Author Kamilla Reid Guest Post About Writing The Questory
Hi! I’m Kamilla Reid and I’m here today to talk about my new book “The Questory of Root Karbunkulus” Actually, I’m here to talk about why I chose to write a teen fantasy.
Well, the best answer to that is that I didn’t. 
I just wanted to write a story that came to me, pretty much in a flash and got cooler and cooler as I scrawled it out over pages and pages of scrap paper. It was only once it was done that I was told it was a fantasy.
When I started writing “The Questory” I was as green as it got when it came to knowing any of the publishing lingo, especially genre. And, in fact my opinion on fantasy was quite low. To me it conjured book covers of virile, half naked men and women with ginormous swords. And hard to pronounce names. Just not my thing. I had no idea there were other, I guess you could call it sub-genres within fantasy.
And to be quite honest, even now I don’t even know what the sub-genres are or aren’t. I mean, aren’t the Arthurian tales of Camelot fantasy? Or Charlie and the Chocolate Factory or The Princess Bride or Cinderella? Or are they myths, legends and fairy tales? Y’see what I mean?
To me they were magical adventures. That’s all. Magical adventures that I loved. Magical adventures that I wanted to write. And so that is what I set out to do.
As to “teen”, well that was more confusing. Some people were convinced “The Questory” was Young Adult and some that it was Middle Grade. Being that Root is 14 years old, I liked the term Tween but there, too it seemed a bit controversial. Eventually it seemed to be referred to as teen more often that not and that’s where it took up space in the shelves.
Maybe a better question is why did I choose a fourteen-year-old as my main character. Most likely it was because there is still so much magic at that age, still so much hope and assurance of who you are. Yet it also seems to be the time when that same assurance is kicked around the most, bullied, questioned, fought for, doubted Those teen years are sort of like an all important trial that will wholly influence who you are when you finally walk out of its alley and move down the road to Adult Hood.
Oh what juicy promise! To me, it was a no-brainer.
July 24th, 2008 at 1:04 am
[...] teen fantasy novel, The Questory of Root Karbunkulus, will be stopping off at Paperback Writer , The Book Stacks and A Striped Armchair! Kamilla Reid thrills us with The Questory of Root Karbunkulus, a [...]
September 27th, 2008 at 5:00 pm
The Dream Quest One Poetry & Writing Contest is open to anyone who loves expressing innermost thoughts and feelings into the beautiful art of poetry or to write a short story that is worth telling everyone! And to all who have the ability to dream. Write a poem or short story for a chance to win cash prizes. All works must be original. http://www.dreamquestone.com
Guidelines:
Write a poem, thirty lines or fewer on any subject, style, or form, typed or neatly hand printed.
And/or write a short story, five pages maximum length, on any subject or theme, creative writing fiction or non-fiction (including essay compositions, diary, journal entries and screenwriting). Also, must be typed or neatly hand printed.
Multiple poetry and short story entries are accepted.
Postmark Deadline (semi-annual): July 31st and December 31st each year
Prizes:
Writing Contest First Prize is $500. Second Prize: $250. Third Prize: $100.
Poetry Contest First Prize is $250. Second Prize: $125. Third Prize: $50.
Entry fees:
Writing Contest entry fee: $10 per short story.
Poetry Contest entry fee: $5 per poem.
To send entries: Include title(s) with your story (ies) or poem(s), along with your name, address, phone#, email, brief biographical info. (Tell us a little about yourself), on the coversheet. Add a self-addressed stamped envelope for entry confirmation. Fees payable to: “DREAMQUESTONE.COM”
Mail to:
Dream Quest One
Poetry & Writing Contest
P.O. Box 3141
Chicago, IL 60654
Visit http://www.dreamquestone.com for details and to enter!
No one who achieves success does so without acknowledging the help of others. The wise and confident acknowledge this help with gratitude. “And remember, in whatever you do, it’s okay to dream, for dreams do come true.” –Dream Quest One