AUTHOR INTERVIEW: Blue Flame By Alison Levy

 An Interview with

Alison Levy

    

1. Can you tell us a little about how you started writing and what led you to this book series now?

I wrote a story for an English assignment in 6th grade, a time in my life when my anxiety was particularly bad.  My English teacher, Mrs. Webb, pulled me aside to praise my story and tell me what a good writer I was.  It gave me a desperately needed shot of confidence.  I’ve been writing ever since.

I’ve actually been trying for years to write this story the way I imagined it.  I started and discarded two previous versions that I just wasn’t feeling.  This time, I think I got it right!

2. How has writing impacted your life and your struggles with anxiety?

Living with anxiety, for me, is like having a tiger in the house: the tone of my day is dependent on the tiger’s mood.  If the tiger is active, everything I do revolves around it; I can still get things done but if I do the wrong thing, it bites, and then I’m incapacited.  Some days the tiger sleeps or wanders out of the room, but I’m always conscious of its presence and waiting for it to strike.  Writing is hugely therapeutic for me.  When I write, I can tune out the real world and dive into my creation.  When my mind is fully engaged in creating, the tiger disappears.

3. What was the process of creating the world that your characters live in? Where did this story start?

This story started with my main character, Rachel Wilde.  Rachel sometimes feels like the embodiment of an anxiety-free me; she’s brazen, resilient, sharp-tongued, and hard-headed.  Throwing her into a difficult situation that would turn me into a pile of jelly and imagining her working through it is very empowering for me.

4. Your undergrad education was in anthropology — how did that influence your writing?

Anthropology teaches that we as human beings are products of the society we live in.  Our day to day activities are not a universal experience; what is normal and mundane to us is exotic or bizarre to others depending on where we come from.  I love inventing new cultures that are exotic and bizarre to the reader but normal and mundane to my characters. 

 

5. What did you do differently in your writing process of Book 2 and what do you hope readers take away from this book?

One comment I got on my first book was that the villain lacked complexity (I did this intentionally but it’s a totally fair criticism).  I took that into account for this book and tried to give the antagonist more depth.  This time around, I crafted a character who does horrible things because of an immense amount of societal pressure; he wouldn’t necessarily choose to inflict harm on others but in this circumstance, his culture inflicts negative social consequences on him and his loved ones if he fails to do so.  I enjoy creating and writing about different cultures so this felt like a natural evolution of my world building.  As always, I hope readers take away an appreciation for the many ways in which culture and society affect our lives and our personalities.  For this book in particular, I hope readers come away wanting more!

6. What is next for the Daemon Collecting Series?

Just finished the first draft of Book 3 and I’m looking forward to sharing it with everyone!  Coming up in the series, expect to learn more about the history of the Arcana and why it has been interwoven with our dimension for thousands of years.  Expect to see the hidden terrorist group stepping into the light.  Expect to see Simon and Leda connect with lost relatives and find themselves in a dangerous situation.  Expect to see Bach struggle with his abilities and have an encounter with another oracle that turns his life upside down. 

SPOTLIGHT: Blue Flame: Deamon Collecting Series By Alison levy

 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

Award winning author returns with thrilling sequel

Delve back into Rachel Wilde’s thrilling world of Daemons 

GREENSBORO, North Carolina – Chanticleer International Book Award winning author, Alison Levy, returns with her electric second installment in The Daemon Collecting Series. “Blue Flame” (Oct. 11 2022, SparkPress) continues with the adventures of headstrong and tenacious protagonist, Rachel Wilde. 

Rachel comes from a dimension that exists adjacent to ours. The people there have structured their society around daemon collecting: they locate, catch, and repair malfunctioning daemons (creatures out of phase with our world that tempt people to do good or evil). 

While introducing Leda Morley, last of an ancient line of gatekeepers, to the ins and outs of her daemon-collecting work, Rachel Wilde encounters something far more dangerous than any daemon: a young boy who stands alone against an unseen yet terrifying enemy that has invaded his home—an inhuman creature who, hellbent on revenge for a minor slight, intends to harm the boy’s oblivious family. Meanwhile, Leda’s brother, Simon, is feeling left out of his maternal family legacy but is coping partly by helping Rachel’s friend Bach—a previously homeless man with unusual mental abilities—get his life back on track.

In the midst of all of this, Bach unintentionally but serendipitously makes contact with a capable otherworldly being who, with great reluctance, agrees to help Bach and his friends take on the dangerous creature that’s just become their problem to solve. Together, this group of unlikely allies must put aside their differences to save an innocent child, and his family, from a monster—before it’s too late.

“Blue Flame”

Alison Levy | Oct. 11, 2022 | SparkPress | Fantasy

Paperback | ISBN: 9781684631711 | $16.95

Alison Levy lives in Greensboro, North Carolina with her husband, son, and a variety of pets. When she is not writing or doing mom things, she crochets, gardens, walks her collies, and works on home improvement projects.

Her books feature female characters who are strong but flawed, making them more relatable. They stay rooted in everyday life while world-building in their fictional cultures. Intolerance of differences has become widespread in recent years. Gatekeeper encourages readers to look beyond what they consider normal and see through foreign eyes, a message that I hope will appeal to many in today’s climate.

Follow Alison Levy on social media: 

Facebook | Twitter | Instagram

In an interview, Alison can discuss:

• World building and craft for fantasy writers

• How she uses writing to cope with anxiety and advice for others with anxiety 

• How the fantasy genre as a whole has influenced her writing

• Her connection to the characters, and how she delicately weaves in mental health and family dysfunction topics to her writing

• What she hopes readers will take away from this story and what’s to come for Rachel Wilde and The Daemon Collecting Series 

Praise for Gatekeeper

Book One in the Daemon Collecting Series

“A compelling, yet endearing, read about a very resourceful inter-dimensional cop Rachel who deals with broken daemons, homeless oracles, linguists, and serial killers with her own style of grace and tenacity. You might not see your own world in quite the same way as you look for the hidden passageways just out of view.”

– Ellen Clary, author of Pursuits Unknown: An Amy and Lars Novel

“Alison Levy offers us a lens that penetrates the facade of a recognizable world to reveal a thought-provoking analog. Ideas of right and wrong, intention, human value, and justice are all reconsidered. The story leaves the gate at a dead run and never lets up. Written in a clear and incisive style, Gatekeeper was a pleasure to read, and happily, suggests more to follow.”

– Patricia Minger, author of Magic Flute

Advance Praise for Blue Flame

Book Two in the Daemon Collecting Series

Alison Levy’s 2nd installment of the Daemon Collecting Series is a dark and whimsical adventure with a colorful cast of characters you’ll be eager to keep tabs on. Masterful storytelling and exceptional worldbuilding. A unique, action-packed Urban Fantasy series with grit, wit, and a whole lot of heart. Levy has created a truly original series in a genre that doesn’t see much originality these days. Her colorful cast of characters (and creatures) will stick with you long after you turn the last page.

• Lenore Borja, author of The Last Huntress (Mirror Realm Series Book I)