Kyle Prue is a seventeen-year-old high school student. In an interview, he discusses some of the reasons he decided to write The Sparks, the first book in the Feud trilogy. This post is part of a blogbook tour. You can find more information by following the tour at : #TheSparksBlogTour.
Interview:-
Where did you get the idea for the Feud series?
This
is a coming of age story for young adults and I am a teen in that
demographic. Everyone struggles to find their path in life and my
characters are all struggling with not wanting to let people down and
to find their way; forgiveness and hope is a part of that journey as
well. One night, at the age of 15, I had terrible insomnia and I
couldn’t sleep. I was thinking about the different personalities of
my siblings and myself and how we will all follow different paths.
That gave me the idea to create three different families loosely
based around our differing personalities. I decided it would be fun
to take these families and place them in a fantasy world where the
obstacles we all face could be magnified to a whole new level. I
wrote out the plot for the three books that night.
-
What drew you to write YA Fantasy?
I
wanted to write for me. Recently, I’ve hit an “in-between” zone
where it’s harder for me to find books I want to read. I wanted to
write something that I would want to read and that would appeal to
other kids my age. I wanted to appeal to boys who have lost interest
in reading and I also created strong female characters that girls
will love.
-
When did you first start writing?
Like
a lot of kids, I was bullied in middle school. I doubt you will ever
find a kid that says, “I rocked 7th grade! That was the
best time in my life.” I was short and fat and had a bowl haircut
with braces. This was not a great time in my life. But I discovered I
could come home and pick up a pen and create a whole fantasy world
that I could control, when the rest of my life felt out of control. I
learned that I loved to create characters because their potential is
limitless.
I
was lucky because I learned to use writing as an escape at an early
age. I was in a multi-age program from 1st-3rd
grade where I had the same teacher for three years. She had an
experimental writing program where she gave us an hour a day to write
in our journals. She told us to just write freely and not worry about
punctuation or grammar, just let the creativity flow. So by the end
of that program, I had a stack of notebooks filled with an adventure
series. I also did a series called Three Rings that I wrote from the
age of 12 to 14 when middle school was really rough. It was a
200-page manuscript. It wasn’t good, but it was good practice.
-
What are your other interests besides writing?
I
love stand up comedy because like writing, it requires an ability to
look at the world in a unique way and find the humor in that. I’m a
varsity swimmer for my school. I’m involved with mock trial, I’m
in a number of plays every year, I started an improv club at my
school and I’m really involved with our film club—we spend our
weekends writing scripts and filming. We are currently working on a
web series called “Amockalypse” that I’m really excited about.
I pretty much gave up on sleeping after middle school.
-
When do you find the time to write?
If
you love something, you find the time. I write during any hour that I
can get free. With extracurriculars, I don’t usually get home until
around 7:00 p.m. or later, and then I have homework, so I may only
write an hour or two during the week. I try to make time to write
during the weekends and breaks—I get the most writing done in the
summer. I started the second book in the trilogy, The Flames,
this past summer and am working on editing it over this school year.
-
Where is your favorite place to write?
I’ve
usually got a notebook or computer on hand so any time I feel even
the slightest bit inspired I can write. I am a big fan of writing in
bookstores—it’s an interesting feeling to be surrounded by the
works of people who have achieved what you are trying to accomplish.
-
What is your family like?
My
family is nothing like the families in the book, I better clarify
that up front. My parents are incredibly supportive and have allowed
me to follow my dreams. I have two siblings: a brother and a sister.
They are great; we are very close. I am the youngest.
My
brother and I used to fight a lot and that dynamic inspired my idea
for the three feuding families in the books. We don’t fight
anymore, as we’ve outgrown that phase, but it gave me plenty to
write about.
-
What were you like as a child?
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I
lived in a fantasy world all the time—I was always inventing
stories and reenacting them. I lived in costumes. I had a cat suit
that I particularly loved. My mom would always get me a new costume
for Halloween and inevitably I would end up back in my cat suit when
it was time to go trick-or-treating. I wore that cat suit until the
legs only came to my knees. It’s weird…for some reason when you
dress like a cat all the time you don’t make a ton of friends. But
anyway, that’s why my parents signed me up for acting classes. I
started taking acting classes at the age of six. I loved it from the
start.
Currently,
my whole focus is on college auditions. I’m crazy enough to be
applying for programs where thousands of kids audition and they
literally accept only six boys. So it’s kind of like trying to win
the lottery, but I’m giving it my best shot. As I mentioned, I’m
writing, directing and acting in my web series and we are launching a
Kickstarter campaign to fund that this week. I spent last fall in LA
and I was so lucky to take acting classes and perform improv at LA
Connection. It was like what I imagine grad school is like. I spent
40 hours a week in acting classes and seminars—and still had to
keep up with schoolwork online. It was intense but amazing.
Tell us
where we can find your book and more information about you.
You
can find more info on my website,
www.kyleprue.com,
Facebook
www.facebook.com/kyleprue,
Twitter @KylePrue
and Instagram
@KyleStevenPrue.
Review:
A Fast Paced Fantasy
Adventure
Neil Vapros, a
member of the powerful Vapros family, wants to be an assassin to
impress his father. He is assigned to kill the grandfather, titular
head of the Taurlum clan. Once in the Taurlum mansion, he looks for
the grandfather, but instead runs into two young Tarulum brothers,
Darius and Michael. They give chase and Neil is barely able to
escape.
The three primary
families of Altryon: Vapros, Taurlum, and Celerium, have been given
special powers designed to help protect the city from the dangers of
the world outside the city walls, but for years they have been
fighting each other using their powers to kill each other. Now there
is a powerful emperor, but instead of fostering peace among the
families, he appears to be encouraging the feud.
Young adults, teens
and preteens, should enjoy this book. It's filled with action,
battles, and magical encounters where young people fight to protect
their families. The book focuses on plot and action and does it well.
However, there is little character development. Neil does grow as he
faces the forces arrayed against him, but the other characters remain
static.
I recommend this
book for anyone who enjoys fast paced action with a touch of magic.
Published on Nancy Famolari's Authorspotlight (http://nancyfamolari.blgspot.com)
Purchasing the Book:
There is a special discount code for readers who want to purchase
The Sparks. They can purchase the book from Kyle
Prue’s store on his official website (linked).
The code ‘BLOG25’
will get them 25% off an autographed copy, signed by Kyle Prue! NOTE:
This code will not work on purchases made on Amazon.
PRESS
CONTACT
Ashley
Lauretta | PR by the Book
512-481-7728
| ashley@prbythebook.com
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