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Tales of Kassa:
Kraken
(Scroll down for the Interview)
A young girl wakes up one day to discover her unknown power… No, this isn’t that story. Tameka knows who she is and what she is. The chaos of her life does not come from secret origins. It comes from what life throws at us, all of us. Power does not solve everything. Everything does not get solved.
Our flagship book, Kraken, is the first book in the Tales of Kassa series. New author Madre Knight has offered us a first look into her world.
Kassa looks like our own world, but with just enough differences that the fantasy merges seamlessly with the real.
Kraken has an expected publication date of July 30th, 2012. Look for it on Nook & Kindle. We are negotiating to make it available in the US Library system.
Madre Knight is the pen name for a pair of extraordinary women authors who write Young Adult Fiction. We interviewed them about their first book, Tales of Kassa: Kraken…. more
Q: Kraken is a 'Tale of Kassa' book. What is Kassa? Is that a world? A universe? The name of a bard?
MK: Kassa is a world that at first seems like our own. There are friendships and heartaches, kindness and darkness… It is also it's own world, a world with it's own continents, lost islands, hidden and forgotten races… magic and mystery. It is a world where the impossible can be the everyday, and the every day can be amazing.
Q: So, there is no New York or California? No Asia or Armenia?
MK: No, there is an Ermine, there is a Layla, and a Semaria.
Q: But, I know it has water. Water seems to play a big part in this first book, right?
MK: Yes, the main character is a Water Elementalist of average strength, showing us her world, inviting us in. This means that she has powers over water, as other Elementalists have abilities tied to the other Elements.
Q: So, if she's an ‘elementalist of average strength,’ what makes her interesting enough for us to follow her story? What makes her the best 'first tour guide' to Kassa?
MK: Tameka, the main character, may be your average teenage girl on the surface, but there is one thing that sets her apart. Her creativity, and the way she views the world, is anything but average. It's that creativity that allows her to make the most of what power she has. In a world where magical strength can often translate into social status among her kind, it's her unique view of the world that will allow her to rise, not the amount of power she was gifted with. We decided that the best way to introduce our world of Kassa was not to present a character that was the exception to all the rules, but rather to one who DEFINES the rules. Through Tameka's eyes, we can explore the world as she has always known it and, through her journay, as it could be. We can add more if needed, but we'd love for you to learn by reading.
Q: So, when I read Kraken, I'm learning about Tameka and her world, all at once?
MK: Yes, reading Kraken, as with any later book in the series, is a journey that shows you the world and the characters you follow, and lets you get to love them as much as we do. Don't discount anyone you meet as minor, you never know who you will see again. We want the readers to get to be so familiar with our world, to love it so much that we will not need to tell you when something abnormal occurs, you will realize it as, or even before, the characters do. We want to offer you, the reader, the chance to live in this world to an extent.
Q: I like the idea of being able to visit a world more than once. So, tell me about Kassa as a series?
MK: Kassa, the series, will follow not just one set of characters, but multiple sets of characters. Each set will show up not only in their own book or books, but likly will appear in the books about other characters as well. The world of Kassa is a rich tapestry of interwoven lives and stories, where no person is ever unimportant.
PART II: coming soon
Why Not
to Publish
I’m a big fan of ‘private writing.’ Not every word we write is intended to be seen by the world. For many of us, we create for ourselves or for a highly select set of readers: friends and family. Those readers will often push us to expand our community and get our words out. Not all words belong ‘out.’
Don’t accept the conventional wisdom that large readership equals good writing. Some private writing does deserve to get out there. The classic example is Lord of the Rings, which was written for a specific, known audience, but has clearly found a bigger readership.
Where does your writing belong? We can’t answer that unless you submit your work. If you submit, remember that we aren’t your friends. We are obligated to pick out good books for our readers. Our first loyalty has to be to the readers, not the authors.
That actually works in your favor as a writer. Having us be tough on the work will make the work better.