A.K. Downing's Blog
April 19, 2017
Interview with Mia Bryn
Writer and author Tabi Slick interviews character Mia Bryn from "Into the Air".
To get a sneak peek into the sequel, keep reading!
Read her full interview below, or visit Tabi's blog at:
http://blog.tabislick.com/2017/04/mia...
Mia Bryn Character Interview on "Interview with the Stars"
Tabi: Our next guest has stared straight into the eyes of tragedy and lived to tell the tale, she’s a true survivor, please welcome Mia Bryn!
*Audience applaud as Mia enters the stage*
Tabi: Thank you for joining us, Mia, and welcome to our third episode of Interviews With The Stars.
Mia: It’s amazing to be here.
*Mia takes a seat next to Tabi*
Tabi: So, tell us a little bit about the story you’re in?
Mia: It’s a journey novel, really. The story of my adventure, of traveling in the air for the first time. I meet incredible people who want to help me, and those that want to destroy me, although I have no idea why.
Tabi: Wow, sounds dangerous, yet thrilling! And what is your role in this book?
Mia: I guess you’d call me the main character, although there are others that play a really big part in the story. Without them I wouldn’t have a story to tell – in fact I’d probably be dead.
*Mia laughs nervously*
Tabi: Sounds like you’ve surrounded yourself with good people. And what would you say is your greatest achievement?
Mia: Definitely talking Marshal, that’s my Father, into leaving the compound – although our journey wasn’t anything like I dreamed. Especially after we were separated, and then I was chased and ended up finding a...oh wait, I guess I shouldn’t say anything else!
Tabi: That had to be a difficult time for you both. Speaking of your journey, is there something in your past that you’d like to forget?
Mia: When I was ten, my mother, Lillyanna, was taken and my sister, Iris, was killed. I hid in my closet, unable to help, unable to move. Memories from that night still haunt my dreams.
Tabi: I’m so sorry, I can’t even imagine going through that. If you could talk with a
member in your family today, who would you choose?
Mia: That’s a really difficult question. I have so much I’d want to ask my mother and my sister would be able to help me with all the crazy feelings I have for Archer, but I guess if I had to choose one, it would be my Father.
Tabi: And why is that?
Mia: As much as I don’t want to admit it, I need his advice. I need him beside me – especially now, after everything that’s happened. Leaving my compound and traveling into the air was an incredible journey, but my family paid dearly.
Tabi: Well, I hope you and your Father are reunited one day. On a brighter note, would you mind telling us something about yourself that no one knows?
Mia: Well, I’m claustrophobic, which you can imagine, doesn’t bode well when you live underground!
*Audience laughs*
Tabi: That definitely doesn’t sound ideal to me. And what about music? Do you have music underground?
*Mia chuckles*
Mia: I hadn’t really heard much music until I met Amos.
Tabi: And who’s Amos?
Mia: He’s one of the people I met at Luke’s. He told me his instrument is called a banjo. He plays it every night around the fire. It’s the most incredible music I’ve ever heard.
Tabi: Wow, that takes some talent right there. Now, what would you say has been the greatest struggle you have ever faced?
Mia: Leaving the safety of the compound. The outside world is incredibly dangerous. I faced attacks from creatures I never knew existed, found out things about myself my father never told me, and watched someone I love die. I know it’s dumb to say, but I did get to meet some amazing boys.
Tabi: Oh yeah?
Mia: Yeah, guards that helped me – and one in particular that I still dream about.
Tabi: Sounds fascinating. Well, now that the sequel to Into the Air is in the works, you must have some gossip for us.
Mia: I’ve met Major – he’s incredibly cocky, and sometimes annoying, but I think he has a girlfriend. You’ll never guess who it is. Herc, the guard who hates me, still growls at me from time to time but it’s nothing I can’t handle, and I probably shouldn’t tell you this, but I’ve seen someone who I thought was dead.
Tabi: Really? Who did you see?
Mia: I’m afraid I can’t say, but I guarantee you’ll never guess.
