I am please to post our first author spotlight. This week we are featuring Angie Grigaliunas. Angie is a new author like myself and enjoys writing. He book sounds very interesting . I want to thank Angie for taking the time to do the interview and I really look forward to working with her again soon. Maybe we can spotlight her when she publishes her book. Enjoy the interview with Angie and check out the links at the end of the interview to see how to get in touch with Angie.
ANGIE GRIGALIUNAS
Angie is a
fantasy writer and blogger. She is a
country girl at heart -- in the sense that she wants to be in nature and away
from civilization. She loves Jesus, the
woods, the stars, and has ALWAYS wanted to be a superhero with a secret
identity. She lives in Ohio with her
dear husband and her crazy cats.
*Aside from Jesus, who
is your favorite Biblical character and why?
I struggle so much to pick my
favorites in anything. I love so many. But honestly, my favorite-favorite is
probably King Manasseh, son of Hezekiah. (I bet no one else will say that name! Haha!) He was horrible, built
altars to false gods, did all the things God said not to do, and sacrificed his
own children to idols. He led his people to do “more evil than the nations the
Lord had destroyed before the Israelites.” God spoke to him and he ignored him,
so God brought an army against him, who captured him and took him to Babylon.
And then comes the reason I love this story:
“In his distress he sought the favor of the Lord his God and humbled himself greatly before the God
of his fathers. And when he prayed to him, the
Lord was moved by his entreaty and listened to his plea; so he brought him
back to Jerusalem and to his kingdom. Then
Manasseh knew that the Lord is God.” (2 Chronicles 33:12-13, emphasis mine)
I used to have a kid Bible; at the
beginning, it summarized the kings of Israel and Judah. I’m pretty sure for
Manasseh it said either “mostly bad” or “bad.” I never paid much attention to
his story until one day I think I flipped to it. And though I knew it, it hit
me that day.
God forgave him. God changed him. He didn’t just cry out to
God for help and then go back to his ways after God did what he’d asked – he
genuinely repented. The story goes on to say all the things Manasseh did
afterward trying to undo the damage he’d done. The people didn’t follow, but he was never the same. God redeemed him.
It’s going to make me cry right now just writing about it! Redemption is my
heart; I love love love when bad guys become good. Manasseh was arguably one of
the worst kings in the history of Israel. He did evil and was evil. But he
didn’t stay that way. To me, Manasseh
is one of the greatest pictures of redemption in the Bible. I can’t wait to
talk with him in heaven.
*Tell us about your
newest book.
Well, unsurprisingly, given that
spiel above, the story I’m working on is about redemption. It is
fantasy/dystopian. As of right now, it follows two sisters, Ari and Rab
(shortened versions of their names). A totalitarian regime rules their
Medieval-like world, supposedly protecting people from the enemy creature race
but ultimately controlling everyone through fear. Rab is a rebel trying to
undermine that regime; Ari is a half-breed but doesn’t know it yet. Their world
crumbles and they are catapulted in different directions, and much of the story
deals with them trying to survive, find their purpose, and find each other
again. It deals with human trafficking, rape, murder, abuse, forgiveness,
grace, redemption, war, trust, and what true strength is. It is a very dark
world, with a lot of gray characters, and I love it more than I probably
should. ;) I try to use darkness to emphasize the light, evil to underscore
true goodness.
*Who is your favorite
character in above book and why?
Honestly, right now, it is probably
a tie between Rab and a guy named Sorek. Originally, both died before things
even started, but the story changed and I’m so glad it did. Rab is feisty,
impulsive, and insanely fun to write. (Largely because she talks without
thinking and puts her foot in her mouth a bit.) She is strong and vulnerable,
aggressive and feminine. She hates injustice in all of its forms and is more
than willing to sacrifice herself for those she loves and the cause she
believes in. She is also prideful, vengeful, and has no idea who she really is
apart from her sister. There is a lot of pent-up darkness in her, and it’s
going to come out. Sorek is intelligent, brutal, manipulative, and also deals
with a lot of internal darkness and hatred. He is constantly on the edge of
becoming someone he doesn’t want to be. He’s been through awful things and done
awful things, but he has such a good heart. He is also really fun to write.
