Happy Friday, readers! Here’s another reason to celebrate — an interview with author of “Tyger Tyger” author Kersten Hamilton Scroll to the bottom for giveaway information and another surprise!

Q: You wrote and published several children’s titles before TT — what made you take the transition to young adult? And why fantasy?

I don’t really write for children or young adults—I just write the stories I want to hear. I knew Tyger Tyger would appeal to young adults the moment Teagan met that wild Irish boy. Things started to get… complicated. In a really good way.
The Goblin Wars trilogy is a fantasy because I wanted to indulge in a little world building. I really do like my wooly squirrelephants.

Q: There’s a lot of rich Celtic, particularly Irish, mythology and lore in TT that you conveyed strongly throughout the book, especially naming one of the characters Fionn Mac Cumhaill after the legendary Irish warrior. Have you always wanted to write about Celtic tales and legends?

Always. I am Welsh/Irish myself, and the pull of the literature and music is almost enough to make me believe in racial memory. There is no other set of legends or body of music that haunts me in quite the same way.

Q: One of the central aspects of TT is that it tries to turn the treatment of goblins on its head and reverse it from notions of impish little pests with green skin who are relegated to the territory of nothing but comic foils for the protagonist and his/her band of merry friends into dark fae and the sidhe. So tell us, why goblins? What made you want to recast them in a new light?

It is actually an old light—they were recast by a writer named George MacDonald in a book called The Princes and the Goblin which was published in 1872. MacDonald’s goblins were creatures who had gone away from the sun, and devolved into things that should not be. His books were in the back of my mind as I read the work of Irish folklorist like Lady Gregory, who wrote: “The Sidhe have been like the Angels, from before the making of the earth.” Gregory described them as more than one race of creature. And so, in Tyger Tyger, they became chimera of peoples, cobbled together by the Dark Man’s will. Goblin kind.

Q: The Bologna Book Fair was buzzing about this book months before its release, and dozens of other bloggers have been raving about the book. How does that make you feel as an author?

Hopeful. Very hopeful. I would love people to love this story and these characters as much as I do…but all of the buzz in the world means nothing if the book doesn’t connect deeply with readers. And now that Tyger Tyger is out, I am holding my breath, waiting to see….

Q: One of the things that many reviewers have remarked upon is that Teagan is mature and wholesome–and that it’s refreshing to see such a markedly different almost Austen-like protagonist who has her priorities straight. As well, many reviewers have commented on the fact that the book is more accessible because although there’s a strong romance element in the novel, it isn’t quite as sexually explicit as many of the books in TT’s category seem to be. What are some of the things that drew you to make these decisions?

For many, if not most, YA novels today, sexual tension is the glue that holds the story together. It is what the story is all about. Tyger Tyger isn’t like that. Tyger is an epic adventure, which includes a captivating romance.

I’m glad you mentioned Austen—her books prove that romance can be wonderful, even without explicit sex scenes. In my experience, real romance is equal parts heart, character, and sizzle. You’d be surprised how many people who have been married 60+ years claim to have fallen in love at first sight. But you have to listen to their whole story to understand: it’s not the love that is true, it’s the hearts of the people who fell into it. Those people who fell in love at first sight continued in it purposefully, intentionally, and truly every day of their lives.

In Tea and Finn, I chose to write two characters with true hearts. Characters with the strength and courage they will need to love intentionally for a lifetime. And I chose to build that romance slowly, in a realistic way which includes, rather than excludes, friends and family.

Q: What’s next for Finn and Teagan?

In the Forests of the Night, book two of The Goblin Wars, is darker, scarier, and more emotionally intense. The stakes are much higher for Tea and Finn.

P.s. You have a gorgeous website–who designed it?

My son! He built just the kind of virtual study he knew I would like to write in – complete with a giant grasshopper head on the wall!
Thank you for interviewing me!

There you have it, folks! Now for the giveaway information:

Kersten has been gracious enough to offer up one signed copy of “Tyger Tyger” to a lucky winner (US only; sorry!). To enter, simply comment on this post and tell me what you like best about Finn
Deadline for entries: Friday 3 December at 12AM EST.
Geographics: Open to USA only (sorry!)
(OPTIONAL) To add one extra entry: Add me on GFC.

Good luck to all who enter! Please retweet

Here is the wonderful book trailer for “Tyger Tyger” — it’s simply amazing!

Darkeva