What was the inspiration behind Deity's Soulmate?
When I was in high school, I wanted to write about the gods. I blame Homer. My original story was about Gardenia being saved from imprisonment at the hands of an evil sorcerer. I had it in ninth grade but it lay forgotten until I became a young adult. After revisiting the character, I began thinking it would be better to start her story during her youth. I put a lot of thought into this backstory and Deity’s Soulmate was born.
Will there be a followup to Deity's Soulmate, or is it a standalone?
It’s going to be book 1of The Goddess Training Trilogy and it covers 4 days of creation. Book 2 will have days 5 to 13 and, finally, book 3 will be the original story idea about rescuing Gardenia. In book 2, there will be more conflict and character growth. More secrets would be learned and the big bad dragon will be revealed.
I am a huge fan of Mythology! Did you have to do a lot of research for this novel?
I did some, yes. At first I wanted to invent my own galaxy names, for example, but then I decided to use real galaxies. I believe that only three of the galaxies in the novel are made up. Since the story is about her becoming a creation goddess, I had to research individual gods, nature, and characteristics of elements that are present in the novel. It was very fun.
What drives you to write YA?
I’m actually switching over to writing NA because it’s more relatable. Even though I’m living with a teenager in the house, I find that I can’t relate to her as much anymore. Becoming a mother feels like it has increased the generation gap, so writing successfully for teens may be too daunting, now. Deity’s Soulmate is at the threshold of new adult genre as Gardenia grows older with the coming of age, she leaves her innocence behind (well hopefully).
My next novel, Into the Flames, is about a 22-year-old girl who’s looking forward to starting college (a little late, but she wasn’t privileged and worked hard to earn money for her education). But she’s denied that life because a prophesized destiny gets in the way.
How long have you been writing?
I was interested in writing since eleventh grade when a teacher told me that I would never be a writer. I guess that I really wanted to prove her wrong. However, I only began working on novels and novellas in 2013 after joining an online community that no longer exists. There, I saw just how many writers strive to make their work known and I wanted to do the same. When I read their shared works, it made me want to take a step further and get published. What started as a challenge became a hobby and later a big part of my life.
Do you have any pets? Personally, I am a cat lover!
I have several cats! Here’s two photos of my three cuties. All of them are best friends and, as you can see, very photogenic. ^_^
YA Fantasy and Adventure
Date Published: April 1, 2017
From author Angelina Kerner (Seven Hours: Challenge Accepted) comes an all-new fantasy series about Gardenia, a daughter of Athena, and her 100 years of coursework on how to create whole new worlds and subjects of her own.
A sheltered schoolchild in a realm of condescending gods and goddesses, Gardenia goes to Earth on a dare to witness the unsavory side of mankind for herself. Believing she can do better, she undertakes the formation of an entire galaxy, but without permission from Zeus.
Zeus disciplines her by assigning an epic 13-fold creational lesson destined to take her a century to complete. But he is taken aback once more when she makes an odd choice. She vows to fulfill this knowledge quest by tracking down a lost race of dragons, and discovering the secrets they’ve kept since time began.
Searching the universe to meet even one dragon may be a fool’s errand, but that’s the least of her worries. For ancient wartime resentments linger between the nations of dragons and deities, and some dragons would attack Gardenia on sight!
Yet she ventures out undaunted, learning unexpected things about nomadic life, tender love, and mortal peril along the way. The biggest surprise of all, though, goes by the name of Ri. Ri may be the man of her dreams, the voice in her head, the dragon she’s seeking, or all these things and more...
Meanwhile, the Fates brew sordid plans of their own and Hera jealously sets traps and trials for Gardenia at every chance. What’s a young goddess to do? Flight or fight?
About the Author
Angelina Kerner, a Pisces, was born during the Chinese astrological year of the Snake, which she absolutely adores. Angelina loves snakes, and was once allowed to feed one a rat. That was an experience of a lifetime.
She moved around during her young years from Novosibirsk to Kaluga in Russia. Finally settling in the San Francisco Bay Area, California, her teenage years were spent dancing in troupes and performing on stage. The dances ranged from waltz to tango, from Jewish to Russian, and finally belly dance. She was accepted into six out of seven universities, and decided to stay close to her family. Angelina pursued a psychology degree until she saw graduates working for Starbucks and then decided to pursue another career path in the department of Social Sciences. The difficult coursework, her job, and finding her life partner inspired her to turn to writing which, at the time, wasn't so much a hobby as a way to escape daily routine.
She worked on countless stories, never really finishing them, but came to understand that flash fiction wasn't for her. After finding an online community where she met her best friend, her writing flourished, making publication a possible next step. She is now the author of one published novel for both young adults and adults, and aspires to publish her other fantasy and crime fiction works soon. Her next project involves a competition for a beautiful phoenix. That novel will, hopefully, make its debut in 2017 or 2018. Angelina currently divides her time between her family, work, writing, and a lot of cats.
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