*How does your book
relate to your personal life?
It honestly doesn’t relate much. I
am so glad I don’t live in my story-world and have never experienced most of
the things my characters experience. The only thing really that bridges it is
the redemption thing – the story of my life is redemption. I am a “bad guy” who
became/is becoming good, as is my husband. In more ways than one. =)
*Do you use an outline
or just write?
I’ve done both. In the first story I
wrote, I didn’t outline much of anything. I knew the desired ending and pieced
it all together (I can’t write straight through anything). I’ve tried to
outline this story a bit more because the plot is more twisted, but sometimes I
just write. Sometimes I’ll do a vague overview of a scene or conversation. I
try to have a basic outline, certain plot points that need to happen, but
mostly I just go with whatever.
*What type of
Christian music do you listen to and who is your favorite artist?
I love Hillsong/Hillsong United.
Their songs speak to me so deeply. I also love the band Thrice, which, while
not expressly Christian, had Christian members. The lyricist is a Christian.
Their songs speak to me on the same level and are just…ahh. So inspiring.
*How do you come up
with ideas for your books?
I kind of get ideas from anywhere
and everywhere. I actually started this story in 2003, then lost it for about
five years. When I rediscovered it, I couldn’t recall what the original idea
was. But, the big thing that kicked it off was actually a Thrice song, “Under a
Killing Moon.” Here are the lyrics:
The air my lungs first loved carves
craters from my eyes.
They said, “Breathe
deeply son, or be the next to die.”
Beneath the falling
night and heaven’s shutting gate,
pray keep your tongue
held tight, or suffer the same fate.
“The blood on our
black gloves – it is none of your concern.
If you want to call
our bluff, get in line and wait your turn.
And watch the witches
burn.”
Don’t flinch when innocents
are dancing with the flames;
if they wanted to
live, they’d learn to play the game.
You can still walk
away if you just hold your tongue;
if you’d just walk
away, you’d live to see the sun…
But under this killing
moon, under this burning sky,
the fire’s shining
groom, I hold my breath and close my eyes.
From that, I got the image of people
killing those they deemed “bad,” and someone else watching from the side,
hating what was happening but aware that if they spoke up, they would die too.
That is the foundation for the character of Rab, and the story has just
exploded from there. Another big thing was a video I saw of a girl talking
about her experience being trafficked. I put that into the story, and the
direction shifted hugely. I keep my eyes and ears open for ideas. I ask myself,
“What if…?” a lot. For this story, one of the foundational questions was, “What
if a group like the KKK controlled the world?” Once I open the door to
something, I just start imagining possibilities, and things flow from that.
*What are you working
on next?
This story will end up being seven
books (as of right now). So I am working on this for the foreseeable future
(which I am sooo fine with!). I wrote what I thought was book one, but it has
become book two. So I am working on book one now, and book two will need
heavily revised to fit with the new storyline. Besides this story, I have a few
other ideas in the making. One is about a plague that slowly turns everything
silent, and the other is about a girl living in a cult-like society where she
can’t tell who is bad and who’s good.
*Which of your
characters are you most like?
Though I’d like to say I’m like Rab
because she is just a beast, right now I am probably the most like Ari. She is
quiet, sweet, obedient, and terrified of getting in trouble. As the story
progresses, she becomes a fierce warrior who doesn’t do anything she doesn’t
want to do and stands up for the oppressed. She is such a fighter – she just doesn’t know it at the beginning. She has
no idea what she’s really made of, but she’s going to find out. I’m more the
beginning Ari, with hints of the Ari to come.
*Where can readers
find out more about your books and more about you?
I have a ton of stuff on my writing
blog – character spotlights, term definitions, posts about the story, etc. I
suggest starting in the archives and reading oldest to newest. ;) I also have a
facebook page where I post small excerpts weekly, the same character
spotlights, and updates on my progress. I’d love to have you check them out! =)
Thank you for the interview and the
opportunity! =)
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