Welcome back, D. A. What
has drawn you to writing and creating this
product?
I have a 13-year old grandson who loves to read. I wanted to
provide him with decent reading material in a genre he enjoys. That was time
travel. I started thinking about what kind of time travel book would someone,
say 9 – 16 years old enjoy? There have been lots of time travel books written,
so I needed to find an original way to get the protagonists from one time/place
to another. I decided on a board game to do that.
I designed a board game (Time Game) and have had it produced
and do have it available for sale through local vendors and through my
websites. It’s a game of luck…not skill…and anyone ages 12 – adult can enjoy
playing it.
The series of books I’ve based on the game will be a 13-book
series, one book for each illustration on the game board. I’m up through Book 7
(published to date) and working on the 8th one. My reading range has expanded
to adults, so now I say my market is ages 9 – 99.
What is the quirkiest
thing you have ever done?
I don’t know how quirky it was…but it certainly shook up my
sister and my mom. We had been somewhere and I was driving them home, taking
some side streets to get to their neighborhood. I spotted a couple of tree
stumps in someone’s yard. Cut stumps which had been put out by the curb to be
picked up by the trash people. My creative instincts shouted coffee table so I stopped the car, got
out and rang the doorbell of the house and asked the owner if they minded if I
took the stumps. Needless to say, they were a bit surprised, but gave
permission. I put the stumps in the trunk of the car and resumed the driver’s
seat. All the way to my mom’s house I kept hearing “I can’t believe you did
that’s” from my sister and my mom. But hey, I figure you don’t ask, you don’t
have. I’m big on asking.
I love that story.
You sound a lot like my husband. When did you first discover that you were a
writer?
I’ve been a reader all my life (make that avid reader, like
on average one book a day when I’m not busy), but I never tried my hand at
creative writing until about 1999 when I read an article in Reader’s Digest asking what you would do
as a career if you didn’t have to worry about training, time, finances,
education, etc. Without thinking, the thought popped into my mind… “I’d write
books.” It really surprised me because, even though I loved to read, I’d never
thought about writing books. I stuffed the thought into the back of my mind,
but it kept coming back until I finally figured “how am I going to know I
can/can’t unless I try?” So I tried. That began my writing journey. Since 2013,
when I started writing full time, I’ve published 22 books so I guess writing
was definitely in my future.
Tell us the range of
the kinds of books you enjoy reading.
My favorite genre is mysteries. I also enjoy many suspense
books, action/adventure/thriller books as well. I do read some historicals and some
romances.
What other books have
you written, whether published or not?
I’ve written and published 22 books. Four of those are
non-fiction (2 are just e-books), and the rest fiction. I’ve written two
different mystery series, a romantic comedy series, an end times series, the
afore-mentioned time travel/sci-fi series, and a romance. Probably the most
unusual was the non-fiction cold case murder I wrote about that occurred in
1930 in the town I now live in. That was quite an experience, but I’m pretty
sure I solved the case.
How do you keep your
sanity in our run, run, run world?
I am blessed in that I am retired from a day job, so can
pretty much keep my own schedule. Things do tend to come to me in clumps for
some reason – usually groups of three…so occasionally I’m juggling many plates
at the same time. But I can usually manage to stay on track and take time as
needed for health issues and other necessities (like grocery shopping…ugh).
What is the
accomplishment that you are most proud of, besides family?
There is a faith element in all my books. When I started the
Time Game series of books, I wanted to offer readers something exciting, yet
clean, and not weird supernatural as is so prevalent today. I think I’ve
accomplished that with this series and the responses I get from readers of all
ages pretty much confirm that. I can’t take the credit, the Lord gets that, but
I appreciate Him letting me help.
If you were an
animal, which one would you be, and why?
Probably a cat. I love cats. Unfortunately, my allergies
don’t allow a pet, so haven’t had one for years. But they are SO independent
and graceful, I just love them. I know I don’t qualify for the graceful designation, but I am independent
and can relate to cats on that level.
What is your favorite
food?
This is a toughie. If you mean just one food item…it would
have to be carrot cake with 4-inch thick icing (if only they’d make it that thick).
If you mean food types…probably Mexican food (Tex-Mex). All of it.
Is it hard to break
into the children’s market?
Being independently (indie) published, it’s a bit different.
I did try for a short time, when I began the Time Game series, to see if any
agents were looking for children’s/middle grade books. Only found one and she
never responded to my query. So I went ahead with my indie publishing (in which
I’d done all my other books). The marketing is challenging. But then marketing
is these days for all writers.
What advice would you
give to an author wanting to do that?
Occasionally, I now see there are agents who are soliciting
those types of books, so I’d encourage authors who want to write for children
to try traditional publishing if they want to. But if they don’t mind the
marketing aspect, indie publishing is an avenue to explore. Advice? Try to come
up with an original idea…one that hasn’t been done to death and find a fresh
approach. It is possible.
What would you like
to tell us about the featured book?
Again, I’d like to mention that the board game (Time Game)
was the basis for the themes for all the books in the series and can be played
by 2-4 players, including adults. It moves fast but has enough pitfalls to keep
it exciting.
How can readers find
you on the Internet?
I have two different websites. One for the Time Game series
books and game:
Another for all my books (including the Time Game series and
game):
I’m on Facebook at:
E-mail is: dafeatherling@gmail.com
Thank you, D A, for
sharing this new game and book series with us. I’m intrigued by it, and I’ll
want to get the game for my oldest great-grandson for Christmas. I’ll start him
on the first book, too.
Readers, here is a link to the paperback.
Eye of the Storm: The First Token (Time Game Series) (Volume 1)
The book is also available on Kindle
Leave a comment for a chance to win a free copy of the book.
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13 comments:
Sounds great! I've been looking for a book for my twin nephew and niece....this just might be the book.
Tamm y from East Texas
Hi, Tammy. I'm a fellow Texan and have relatives in the Palestine area. Hope your nephew and niece like the books. It's such a fun series to write.
Best,
Dorothy
Enjoyed reading more about your writing journey, Dorothy. Glad you took the chance and discovered that you most certainly CAN!
Hi, I live in the Central Valley in California. What an original idea to develop a game and then write books based off that game! Awesome idea, Dorothy.
Nancy Isaacs
What an amazing concept for a book series! Love that the game came first and the book revolves around the game pieces. I know I would love the chance to explore D. A. Featherling, a new to me author, through the whole series starting with "Eye of the Storm: The First Token" the first book in the Time Game series.
Thanks for the opportunity to win a copy!
Kay Garrett from Mountain View, AR
2clowns at arkansas dot net
What a great book! I would love for my grandson to read it. Thank you for the opportunity. Melanie Backus, TX
Thanks for the great comments, ladies. I admit, I sometimes think the game got
away from me since the design of the game board requires I make this a 13-book
series! But I'm persevering. Getting ready to start writing Number 8.
Best,
Dorothy
This sounds great and this game/book series may be the trigger to start a child reading if he or she isn't already a reader
Blessings!
Connie from Kentucky
cps1950(at)gmail(dot)com
Good comment, Connie from Kentucky. One of my hopes is, that by having both a male and female protagonist, the books will appeal to both males and females - they pretty much share equal time in the adventures. I've been getting a lot of good comments from parents who have boys who don't particularly like to read.
Best,
Dorothy
Enter me!!
Conway SC
Thanks for entering, Sharon.
Best,
Dorothy
would love to win the paperback thank you for the chance!
Thank you, Sarah, for commenting.
Best,
Dorothy
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