Monday, May 13

Spotlight on W.A. Ford and The Fadian Escape

Author Q&A

We sat down with Author W.A. Ford to ask her a few questions about being an author and her thoughts on The Fadian Escape.

QUESTION 1. What is your favorite childhood book?

I have so many, but to keep with this month’s spooky theme I’ll go with ‘Scary Stories to Tell in The Dark.’ I have the anniversary edition that includes all three volumes of the stories.

QUESTION 2. Have you ever considered writing under a pseudonym, why or why not?

Willow A. Ford IS my pseudonym! Oddly enough, most people in my personal life know it. It’s my writing friends who are surprised to find out this isn’t my real name.

QUESTION 3. How do you process and deal with negative book reviews?

I release my books knowing they aren’t for everyone. As long as the reviews aren’t abusive, I roll with it. Many of the negative reviews have useful constructive criticism.

QUESTION 4. Are there therapeutic benefits to modeling a character after someone you know?

This is a loaded question! I think as long as the book’s portrayal of the person doesn’t create real world problems, then it’s OK to work out your frustrations or rewrite history with a fictionalized version of the individual.

QUESTION 5. What is the most difficult part of your writing process?

I find it challenging to maintain focus for the entirety of my designated writing time.

QUESTION 6. What comes first for you — the plot or the characters — and why?

Now that I actually plan my books, the plot comes first. If I create the characters first, they take over and things go far off course.

QUESTION 7. Would you and your main character get along? Why, why not?

No, I think she’d see me as another adult who has had it easy. She might feel I can’t relate to (or will judge) her choices. She spends so much of the narrative trying to please older, more worldly people and it goes bad each time.

QUESTION 8. If you were to write a spin-off about a side character, which would you pick?

I would like to do an origin story about the villiage Elders in their youth. It would feature their showdown with Ilma and the division of power between the village and the city around it.

QUESTION 9. What part of the book did you have the hardest time writing?

SPOILER ALERT: I found it difficult to write the ending. I wanted Kaleigha to be a strong Black woman who saved herself. That was the original plan. I realized that even though she was able to use her powers at a higher level by the end of the book, she was still operating from a place of fear. She still did not have wisdom. So instead of having her subjugate the City and defeat Ilma, I reluctantly wrote an ending where she gave in to her father’s wishes and handed the power back to him.

QUESTION 10. What is a significant way your book has changed since the first draft?

The Fadian Experiment began as a series of blog posts on a previous iteration of my website. In addition to creating a new ending, I wrote new first and second chapters.

QUESTION 11. How would you describe your book’s ideal reader?

I would love for young adults in similar situations to my main character, Kaleigha, to find and love my book.

QUESTION 12. How do you celebrate when you finish your book?

I usually buy something big off my Amazon wishlist. I think if we weren’t in the midst of a global pandemic, I’d get a fancy spa treatment.

The Fadian Escape Feature

Despite the revelations of the Fadian Experiment, the power structure of Obeh City remains unchanged. However, Egoly‘s situation has gone from bad to worse and along the way, he’s betrayed the one person who trusted and respected him, Kaleigha. When his former captors offer the opportunity to correct his mistakes, he accepts the mission without hesitation.

His new handlers don’t take well to this sudden disloyalty and Egoly finds himself fighting a war on three fronts. Faced with a defeat that will see him imprisoned with Kaleigha, Egoly seeks an alliance with his oldest enemy.

Egoly must stop hiding behind the others’ powers so that he and Kaleigha are free to leave Obeh City. Will he make his choice before they are both re-enslaved or worse, obliterated?

(Source: amazon.com)

Having failed the assessment that promised escape from poverty, Kaleigha spends her days dodging enforcers and drifting between legitimate jobs and street hustles. Her quest for survival is often derailed by the disembodied voices that lead her good fortune just as often as they lead her astray. After an inexplicable incident involving her mother’s boyfriend, Kaleigha finds herself kicked out of her home.

Kaleigha is immediately rescued by a man claiming to be her father. He offers her a life of comfort, notoriety, and most of all help with the mysterious changes happening to her. However, Kaleigha cannot accept the price of this guidance and runs away to join a mysterious enclave. There she learns the origin of her powers, their reality-altering nature, and the true threat to their entire existence.

Kaleigha must shake the reigns of the city’s elite power brokers so that she is free to save them all from the looming threat of total annihilation.

(Source: amazon.com)

ABOUT W.A. FORD

I am an indie author with a lifelong love of reading and writing. I descend from a long line of storytellers and relish in hearing and sharing family folklore.

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