Meet Middle Grade Author, Ilana Waters

Welcome to Five Question Wednesday featuring MG author, Ilana Waters. She's super cool and a really terrific writer. Enjoy! 

Q. Tell me about the book you're promoting.

Ten-year-old Stanley Delacourt loves his quiet life in the peaceful village of Meadowwood. At least, he does until his best friend is killed. Then the town library—where Stanley lives and works—is burned to the ground. The individuals responsible for both tragedies are a nasty group of soldiers. They work for the kingdom’s new leader: Christopher Siren.

No one understands the rules Siren’s creating. They don’t know why breaking them means death, or why the leader is so keen to destroy books. And no one can figure out where the former queen and king disappeared to—or if they’ll ever return.

With the grown-ups too fearful to take action, Stanley vows to confront Siren. He plans to get answers and demand justice. Little does he know that his journey will involve sword-wielding knights, kidnapper fairies, and dark magic.

Stanley has only two allies back home. One is an intimidated witch named Meredith. The other is a young apothecary called Sophie—who may have enchantment problems of her own. Can they help him discover the reason behind Siren’s crimes and end this terrible reign? Or is Stanley set to become the next victim in the tyrant’s evil plot?

If you enjoy the fantasy works of Rick Riordan, Lemony Snicket, or Philip Pullman, then explore the world of Stanley Delacourt today!

Q. How did you come up with the idea for this book?

All right, I know this sounds silly, but it came to me in a dream. Really--it did! I woke up and knew the basic plot and three of the main characters. The rest of it is loosely based on equal parts life experience and wish fulfillment.  

Q. Do any of the characters symbolize someone or something in real life?

Each of the main characters contains part of my personality. Stanley is my shy, quiet side. Sophie is how I feel when I'm irritated. And the befuddled psychic Foreshadow is the part of me that spends two hours searching for a sweater...that I'm wearing.

Q. Who are your favorite authors?

Hmmm...there are too many to list, but off the top of my head I can think of Lemony Snicket, Michael Ende, Philip Pullman, and Diana Wynne Jones.

Q. If you were stranded on a desert island and could only have one book, what would it be and why?

This is where I give the smart aleck answer: “How to Get Off a Desert Island for Dummies.” But I’m pretty sure that’s what every author says. So my real answer would have to be “The Complete Works of William Shakespeare.” One, because it’s really, really long. It would be years before I ran out of reading material, and I might be stuck on that island for years! Two, I’ve never read the complete works, but have always wanted to. Three, because many of Shakespeare’s comedies are laugh-out-loud funny. And if I’m in a place where there’s no indoor plumbing (and no indoors!) or coffee, I’m gonna need some cheering up.

Thanks for the interview, Ilana!

Below you'll find the cover for The Adventures of Stanley Delacourt: Book I of Hartlandia as well as a full bio on Ilana. Click here to follow Ilana on twitter, click here to see her Goodreads page, click here for her website. You can also purchase her book here on Amazon, here on Barnes and Noble, here on Apple, here on Kobo, and here on Smashwords.

Ilana Waters Bio

Ilana Waters is a freelance writer who lives in New Jersey. When not creating content for websites, she can be found working on novels and short stories--as well as nibbling string cheese. She once pet-sat an electric eel, and enjoys walking in circles around the park for no particular reason. Her first book, The Adventures of Stanley Delacourt: Book I of Hartlandia, is a middle-grade fantasy. Ilana is currently writing Book II of the Hartlandia trilogy, due out in 2013.