Tabi: I guess we’ll just have to get a copy of Into The Air by A. K. Downing and read about your journey. Well, that’s all the time we have for today and Mia, thank you so much for making the journey to be with us today!
*Audience stands and applauds as Mia exits the stage*
To get a sneak peek into the sequel, keep reading!
Read her full interview below, or visit Tabi's blog at:
http://blog.tabislick.com/2017/04/mia...
Mia Bryn Character Interview on "Interview with the Stars"
Tabi: Our next guest has stared straight into the eyes of tragedy and lived to tell the tale, she’s a true survivor, please welcome Mia Bryn!
*Audience applaud as Mia enters the stage*
Tabi: Thank you for joining us, Mia, and welcome to our third episode of Interviews With The Stars.
Mia: It’s amazing to be here.
*Mia takes a seat next to Tabi*
Tabi: So, tell us a little bit about the story you’re in?
Mia: It’s a journey novel, really. The story of my adventure, of traveling in the air for the first time. I meet incredible people who want to help me, and those that want to destroy me, although I have no idea why.
Tabi: Wow, sounds dangerous, yet thrilling! And what is your role in this book?
Mia: I guess you’d call me the main character, although there are others that play a really big part in the story. Without them I wouldn’t have a story to tell – in fact I’d probably be dead.
*Mia laughs nervously*
Tabi: Sounds like you’ve surrounded yourself with good people. And what would you say is your greatest achievement?
Mia: Definitely talking Marshal, that’s my Father, into leaving the compound – although our journey wasn’t anything like I dreamed. Especially after we were separated, and then I was chased and ended up finding a...oh wait, I guess I shouldn’t say anything else!
Tabi: That had to be a difficult time for you both. Speaking of your journey, is there something in your past that you’d like to forget?
Mia: When I was ten, my mother, Lillyanna, was taken and my sister, Iris, was killed. I hid in my closet, unable to help, unable to move. Memories from that night still haunt my dreams.
Tabi: I’m so sorry, I can’t even imagine going through that. If you could talk with a
member in your family today, who would you choose?
Mia: That’s a really difficult question. I have so much I’d want to ask my mother and my sister would be able to help me with all the crazy feelings I have for Archer, but I guess if I had to choose one, it would be my Father.
Tabi: And why is that?
Mia: As much as I don’t want to admit it, I need his advice. I need him beside me – especially now, after everything that’s happened. Leaving my compound and traveling into the air was an incredible journey, but my family paid dearly.
Tabi: Well, I hope you and your Father are reunited one day. On a brighter note, would you mind telling us something about yourself that no one knows?
Mia: Well, I’m claustrophobic, which you can imagine, doesn’t bode well when you live underground!
*Audience laughs*
Tabi: That definitely doesn’t sound ideal to me. And what about music? Do you have music underground?
*Mia chuckles*
Mia: I hadn’t really heard much music until I met Amos.
Tabi: And who’s Amos?
Mia: He’s one of the people I met at Luke’s. He told me his instrument is called a banjo. He plays it every night around the fire. It’s the most incredible music I’ve ever heard.
Tabi: Wow, that takes some talent right there. Now, what would you say has been the greatest struggle you have ever faced?
Mia: Leaving the safety of the compound. The outside world is incredibly dangerous. I faced attacks from creatures I never knew existed, found out things about myself my father never told me, and watched someone I love die. I know it’s dumb to say, but I did get to meet some amazing boys.
Tabi: Oh yeah?
Mia: Yeah, guards that helped me – and one in particular that I still dream about.
Tabi: Sounds fascinating. Well, now that the sequel to Into the Air is in the works, you must have some gossip for us.
Mia: I’ve met Major – he’s incredibly cocky, and sometimes annoying, but I think he has a girlfriend. You’ll never guess who it is. Herc, the guard who hates me, still growls at me from time to time but it’s nothing I can’t handle, and I probably shouldn’t tell you this, but I’ve seen someone who I thought was dead.
