If you’ve been following my blog, you know I had the pleasure of meeting Kara Swanson at the first annual SoCal Christian Writers’ Conference in June of this year. I also recently shared the first line from Kara’s novella, The Girl Who Could See, (which kept me up FAR too late on the night I purchased it) and today I’m excited to welcome her to my blog for a fast and fun interview!
All her life Fern has been told she is blind to reality—but, what if she is the only one who can truly see?
Fern Johnson is crazy. At least, that’s what the doctors have claimed since her childhood. Now nineteen, and one step away from a psych ward, Fern struggles to survive in bustling Los Angeles. Desperate to appear normal, she represses the young man flickering at the edge of her awareness—a blond warrior only she can see.
Tristan was Fern’s childhood imaginary hero, saving her from monsters under her bed and outside her walls. As she grew up and his secret world continued to bleed into hers, however, it only caused catastrophe. But, when the city is rocked by the unexplainable, Fern is forced to consider the possibility that this young man is not a hallucination after all—and that the creature who decimated his world may be coming for hers.
A Little About Kara
As the daughter of missionaries, KARA SWANSON spent sixteen years of her young life in the jungles of Papua New Guinea. Able to relate with characters dropped suddenly into a unique new world, she quickly fell in love with the speculative genre and was soon penning stories herself. At seventeen, she independently published her debut fantasy novel, Pearl of Merlydia. Her short story is included in Kathy Ide’s 21 Days of Joy: Stories that Celebrate Mom. She has published many articles, including one in the Encounter magazine, and she received the Mount Hermon Most Promising Teen Writer award in 2015.
Let’s get started with something easy: What’s your favorite desert?
CHERRY CHEESECAKE! Homemade. Delicious slices of heaven. 🙂
Homemade desserts are often the best.
What is your favorite hymn or worship song?
I really love “All in All” 🙂
When did you first consider yourself a writer?
Hmmm when I finished my first full-length novel at seventeen, that I co-authored with a fellow missionary kid. That’s when I really felt like a writer – a novelist.
What first inspired The Girl Who Could See?
I wanted to write a novella for this sci-fi magazine I was trying to enter, these two lines popped into my head:
They say every child had an imaginary friend. Mine never left.
It seemed like the perfect story inspiration, so I kept exploring those two lines, and eventually TGWCS was born. 🙂
If Fern and Tristan went on a date, what would it be like?
AWWW! Cute question.
Hot dogs, definitely. A walk in the park, and he’d probably get her some flowers – and make a joke about her name being Fern but that there were no ferns in the flower shop. And they’d sit on a park bench, watch the people go by, soak in the peacefulness. And just … be. Together.
Aww. I like that. Very sweet.
What are you working on now?
I just signed with an agent! (Whooohoo! That I actually met at the conference where I met you, Kathleen.) We’re working on pitching two series of mine right now.
One of them is a sci-fi/dystopian-esque novel about a girl who discovers everything she knows is a lie – including her very identity.
The other is a paranormal YA about a girl with wings whose father is a fallen angel, and her journey to joining the very creatures she’s been bred to hate: the angels.
Oh! Very exciting! Congrats on getting an agent and I’m looking forward to your next release!
I just want to conclude this interview by stating that I completely agree with another reviewer who said:
“I really think this book is for everyone. Don’t let the fact that you may not be into the scifi genre deter you from trying it. I think you’ll find that it just might be the book that makes you a fan!”
– Jessica Baker, A Baker’s Perspective
And for the record, I purchased my own copy of The Girl Who Could See at the SoCalCWC conference. In fact, I highly recommend you purchase your own copy of this fascinating novella!
