Howdy!

Today I have the honor of hosting Ms. Kendra Ardnek and the third book in her Bookania Quests,  My Kingdom for a Quest! We’ve recently had the chance to connect and I’m very excited to have her here today for an interview!

Arthur is the rightful king of Briton, but his Uncle Mordreth refuses to give up the regency.   Arthur and Grandfather are now returning with allies to wrestle the kingdom from his uncle’s grasp.  But not all is as it seems among his allies, and everyone has secrets.  New loves, old loves, lost loves, kingdoms conquered and kingdoms stolen.   Who is the real “rightful heir” and will the nearly forgotten sword in the stone finally answer this question?

Let me briefly introduce you to the author-

Kendra E. Ardnek loves fairy tales and twisting them in new and exciting ways.  She’s been practicing her skills on her dozen plus cousins and siblings for years, “Finish your story, Kendra”, is frequently heard at family gatherings.  Her sole life goal has always been to grow up and be an author of fantasy and children’s tales that also glorify God and his Word. You can read more about her on her blog,knittedbygodsplan.blogspot.com.

On to the interview!

Is there anything in particular that you researched in order to help bring My Kingdom for a Quest to life?

Research for this book mostly involved reading other versions of Arthurian legend, books about Arthurian legend, and collections of fairy tales in general. I did give especial attention to studying the Lady of the Lake …

Since you’re recreating King Arthur, which is your favorite Arthurian legend?

It’s a close call between Arthur drawing the sword from the stone, the receiving of Excalibur, and Gawain and the Green Knight. However, while the first two are large parts of My Kingdom for a Quest (both in rather … unexpected ways), Gawain and the Green Knight never showed up, and I’m not sure he ever will. I did reference him in The Ankulen, the novel I published two years ago, so I suppose that makes up for it.

How many books are you planning for The Bookania Quests?

I have 21 titles written down in a notebook, and plots and stories planned for beyond that. I also have about a dozen short stories planned, and three or four full-length prequels. Yes … this is a series that I shall be writing for quite some time to come.

Give us one fun fact about yourself.

I have a huge herd of giraffe figurines in my bedroom, maintained by a battalion of nutcrackers. I also have purple Christmas ornaments hanging from my ceiling.

What is one personal goal you would like to accomplish, as an author or just in general?

I would like to be an inspiration to others. One of the greatest compliments I have ever received as an author is that I have inspired at least two people to take back up their pens and write again. I want my writing to connect with people, to challenge them to do better, and to teach them about God.

As a writer I know that a little bit of myself ends up in almost every character I write. What personal attributes do you share with one or all of your characters?

It’s crazy how many of my female characters have my hair. My reasons for this is threefold – first, my hair is very middle-of-the-road, not straight, but not curly either, that awkward color between blonde and brown that neither side wants to claim, neither pitifully straight nor overwhelmingly thick. Second, I like to make sure that the hairstyles I give my characters are possible, and third, a lot of my stories began as playacting games that I would play with my sister and cousins, and my main character was very often me.

And on that note, yes, I do share a lot of traits with most of my girls. Like Robin, I am impetuous and don’t think through things. Like Doranna, I love math and have a tendency to mangle my words when I’m talking. Like Madeleine, I’ve very creative.

That sort of thing.

I won’t ask you to play favorites, but who is one character you would like to develop more?

I almost wish you’d asked to play favorites, because I DO have a favorite character … she won’t appear until book 4 of Bookania, but she’s a fun person to work with, and I can’t wait to introduce her …

But when it comes to a character who’d I’d like to develop more, I think I have to go with a family – the Refrences. Right now, the four siblings are rather one note, their personalities mostly wrapped up in their gifts. Conia is the calm, married eldest sister who can remember where she read anything. Theo is the elder of the twin boys, who loves to use big words. Dick can define anything. Enna, the baby of the family, can remember everything she read. They’re fun to work with, and I’m looking forward to working with them in books 4 and 5.

Thanks, Kendra!

Giveaway time!

For a limited time, Kendra has listed some of her stories for free! Check out the link below!

17^th-21^st http://www.amazon.com/Saffrons-Big-Plan-Other-Stories-ebook/dp/B008EYY1C2/

Don’t miss the rest of the blog tour! Visit Kendra’s website for the schedule or click on the Kingdom button to your right!

Excerpt! Because I love excerpts!

As they continued to search for some sign of life – even Doranna’s aviary was empty – Robin became more and more frantic. Soon “everyone’s missing” escalated into “they’re in danger,” from which naturally followed “we must rescue them!” And that somehow translated into Robin storming through the entire castle, gathering every weapon she could find, and depositing them in a huge pile in the front entry way.

“You know,” Eric remarked, as he followed at a safe distance – Robin with a sword in her hands was a dangerous thing in any situation, and right now she was on the warpath, “I’m not sure King Jonathan would be too excited about finding every weapon in his castle in the front entry way …”

She spun around. “Well, we can’t just sit around doing nothing!” She spun back around and continued her march. “They’re in trouble, I know they are!”

Eric took a deep breath. “And I’m quite sure they’re not.”

“And what makes you so sure?” she threw over her shoulder. “They’re missing – explain that!”

Eric hesitated a moment, not exactly sure how to put it in words. “It’s a feeling I get. I just know when someone’s in trouble. They’re not.”

“You’re the one who thought that the path was going to disappear.” She reached the pile and deposited the sword she carried.

“Robin, can we please think about this logically for a moment,” Eric pleaded, positioning himself in front of the door she headed towards.

“Them being in danger is perfectly logical,” she pointed out, shooting him a glare before she disappeared through a different door.

Eric sighed and followed her. “Yes, but piling all the weapons in the entry way is not.”

“We have to do something!”

“I understand, but how will a pile of weapons help them?”

“They’ll need them when we find them.”

“And exactly how are we going to get the weapons to them?”

She actually paused for half a moment. “I …” she began, and then she snapped back into her brisk pace. “You think of something.”

“Ah, so that’s how it’s done,” said Eric, shaking his head.

 

I’ve only been able to read the first one in the series but it was pretty awesome! Can’t wait to read the rest of the series! Check out my review if you’re interested.

Sew, It’s a Quest by Kendra E. Ardnek

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This book is an absolutely charming adventure story! It follows royal twins Robin and Robert who believe their fairy godmother switched their gifts at birth and their journey to try and get those gifts reversed before their eighteenth birthday. They encounter other princes, fairies, princesses that have been sleeping for a hundred years, and none other than Robin Hood himself.

This first book in the Bookania series is filled with humor, sword fights, curses, and a hundred year old mystery. Robin and Robert encounter much more than anticipated on their quest. They discover new things about themselves, find new friends, and encounter mystery upon mystery surrounding their family.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. It was well written, had some great characters, and you could see the author’s joy in telling this story. Ardnek has a really wonderful sense of humor! I loved finding out about the different gifts bestowed upon various characters and their side effects. I’m really looking forward to continuing the series and recommending it to my younger siblings!

I received this book from the author as part of a review exchange. I must thank her for introducing me to her wonderful world.