work.
Before we get stuck in, what are you currently reading?
I’m currently reading two books at the moment – the latest in The House Witch series (so good!) and Bride (by Ali Hazelwood). Both of them fantasy, of course!
What do you write, and why?
Because I love writing, and always have, I’m one of those weird authors who write across all ages. So, from pictures books (one was released in Korea – so cool to not be able to read a book you’ve written) to middle grade, young adult and adult books. I’ve always loved fantasy, both reading and writing, so more often than not, my stories have a fantasy element to them. There’s nothing better than the thought of our world perhaps not being as ’normal’ as we think, or to think of a world where something like dragons exist and we might be able to befriend them.
Talon Marked – which we will be releasing later this year – is a fantasy novella featuring a young woman searching for her brother in a kingdom at war. What made you choose this setting and characters?
It was actually all about the dragons to start with (because that’s always a good place to start!). And then Sage came into the picture and I wondered what would happen if they were on different sides of a war but were bonded, even if neither wanted it. The theme of family was then something that bonded them beyond the talon mark.
What are your favourite books / series that feature dragons?
That one I can answer without any hesitation – definitely Anne McCaffrey’s Dragonrider series.
Is there anything about Sage or her struggle that particularly resonated with you as you wrote the story?
The dragons in Talon Marked don’t actually want to interact with humans. They’d been at peace with humans for a hundred years, existing separately, but a betrayal had put the two species at war for the last ten years. And yet, a bond between the two, made with the dragon talon marking the human, can greatly benefit both. Sage and Sahva needed to work through that deep-seated distrust and hatred for each other’s species (which was really fun to write – I don’t know what that says about me!). At the beginning if the story, Sage is a young woman who’s just trying to survive – war has been a big part of her life and all of her family, apart from her younger brother, have died. So when he goes missing, she just wants to find him. She doesn’t care about the fighting, she doesn’t want to be involved and yet, being in the wrong place at the wrong time, means that she’s thrust in the middle of it in a way she never expected. And yet, despite all of this, she does step up. She is resilient. And that really resonated with me.
Can you let us know about another book or anthology that you’ve written / contributed to that you’re particularly proud of, and what you like about it?
Oh this is a really hard question – it’s like someone asking who your favourite child is (and for record, I love all three of mine equally!) The Rise, also with Deadset Press, was a series I was a part of with a lot of other fantastic writers, which is always fun. I love the emotional response I get from kids at schools when I talk to them about my picture book, The Jacket. Aquila was my first book published and I love that it’s set in Australia but has an urban fantasy twist, and Sephenurus carries on the story of one of those minor characters. Blue is a modern fantasy twist on Pinocchio and I had so much fun with the magic in that. And then Streamer was a lot of fun to write because it has teleportation and amnesia, and that can lead to a lot of interesting plot twists!
What’s your definition of success?
I was having this chat with readers at a conference recently. For me, success is finishing a book that I’m happy with. One which I’m proud to put out into the world and know that it’s the story that I (and the characters) wanted to tell.
Thanks for answering our questions, Sue-Ellen!
TALON MARKED comes out on the 31st of August, and Sue-Ellen Pashley will be launching it in person at the CapriCon Pop Culture Convention in Rockhampton – but you can always pre-order your copy right now!
Visit Sue-Ellen Pashley‘s website for more.
Stay tuned for more author interviews!