Kahnee Interviews Carole McDonnell

My friend and fellow blogger Kahnee, over at Single & Blessed, recently had the chance to talk to Carole McDonnell about her debut book Wind Follower. I've picked a few of my favorite questions and answers but when you're done reading here you should follow the link and check out the rest of the interview.

Who are the two main characters in Wind Follower, and why do you think readers will love them?

Satha is the main female character. She’s a poor girl who finds herself suddenly betrothed one day to a rich kid. Very upsetting for her. But she does it. She’s practical and kind-hearted. Loic is the boy who suddenly decides he wants to marry her. He’s kind also, and he’s a typical petulant teenager who grows into manhood. Loic is not the regular hero. He’s got an illness. He’s been under the care of women who dote on him. He reads poetry, for heaven’s sake. Not epic poetry, love poetry. When Loic first sees Satha, what he likes about her is that she is caring and brave. Yes, she's beautiful - but he what matters is that she is kind.

They’re both good people. And lots of amazingly fantastic, triumphant, and heart-breaking things happen to them. What more can you ask for? The stories share a common plot but when the main characters are parted, Satha’s part becomes something like a slave narrative and Loic’s becomes a quest. Yes, Every African-American writer should write a slave narrative, don’t you think? It’s epic, and romance, and slave narrative. The reader should like it.

Where do you think speculative fiction is heading?

I really don’t know. Humans have always liked stories of the supernatural and the fantastic. As long as we’re fascinated with how the world works and with how different cultures work, we’ll love those stories. And, let’s face it, many stories are rooted in human sorrow. For instance, if we live in regret we think “what if I had done something differently?” Bingo, a time travel story is created. Writers who don’t like modern society might write a book in which history veered along a different path. Voila, an alternate history novel! A writer grieving for the loss of her dead child might do a novel on cloning. Science Fiction and Fantasy will always exist as long as writers and readers keep pondering the great “what if” of life. I think, though, that in the United States and Canada speculative fiction will become more multicultural. At least I hope so.

read the rest of the review here...