Please
tell us a bit about yourself:
I live
in Perth, Western Australia with my husband and two children. I have two
enormous ragdoll cats can often be found helpfully walking over my keyboard,
chasing my mouse or generally complaining loudly about the lack of priority
their needs are being given. My favourite actor is Robert Downey Jnr and I’m a
big Harry Potter, Star Wars and Avengers fan. My kids can often be heard
telling me “I am such a NERD!”
Tell us about The Midnight Society:
The
Midnight Society is the love child of The Mortal Instruments and Back to the
Future with a sprinkle of The Hunger Games. Fifteen-year-old Cate has been in
witness protection for the last years. The hours of training and learning
protocols all mean nothing when everyone and everything is suddenly frozen
except her at the bus stop one Sunday. She discovers a brutal world filled with
sorcery and time travel. The line between good and evil is blurred where magic
is involved and Cate is required her to make a decision with potentially
devastating consequences.
What
inspired you to write this particular story?:
One night I sat down and announced I was
going to write a book. It was when all the hype about Twilight was going on. I
wrote an amazingly awful contemporary fiction novel about a woman making a film
adaptation of a book. It was the book in that novel that became The Midnight
Society. While I was writing about filming the opening scene I thought… now
that’s a book I need to write.
Please
share a favourite snippet from your book:
That’s so tricky without being too
spoilery.
This is one of my favourite Cate moments:
Cate rolled her eyes. “I personally find
the whole destiny thing to
be overrated. It rarely ends well and involves extensive death and sacrifice
for the greater good. None of which are really my thing.” She just wanted to go
home and spend an ordinary, non-magically manipulated day with Eve.
And this is one of my favourite Eve
comments:
Eve grinned. “I see your emerald stare and
raise you my sapphire glare.”
Which
comes first for you – a character's looks, personality or name?:
It’s actually different for different
characters. For the Midnight Society. I knew exactly how Jonah and Rose looked,
sounded and how he would deal with even the most bizarre situations from the
second I started writing. For Cate and Eve I started with their personalities.
Everything about Austin evolved as I wrote the story.
Any
tips for aspiring authors?:
1.
Make sure you write something
that you love!
2.
Read every day.
3.
Don’t only read the genre you
are writing. Read widely.
4.
Don’t just read what everyone
else is reading. Take a risk on different books. (When Alexandria Bracken first
released The Darkest Minds it wasn’t promoted much in Australia. I found it in
a bookstore and read it in a day. Then I kept saying to all my friends. Read
this. Read this!!!)
5.
Sit down and keep writing!
Questions for fun:
If
you had the power of time travel, is there anything you would go back and
change? Why/why not?:
After all the research I did, and different
plot lines that evolved while I was writing The Midnight Society I like to
think I would be able to avoid the temptation to change anything in my past.
However, there is the tragic hair cut you always wish you could change. The
ability to revisit a conversation after you’ve had time to think of the perfect
comeback/answer would also be pretty cool.
What
super-power would you choose?:
I’d love to be able to clone myself. Is
that a super power? If it isn’t it should be.
If
you could have three wishes, what would they be?:
For my loved ones to be healthly, happy and
fulfilled. To have a full time chauffer and of course World Peace!
Coffee,
tea or wine?
I’m coffee addict and tea lover! Not a day
goes by that you can’t find me drinking a weak, skinny caramel latte in the
morning and sipping a lemongrass and ginger tea waiting to collect me kids from
school.
What
is your favourite book? (aside from one of your own!):
I’m an enormous Harry Potter fan! I am also
very partial to any think that Rick Riodan or Cassandra Clare writes. They are
the god and goddess of writing. My favourite book would be Between The Lives by
Australian author Jessica Shirvington. I believe it’s called One Past Midnight
in the US. Everyone should give that a read.
Favourite
genre and why?:
Young Adult Fantasy and Dystopian. They
always have such cool worlds and intriguing plots.
Favourite
colour?:
Violet!
Upcoming
news and plans for the future?:
I’m furiously editing Book 2 of The
Midnight Chronicles – The Midnight Elites which will be released this year and
also finishing Book 3 of the Midnight Chronicles. I plan to publish a mission
the Timesurfers go on for readers to download starting in July.
Thanks for taking the time to talk to us!
The Midnight
Society (The Midnight Chronicles #1)
Genre: YA Urban Fantasy
Release Date: May 15th 2016
Witness protection has a protocol for dealing with every situation—except magic.
Fifteen-year-old Cate's life has been monitored since her new identity was created five years ago. She's spent countless hours learning how to deal with potential threats and dangerous situations. None of which is any use when everyone around her is suddenly frozen like statues at the bus stop.
As Cate attempts to make sense of the frightening scene, a mysterious group of teenagers appear out of thin air. They are intrigued she’s not affected, but focus on completing their deadly mission, using baffling powers before they vanish again.
When the group seeks her out the next day, Cate is drawn into a world filled with sorcery and time travel. After she accidentally brings a cheerleader back from the dead, her incredible powers are revealed. Cate is shocked to discover she has a pivotal role to play in a centuries-old battle between two mortal enemies which threatens to destroy her entire world.
With the distinction between good and evil blurred, she’s faced with the excruciating choice of which side to join. Cate can save her family or protect thousands of people from death. She can't do both. Will she risk destroying innocent lives to save the ones she loves?
The Midnight Society is the first book in The Midnight Chronicles series of young adult urban fantasy novels. If you like original butt-kicking heroines, fast-paced urban fantasy action, and unpredictable time travel twists, then you’ll love Rhonda Sermon’s refreshing, entertaining series starter.
The Midnight Society was originally released as Timesurfers. This book has a new name, new cover and additional content.
Buy Links:
About the Author
Rhonda Sermon lives in the mostly sunny Perth, Western Australia
with her husband and two children.
Her debut young adult urban fantasy novel Timesurfers was a finalist in the Young Adult category and overall runner up in the The Strongest Start 2012 Contest hosted by TheNextBigWriter.com.
On the good days, she adores writing, on the challenging days, it's still awesome.
Her two ragdoll cats can often be found helpfully walking over her keyboard, chasing her mouse or generally complaining loudly about the lack of priority their needs are being given.
She's a big Harry Potter fan, loves everything the talented Cassie Clare writes and her fav Aussie author is Jessica Shirvington. Her 11 and 13 year old children read ALL the time so she is always on the lookout for new and exciting books.
Her debut young adult urban fantasy novel Timesurfers was a finalist in the Young Adult category and overall runner up in the The Strongest Start 2012 Contest hosted by TheNextBigWriter.com.
On the good days, she adores writing, on the challenging days, it's still awesome.
Her two ragdoll cats can often be found helpfully walking over her keyboard, chasing her mouse or generally complaining loudly about the lack of priority their needs are being given.
She's a big Harry Potter fan, loves everything the talented Cassie Clare writes and her fav Aussie author is Jessica Shirvington. Her 11 and 13 year old children read ALL the time so she is always on the lookout for new and exciting books.
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