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Interview with Nicole Conway, author of Fledgling

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Jaevid Broadfeather is a 15-year old boy who has endured a lot of torment and discrimination because of his mixed racial heritage. He yearns for acceptance, and finally begins to find it in the most unlikely place–Blybrig Academy for Dragonriders. But when Jaevid begins his first year of training as a fledgling dragonrider, he has no idea that he is part of a conspiracy that will rock the very foundations of the kingdom.

What genre is this?
Children’s Fiction & Fantasy, Middle Grade Fiction & Fantasy.

FLEDGLING will appeal primarily to children from 4th – 9th grade, but it has also gotten a lot of interest from young adults and adults.

When a child tells me that they love my book, it just makes me want to cry. I’m writing this series for them. Don’t get me wrong, I love hearing that adults like my book and give it good reviews. But hearing a child tell me they like it, and seeing how excited they are, just gives me so much joy.

It brings How To Train Your Dragon to our mind. What should we be comparing it with?
Harry Potter.

Ah, in that case, tell us about Jaevid.
From the beginning, readers get the sense that Jaevid Broadfeather is a timid, quiet, and completely submissive boy. He’s afraid, and with good reason. But as he begins training to become a dragonrider, and embarks on an unexpected adventure with new friends, Jaevid slowly starts to come into his own. He starts to become braver and more eager to protect the ones he cares about, which may prove to ultimately be his undoing.

Harry has his sidekicks; who accompanies Jaevid on his adventures?
Felix Farrow is Jaevid’s best friend and partner in training. He’s older, stronger, and a little too confident for his own good. He also tends to be a little bit of a flirt, and loves getting attention from girls who will flatter him almost as much as he loves playing pranks on Jaevid. He’s the son of a powerful duke, born to privilege and power, but seems to resent that part of his life. Felix dismisses the issue of Jaevid’s mixed race immediately, and remains unflinchingly loyal to him.

Have you written any other books that we should read next?
Dervyshire Park, though it is of a completely different genre.

Tell us a bit about yourself.
I was born and raised in North Alabama, and was definitely a “nerd” growing up. I was obsessed with shojo books, anime, Lord of the Rings, and Jane Austen to the point that I probably needed a professional intervention. I still have a lot of passions, but I’ve always loved writing the most. I finished writing my first 700-page novel in the 6th grade. I don’t think my inner child ever grew up at all, because I still enjoy kids books and movies as much as I did then. 

I met my husband in college and it was definitely love at first sight. He’s a very dedicated, hard-working man and has been my inspiration to push harder towards my dreams. We love doing outdoorsy things together like hiking and camping, and recently we have started running 5K’s. We have two cats, Love Nugget and Mr. Darcy, and a dog named Phoebe.

I earned a bachelor’s degree in English at Auburn University, but have never actually gotten to “use” it. I do hope to teach English and Latin someday, but that’s bound to be a long way off for me. Before then, I hope to attend graduate school and publish as many books as I can.

Do you have a website where we can keep up with your work?
http://anconway422.wix.com/anconway

How can we follow you on Twitter and/or Facebook?
You can follow me on Twitter at @ANConway or find The
Dragonrider Chronicles page on Facebook!

How easily do new storylines come to you? If we give you four random words – Man, Woman, Airport, Darkness – can you give us a brief storyline?
A man storms into the women’s restroom where a woman is calmly reapplying her eyeshadow after a grueling 9-hour haul from Chicago. She’s so tired that, at first, she doesn’t even find it odd that suddenly there is a handsome, dark-haired young man staring at her reflection in the mirror.

Then he lunges at her. She screams and tries to fend him off, but he drags her into a stall as the bathroom explodes with the sound of snarling monsters. Oh no! She’s just been caught up in a battle between the Prince of Nox, a shadowmancer who can manipulate the darkness and bend it to his will, and an alliance of rebellious ancient beasts that are determined to destroy him before he can claim his throne.

Wow, that was a bit of a twist!
Yes… you could say these things come to me easily. It helps to be a little bit crazy. I’m pretty sure I am the only one at the gym thinking about the specifics of dragon saddles while I’m on the treadmill.

What is next for you?
The sequel to FLEDGLING is set for release this summer. It’s titled AVIAN, and has been so much fun to work on.

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