How did you become involved with the subject or theme of your book?

It's an interesting story about how I created the Anchoress series.

All my life I had suffered from what traditional medicine classifies as Anxiety

Disorder. Although traditional medicine could label my problem, it couldn’t offer a cure.

Taking prescription medicine to "treat” the imbalance actually made my anxiety worse,

much worse.

By adulthood, my anxiety had gotten to a point where I felt terror all the time. I

would've done anything to find peace. This lead me to seek alternative types of healing.

I found Energy Psychology, a healing modality that works with energy signatures held

within the organs in the body, including the brain, and promotes healing by correcting

physical and behavioral imbalances. This modality healed my anxiety disorder.

It was during an energy healing session that I got the idea for my Anchoress

series. I glimpsed a young female warrior and found her fascinating. I could tell she had

been through a lot and I wanted to know her story.

It was from that moment I created the Living World, developed the Anchoress

series, and wrote Shock of Fate, my debut novel, a young adult fantasy that adults

would also enjoy.

For those who want a more detailed story about my personal journey and more

information about Energy Psychology please visit my website www.DLArmillei.com.

Why did you choose to write in your particular field or genre?

I love adventure fantasies! I like reading fun, emotionally moving stories full of

surprises. To have an experience that allows me to escape reality and become

immersed in another world, one that I can explore with new characters who become

my friends. I want to get emotionally involved with the character’s dilemmas so we

can overcome challenges together while going on a wild ride through the story. Harry

Potter is my all time favorite story. I model my stories after that series.

If you write more than one, how do you balance them?

I only write one at a time. Sometimes, I might have to write a short for a publisher or promo

but I base that piece on something or someone in the same universe. It could be a deleted

scene, backstory, or a story about a character that didn’t get much scene time in the main

book series. Everything I’m writing now is relevant to the development of the series. I will be

releasing more of these shorts (short stories) or novellas in the near future. Right now, I’d like

to offer your readers a FREE copy of Hag’s Hut on the Hill which became an Amazon

Bestseller. You can download this short story for FREE on Instafreebie at this link for a limited

time: https://www.instafreebie.com/free/U8qvk .

Where did your love of books/storytelling/reading/writing/etc. come from?

I was born with a desire to write. My mother always told me that I am extremely

creative. She was an artist, a painter. There are many artists on her side of the family,

so maybe this is where I inherited my writing skills. I’m lucky because my father was

great with business and finances so I learned those skills too. It allows me to manage

my author career as a business.

How long have you been writing?

I smile when you ask me that and I’ll tell you why. When I was about four years

old, I got hold of a ream of paper. I used every piece to scribble a “story” in

“cursive.” I was confident that I had written a truly amazing story. I just needed

my mother to tell me what it said. I proudly presented my “book” to her so she could

read my story out loud. Instead, my mother tucked the pages into a desk drawer and

told me that we could read the amazing story I had created together, in a couple of

years, after I had learned how to read and write.

What was the hardest part of writing this book?

Finding time and space to be a creative artist. There’s tremendous pressure on authors to

churn out “product” (books) and to “write to market.” Writing to market means writing

stories based solely on themes that are currently selling and to produce books really fast,

usually resulting in products that are low quality. My series doesn’t fall into this type of

marketing strategy. What I do is a creative art. I have an incredible, entertaining story to tell.

It’s rich, complex, and immersive. I can’t create an engaging “product” if I am expected to

act as a human conveyor belt. My story and my writing style are too good to meet the

demands involved with writing to market. That’s why book two is taking longer to publish

than I planned, but I expect it to be released later this year.

Tell me about Book 1 and what did you enjoy most about writing this book?

The first book in the Anchoress Series, Shock of Fate, is about fifteen-year-old

Vanessa Cross. She is coerced into leaving her comfy Massachusetts life to go through

a portal to an alternate realm, called the Living World. Once there, Van discovers

she’s trapped. Before time runs out, she must go on a grueling journey to retrieve the

Coin of Creation, a magical relic that will not only get her home but will save her

loved ones from being destroyed by a rising army of demons.

What I enjoyed most about writing this book was interweaving my areas of interest

into the story. There are lots of hidden meanings and many layers in all my stories.

You can read my books (and this series) over and over and each time you will uncover

more hidden gems, Easter Eggs, and deeper meanings. 90% of what is being said, or

what is happening at moment in my stories, have something to do with something

else, something that’s going on under the surface.

For example: the title Shock of Fate. I didn’t use a keyword finder to come up with

the title (as is done in writing to market). It has deeper meaning. Shock of Fate is a

translation of a hexagram in the ancient Chinese oracle called the I Ching

(pronounced “E-Ching”), where you toss coins to get a reading. The I Ching is

designed to give guidance and to show the correct path to the reader of the coins,

which coincides with one of the magical properties of the Coin of Creation.

I chose I Ching hexagram #51 to represent book 1 because this title reflects the main

character’s story arc. The hexagram translates to: When we exercise ego, our spiritual

development stops and the universe must use shocking events to move us back onto

our path. A continuing series of shocks occurs until the obstruction in our attitude is

removed. The only remedy for doubt and fear is reconnection to the higher truth. The

sooner you return to acceptance of this truth, the sooner the shocks will stop.

