Karyn HenleyWebsite | Blog | Facebook | Twitter | Elevensies
Books:
Breath of Angel
Misc Spiritual Books & Info found here
Could you tell us a little about yourself? What made you choose to become a writer?
I was first an avid reader. In fifth and sixth grades, I walked to my grandmother’s house after school, and I was so into the books I was reading that I read while I walked. I’ve always been the kind of person who sees someone creating something and immediately think, “I could do that.” So I guess it was natural for me to read and then try writing. Of course I discovered that almost anything I think “I can do” takes learning and practice. But if it’s something I’m really meant to do, even the practice is fun. To stay with a project, it helps if I like the process and not just the end product.
What are the hardest parts of writing a book for you? The easiest?
The hardest part of writing a book is weaving in all the threads at just the right places: the plot elements, the subplots, character motivation, twists. The easiest is line editing, going back through and making sure that the grammar and punctuation is right.
What was the inspiration behind Breath of Angel?
Breath of Angel began with an emotion. I read in a writing craft book that one way to get into a story is to think of the event in your life that produced the strongest emotion. I immediately thought of a time when a friend betrayed me, taking something I had created and claiming he had created it. It felt like a knife in the gut and still hurts when I remember it. From there I thought of a girl who had a harp and gets betrayed. That was the spark that began Breath of Angel, though it faded into the background and is only a small part of the story now.
A lot of authors who write about angels and other supernatural beings go for the urban fantasy approach. What made you go for a medieval setting?
Today’s world changes so quickly. What computers and the internet and cell phones do today will change by next year, and I change more slowly. I often feel left in the dust by all the techno leaps. So I like ancient and medieval settings for fantasy, because the worlds are slower and very different, and I don’t have to know the latest technology. Besides, when I go into the world of a book, I like to be transported far away. Working within an ancient world allows me to explore very different ways of life and places where the rules are different. For me, characters in ancient settings can be closer to the earth, rawer in their emotions, more deeply connected to the big struggles of survival that fantasy addresses so well.
I was first an avid reader. In fifth and sixth grades, I walked to my grandmother’s house after school, and I was so into the books I was reading that I read while I walked. I’ve always been the kind of person who sees someone creating something and immediately think, “I could do that.” So I guess it was natural for me to read and then try writing. Of course I discovered that almost anything I think “I can do” takes learning and practice. But if it’s something I’m really meant to do, even the practice is fun. To stay with a project, it helps if I like the process and not just the end product.
What are the hardest parts of writing a book for you? The easiest?
The hardest part of writing a book is weaving in all the threads at just the right places: the plot elements, the subplots, character motivation, twists. The easiest is line editing, going back through and making sure that the grammar and punctuation is right.
What was the inspiration behind Breath of Angel?
Breath of Angel began with an emotion. I read in a writing craft book that one way to get into a story is to think of the event in your life that produced the strongest emotion. I immediately thought of a time when a friend betrayed me, taking something I had created and claiming he had created it. It felt like a knife in the gut and still hurts when I remember it. From there I thought of a girl who had a harp and gets betrayed. That was the spark that began Breath of Angel, though it faded into the background and is only a small part of the story now.
A lot of authors who write about angels and other supernatural beings go for the urban fantasy approach. What made you go for a medieval setting?
Today’s world changes so quickly. What computers and the internet and cell phones do today will change by next year, and I change more slowly. I often feel left in the dust by all the techno leaps. So I like ancient and medieval settings for fantasy, because the worlds are slower and very different, and I don’t have to know the latest technology. Besides, when I go into the world of a book, I like to be transported far away. Working within an ancient world allows me to explore very different ways of life and places where the rules are different. For me, characters in ancient settings can be closer to the earth, rawer in their emotions, more deeply connected to the big struggles of survival that fantasy addresses so well.
Do you have any projects that you're currently working on that you'd like to share?
I just sent in my line edits for Book 2 of the Angelaeon Circle, Eye of the Sword. I’m really excited about it, because it continues the story of Breath of Angel, but from Trevin’s point of view (he’s the male romantic interest in Breath of Angel). Yes, the romance continues and grows. And I’m just about to begin revisions for Book 3.
Any final words?
I’m soooo impressed by the number of people who love to read. So thanks for reading. I hope you enjoy every book you pick up!
The stranger’s cloak had fallen back, and with it, a long, white, blood-stained wing.
When Melaia, a young priestess, witnesses the gruesome murder of a stranger in the temple courtyard, age-old legends recited in song suddenly come to life. She discovers wings on the stranger, and the murderer takes the shape of both a hawk and a man.
Angels. Shape-shifters. Myths and stories—until now.
Melaia finds herself in the middle of a blood feud between two immortal brothers who destroyed the stairway to heaven, stranding angels in the earthly realm. When the feud turns violent and Melaia becomes a target, she finds refuge with a band of angels attempting to restore the stairway. But the restoration is impossible without the repayment of an ancient debt—the “breath of angel, blood of man,” a payment that involves Melaia’s heart, soul, and destiny.
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