Book: The Descendants
Q1 – Hello Ma’am, can you please introduce yourself? Readers would love to know more about you.
Hello! My name is Destiny Hawkins and I am the author of a dystopian fiction series called The Descendants. I live in Cleveland, Ohio where I work on my book cover designing business, Vibrant Designs LLC, and spend my spare time either walking around in nature, or with my family.
Q2 – What were the key challenges you faced while writing ‘The Descendants’ book?
I would say my key challenges were writing the more violent scenes, and explaining the terminology. When writing the violent scenes, I wanted to really get across the reality of the Lytonians so that readers could understand the actions and motives of the characters.
When it came to the terminology, there felt like no clear way to explain something like a Level 1 Soma Bright, and I didn’t want to give it all at once so I explained the levels, social classes and ability types as basically as I could. Those are the things that help make up the identity of a Lighter. Right, what does Lighter Mean? That is a person. Think of saying Lighter as calling someone human. They cover the majority of the earth, while Lytonians, A type of Lighter, only live within the walls of Lytonia. Then you have your Wild-landers, Defects, Vessels, and Depleters…but I won’t get into all that right now.
I wrote The Descendants five years ago, and I can still remember struggling over this part. Don’t worry though, continue reading and there’s a bit of repetitiveness in different ways to help readers remember & catch on. Eventually, they should be able to come up with their own favorite type of Lighter.
Q3 – What books or authors have most influenced your own writing?
For The Descendants Series, I would say that Jeff Wheeler & Jonathan Renshaw influenced the more in depth parts of the series. I started the Descendants before reading Jeff Wheelers Harbinger Series and Dawn of Wonder by Jonathan Renshaw, so the series wasn’t inspired by their writing. It was just that I had begun to have a deeper understanding of the art of writing. Where I used to only read for entertainment, I now enjoy reading for small messages, writing style, clever plot twists, and so much more. Both authors were great in these areas, influencing me to write with words that the readers could feel. I enjoy giving hints, insight, small messages, and even important information that I sneak in between the lines so readers won’t think too much about it until its relevant to the scene.
Q4 – What’s your favourite spot to visit in your own country? And what makes it so special to you?
My new favorite spot to visit is Colorado, somewhere where there’s mountains. Recently, I took a trip to visit my boyfriend while he was staying out in Colorado for MMA training. I didn’t pay attention to location, but he took me to the mountains he’d been out to climb and wanted to show me what he saw. The mountains were absolutely beautiful, some either being all rock or having trees poke out from them. I had never climbed a mountain before, so I was fascinated by everything. There was even a particular silence that just screamed peaceful. Accept for when I could hear how loud the bees actually were.
The Colorado mountains are now special to me because they brought back memories of running through the woods with my siblings and having adventures in nature the way that we did. I wasn’t aware of how much I appreciated nature when I was a child. Back then, I was just in it, listening to birds chirp and hearing the leaves rustle. I guess I appreciated it all without knowing, because the mountains were nostalgic. Being with my boyfriend and experiencing that with him made my first mountain hike a beautiful trip.
Q5 – Is there lots to do before you drive in and start writing a book?
I take my time before starting a writing session. Usually, I do a bit of cleaning, meditation, and some exercise to get things moving. I need to be in a clean space, and meditation helps focus my thoughts after a little working out. Not too much, but not too little.
Q6 – How long did it take you to write ‘The Descendants’ book?
The Descendants took about a month. I just finished the third book, which took about two years.
Q7 – On what all platforms readers can find ‘The Descendants’ book to buy?
As of right now, you can find The Descendants on Amazon.
Q8 – Tell us about the process of coming up with the book cover and the title ‘The Descendants’ ?
Honestly, I can’t remember how I came up with the title. I think it just came to me. When I was working at this awful boring debt collection agency, we weren’t allowed to use pens and paper for security reason. We had these dry erase boards, so in between calls I just started getting creative and thought up The Descendants plot. There was no title yet, but I believed that once I put everything together, a title had just come to me.
As for the book cover, I wanted to create something that represented the story in several different ways including, cover color, background, fantasy elements, and character. Even the sparkles around the border mean something…and it doesn’t mean anything nice. Keep in mind that sparkles don’t mean a good thing in The Descendants. I did, however, stick by my slogan: Where beauty can be found in darkness. The beautiful sparkles read about in The Descendants are called Diamond Ashes.
Q9 – When writing a book how do you keep things fresh, for both your readers and also yourself?
When writing, I like to keep things fresh by sneaking in a little information here and there. That way there are always rising questions waiting to be answered.
Q10 -Are there any secrets from the book (that aren’t in the blurb), you can share with your readers?
As far as secrets go, I would say that the description doesn’t give the exact feel of how dark the story could go. I don’t make anything in the world exactly ugly, but beautiful. It’s just that there are some crazy things that happen in those beautiful places. And some of those crazy things may pull at your heart strings. It can get emotional, so I’ve been told.
Book Is Available On Amazon
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