28 Days of Winter Escapes: Q&A with Frewin Jones!

What better way to stay warm on a blistery February day then with a good book?

HarperTeen is hosting an awesome promotion where they will be giving away a signed book every day in the month of February and releasing an exclusive Q&A with the author to be posted on that day's partnered blog. Check out HarperTeen's 28 Days of Winter Escapes Book-a-Day Giveaway here!

I am proud to say that I am hosting the Q&A with Frewin Jones for you all today! I have been a fan of Mr. Jones for years now, being completely entranced by his wonderful Faerie Path and Warrior Princess Series. To win a signed copy of the 5th installment to the beloved Faerie Path Series, The Enchanted Quest by Frewin Jones check out today's giveaway here! (Trust me, its pure awesomeness!)

Now, here is the exclusive interview with Allan Frewin Jones!

1. Tania faces a number of challenges throughout this series—how do you handle the stress of large challenges?


It’s said that the longest journey begins with but a single step. That’s how I deal with stressful challenges: by taking them one step at a time. I find the best way to deal with large, stressful challenges is to cut them up into smaller, less stressful challenges—then deal with them individually. Like, when I begin a new book, I don’t think of the whole mountainous journey that lies ahead of me—I give myself lesser obstacles, like getting to the end of chapter one—then getting to the end of chapter two. And on difficult days, I just think of how to get to the end of a paragraph or a scene, and I take a time-out when I get there as a reward.

2. Which of Tania’s love interests would you be more drawn to? The faerie Edric or mortal Connor?

I’m not entirely sure I’m the best person to judge this one, but I’ll give it a try. When it comes down to it, it’s really a question of whether a person is attracted to the known or the unknown—to relative safety or potential danger, to the commonplace or the stupendous. Tania has known Connor most of her life; this does not mean she can read him like a book, but it means she has a reasonably good idea of what he is like—thus, going with Connor would be the comfortable, safe option. But Edric—he’s another thing entirely. She has only known him a few months, he has lied to her and duped her and was the instrument of a man who wanted Tania for his own ends. He comes from an entirely different world and has lived for over five hundred years, so although he is actually only seventeen, he has an accumulation of knowledge and life that is way beyond what Tania has experienced in her sixteen years. The fear in Edric’s case would be of entirely losing yourself in him—like a plunge from a cliff top into an unknown ocean. So, do you trust in his love and do you feel willing to take that plunge? I’d like to think I would. It might be terrifying, but it will be one wild ride!


3. What would be your ideal first date?

Dinner for two in a really great restaurant. It would be long and leisurely, and the table would be on a veranda under a starry summer sky, with a river flowing past just a few feet away. Then, after the meal, we’d take a moonlit stroll along the river embankment and over a bridge or two. We would just talk the night away, and then we’d find a bench by the river and sit there to watch the sun come up.


4. In your mind, how can you tell when you’re meant to be with someone?

The poets say that love enters through the eyes. Of course, once love has arrived, it has a whole lot of other things to take note of, but that first sight of someone special holds the key to the whole business. I first saw my life partner across a crowded room, dressed all in black, with black hair and a stunningly attractive face. I asked a friend to go find out who this amazing person was. I didn’t actually know I was in love for a few days—I was just lightning-struck and a bit dizzy. We met four or five times before moving in together. We’ve been together now for eighteen years. Sometimes it is just right, and there’s nothing you can do to stop it happening.


5. What real-world spot have you been to that’s closest to Avalon?

I would have to say the high cliffs of Tintagel on the north Cornish coast. It has strong connections to the legend of King Arthur. There has been a castle there for hundreds of years, windswept, ruinous now, rising high above the waves that come crashing in against the rocky cliffs. Seagulls wheel and cry and occasionally the dark, sleek heads of seals emerge watchfully from the surf. There is a cave on the shore—Merlin’s Cave, some people call it—or simply the Wizard’s Cave. I have been in there and felt a huge presence close by—whether human, animal, or pure spirit, I couldn’t say. The high ridges of Tintagel can only be approached by a long precarious walk across narrow wooden bridges and up flights of uneven stone steps that take you to vertiginous heights above the sea. Whenever I go there I make my way to the very edge of the cliff, where plates of slate jut out over the sea, and I sit there and gaze across to the horizon, listening to the ancient voices of the world and forgetting all earthbound things. On a warm summer’s day, I could sit there forever. One day, maybe I shall.