Blogoversary: Where I Interview N.D. Wilson

Continuing the blogoversary fun today with another awesome interview. This time I have N.D. Wilson, author of The Dragon's Tooth stopping by to answer some questions regarding a book I loved.

About the author:

N. D. Wilson is the author of Leepike Ridge, a children's adventure story, and 100 Cupboards, the first installment in a multi-world fantasy series. He enjoys high winds, milk, and night-time. He received his Masters degree from Saint John's College in Annapolis, Maryland, is the managing editor of Credenda/Agenda magazine and is also a Fellow of Literature at New Saint Andrews College. His writing has appeared in Books & Culture, The Chattahoochee Review, and Esquire. (from Amazon)

You can haunt N.D. Wilson at-
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 Interview Questions:

1.  It's your lucky day, neither Cyrus or Antigone is present when Billy Bones appears to pass along the Dragon's Tooth, do you head for the O of B as he ordered or do you instead hit the road?

Oh, I’m off to the O of B for sure. I’d be too curious about the Order to just take off. I would assume that if it turned out to be too dark and gnarly for my tastes, I could just hit the road then.

2. The Dragon's Tooth was one of the most interesting aspects of the book, how did you decide upon both the object and what it was capable of? Will we learn more about its capabilities in The Drowned Vault?

I spent a lot of time working on the Tooth and its properties long before I started writing. I really liked the idea of something incredibly potent hiding in plain sight on an old man’s key-ring. You’ll definitely learn more about the Tooth in The Drowned Vault (and the rest of the series).

3. The Order of Brendan was definitely intriguing, was it difficult coming up

You know, I’d spent a fair amount of time researching medieval, independently sovereign military and monastic orders, and I thought it would be awesome to have something similar survive into the modern age, but dedicated to completely exploration and guardianship of the world’s secrets.

4. What was the hardest part about writing The Dragon's Tooth, easiest? 

As the first book in a five book series, I really wanted to get the tone exactly right, I needed to love the characters completely, and the plot had to be pitch perfect because I was going to be spending so much time in these adventures. Because of that (and because I had never planned a five book series before), I went through more drafts of this story than anything else that I have ever written. As for the easiest part? That had to be writing Cyrus Smith. I get along really well with him and some of his punkishness is, ahem, quite natural for me.

5. Dragon's Tooth has definitely been one of my favorite reads of the year so far. Was Ashtown Burials a series that you had been wanting to write for awhile or one that hit you one day and felt that you had to write?

It hit me one day, but it hit me long before I had the time to write it. I was finishing out the 100 Cupboards trilogy at the time, so I had to postpone the Ashtown Burials series for a few months before I even got to start planning the thing. So I guess the answer is a bit of both. It hit me, and then I was waiting impatiently…

6. ND, I hear that you're working on the third book in the Ashtown Burials, but am curious if you have any other upcoming projects that you can share with us? 

I already have an early draft (and huge number of notes) on Ashtown Burials III, but I’m also working on a standalone project that’s a little more similar to my first book (Leepike Ridge). It’s not pure fantasy, so it’s a fun change of pace. I’ll tell you more about it as soon as I can!

7. The world has fallen to a robot invasion and only one heroine/hero can possibly save the day, who do you choose?

I go with Rupert Greeves, Avengel of the Order of Brendan. I feel like if I stuck close to him, I’d be just fine.

Rapid Fire 5:

1. Favorite childhood game (hide n' seek, tag...etc)?

Cannibals. My sisters and I used to get ourselves captured by cannibals in the backyard all the time. And when I wasn’t escaping their large boiling pot, I was Zorro.

2. There's a fork in the road, which direction do you choose left through the dark forest or right along the open road?

Ha! It depends. What time is it? How cold is it? Am I expected somewhere or just out exploring? Of course, none of this really matters because I would always (always) end up at least starting out in that dark forest…even if I beat a quick retreat when the giant spiders showed up.

3. Book that made the biggest impact on you?

Tough one. But I’m going to go with That Hideous Strength by C.S. Lewis. I loved Narnia growing up, but finding another deeper, darker, crazier gem waiting for me as an adult was just awesome.

4. Sunrise or sunset?

Sunset. Unless I’ve just about finished a book and I’m not going to rest until it’s done. Then…both. But sunset first.

Thanks so much, N.D. Wilson, for stopping by my foruth blogoversary! Loved your answers (Cannibals sounds like something my sisters and I would have played). Ooh, a new project that's not pure fantasy, I'll definitely have to keep that on my book radar.

Y'all be sure to check out my review of The Dragon's Tooth and enter to Small Medium at Large swag giveaway.
What was y'all's favorite answer of N.D. Wilson's from the interview?

The Dragon's Tooth (Ashtown Burials, 1) by N.D. Wilson, 2011. Published by Random House Books for Young Readers.

For two years, Cyrus and Antigone Smith have run a sagging roadside motel with their older brother, Daniel. Nothing ever seems to happen. Then a strange old man with bone tattoos arrives, demanding a specific room.
Less than 24 hours later, the old man is dead. The motel has burned, and Daniel is missing. And Cyrus and Antigone are kneeling in a crowded hall, swearing an oath to an order of explorers who have long served as caretakers of the world's secrets, keepers of powerful relics from lost civilizations, and jailers to unkillable criminals who have terrorized the world for millennia.
N. D. Wilson, author of Leepike Ridge and 100 Cupboards, returns with an imagination-capturing adventure that inventively combines the contemporary and the legendary.