We're excited to welcome Liz Delton to Lands Uncharted today as part of the blog tour celebrating her new steampunk adventure, The Alchemyst's Mirror! I had the opportunity to read an advance copy of The Alchemyst's Mirror, and it features brave, snarky sisters, lots of tea and baked treats, a bit of romance, and plenty of mystery and intrigue, all in a vibrant steampunk world with hints of alchemy and magic. Such a fun read! I'll share more about the book below (including a purchase link, of course!), but first, here's Liz!
Tell us a little bit about yourself.
I’m a writer, a mom, a tea drinker, and I often describe myself as an author with too many hobbies. When I’m not writing, I’m probably doing something else creative—lately it’s baking, card-making, and knitting. I’ve even got an Etsy shop that’s fairly popular (LDWritesandDesigns) where I sell handmade bookmarks.
I write fantasy, and my favorite part about writing is coming up with new fantastic worlds—world-building is definitely the most fun for me.
I'm not surprised to hear you're a baker :) What prompted you to start writing? Are you one of those authors who knew you were meant to write since childhood, or did it come as a discovery later in life?
One day I decided to write a book, maybe six or seven years ago now. I had never aspired to be a writer before then, but I’ve always been heavily into the arts. I actually went to college for stage management because I’ve always loved the backstage side of storytelling, so transitioning to fiction writing was a natural move for me. And of course, I’ve always loved reading.
How cool! We’re all about exploring new worlds here at Lands Uncharted—if you could choose one place to visit, real or fictional, where would you go?
For a real place, I would love to visit Scotland. I’ve never been there, and I’m really attracted to the old-world beauty of it, especially the countryside. My interest in Scotland may or may not have stemmed from reading Outlander! I do love travelling, but now we’ll be waiting until our two-year-old, and the upcoming new arrival are a bit older to continue to explore the world! (And having traveled to Japan twice, I do intend to try and take the family there! It’s one of my favorite countries to visit.)
Scotland is so beautiful. (And congratulations on your upcoming new arrival!) What advice would you share with an aspiring author?
My advice is pretty simple: just write. I feel like most people who struggle with writing deal with roadblocks of writer’s block, imposter syndrome, and others—but the thing is, you can’t be a writer if you don’t write. So just write, even if it’s terrible. It probably isn’t, and it can always get better once you have words written.
Congratulations on your new release, The Alchemyst’s Mirror! What inspired you to write it?
I knew I wanted to write in the steampunk genre, and somehow the alchemy influence just took over as well. The main characters, Petra and Maisie Everturn, run their family’s famous tea shop, and they were really the starting point for the story. Their explorer brother has gone missing searching for an alchemycal artifact, and now none of them are safe. So, I followed them on their adventure, and here we are! I had intended on the book being a standalone, but decided to expand it into a series because I enjoyed the characters and the world so much. So The Alchemyst’s Mirror does stand alone, but readers will be able to enjoy more adventures from the same characters later on.
Yay, I'm excited there will be more books in the series! Did any of the events in the book surprise you as you were writing?
Even though with each book I write I become more of a plotter, I’m still surprised by how the plot moves forward. I started off with a pretty solid outline, and have had the idea for this book’s arc in my head for about two years now, but there are so many little details to get from one plot point to another that just happen while writing.
One of my favorite surprises was the introduction of a character named Montgomery Hartford, an inventor. I won’t go into too much detail to avoid spoilers, but I needed a way for certain characters to get into a top-secret location, and Monty just came about. And of course he ended up being so interesting, he’ll be making more appearances throughout the series.
I knew I wanted to write in the steampunk genre, and somehow the alchemy influence just took over as well. The main characters, Petra and Maisie Everturn, run their family’s famous tea shop, and they were really the starting point for the story. Their explorer brother has gone missing searching for an alchemycal artifact, and now none of them are safe. So, I followed them on their adventure, and here we are! I had intended on the book being a standalone, but decided to expand it into a series because I enjoyed the characters and the world so much. So The Alchemyst’s Mirror does stand alone, but readers will be able to enjoy more adventures from the same characters later on.
Yay, I'm excited there will be more books in the series! Did any of the events in the book surprise you as you were writing?
Even though with each book I write I become more of a plotter, I’m still surprised by how the plot moves forward. I started off with a pretty solid outline, and have had the idea for this book’s arc in my head for about two years now, but there are so many little details to get from one plot point to another that just happen while writing.
One of my favorite surprises was the introduction of a character named Montgomery Hartford, an inventor. I won’t go into too much detail to avoid spoilers, but I needed a way for certain characters to get into a top-secret location, and Monty just came about. And of course he ended up being so interesting, he’ll be making more appearances throughout the series.
I loved Monty :) Can you give us any insights into your next project?
My next project is coming up fast after The Alchemyst’s Mirror release—it’s a steampunk Christmas novella releasing on November 10th. I started writing it last year in 2019 but knew it wouldn’t be ready in time before Christmas. Finally, this year I finished it, and I’m really excited to share it with readers. It’s called The Clockwork Ice Dragon. One of my beta readers called it a mashup between a Dickens novel, steampunk, and the Polar Express.
My next project is coming up fast after The Alchemyst’s Mirror release—it’s a steampunk Christmas novella releasing on November 10th. I started writing it last year in 2019 but knew it wouldn’t be ready in time before Christmas. Finally, this year I finished it, and I’m really excited to share it with readers. It’s called The Clockwork Ice Dragon. One of my beta readers called it a mashup between a Dickens novel, steampunk, and the Polar Express.
Ooh, what a great combination! Thank you so much for stopping by today, Liz! Doesn't The Alchemyst's Mirror sound amazing? Here's a little more about the book:
Petra and Maisie Everturn just want to run their family’s tea shop, but when their explorer brother Jiordan goes missing while looking for an alchemycal artifact, none of them are safe.
The sisters must enlist the help of another explorer in order to find Jiordan or the artifact—before the mysterious alchemyst society finds them first.
However, when one of the sisters stumbles into the clutches of the most dangerous alchemyst in the city, the race to unravel the clues becomes desperate. And when they discover the truth about the artifact, their quest to infiltrate the alchemyst’s secret society becomes a matter of life and death.
You can buy The Alchemyst's Mirror HERE (it just released on Tuesday!). And here's more about the author!
Liz Delton writes and lives in New England, with her husband and son. She studied Theater Management at the University of the Arts in Philly, always having enjoyed the backstage life of storytelling.
She reads and writes fantasy, especially the kind with alternate worlds. Liz is the author of the dystopian Arcera Trilogy, and the fantasy Realm of Camellia series, and the new steampunk novel, The Alchemyst’s Mirror. World-building is her favorite part of writing, and she is always dreaming up new fantastic places.
She loves drinking tea and traveling. When she’s not writing you can find her hands full with one of her many craft projects.
Visit her website at lizdelton.com.
You can also connect with Liz on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and Amazon. Make sure to check out the rest of the blog tour, and join Liz on Tuesday, November 10th for a Facebook party celebrating her two latest books! You can find the party HERE. Thanks again for visiting Lands Uncharted, Liz!
No comments:
Post a Comment
Please note that your comment hasn't gone through unless you see the notice: "Your comment will be visible after approval." We apologize for any difficulties posting comments or delays in moderation.