Interview: Jaye L Knight
Hello, readers! Today I am so pleased to introduce Jaye L Knight and her novella, Half Blood.
The gasps and murmuring grew. Though some were hardly more than whispers, clear words reached Jace’s ears—dangerous, monster, animal, soulless. He tried to back away from their accusing eyes, but the collar pulled hard against his throat and held him in place.
For all his years as a slave, Jace has known nothing but the hatred people hold for his mixed blood—one half human, the other half the blood of a race considered monsters. Always, he is the outsider and quickly learns it is better to keep to himself. But, when his volatile ryrik blood leads him to do the unthinkable, he is thrown into a world of violence and bloodshed.
Forced to become a gladiator, Jace finds more and more of his heart dying as his master works to break down his will and turn him into the monster everyone believes he is. When a stranger interferes with his master’s harsh punishment, Jace’s world is upended again. But with it comes the possibility of hope that has long since died. Could the man possibly hold the key to escaping the hopeless darkness that is Jace’s life? Is there such a thing as life beyond the cruelty of slavery?
Jaye L. Knight is an award-winning author, homeschool graduate, and shameless tea addict with a passion for Christian fantasy. Armed with an active imagination and love for adventure, Jaye weaves stories of truth, faith, and courage with the message that even in the deepest darkness, God’s love shines as a light to offer hope. She has been penning stories since the age of eight and resides in the Northwoods of Wisconsin.
Your series, the Ilyon Chronicles, is written on a truly massive scale. While portraying this titanic
conflict, how do you keep the story personable, readable, and centered on the characters? I try to focus mostly on the characters’ individual struggles, particularly my main character, Jace. Though book two centered mostly on my female character, Kyrin, the overall story of the series belongs to Jace. Despite the overarching conflict of the emperor’s plans of domination and wiping out believers, it’s always been my goal to tell the individual conflicts and struggles of Jace and the characters around him. The intimate details of relationships are what I love most about writing. The world can be falling apart, but it’s what is going on between characters as they deal with it that’s the most interesting. Conflict and faith are prominent themes through the books. This, along with the emperor and the system of gladiators, are reminiscent of ancient Rome. In what other ways have real-life conflicts inspired these books? A lot of inspiration came from some personal stuff I’ve gone through. The last few years have been tough in a lot of ways, for both me personally and for my family dealing with special needs, health, and other issues. I’ve had to battle depression quite a bit. I think God gave me this story as a way of dealing with the pain of all that. Kind of like He said, “Here is this broken character (Jace). Write his life and show how I work in it and how I make it better through the pain and suffering. I’m working in your life the same way.” So, basically, my real-life conflicts were big in inspiring these books. And because I'm a bookish nerd, I have to ask: what books lead you to writing this series? The initial inspiration came from DragonQuest by Donita K. Paul. I was reading a part where you find out one of the characters is half-blooded. That started the “what if” questions that led to Jace. Within a day, I was writing the first book of the series.
Thank you so much for dropping by, Ms. Jaye! You can connect with Jaye on her website,blog, Facebook, Google, Twitter, Etsy, and on her new fiction forum, where you can interact with other readers of the series.
Share in the excitement of the release and enter to win a themed giveaway pack! Prizes include an autographed copy of Half-Blood, a blue feather bookmark hand crafted by Jaye, a bronze sword pendant, and a $5 Amazon gift card! (Giveaway is open to US residents only. Cannot be shipped internationally.)
Tour Schedule Tuesday, July 14 Tour Introduction at Jaye L. KnightReview and Author Interview at 26 Countless PossibilitesReview and Author Interview at Lianne TaimenloreReview and Author Interview at Crumpets 'n' CreamReview at Tialla's TellingsWednesday, July 15 Review at The Destiny of OneBook Spotlight at One Servant's HeartAuthor Interview at Leah's BookshelfReview and Author Interview at Red LetteringReview and Author Interview at Zerina Blossom's BooksThursday, July 16 Review and Author Interview at Sutori no HanaReview and Author Interview at Scattered Journal PagesReview and Author Interview at The Splendor Falls on Castle WallsAuthor Interview at A Writer's FaithReview and Author Interview at writinganyoneFriday, July 17 Review and Author Interview at Written RestBook Spotlight at Tell Tale Book ReviewsReview and Author Interview at The Pen of a Ready WriterReview and Author Interview at Morgan Elizabeth HunekeReview at PoetreeReview at Leah's Bookshelf Saturday, July 18 Review at A Writer's HeartReview at Reality CallingAuthor Interview at The Art of StorytellingBook Spotlight at Thilly Little NothingsSunday, July 19 Review at Through My LensReview at Elvish Pens, Fantastical WritingsBook Spotlight at Letters from Annie Douglass LimaReview at bookendMonday, July 20 Review at Pencils Can Change the WorldReview at Backing BooksReview at Melody Jackson, AuthorBook Spotlight and Author Interview at In the Character's ShadowTuesday, July 21 Review at A Vintage Girl in the Modern WorldBook Spotlight at However ImprobableReview at God's Peculiar Treasure RaeReview and Author Interview at Writings, Ramblings, and ReflectionsWednesday, July 22 Review at To Be a PersonTour Conclusion at Jaye L. Knight
The gasps and murmuring grew. Though some were hardly more than whispers, clear words reached Jace’s ears—dangerous, monster, animal, soulless. He tried to back away from their accusing eyes, but the collar pulled hard against his throat and held him in place.For all his years as a slave, Jace has known nothing but the hatred people hold for his mixed blood—one half human, the other half the blood of a race considered monsters. Always, he is the outsider and quickly learns it is better to keep to himself. But, when his volatile ryrik blood leads him to do the unthinkable, he is thrown into a world of violence and bloodshed.
