How did you start your writing career?
I began writing stories when I was quite young. I loved to read, and would let my mind wander into the world of fantasy and soon began making up my own stories. Sadly, they were all destroyed and then life got in the way. I travelled around the world working in advertising and film and often found myself entertaining friends with my stories. When I came back to Australia some friends encouraged me to begin writing them down and so it began.
Tell us about your current release.
My first book is called Daughter of Light & Dark. It is the first in a trilogy, The Prophecy of Nitesh. It is the story of a young woman Montayna who is born into slavery and through an act of bravery on her part, is set free. She knows that she has magikal abilities, and has always wondered where they come from. To find these answers she embarks upon a journey of discovery. Of mysteries of both light and of dark. She is befriended by elves, shape shifters, faeries and other magikal beings.
When in the day/night do you write? How long per day?
I try to spend several hours a day writing. I would have to say I am a morning person. I am usually up at around 5am. We have two beautiful Maine Coon cats that wake me up to let them out. There are times however, when my characters wake me in the middle of the night and I have to take up pen and paper and take dictation as it were.
Do you have critique partners or beta readers?
Yes, I think it is very important to have others read your work and give constructive feedback. I detest the word criticism. It is important to hear what works and what does not. It is also very important to have it edited, I find no matter how many times you read your work, there is always something you miss.
How do you describe your writing style?
I write in longhand and every few days transcribe to my computer. I have tried to work directly to computer but have found myself sitting in front of the blank screen with my mind just as blank. I just love the flow of the words as they appear upon the paper. I always have a notebook and pen with me wherever I go.
Plotter or Pantser? Why?
That one is an interesting question. I’m a mixture of both. A story comes to me and I have a rough idea about how it is going to begin and end. Then the characters take on a life of their own and take me on a journey of discovery and fun. This has always been my way and seems to work for me.
What is it that you like to do when you’re not reading/writing?
If it’s a cold rainy day, then I curl up on the sofa and catch up on my favorite TV series of the moment. I also dabble a bit in sketching and art and I do mean dabble. I love to garden, we live in the mountain ranges and have a beautiful garden. I also create my own clothes, which are a mixture of medieval and mystical.
Do you have a Website or Blog?
Yes My website is www.chkarasilverwolf.com and my blog is www.sheerak.wordpress.com My website was designed by a friend of mine and I love it, but he just told me yesterday that he is redesigning it. I have seen what he is doing and it will be even better. Can’t wait to see the new version.
I would very much like to thank Laurie for allowing me to share my time with you on her blog.
This is the story of Montayna, a young woman born of both light and dark magik who never knew her parents. She earns her freedom with a bit of magik even she was hardly aware of, but her skill is growing and she needs to find answers. Who is she? Where did her powers come from? To find those answers she sets out on a journey of discovery, both inward and outward, of dark mysteries as well as light. Will she master them, or they her?
Inexperienced and facing incredible dangers in the course of her quest to defeat the darkness that is spreading inexorably across her world, her journey takes her through a landscape of wizards, elves, faeries and wolves, as she throws herself headlong into the fray to challenge the malevolent designs of a powerful Dark Lord.
It is a journey that will eventually change Montayna as well as the world around her.
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Ch’kara SilverWolf lives in the beautiful Dandenong Ranges in Victoria, Australia with her partner and two beautiful Maine Coon cats.
She travelled around the world in her early twenties worked in the film industry in London for ten years. Then spent a year travelling in America, and after returning to Australia worked in Advertising, as well as doing volunteer work for several years in her spare time, before settling down to write seriously.
Daughter of Light & Dark is her first full length novel, and is the first in a trilogy ‘Prophecy of Nitesh’. She has written many short stories and a few not quite finished novels.
Ch'kara has always had a love of fantasy, magik and the esoteric. Her interests are in "storytelling, medieval folk lore & myth, fantasy art". She loves the characters from her writing, has always loved mystical and fantasy creatures, they are like old friends who come alive on the pages.
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