Interview by John
Geers
What's your favorite place to visit in Madison?
I love State Street
and the Capital Square. They are actually key settings in the book, as are
other parts of Madison. I live near Madison as well and just love it. The
character of State Street has always been magic for me. Unfortunately, I had to
edit out the scene that included Ians Pizza!
Do your students know about your book?
They know about it and
a good number of student parents have bought it and read it. There is content
that is not suitable for most sixth graders so I don’t actively mention it.
But, they search your name in Google and come across it on their own. I tell
them there is some swearing in it and they ask me why I would put swearing in
it. My reply is that it is the characters swearing and it is my job to write
what they are telling me. Further, I tell them that if I don’t write exactly
what the characters are saying, they get mad and swear at me!
How many books will be in the Eternal Coven series?
I have planned three.
One done…two to go!
Where did you get the inspiration for this story?
I
was inspired by other authors. We used to have a great locally owned book chain
here in the Milwaukee area. They regularly had authors of all kinds do author
talks. I went to dozens of them. Hearing the story of how a book was written was
as fascinating to me as the book itself. It wasn’t long before I wanted to be
part of that process.
The
original nugget came in a dream. The other 98% came from careful consideration
of what I wanted to include in my novel. It contains themes of love and loss
from my own life. Then I included the elements of story that I love most. I
constructed it in a way that I would love and I feel like I succeeded.
As a debut author, what's one thing you would do differently if you could go back in time?
Nothing. It was a
wonderful journey. I had setbacks and hurdles but it would have been much less
fulfilling if they were removed. I am glad I did not know the extent of the
devotion and patience I would need to finish this project at the onset…I don’t
think I would have completed it if I had known.
Emerge Beyond Circles
by John
Geers
GENRE: Fantasy
BLURB:
Two
couples from Madison, with entwined destinies, both seeking love, are connected
by a single element: the ancient Siberian witch, Thuban-Pol. Her magic will either
be their savior or their ruin.
Thuban-Pol is the latest in a lineage of Siberian witches. Their eternal aim is to guide humanity to true love. Their guiding tenet, “For love to bloom, these three endure: sacrifice, perseverance and suffering. But the greatest of these is suffering.”
Since the dawn of humanity, they have summoned countless couples, inflicting suffering with the intention to grow true love. They have never succeeded…but now they have their best opportunity in two couples from Wisconsin.
If they succeed, love will finally bloom for all of humanity, if the suffering inflicted on these couples doesn't kill them first.
Thuban-Pol is the latest in a lineage of Siberian witches. Their eternal aim is to guide humanity to true love. Their guiding tenet, “For love to bloom, these three endure: sacrifice, perseverance and suffering. But the greatest of these is suffering.”
Since the dawn of humanity, they have summoned countless couples, inflicting suffering with the intention to grow true love. They have never succeeded…but now they have their best opportunity in two couples from Wisconsin.
If they succeed, love will finally bloom for all of humanity, if the suffering inflicted on these couples doesn't kill them first.
EXCERPT
She lifted her hands before her eyes for inspection, their
work done, his coat free of blood. The paper skin of her ancient hands had
adopted the crimson of her task, and he kissed them with a rough lick.
Thuban sat in silence for some time before she spoke again.
"Draconis, rules betray us." She dropped a heavy
sigh.
A shiver rippled along his coat.
She patted the volume with the wood cut flower on the cover.
"These rules, they put us at ease. The fences they built are too safe.
Love constrained by rules is not love. Love is caribou in stampede, Salix in
full summer whip. It is frost on a wisp of caribou moss. Love is as dark as
Siberian winter and as rugged as Ural peaks. Consider the orbit of our star in
the heavens, how dare we contrive rules to direct the path. The Kara Sea knows
love. Waves batter and smash and settle to a tickle and are whipped to batter
again, their cycle of passion is eternal. These are love.
AUTHOR Bio and Links:
John Geers drew inspiration to begin his debut novel from a
dream he experienced.
Hours spent in the caffeinated air of his favorite coffeehouse
proved to be the perfect place to complete Emerge Beyond Circles.
John is a middle school literacy educator, where he inspires and
is inspired by the writers of tomorrow. He is the founder and facilitator
of his school’s Creative Writing Club. He is also a columnist for the online
magazine Elephant Journal.
He loves a good story, being on the water, and witty puns. He
can be found hiking the wilderness, biking big hills, sipping dark coffee, and
looking for a chair in the mall.
LINKS:
GIVEAWAY
John
Geers will be awarding a $25 Amazon GC, a signed copy of the book, and a
stuffed tiger (US only) to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the
tour.