Tabi: Really? Who did you see?
Mia: I’m afraid I can’t say, but I guarantee you’ll never guess.
Tabi: I guess we’ll just have to get a copy of Into The Air by A. K. Downing and read about your journey. Well, that’s all the time we have for today and Mia, thank you so much for making the journey to be with us today!
*Audience stands and applauds as Mia exits the stage*
April 3, 2017
ITA's First Blog Tour!
I never knew what a blog tour was until December, when my friend and author Kathleen Shoop recommended that I look into participating in one. I'm so glad I did!
Not only was my novel, Into the Air, shared with a group of amazing bloggers, but I also gained valuable insight and viewpoints from the reviews. I can't say enough about the experience.
Interested in reading some of the reviews? Just click on the link below!
www.akdowning.net/reviews
Not only was my novel, Into the Air, shared with a group of amazing bloggers, but I also gained valuable insight and viewpoints from the reviews. I can't say enough about the experience.
Interested in reading some of the reviews? Just click on the link below!
www.akdowning.net/reviews
November 2, 2016
Life Underground
From luxurious condos to corrugated pipe bunkers, underground compounds are a (scary) reality. Many of my readers ask about Mia’s underground compound. Where did I find the inspiration for the layout of her living quarters? Are underground compounds in fact real? The simple truth is yes. For years, people have designed and built underground living facilities to guard against the threat of attack. Most are constructed for single family living, but places like the Greenbrier in WV, was designed to serve as an emergency shelter for the US government during the cold war.
The inspiration for Mia’s underground compound was born out of the “prepper” shows that I was hooked on a few years ago (and a healthy dose of imagination). I imagined Mia’s compound would need a leadership panel of some sort. I also thought there would be different classes of inhabitants, and jobs that would have to be completed for everyone to survive. But as much as the idea of underground compounds interested me, I was more interested in the healing earth, which is why the novel focuses on the “present” time and not the events that caused everyone to live underground. I was interested in how the earth would evolve without people present, and what people would find when they determined it was safe to resurface. The outside world of "Into the Air" is (currently) only inhabited by a select few. It’s a world that lost all of the advancements of a prior civilization, and has harkened back to more “primitive” forms of defense and living. It’s into this world that Mia emerges. An escape from her dark, dank, underground existence into a world of light and color.
As I sit at my dining room table working through sentence after sentence of Into the Air’s sequel, (I don’t have a title yet!) that world of color explodes before me. Red, gold, and shades of green. The leaves are starting to fall, and the animals scurry passed my window snatching up acorns to get them through the winter. And although it is (somewhat) comforting to know that people have engineered structures to keep us safe from catastrophic events, I can’t imagine missing out on all of this beauty, and surviving twenty feet under the earth!
The inspiration for Mia’s underground compound was born out of the “prepper” shows that I was hooked on a few years ago (and a healthy dose of imagination). I imagined Mia’s compound would need a leadership panel of some sort. I also thought there would be different classes of inhabitants, and jobs that would have to be completed for everyone to survive. But as much as the idea of underground compounds interested me, I was more interested in the healing earth, which is why the novel focuses on the “present” time and not the events that caused everyone to live underground. I was interested in how the earth would evolve without people present, and what people would find when they determined it was safe to resurface. The outside world of "Into the Air" is (currently) only inhabited by a select few. It’s a world that lost all of the advancements of a prior civilization, and has harkened back to more “primitive” forms of defense and living. It’s into this world that Mia emerges. An escape from her dark, dank, underground existence into a world of light and color.
As I sit at my dining room table working through sentence after sentence of Into the Air’s sequel, (I don’t have a title yet!) that world of color explodes before me. Red, gold, and shades of green. The leaves are starting to fall, and the animals scurry passed my window snatching up acorns to get them through the winter. And although it is (somewhat) comforting to know that people have engineered structures to keep us safe from catastrophic events, I can’t imagine missing out on all of this beauty, and surviving twenty feet under the earth!