Forced to become a gladiator, Jace finds more and more of his heart dying as his master works to break down his will and turn him into the monster everyone believes he is. When a stranger interferes with his master’s harsh punishment, Jace’s world is upended again. But with it comes the possibility of hope that has long since died. Could the man possibly hold the key to escaping the hopeless darkness that is Jace’s life? Is there such a thing as life beyond the cruelty of slavery?
Jaye L. Knight is an award-winning author, homeschool graduate, and shameless tea addict with a passion for Christian fantasy. Armed with an active imagination and love for adventure, Jaye weaves stories of truth, faith, and courage with the message that even in the deepest darkness, God’s love shines as a light to offer hope. She has been penning stories since the age of eight and resides in the Northwoods of Wisconsin.Your series, the Ilyon Chronicles, is written on a truly massive scale. While portraying this titanic
conflict, how do you keep the story personable, readable, and centered on the characters? I try to focus mostly on the characters’ individual struggles, particularly my main character, Jace. Though book two centered mostly on my female character, Kyrin, the overall story of the series belongs to Jace. Despite the overarching conflict of the emperor’s plans of domination and wiping out believers, it’s always been my goal to tell the individual conflicts and struggles of Jace and the characters around him. The intimate details of relationships are what I love most about writing. The world can be falling apart, but it’s what is going on between characters as they deal with it that’s the most interesting. Conflict and faith are prominent themes through the books. This, along with the emperor and the system of gladiators, are reminiscent of ancient Rome. In what other ways have real-life conflicts inspired these books? A lot of inspiration came from some personal stuff I’ve gone through. The last few years have been tough in a lot of ways, for both me personally and for my family dealing with special needs, health, and other issues. I’ve had to battle depression quite a bit. I think God gave me this story as a way of dealing with the pain of all that. Kind of like He said, “Here is this broken character (Jace). Write his life and show how I work in it and how I make it better through the pain and suffering. I’m working in your life the same way.” So, basically, my real-life conflicts were big in inspiring these books. And because I'm a bookish nerd, I have to ask: what books lead you to writing this series? The initial inspiration came from DragonQuest by Donita K. Paul. I was reading a part where you find out one of the characters is half-blooded. That started the “what if” questions that led to Jace. Within a day, I was writing the first book of the series.
Thank you so much for dropping by, Ms. Jaye! You can connect with Jaye on her website,blog, Facebook, Google, Twitter, Etsy, and on her new fiction forum, where you can interact with other readers of the series.
Share in the excitement of the release and enter to win a themed giveaway pack! Prizes include an autographed copy of Half-Blood, a blue feather bookmark hand crafted by Jaye, a bronze sword pendant, and a $5 Amazon gift card! (Giveaway is open to US residents only. Cannot be shipped internationally.)
Tour Schedule Tuesday, July 14 Tour Introduction at Jaye L. KnightReview and Author Interview at 26 Countless PossibilitesReview and Author Interview at Lianne TaimenloreReview and Author Interview at Crumpets 'n' CreamReview at Tialla's TellingsWednesday, July 15 Review at The Destiny of OneBook Spotlight at One Servant's HeartAuthor Interview at Leah's BookshelfReview and Author Interview at Red LetteringReview and Author Interview at Zerina Blossom's BooksThursday, July 16 Review and Author Interview at Sutori no HanaReview and Author Interview at Scattered Journal PagesReview and Author Interview at The Splendor Falls on Castle WallsAuthor Interview at A Writer's FaithReview and Author Interview at writinganyoneFriday, July 17 Review and Author Interview at Written RestBook Spotlight at Tell Tale Book ReviewsReview and Author Interview at The Pen of a Ready WriterReview and Author Interview at Morgan Elizabeth HunekeReview at PoetreeReview at Leah's Bookshelf Saturday, July 18 Review at A Writer's HeartReview at Reality CallingAuthor Interview at The Art of StorytellingBook Spotlight at Thilly Little NothingsSunday, July 19 Review at Through My LensReview at Elvish Pens, Fantastical WritingsBook Spotlight at Letters from Annie Douglass LimaReview at bookendMonday, July 20 Review at Pencils Can Change the WorldReview at Backing BooksReview at Melody Jackson, AuthorBook Spotlight and Author Interview at In the Character's ShadowTuesday, July 21 Review at A Vintage Girl in the Modern WorldBook Spotlight at However ImprobableReview at God's Peculiar Treasure RaeReview and Author Interview at Writings, Ramblings, and ReflectionsWednesday, July 22 Review at To Be a PersonTour Conclusion at Jaye L. Knight
No comments have been added yet.
