The Duality of Nature
The Monster of Selkirk
by
C.E. Clayton
Publication Date:
April 18, 2017
Publisher: DevilDog
Press
Genre: YA Fantasy
The Book Junkie
Reads . . . THE DUALITY OF NATURE (The Monster of Selkirk, #1) . . . One fantastic YA Fantasy read that
gave me monsters and more monsters on the island nation of Selkirk. I was not
bored or lulled by the well-written, intricately developed characters and the
world building was phenomenal. The words on the page weaved a tale that was
exciting, adventurous, humbling, self-aware, self-discovery and more. Tallis
was a great lead character. I found her fascinating. Donovan gained lots of
points if for no other reason than he loved her and wanted to protect her.
There are moments of pain, sorrow, fear, sadness, loss, confusion.
Tallis finds that her life has a completely
different path than she could have very dreamed of. She finds herself on a path
to get the answers missing from her life. She losses much but sets out to find
more. She does not travel alone. Friendship. Trust. Respect. Answers.
I believe that if you loved the Hobbit, Lord of the Rings, or other dark young adult fantasy with adventure
and a journey of self-discovery. You would find a kinship with this one. It is
currently the first book of the series, but it was so worth the time it took to
read this one. I would not classify this as a YA that would be universal. I
feel that young adult that reads this needs a more mature level of thinking
than your typical youngster.
The Monster
of Selkirk series:
The Duality of Nature – The Monster of Selkirk, #1
The Heart of the Forrest – The Monster of Selkirk, #2
BLURB
Monsters come in many forms, and not everyone
knows a monster when they see one. After three hundred years of monstrous,
feral elves plaguing the island nation of Selkirk, everyone believes they know
what a monster is. Humans have learned to live with their savage neighbors,
enacting a Clearing every four years to push the elves back from their borders.
The system has worked for centuries, until after one such purge, a babe was
found in the forest.
As Tallis grows, she discovers she isn't like
everyone else. There is something a little different that makes people leery in
her presence, and she only ever makes a handful of friends.
But when the elves gather their forces and
emerge from the forests literally hissing Tallis's name like a battle mantra,
making friends is the least of her troubles. Tallis and her companions find
themselves on an unwilling journey to not only clear her name, but to stop the
elves from ravaging her homeland.
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The Book Junkie Reads . . . Interview
with C.E. Clayton . . .
How
would you describe you style of writing to someone that has never read your
work?
Emotional.
I tend to like prose and examining emotions with similes and metaphors. I’m a
linear writer, there won’t be any confusing jumps back and forth between the
past, present, or future. In that way I write true journey stories, my
characters are always heading for their end goal, despite the bumps along the
way. My style of fantasy also tends to be more realistic. There will always be
pure fantasy elements and creatures in my work, but it also always feels like it’s
happening in a world you know, and want to visit.
What
mindset or routine do you feel the need to set when preparing to write (in
general whether you are working on a project or just free writing)?
As
cliché as it sounds, I need coffee at my side when I want to start writing. I
don’t need the caffeine as much as the aroma and comforting roasted flavor, the
ritual of drinking it. I also have to find the right musical playlist. Music is
a huge part of my writing process, so I probably spend a good fifteen minutes
thinking about the project or the scene I need to tackle, what emotions or
feelings, or atmosphere comes with it, then finding a playlist on Spotify that
suits it. My musical tastes are wide, but it helps me get in the right
headspace for writing.
Do you
take your character prep to heart? Do you nurture the growth of each character
all the way through to the page? Do you people watch to help with development?
Or do you build upon your character during story creation?
My
character prep varies based on the world and situation. I definitely nurture
the growth of each of my characters, I make sure each has their own quirks and
demons they deal with, and how they grow through their own insecurities or
issues depends on the situation. Generally, I know where they need to end up
maturity wise based on where the story needs to end, but how they get there,
how they grow and mature is really dictated by them. Sometimes the characters surprise
me; some end up becoming vital characters for the rest of the story when I
originally had planned to kill them off, and some die when originally I thought
they’d stick around. It’s awesome! I do people watch to help with development
and to help with the colloquialisms I want to capture, otherwise I think I
primarily end up building upon my characters as part of the story
creation.
Have
you found yourself bonding with any particular character? If so which one(s)?
I
really bonded with Tallis (my main character, unsurprisingly), Rosslyn, and
Tomas. All these characters are based on people I know and love, or are even
based on me and some of the things I’ve experienced, so it was easy to form a
bond with them!
Do you
have a character that you have been working on that you can't wait to put to
paper?
There
are two character that will appear in later books of “The Monster of Selkirk”
series who were just a blast to create and write. I am still working on them
and the books they appear in. I’m partially still working on them because these
characters are just so fun to write! One makes their appearance in the third
book of the series, while the other shows up in book four, so be on the lookout
for them!
Have
you ever felt that there was something inside of you that you couldn't control?
If so what? If no what spurs you to reach for the unexperienced?
I have
a lot of story ideas in me that are squirming to come out and wreak havoc. They
are half formed, creatures, and ideas that will probably be epic once I can
wrestle them into submission and massage the details and plot into it. But I am
not great at multitasking when it comes to writing, I can only really write one
story at a time despite these other ideas I have. So now, I have an
uncontrollable stack of paper (I’m old school when it comes to idea and note
taking) next to me on my desk, full of emotions and feelings and fantastic
scenarios that just need a world or character to bring them to life.
Author Info
C. E. Clayton was born and raised in Southern
California where she worked in the advertising industry for several years on
accounts that ranged from fast food, to cars, and video games (her personal
favorite). This was before she packed up her life, husband, two displeased
cats, and one very confused dog and moved to New Orleans. Now, she is a full
time writer (mainly in the fantasy genre), her cats are no longer as
displeased, and her dog no longer confused.
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