Fantasy Dreamer's Ramblings

I’m excited to have Foz Meadows here today to talk about her debut YA urban fantasy novel Solace & Grief (my review), the first book in The Rare series. Everyone please give Foz a warm welcome!

Hi Foz! Yesterday was your birthday, I hope it was wonderful. We'd like to know a little about you, please tell us about yourself.

Hi Donna, and thanks for having me! As of this week, I'm now a 24-year-old author, self-confessed geek and philosophy wife. I live in Melbourne, Australia, and have recently discovered that vodka mixed with Sasparilla is very, very tasty. Also, I love cheese.

Your YA urban fantasy novel Solace and Grief debuts on March 1, could you tell us about it?

Solace & Grief is about Solace Morgan, a teenage girl raised in foster care doing her level best to conceal the fact that she's a vampire. After encountering a faceless man, Solace runs away and finds herself in the company of her first ever friends, none of whom are exactly plain old human. They live in an abandoned warehouse; they drink and joke, but once Solace decides to try and learn more about their respective abilities, they soon find themselves in over their heads with the mysterious Professor Lukin and a string of increasingly dangerous occurrences.

How many books do you have planned for The Rare series?

Three: the second volume is already completed to a first-draft stage, and I've made a stack of notes for the final installment. I have half-formed plans to revisit some of my characters in later stories, too, but that's still far in the future!

How much research did you have to do for Solace and Grief?

If by "research" you mean "watch lots and lots of Buffy while thumbing through my collection of mythology books", then, um, lots. But it wasn't intended as homework. It's just what I enjoy doing.

What are your biggest influences in your writing?

They change every time someone asks! Generally speaking, I have a healthy appreciation for stories with a humorous element: apart from being funny, real life is quite often absurd, even - sometimes especially - when we're striving for seriousness. British radio comedy in particular has had a strong influence on me, since I grew up listening to it; discovering Neil Gaiman at university was also a revelation. For a long time, I was in the bad habit of trying to put narratives in boxes and, as a result, of trying to write with the shape of those boxes in mind. Realizing I didn't have to - that stories, like rivers, prefer to take their own shape - was an eye-opener.

Books covers are a big deal to the majority of readers and writers. Did you have any input on yours? Are you happy with how your book cover turned out?

I love the cover - the end product isn't overly dissimilar to the earliest designs, and from the very first one, I thought it looked spectacular. I was lucky enough to be asked for my opinion on what was being produced, but I never wanted to change it :)

Without giving anything away, can you tell us what your favorite scene is from your book?

There's a scene which takes place on top of the Sydney Opera House that I'm rather fond of. Other favourites: nepenthe and the Gadfly!

Can you share any of your future books plans with us?

Apart from the Rare series, I've written the first draft of an adult fantasy-slash-murder-mystery novel that I'm keen to do something with. I have other ideas in mind, but if I started trying to pin all of them down at once, I'd never finish anything :)

If the the worlds created in books were real, which book would you pick to live in?

Tough call! I've always loved Anne McCaffrey's Pern books, so that universe would be high up the list; Seanan McGuire's version of Earth as overlaid by Faerie is totally brilliant; and, assuming I had the power to navigate it properly, the forest of many-world-pools from The Magician's Nephew.

Thank you Foz for this terrific interview!

Places you can find Foz: Web Site & Blog | Twitter

Giveaway:

I have an autographed copy of Solace & Grief by Foz Meadows, with a matching bookmark and sticker to giveaway to one lucky commentator. Here’s how to enter:

1. Leave a comment about this interview or ask Foz a question.
2. Leave your email with your comment ONLY IF it is NOT part of your profile.
3. Open worldwide.
4. Deadline to enter this giveaway is Sunday, February 28th at 8AM CST.

Good Luck!

Solace & Grief by Foz Meadows 
The Rare, Book 1
Genre: YA Urban Fantasy
Format: Paperback, 363 pages
Published: March 1, 2010 AU and June 30, 2010 US by Ford Street Press
ISBN: 978-1876462895
Received From: Author for review

Summary from Goodreads:

Solace Morgan was born a vampire. Raised in foster care, she has always tried to keep her abilities secret, until an eerie encounter with a faceless man prompts her to run away. Finding others with similar gifts, Solace soon becomes caught up in a strange, more vibrant world than she ever knew existed. But when the mysterious Professor Lukin takes an interest in her friends, she is forced to start asking questions of her own. What happened to her parents? Who is Sharpsoft? And since when has there been a medieval dungeon under Hyde Park?

My Ramblings:

Solace Morgan grew up in a group home in Australia, that was more often than not filled with damaged and problematic kids. She was home schooled and spent much of her time by herself growing up, not having any real friends. During all this time she always knew she was different from the other kids because of her mysterious food allergies, low tolerance for the sun and special abilities. Solace suspects that she's a vampire.

The day before her birthday, Solace feels the urge to leave the group home after several mysterious messages saying "You don't belong here" and a harrowing experience with a man who instills fear in her without even seeing his face. So for the first time ever, Solace leaves the only home she has ever known on her seventeenth birthday.

Solace soon runs into a group of misfit teenagers at a club in downtown Sydney, and she ends up staying with them at an abandoned warehouse. Solace soon begins to realize that her new friends may just be as different as she is, thus begins her journey into new friendships, self discovery, and the excited world of the Rare.

Solace & Grief starts out at a good pace with a strong touch of mystery in the prologue. But I found the pace slows down after the prologue until about the middle of the book, then the pace explodes and the questions start getting answers plus the actions of certain characters are demystified, especially Solace’s actions.

I didn’t feel a connection with Solace at the beginning because there were a few times where her choices didn’t ring true and she didn’t strike me as a carefree personality who’d make those type of choices. One of those times is when she meets her new friends and takes up with them immediately, I felt she was entirely too trusting with them. But by the end of the novel I did find myself liking Solace a lot more.

I liked the eclectic cast of supernatural characters, who all had their own quirks and gave the story a sense of Alice in Wonderland feel, which I found to be entertaining. Even though the beginning was slow, I just loved the the ending. I’m just itching to tell my favorite part but I can’t because it’s a major part of the ending. The end left me feeling absolutely thrilled about where this series is heading.

Overall, Solace & Grief is a good setup novel for the start of what I see to be an excited and different take on the world of vampires, shifters and the magical. I think Solace & Grief has darker elements than what’s normally seen in YA urban fantasy, that older teens and many adults would enjoy reading.

My Rating:

Places you can find Foz: Web Site & Blog | Twitter

The Rare Series:

1. Solace & Grief
2. TBA
3. TBA