Cosy Chat with fantasy author Sandra Hurst: Yketa

A mythmaker at heart, Sandra Hurst has been writing poetry, fantasy and science fiction since her school days in England. Hurst moved to Canada in 1980 and was deeply influenced by the wild lands and the indigenous cultures that surrounded her. Y’keta, her first full length novel, is set in a mythical land reminiscent of pre-historic earth. An ancient world where legends walk and the Sky Road offers a way to the stars. A member of the Alexandra Writers Centre Society, the Canadian Science Fiction and Fantasy Association, and The Mythopoeic Society, Hurst works to build fantasy worlds that allow her readers to join her in exploring the depths of human interaction in a mythical game of ‘what if.’ Her first novel, Y’keta is long-listed for the prestigious Aurora Award, for best Canadian fantasy novel (Young Adult) and the American based RONE award for break out fantasy novel. She now lives in Calgary, Alberta with her husband and son, both of whom she loves dearly, and has put up for sale on e-bay when their behaviour demanded it.

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A Thin Slice of Heaven, Cosy Chat with author, Patricia Terrell

The castle in A Thin Slice of Heaven is fabulously atmospheric. As someone who picks up the energy of buildings, it really ‘felt’ like a real creepy castle. Is it based on a real place? And if so, how much did the place inspire your story?

Thank you for having me here today, Martha! I am a huge fan of your work. While researching my ancestry, I made several trips to my ancestral home at Glencull, County Tyrone, Northern Ireland. The area inspired the village in A Thin Slice of Heaven as well as the castle. The potato famine was inspired by a visit to the Ulster American Folk Park and Museum at Omagh, County Tyrone. Whenever I visit Ireland, I feel the energy and history there almost as if I am being transported into the past. It is truly a magical and mystical country.

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Neverland, A Cosy Chat with Romance Author Anna Katmore

In Neverland you look at the story of Peter Pan, from a very different perspective, casting Captain Hook, or Jamie, as the romantic lead. What gave you the idea?

Martha, you know me. 😉 Nothing gave me the idea, actually. In fact, it was someone. Jamie Hook himself. I’m telling you and your reader this, because I know you’ve got experience with energies and will understand when I tell you that I sort of channelled the story. The idea, the characters, the book. And it wasn’t on purpose, either. It was in a moment when I watched Peter Pan with my son a long time ago that suddenly one very charismatic and insisting energy tapped on my shoulder.

Writing always happens like that for me. I don’t just invent stories. I always wait for the moment when a great energy out there stops by and says hi. They feel almost as real to me, as the person next to you feels to you. I get their thoughts and intentions in form of emotions and images in my head. James Hook—the one I wrote about—is a character in a different dimension, if you like to look at it that way. And he broadcasted his story on a frequency that connected with my reception. I was a tremendously lucky girl that he chose me to tell his story.

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