Blog Tour: Author Interview with I.L. Cruz | A Noble’s Path

Welcome to the blog tour for A Noble’s Path by I.L. Cruz!

About the Book

Title: A Noble’s Path (Enchanted Isles, Book Two)

Author: I.L. Cruz

Genre: Fantasy

Publisher: Bosky Flame Press

Publication Date: January 31, 2020

Synopsis:

Divided loyalties test Inez Garza.

The infamous incident at the Academy of Natural Studies has forced her to work for the King’s Men while continuing to serve the hidden market.

Supporting Birthright furthers the cause of Magical Return, but the cost may be the fall of the royal house and losing Zavier forever.

And the strongest pull of all is her growing and erratic magic, which demands everything and offers only destruction in return.

Inez must decide where her loyalties lie—saving Canto or saving herself.

The book is available at these ebook stores.

Author Q&A

When did you start writing?

Like all writers, I’ve been writing for as long as I can remember. In preschool, the teachers had a special story time, when the kids could tell their own story and the teachers would write them down. Creativity was encouraged and it planted the seed. But if you mean when did I decide to make it a career, about 13 years ago. 

What’s the hardest part about being a writer?

Writing is easy. Rewriting is the hard part for me. I only write one first draft, but there are up to a dozen editing sessions between my own edits and then my editor and her edits. I think it’s hard to know when to say enough to editing. I then have to remind myself there are no perfect books.

What do you enjoy the most about writing?

There are so many things! One of the top five is being able to name things and people. Because I write fantasy it can run from the mundane to the outlandish.

How do you approach writing a book?

They all come to me in different ways. Sometimes I’m a plotter and with some I’m more a “pantser”. Most start with a name day, when I make lists of names for the characters and places. With all my books, my first draft is written by hand. I can’t start a project on the computer because it makes me self-edit too early. I’m a big believer in writing your story completely before worrying about word choice or info dumps. After that first draft, I type it all out and make notes along the way. By the time I’m done typing it I have pages and pages of notes, which I tend to address by hand as well. It’s a few drafts before it’s all on the computer and then a couple more before I show it to my editor. 

What inspires you?

Walking tends to inspire me. When I just walk around and let myself pay attention to everything, my mind goes down weird paths and all these “what if” questions proliferate. What if questions are the basis for all my stories. My current series came about because I asked myself, “What if Mother Goose characters all lived in a separate land with mythological characters inhabiting a neighboring land and fairy tale characters in another?”

How do you overcome writer’s block?

I have a few techniques for writer’s block. The first is to just let it be for a bit. I’m not one of those writers who think you must write every day. Sometimes I take breaks and the breather lets me recharge my imagination. After a few days, I move on to stage two—work on another project. I have a file of over twenty stories waiting to be written and just working on something new can bring my original project back into focus. The characters reassert themselves. The last stage is writing prompts. I’ll work on writing prompts for twenty minutes at a time. It’s never gotten past that trick.

What are you currently reading?

I’m reading The King’s Traitor, book 3 in the Kingfountain series by Jeff Wheeler, which combines two of my favorite tropes, palace intrigue and magic. I also started listening to books on Audible and I’m currently listening to The Fortune Teller by Gwendolyn Womack voiced by Lisa Flanagan and Robin Miles.

What advice would you give to aspiring writers?

The best advice I ever read was to write the story you’d like to read and then worry about the rest later. 

About the Author

I.L. Cruz decided to make writing her full-time career during the economic downturn in 2008. Since then she’s used her BA in International Relations to sow political intrigue in her fantasy worlds and her MA in history to strive for the perfect prologue. When she’s not engaged in this mad profession she indulges her wanderlust as often as possible, watches too much sci-fi and reads until her eyes cross. She lives in Maryland with her husband, daughter and a sun-seeking supermutt named Dipper.

Twitter: @ILCruzWrites 

Blog: fairytalefeminista.wordpress.com

Website: booksbyilcruz.com

Below is the full schedule for the blog tour. Big thank you to Rachel for hosting!