Today, I’m happy to have fellow fantasy author Lauri Matuska here for a modern version of the Spanish Inquisi—ahem…I mean, an interview. 😉

Her first novel, The Healer’s Rune, released a few days ago.

Welcome, Lauri. Let’s get right into it. Can you give us a brief summary of your book?

Three hundred years ago a war was fought among the races of Ceryn Roh, the story world. In order to defeat the powerful, elven Aethel, their Rüddan cousins instigated an alliance with Humanity and the Dryht, a fey race that communed with the forests. The Aethel were overcome, driven to extinction, and magic was banished from Kirin Roh, ensuring the safety and protection of the other races.

At least, that’s what Sabine Rhyonselle, a human healer in the village of Khapor, has always been taught. However, when she is forced to watch the Rüddan execute her closest friend, she begins to wonder how much the balance of power has shifted. She is tired of her people living as slaves to the fey Rüddan in everything but name, but the ban on magic use keeps Humanity indebted to them.

But what can one Human do? In order to find out, Sabine must overcome centuries of prejudice and lies, forge an alliance between two enemy races, and find the location of a powerful talisman that can break the chains binding Humanity to the Rüddan. Along the way she learns a dangerous secret that could get her killed.

Wow. Sounds like a fascinating tale. Who’s your favorite character in your story, and why?

I’m a huge fan of Auda. I love her independence, her spirit, her sass, and her sense of humor. She is what I hope to be if I get to live as long as her.

Having a connection to a certain character is always fun. But the actual writing…sometimes not so fun. Which part was the hardest to write? Which was the easiest?

Getting Sabine out of the Rüddan Tower alive was my biggest challenge. Humans do not simply leave the Tower, but I had to find a convincing reason for her to walk out while still breathing rather than being dragged out as a corpse.

The easiest was the scene where Aodhan falls through the portal. My dog Bree (yes, the namesake for Sabine’s dog) literally woke me up by barking at the wall in my yard one night, and I honestly dreamed the rest of the scene once I got back to sleep. It doesn’t get much easier than that.

That’s cool. I wish any scenes came that easily to me. Finding inspiration can be a trial sometimes. What are some of your main sources of inspiration (books, music, locations, etc.)?

Oh, man, I wish I could pin this down! That would help me so much when I feel stuck or unmotivated. For me, however, inspiration comes from the way my fantasy-saturated mind combines my fears and the issues I’m currently thinking about and starts asking, “What if…?”

The Healer’s Rune, for example, was born out of the incident where my dog was barking at the wall, the idea that the history we learn is written by whoever is in charge politically, and a what if session playing with the idea of what would happen if Humans were the subjugated race in  fantasy world rather than the dominate one (an idea that was fairly unexplored when I started writing The Healer’s Rune in 1998.)

Yes! I love “What if?” questions. How did you become interested in writing? Is it something you’ve done since you were young? Did a particular book or series make you think, “I want to write stories”?

When I was in sixth grade, there was a Saturday cartoon show that turned books into cartoon movies. One day I was so disappointed with the episode I had just seen that I wandered into the kitchen and griped to my mom about it. She challenged me to write a better story, one that I would enjoy. I’m pretty sure that was just a distraction technique on her part, a way to get me out of her hair, but I’ve been hooked ever since.

Any time I read an especially well written book, it makes me ache to write. I literally get such a strong desire to be elsewhere, doing other things, that it drives to me find a pen and some paper. I write to fill this longing, and to contribute to the world of literature is such a large part of who I am.

It’s always cool to look back to those first experiences. You obviously write fantasy, but what are some of your favorite genres to read, and a few of your favorite authors?

I’m a completely satisfied genre snob—I feast on fantasy every chance I get. However, I sometimes delve into soft science fiction, Medieval and Victorian classics, Celtic-themed stories influenced heavily by fairy tales (does that count as fantasy?), and anything I teach in my literature classes that I haven’t already read. I like to say I’ll try anything once, but spec-fic rules my choices.

Favorite authors include C.S. Lewis, J.R.R. Tolkien, Madeline L’Engle, Tad Williams, and Neil Gaiman. Other authors I’m fond of are Julie Kagawa, John Flanagan, Anne McCaffrey, Ursula Le Guin, Margaret Weise and Tracy Hickman, and H.M. Hoover. There are, of course, oh-so-many more, but these are at the top of my short list.

Fantasy is my favorite genre, too. So I’m wondering—what are your top five favorite books. GO!

I’m going to cheat and list six because they are all so foundational to my canon:

• The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis
• The Hobbit by J.R.R.Tolkien
• A Wrinkle in Time by Madeline L’Engle
• Dragonsinger (book two of the Harper Hall trilogy) by Anne McCaffrey
• The Stone of Farewell (book two of the Memory, Sorrow, and Thorn series) by Tad Williams
• Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman

Haha, cheating is allowed…I guess. *wink* Choosing favorites is sooo hard. Speaking of which, name your three favorite fictional characters.

Meg Murry from A Wrinkle in Time by Madeline L’Engle. I read this book for the first time in middle school. I was an awkward teenage girl with mousey brown hair, glasses, and an absent biological father like Meg, so I totally identified.

Jiriki from Tad Williams’ Memory, Sorrow, and Thorn trilogy. Confession time: Jiriki was my first crush. He was so elegant and mysterious, loyal and noble, and responsible. Plus, he was the first non-Tolkien high elf character I ever met, so his uniqueness was especially enamoring.

Door from Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman. This girl kicks butt! She is tough as nails, street smart, capable, and wise beyond her years. I completely look to her as a role model.

That’s neat. I’m only familiar with Meg, but the other two sound fascinating. Moving on from books, what was the best movie you saw in 2015?

Big Hero Six. I love the message of this movie, as well as Hiro’s emotional arc, the graphics, the soundtrack…what’s not to love? Plus, Hiro is an excellent facsimile of my younger son, so I was instantly spellbound.

Speaking of movies, I think we all fantasize about a certain book or series we’d love to see brought to life on the big screen. If you could see one book turned into a movie, which one would you choose?

The Ranger’s Apprentice by John Flanagan. This is my older son’s favorite novel/series, and I love to go to the movies with my family, so this would be a special treat for us.

Thanks for stopping by, Lauri. Best of luck with The Healer’s Rune.

About Lauri

By day, Lauricia Matuska is a mild-mannered teacher of high school literature and creative writing. By night she is a clandestine writer, fighting battles against time and responsibility to steal precious moments in which to compose the next pages of her current novel-in-progress.  She first discovered the realm of fantasy by traveling with Lucy through the wardrobe to Narnia.  Since then, she has established dual-residency between that world and this one, and currently serves as an ambassador to contemporary youth and young adults. This is the first novel in her Ceryn Roh trilogy.