Featured Author: Kiki Hamilton

Hard to believe that this time last year I was wigging out, going crazy-nutso with preparations for the Under My Skin online and live launch parties. Wow. Talk about a lifetime ago. I was (and continue to be) so thankful to my fellow Class of 2k10 authors and my 2k mentor from the Class of 2k9, the talented, Joy Preble. Joy is the author of Dreaming Anastasia and Haunted (Sourcebooks Fire). If you enjoy folklore, Russian history and romance - be sure to scoop up these bewitching reads. Joy not only mentored me, but Kitty as well, and still proves to be a source of inspiration for both of us.




Today, I'm thrilled to introduce my Class of 2k11 mentee, Kiki Hamilton, author of The Faerie Ring, (Teen/Macmillan) to be released October 1st! I can't wait to get my greedy paws on this title and will be giving away a few copies during launch festivities for Second Skin (also in October). So...let's get to know her, shall we?



Kiki kindly answered my questions below:



1. How has your experience with 2k11 and The Elevensies helped with all the demands of promoting a debut novel?

Both groups have been a wonderful support network and resource for the millions of questions that come up along the way to publication. It’s nice to have someone (or many someones!) going through the same process as you are, and it’s especially nice to be able to share the path with someone who understands. It takes so long to get published (usually 18-24 months from the time you sell your book) that your family and friends sort of get a glazed over look after a while. They couldn’t possibly know or care about the many day-to-day details of being an author.

2. You're also a founding member of the blog, The Enchanted Inkpot - can you tell us about it?

The Enchanted Inkpot was started two years ago from a conversation over on the blueboards at VerlaKay.com about the need for a site that was dedicated strictly to fantasy novels. A group of us banded together and worked very hard to get the site up and going and it continues to grow. There are fantasy related posts twice a week on a wide variety of topics and then news relating to the members on Saturdays. It’s a fun site! Check it out at this link: The Enchanted Inkpot.


3. What's the premise of The Faerie Ring?

London, December 1871

Orphaned and picking pockets in London’s Charing Cross station to support not only herself, but her ‘family’ of orphans, sixteen year-old Tiki steals the Queen’s ring and thinks she’s solved their problems. That is, until Rieker, a pickpocket from the North End, suspects her in the theft and tells her that the ring is really a reservoir that holds a truce between the British and Faerie courts.

When he warns her that the fey will do anything - including murder - to recover the ring, Tiki is unsure whether to believe him or not. To complicate matters, Rieker seems to know something about the unusual birthmark on Tiki’s wrist. But when Tiki and her family are threatened the game changes and it becomes a deadly race to see who can locate the ring first.


OMG, Kiki - seriously.....I needs a copy!

4. How many books will there be in the series?

At this time, I’ve only sold the first book. My editor is going to look at the second book soon (keep your fingers crossed!) but I have written the next two books: THE TORN WING and THE TARA STONE. Right now there is at least one more book in the series, maybe more. Time will tell….. ;-)

5. Have you done any research in London? And why did you choose 1871 as the year to begin the tale? (oops, that's two questions in one...lol...)

When I wrote the book, I had never been to London and didn’t really know a lot about the City. I ended up doing A LOT of research into Victorian London and worked very hard to keep the novel historically accurate. It is set in 1871 because two of my characters, Queen Victoria’s youngest sons, Leo and Arthur, are 18 and 21, that year.

Two months after I sold THE FAERIE RING I went to London and walked in the footsteps of my characters from Charing Cross to St. James Park to Buckingham Palace etc.– totally surreal!! I felt like I’d come home – I LOVE that city!



Kitty would likely agree with you. I haven't been across the pond...yet. Yes, I'm jealous.

6. What's the deal with the variant spellings of fairy vs faerie?

I don’t really know the answer to that one.



Hmm....will have to investigate and post my findings at a later date. ;)

7. Your main character, Tiki, is both an orphan and a pickpocket - how inspired were you by Dickens', Oliver Twist?

Well, I can’t say that Oliver Twist inspired me that much as I’ve never read the book. I saw the movie, Oliver! back in the 70’s but not since then. (Though I do give a nod to the book, Oliver Twist, in my book in a kind of a fun way.)

8. What are you working on now? Any appearances coming up?

Aha! Two questions in one again! Tricky…. I have also written a YA contemporary novel entitled PULSE that my editor is going to read this spring and I’m working on a steampunk novel.

I will be at the SCBWI-Washington conference in Redmond in April and in New York for Book Expo America and some group signings with the Class of 2k11 at the end of May. Not sure if I’m signing ARCs there yet or not. And I’ll be at NCTE in Chicago in November. That’s all I know for sure right now.

9. Trailer or excerpt for us to drool over?

I’m working on a trailer now and I have put up a website all about THE FAERIE RING and future books in the series – you can visit at: THE FAERIE RING.com

Here is an excerpt:


___

Mesmerized by its beauty, Tiki reached for the ring. It was a burnished band of rich gold, capped by an intensely red stone the color of blood that almost seemed to beckon to her.
Tiki stared into the ruby red depths, turning the stone this way and that to catch the light. Something flickered and her heart caught in her throat as she peered closer. Deep within the heart of the stone it looked like flames burned as though lit by a fire.


___


Judith, these questions were fun to answer! Thanks so much for having me!!



Thanks for hanging with the Wolfy Chicks, Kiki. I wish you a smooth launch with lots of excitement (just the good kind, of course). Also, I'm keen to read your steampunk WIP. Break a leg!