And Interview to Remember: Annie Douglass Lima, taking you place you’ve never been before!

Studies in Revelation, Part 2 Studies in Revelation, Part 3

And Interview to Remember: Annie Douglass Lima, taking you place you’ve never been before!

Have you ever had your birthday cake stolen by a troop of monkeys? Come meet Annie Douglass Lima and learn all about her latest book and exciting life!

Hi Annie! And welcome! We’re so excited to have you with us! I can’t wait to learn more about you and your books. First, tell us about your latest book!

Prince of Malorn is the third book in my Annals of Alasia series, but like the others, it can stand on its own. Each book deals with events surrounding the same major political incident: the invasion of the kingdom of Alasia by the neighboring kingdom of Malorn. Prince of Alasia begins on the night of the Invasion and describes what happens to twelve-year-old Prince Jaymin after he is forced to flee for his life. In the Enemy’s Service features a girl as the protagonist and tells the story of those who were not able to escape from the Alasian palace when the enemy invaded. Prince of Malorn begins several months earlier and focuses on the Malornian perspective of the events leading up to the Invasion. In each of the books, main characters from the others make brief appearances and interact with each other at the point where the timeframes and settings overlap.

I’d love to know more about this world you’ve created for your characters! Tell us more about the landscape, people and food.

The map shows a little more of what the world is like. Prince of Malorn takes place mainly in Malorn’s Impassable Mountains, which are peopled by the nomadic Mountain Folk. Their culture is totally different from that of “Lowlanders”, as they call everyone else, and is based on what is available living off the land. They are mainly hunters and gatherers, though they also keep goats for milk and meat. A signature meal for them might consist of roast fish or rabbit, small fried cakes made from mashed lumjum (a turnip-like root that grows wild in the Impassables) and fresh goat milk.

If we were to visit Malorn, what would you like us to see most?

I’d like you to see an area that almost no one except the Mountain Folk has ever glimpsed. They call it simply Horse Valley, and it’s a lush, peaceful valley surrounded on every side by rugged peaks. Getting there involves a very difficult trek through dense forest and across snowy slopes where there’s little food available and hypothermia is only one of many ways you could perish. Wild horses roam free in this valley, and there’s plenty to eat there for both humans and animals. Trekking alone to Horse Valley with only the clothes on their back is a rite of passage into adulthood for the Mountain Folk. They must each capture and tame a wild horse and bring it back to their family’s camp in order to be fully accepted among their own people.

Is there anything we should avoid in Malorn?

In the Impassable Mountains, the most dangerous predators are the wolves and snowcats (which are similar to snow leopards but with completely white fur). However, a greater danger lurks in the Lowlands in the form of Regent Rampus. Assigned temporary leadership of the kingdom until Prince Korram is old enough to rule, Rampus has no intention of giving up his position. He has been busy building his power in a variety of ways and is ruthless toward anyone who opposes him.

I’ve heard that you live in Taiwan. Tell us about that.

My husband and I moved to the island of Taiwan, just off the east coast of China, almost seven years ago. I teach fifth grade in an international school in the city of Taichung and love it (both the job and the location). The hardest part about living here is that, even after all this time, I speak very little Chinese; and most people in Taiwan don’t speak much English. Linguistic difficulties have been the cause of countless awkward or embarrassing moments for me! But other than that, life here is great. I enjoy the culture and have found people to be very welcoming and tolerant of my stumbling attempts to communicate. The food here is great, too – “Chinese” food in America just can’t compare!

Has where you lived shaped your story at all?

Taiwan hasn’t, as such. But I’ve visited a total of eighteen countries and actually lived in four of them, and those experiences have definitely played a role in my writing. I love getting to know different cultures and the differences between them, which Prince Korram has to deal with when he travels into the Impassables to seek the help of the Mountain Folk. In Malorn, Mountain Folk and Lowlanders tend to distrust each other and avoid contact whenever possible, and both sides claim that the other mistreats them. I wanted to show that often, it just takes better understanding to lead to acceptance and appreciation of another culture. That, and the willingness to learn new ways of doing things and respect others’ customs even when they’re different.

I’ve seen a picture of you reclining against a Bengal tiger’s side. How many other unique and awesome animals have you had adventures with?

I met that tiger in a reserve in Thailand about a year and a half ago, when I had an afternoon to play tourist after a teachers’ conference I attended.

Annie with tiger in Tiger Kingdom, Chiang Mai, Thailand

But I grew up in Kenya (as a missionary kid), so as you can imagine, I’ve encountered quite a few interesting animals! Here are some of my most memorable animal experiences from my childhood and teen years:

Riding an endangered rhino (under the watchful eye of the armed guard who followed it around the game park to protect it from poachers).

Coming back from a hike on a camping trip near Mount Kenya, we found a huge cape buffalo reclining right in front of our tent. My dad took this picture after it had gotten up and walked a little ways away.

The giraffe I’m walking toward isn’t part of any particular story – just one of the many wild animals you see any time you go into the rural parts of Kenya.

In addition to these adventures, I also:

Fed giraffes by hand from an upper-story balcony in the Giraffe Park

Petted orphaned elephant babies on a school field trip

Found a huge, live puff adder (deadly poisonous snake) in the grass by the front of my high school

Waterskied in a lake full of hippos, and (on a separate trip) a different lake full of crocodiles

Rode giant tortoises (I was only about eight at the time, but they were strong enough to carry even my dad)

Had my birthday cake stolen by a troop of monkeys when some friends and I went camping on my 16th birthday

Wow! I never had my birthday cake stolen by a troop of monkeys! What an adventurous life you’ve had! Thanks so much for visiting today, and I look forward to reading this latest installment in your fantasy series!

If you like what you’ve read here, check out more about Annie Douglass Lima!

Here are the contact info and links:

Email: AnnieDouglassLima@gmail.com

Blog: http://anniedouglasslima.blogspot.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AnnieDouglassLimaAuthor

Twitter: https://twitter.com/princeofalasia

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/4955329.Annie_Douglass_Lima

Amazon Author Page: http://www.amazon.com/Annie-Douglass-Lima/e/B0051XD0SU/

Buy Prince of Malorn (Kindle):http://smarturl.it/PrinceofMalorn

Buy In the Enemy’s Service (Kindle): http://smarturl.it/EnemysService

Buy Prince of Alasia (Kindle): http://smarturl.it/PrinceofAlasia

Buy any of the books for Nook or other formats: https://www.smashwords.com/books/search?query=Annals+of+Alasia