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Wednesday, March 26, 2014

The Awesome Ali Cross Talks about Renaissance Faires


More Than Just FUN ~ It's RESEARCH!

I've loved Nicole from the moment I saw her profile pic ~ dressed in Renaissance garb. I thought, She's a soul mate! For my birthday a couple years ago, my husband surprised me with a custom-made costume that I could wear to our local faires ~ and I do!

My family and I literally plan our holidays around the local faires and festivals. We go to three different Scottish festivals (which are basically Renaissance Faires with kilts and pipes!) Then we go to a couple Medieval/Reconnaissance fairest, too. We love them! The highlights are the jousting, the "fight the giant" (Nerf-sword fighting knight-style) and of course, the pipes and drums.

You would think I wrote high fantasy with all that Lord and Lady stuff. You'd swear in a court of law it was true if you read my list of all-time-favorite books (hint: all high fantasy!). But . . . I don't write in that genre. And I have no idea why.

But while I don't write the genre, it does influence everything story I tell.

I write tales steeped in family history, in culture, in belonging. I write traditional ideals ~ men and women can still be knights and ladies if they're on a space ship!

The wonderful thing about faires and festivals, or ComicCon (which I also love! Ha!) or Robot Wars or whatever other-worldly activities you enjoy, is that it all feeds your creative self. Ride a horse and pretend you're flying a Pegasus. Heck, ride your bike and imagine it's a dragon! Dance like it's May-Day. Anything. Everything!

Immerse yourself in fantasy ~ in whatever form it takes for you ~ and let it feed your creative self. The joy and freedom you feel will allow your fantasy to take flight and inspire greatness in your stories.

Thanks for letting me hang out in your fair village today, Nicole, AND for being a friendly, genteel face in the blogosphere!

Nicole here: No, thank YOU, Ali! And we're definitely soul mates. ;)

About BLOOD CROWN: Androids have claimed power over what remains of the human race. They rule without remorse. They are the Mind and humans exist only to serve them. 

But it wasn't always so.

Before the android uprising, select droids, called Servants, were pivotal in engineering a new human race with nanotechnology enhanced DNA. The Blood Crown theorum was to be humanity's crowning glory and the key to their survival in deep space.

But Serantha, Daughter of the West, was the last female to receive Gifts from her Servant and when the Mind mutinied, she was hidden away, and presumed dead. 

Without Serantha there is no hope of the Blood Crown being realized so Nicolai, Son of the East, abandons his crown to join the rebel forces. He might not provide the future for his people he had once dreamed of, but he will not go down without a fight.

When Nicolai discovers Sera among a small compliment of kitchen staff, everything changes--but Sera's Gifts were never completed and she is ill-equipped to face a legion of androids determined to wipe her, and every other human, out of existence.

Their only hope is the Blood Crown--but even if Serantha and Nicolai can realize their potential it may be too late to save mankind.

Release date: February 28, 2014

Buy links: Amazon


About Ali Cross:
Ali Cross is the sensei of Novel Ninjutsu where she holds a black belt in awesome. She lives in Utah with her kickin' husband, two sparring sons, one ninja cat, one sumo dog and four zen turtles.

Ali is the award-winning author of young and new adult fiction and moonlights as Alex Cross when she can write wild middle grade adventures set in the faraway places of her imagination.


Social media links:
Tumblr/Pinterest/Etc: http://desolationdiaries.tumblr.com/
Indelibles (indie authors): http://indeliblewriters.blogspot.com/
Emblazoners (middle grade authors): http://emblazoners.com/


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2 comments:

  1. There is definitely a hint of fantasy in what you write though.
    Nerf sword fighting. Fun to do and even funnier to watch.

    ReplyDelete
  2. although I have not had a chance to make it to a local Renn-faire, I hope to correct that much sooner than later.

    ReplyDelete

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