Today, TeachingBooks.net welcomes author Dom Testa as he stops by on his blog tour to discuss his new book The Galahad Legacy (Tor, 2012).
Authors are used to pretty standard questions during interviews, but I thought this one was fascinating: What did you struggle with during the writing of The Galahad Legacy?
This is a great question on a couple of levels. First, for those interested in pursuing a career in writing, it points out that it’s not always smooth sailing. Even when you find yourself with a great idea, great characters, and a gift for language, you still stumble along the way. This isn’t meant to scare you off; it merely prepares you for the inevitable difficult stretches.
Second, this question was particularly interesting to me because The Galahad Legacy is the final volume in a six-book series. I was challenged to not only tell a unique, stand-alone story in about 70,000 words, but I also had to tie up a story arc that had stretched over five previous books, starting way back with the first volume, The Comet’s Curse.
The most difficult aspect for me was deciding how much I really wanted to tell. As a reader, you probably understand when I say that sometimes I don’t want an author to tell me everything. There are times when I want to use my own imagination, and to be left to wonder how certain things turn out. If the ending is too neat and tidy, then I’m not allowed to stretch my own mental muscle.
In the Galahad series, the characters—all of them teenagers—have been sent away to colonize a new world, and there are no adults aboard the ship. That means they must grow up quickly and take on a staggering amount of responsibility at a young age. Part of the beauty of writing this series was watching the main characters grow and change during the course of their journey. I didn’t want them to have all the answers at the end because, if I’d been in their shoes, I don’t think I would have had all the answers myself.
The Galahad Legacy was by far the most fun book in this series to write, but it was tough to figure out just where to draw the finish line. In fact, some readers have suggested—with a wink—that I didn’t quite stretch out across that line. And you know what? They’re right … and I’m glad.
Hear Dom Testa pronounce and speak about his name. Listen now
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