Blog Tour - Interview with Danielle L. Jensen of Hidden Huntress (The Malediction Trilogy #2)

For today's stop on the Hidden Huntress Blog Tour, I have Danielle here to answer a few questions with me! If you haven't started this series yet but would like to know more about the first two books, here are my reviews of Stolen Songbird and Hidden Huntress :)

Hidden Huntress

(The Malediction Trilogy #2)

by Danielle L. Jensen

June 2, 2015
464 pages

Goodreads  Amazon  Indigo

Goodreads Summary:

Sometimes, one must accomplish the impossible.

Beneath the mountain, the king’s reign of tyranny is absolute; the one troll with the capacity to challenge him is imprisoned for treason. Cécile has escaped the darkness of Trollus, but she learns all too quickly that she is not beyond the reach of the king’s power. Or his manipulation.

Recovered from her injuries, she now lives with her mother in Trianon and graces the opera stage every night. But by day she searches for the witch who has eluded the trolls for five hundred years. Whether she succeeds or fails, the costs to those she cares about will be high.

To find Anushka, she must delve into magic that is both dark and deadly. But the witch is a clever creature. And Cécile might not just be the hunter. She might also be the hunted…

Interview with Danielle

 

1. Please tell us a little bit about your writing process.

I don’t have a consistent process at this point, because each one of my novels has been written under different life circumstances. Stolen Songbird took quite a long time to write, because I was going to school full time and waitressing at night. Hidden Huntress took about a year to draft and edit, and I have a couple manuscripts that will never see the light of day that only took me only a few months to write. I don’t like to plot novels – I prefer to see where the story takes me, which often requires a lot of editing and rewriting.  I am very critical of my own work, so I spend a lot of time self-editing before I let anyone else read my writing. I don’t have a critique partner, but I do run my books by my family before they goes anywhere. My agent is a very strong editor, and I rely on her a great deal to get my manuscripts in fantastic shape before they go to my publisher.

2. What inspired you to write about trolls?

I didn’t begin writing Stolen Songbird with the intention of writing about trolls. They sort of created themselves as the story grew in my mind, and the backstory of who they are and where they came from developed as I wrote. I know many readers picked up on the many, many clues I left as to what the trolls really are, but don’t get too comfortable thinking that you have them all figured out.

3. Which character did you have the hardest time writing? Why?

In Hidden Huntress, Sabine was the most difficult – her voice changed substantially from first to last draft. It was really important to me that she not be a flat sidekick type character who existed only for the purpose of giving Cécile someone to talk to. I wanted her to have a distinct voice and personality, and I also wanted her to show how she’d changed from the girl readers (briefly) met at the beginning of Stolen Songbird. I also had a tough time with Fred. It wasn’t until I expanded his role that I was able figure out his personality.

4. What five words would you use to describe Hidden Huntress?

Dark, heartbreaking, political, romantic, and complicated.

5. What can we expect from Hidden Huntress that's more or different from Stolen Songbird?

Hidden Huntress is a much darker novel – it doesn’t have the moments of levity that Stolen Songbird has, mostly because even the best natured of characters are in bad situations. Everyone is faced with tough choices, and there are nasty consequences no matter what direction they go. One of my favourite things about the novel is that readers will get much more depth and understanding of the antagonists, especially Tristan’s father.

6. How did you decide this was going to be a trilogy?

As I was writing Stolen Songbird, I thought it would be two books. But once I began thinking about what would happen in Hidden Huntress, it became quite clear that a third book would be necessary, not only because of length, but because the last conflict in the story needed its own volume.

7. Can you give us a little hint of what's to come in the final book?

When I think about the third book (I still haven’t written it!), I think of it as full of revelations for Tristan. All the secrets come out in this book. I think it will also be the fastest paced of the three novels, with plenty of action. I’m really looking forward to it.

Rapid Fire Questions:

Coffee or Tea

- Impossible to choose between these two things. I need them both.

TV or Movie

- Television

Cats or Hamsters

- Hamsters. I’m allergic to cats

Pen or Pencil

- Pencil

Boots or Runners

- Boots

Disneyland or Universal Studios

- I’ve been to both, but I’d have to say Universal Studios.  Unfortunately, amusement park rides make me barf L

 

Thanks so much for answering my questions Danielle! I'm now waiting impatiently for the release of WW (that's the acronym for the third book for those of you who don't know yet)!!

 

 

About this Author

Danielle was born and raised in Calgary, Canada. At the insistence of the left side of her brain, she graduated in 2003 from the University of Calgary with a bachelor’s degree in finance. But the right side of her brain has ever been mutinous; and in 2010, it sent her back to school to complete an entirely impractical English literature degree at Mount Royal University and to pursue publication. Much to her satisfaction, the right side shows no sign of relinquishing its domination.

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