Also, Van is shocked that there’s another world, shocked about who her parents are,

of who she is, about what she has to do, and that there is no easy way out. But it is

her destiny to retrieve the Coin of Creation. So she is both shocked and fated for this

journey.

What is the biggest thing that people THINK they know about your subject/genre, that isn't

so?

Hm, I’m not sure what other people think. If I was to guess, I would probably say that some

people think that YA (young adult) books are not meant for adults. But a lot of YA books are

what’s called a crossover book. A book suitable for YA and adults. My books are crossover YA

novels. Another guess would be that boys don’t read books with female protagonists. I’m not

sure if this is true or not, but I have heard this said.

What is the most important thing that people DON'T know about your subject/genre, that

they need to know?

I think there’s a misconception that sci-fi is geared toward boys and fantasy is geared toward

girls. That sort of thing. I don’t think this is true. I love sci-fi and I’m female, I was a girl

once. [laughs]

What inspires you?

Being in nature. Stopping to admire the beauty of the trees, flowers, leaves, rivers, stones.

Being immersed in the woods enhances my connection to nature and to all living things. It

allows me time to be at peace with myself and the world. My connection to nature extends

into my artistic work as an author. It gives me the desire to connect with people, to entertain

them and bring them together in fandom. I want to bring my readers joy and a sense of

community. I have an author page on Facebook but would love a reader to create a fan page

where people can chat about the deeper meanings in my books and re-hash the plots and

subplots and discover the intricacies of how they are connected. They could talk for hours.

I’m in the process of getting my website updated to help readers gather together and for me

to interact more with fans. Eventually my website will have merchandise from the Living

World, quizzes, links to my youtube channel (still working on this too), discussions, recipes,

online writing classes for teens, and more fun things that will engage and immerse readers

into the Living World.

What process did you go through to get your book published?

It was a long process. I began working with an agent in NYC who kept making changes to my

story to the point where I felt like a ghost writer. When this agent wanted something in book

one changed, no matter how insignificant it seemed, it was still relevant to the story and the

series plot. She didn’t seem to understand that a change in book one would alter the story

line in, say, book 5, for example. She was changing my story into her story. Our partnership

didn’t work and we parted ways. Then, the same happened again when I entered a contest in

Jan 2015. It was televised, but I’m not sure if it ever aired. The show was similar to American

Idol except for writers. The judges where a NYC agent, a NYC publisher, and the owner of a

NYC publicity and marketing firm. I learned a lot during this contest, got phenomenal

reviews, and lots of great advice. In the end, my book wasn’t a good fit for the publishing

house which didn’t publish YA or fantasy novels. I placed in the top five and felt it was a good

thing I didn’t win because I ended up signing with a great publisher a few months after the

contest. During the contest I was told that my story was highly visual. Since then, I’ve been

told many times by agents, fans, editors, and publishers that my books would make great

movies. My goal is to see my Anchoress book series made into a movie franchise. I’ve also

been told it would make a great video game.

What makes your book stand out from the crowd?

It’s an unusual story in a usual genre. It contains all the writing conventions of the genre but

the story is unique and full of surprises. It’s a crossover novel that’s a great read for boys,

girls, men, and women. The characters are well developed and complex. The story is deep

and enriching. The plot is full of twists and turns yet it’s an easy read, like Harry Potter. If you

choose, you can get more involved in the undercurrents and connections of the story. You

might find it fun uncovering and analyzing the story’s many layers, if not, then it’s a great

summer read! Most fans of fantasy love to talk for hours about the stories. This series will give

endless hours of entertainment to its readers who want to dive into the deeper meanings

woven throughout the story and the series.

How do you find or make time to write?

I ditched my social life. [laughs] I trick myself by saying that I will only edit or write one

paragraph for 15 minutes and then go to bed/go to the store/meet friends. Suddenly it’s 3

hours later. I have to be careful not to do this if I have an appointment. Sometimes I have to

set an alarm because I can easily get lost in my art. Like, it’ll be 9:30 pm, I’ll be lying in bed

and pull my laptop onto my belly. Next thing I know, it’s 2:30 am and I have to be up at 7am

the next day.

Do you write more by logic or intuition, or some combination of the two? Summarize your

writing process.

I have an outline for a seven book series, the Anchoress series that I’m working on right now.

It took about three years to complete all seven outlines. I’ve already written the last chapter

in book seven. Every book is plotted out first, then I begin writing.

What question do you wish that someone would ask about your book, but nobody has? Write it

out here, then answer it.

Most people think there is no research involved with writing fantasy novels because the

author creates the world. Do you think this is true?

I began researching this series in 2006. I studied different religions, politics, physics,

science, economics, oracles, anthropology, mythology, and folklore. I weaved the bits

I liked and wanted to comment on into my characters and their storylines. There are

many spiritual reflections throughout my story, along with social commentary. But

they are easy to miss with all the drama and action going on!

Buy Link:

https://www.amazon.com/Shock-Fate-Fantasy-Adventure-Anchoress/dp/0998672025/

Twitter link:

https://twitter.com/DLArmillei

Instagram link:

https://www.instagram.com/author_dla/

Facebook page link:

https://www.facebook.com/DLArmillei/

Pinterest:

https://www.pinterest.com/darmillei/overview/