Dusk Gate Interview and Review

I recently sat down and read the Dusk Gate Series by Breeana Putroff.  I'll admit, I've had the books on my kindle for a while now, and I just hadn't gotten around to them.  I tend to have a lot of books piled up around the house waiting for me to read them, these one kind of got lost in the shuffle.

Anyway, this past week I finally decided to sit down and read them.  I'll admit, at first I found it a little hard to get into the books.  I think it had to do with the time jumping in the first couple of chapters.  I felt like there just wasn't enough of a connection with the characters yet to be able to be pulled from their lives for such large amounts of time.

Once I got past the time jumping, though I found myself completely caught up in this other world.  I love Quinn, who seems about as decisive as I am, yet can somehow jump into the middle of the fray when she feels she needs to.  William is an idiot, but I can't help but imagine all kinds of futures for him.  Thomas is hilarious.  The entire cast took my breath away.

Breeana Putroff has the ability to truly make a character come to life.  By the end of Roots of Insight, I couldn't wait to get my hands on the third book.  It's left on a bit of a cliffhanger, and I was just dying to know if all of my predictions were right.

In my opinion, you can tell when a book is good by how many predictions a person makes about it, without being too sure about those predictions.

It was about this time that I asked her if she would do an author interview for my blog.  She agreed, much to my delight, and I've posted it here for you today:


Where did you get the idea for this series?

A couple of summers ago, my dad and I took my little girl on a picnic up in the mountains. We stopped to eat and play at a little pull of section of a mountain river, and there was this broken bridge there - just the support on one side, and it had originally led to nowhere, just like the bridge in the story. I knew when I saw it that there was a story in it. It took me six months, but eventually I figured it out and started writing Seeds of Discovery. :)

Did you know where the story was going right when you started writing? Or were there a few surprises along the way?

I'm a very "organic" or "pantser" writer -- when I first started writing, I had NO IDEA where it was going, and there were a lot of surprises along the way.

Was there any point when you were writing either of these books that you felt like you were never going to finish? How did you push through that feeling?

I always feel like I'm never going to finish, especially before the first 20k mark, and then again somewhere around 50k. The only way to push through the feeling is "BIC" -- "Bottom In Chair" writing.

Who would you say is your favourite character?

I enjoy several of the characters quite a bit, but I think my current favorite is William.

You left Roots of Insight off on a bit of a cliffhanger, clearly showing us that Quinn’s mother already knew about this other world. Can we expect to learn more about her history with Williams world in Thorns Of Decision?

Yes, in Thorns of Decision you can expect to learn the answers to a lot of the questions that have been building since the first book, including the history Quinn's mom has with William's world. :)

William obviously didn’t expect the kiss he and Quinn shared in Roots of Insight. I’ll admit, I’ve been rooting for it from the beginning. Is this going to seriously impact her relationship with Zander?

Yes. That kiss, and the resulting consequences will have a very serious impact on Quinn's relationship with Zander.

Why did you decide to go with Musefish Press? Did you ever try to go through more traditional publishing avenues?

I've always been kind of a writer. I have a Bachelor's degree in English, and a Master's degree in Education with an emphasis in Literacy, but I was busy teaching, and then being a single mom and teaching, and I never pursued much writing outside of the classroom and academic things. I started writing Seeds of Discovery over my winter break from work during the worst year I'd ever had as a teacher -- and what turned out to be my last. I realized that I was done being in the classroom, and dealing with the politics of public education at the same time Seeds began to take on a life of its own, and I realized that it might be a viable story worth sharing.

I quit teaching to open my own small business, working with kids at home (I didn't leave teaching because of the kids!), and Seeds was sort of this other release, this possibility that was hanging there that was sort of my proof to myself that although I was taking this huge risk of leaving a secure, stable teaching job, that I could still be okay -- and maybe even have a chance to pursue a different dream.

I went with Musefish Press instead of the traditional route mostly because of the timing, and for the chance to strike out on my own and see what I accomplish. I don't expect it to make me rich and famous or anything, but for me, going the "Indie" route has meant taking the whole process into my own hands, learning something new, and making connections with amazing new people.

If I'd gone the traditional route, I'd still be sending Seeds of Discovery out on submissions, instead of having these great relationships with readers who have already read the third book!

 How many books do you see having in the series?

Right now, I'm pretty sure that Book Four, Blooms of Consequence, will be the last book in the series proper, although I am giving serious consideration to writing a prequel.

 What are you going to do once the series is done? Are you worried about missing the world?

I am worried about missing the world. Already, I think some of my bouts of "writer's block" as I work on Blooms of Consequence are related to my not being ready to be finished with it.  That said, I have a few other bright and shiny ideas for other stories that like to distract me, too. My next project after the Dusk Gate Chronicles (and possibly before the prequel) is a stand-alone "retelling" of a fairy tale.

 When can we expect the fourth book to come out?

I am anticipating a late-fall 2012 release for Blooms of Consequence - sooner if it works out that way, but I also won't rush the writing or the editing process.

I want to thank Breanna Putroff for taking the time to do my little interview.  I can't wait for her fourth book to come out.  I'm already counting the months.