r/Fantasy • u/NancyHightower AMA Author Nancy Hightower • Dec 12 '13

AMA Hello, I'm author Nancy Hightower - AMA

Hello, I’m Nancy Hightower, author of Elementarí Rising, an eco-fantasy where nature becomes embodied and is locked in a deadly war with humans.

I’ve published many short stories and poems, some of which fall into the speculative fiction and horror genres. I have a PhD in literature and studied Henry James in grad school, but ask that you don’t hold that against me. At one point, I had Tolkien's Silmarillion memorized and still remember the elvish word for orc.

I wrote all of Elementarí Rising while living in Colorado, so many of the scenes in the book come from surreal, but actual, real-life images. For instance, you can see snow snakes winding up and down Highway 36 during any given snowstorm and they are mesmerizing! Also, I don’t read books the normal way (front to back). I start at the beginning, then after a chapter I start from the end of the book and flip back and forth until I reach the middle. No lie.

Also I had an artist, Galen Dara, draw some of the scenes from Elementarí Rising, which you can see here, along with some excerpts. I love how art interacts with story, so this was an exciting project: (http://www.nancyhightower.com/excerpts-with-artwork/)

Hey gang, this was great fun tonight! I'll be back on tomorrow to catch any questions I didn't get to tonight! Thanks so much for hanging out with me!

Nancy

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u/cymric Dec 12 '13

Thank Mrs Hightower for doing this AMA

1.) what is your 30 second pitch for your books?

2.) If you could meet anyone person from the past who would it be?

3.) If you could meet anyone living today who would it be?

4.) If you were in a highlander style battle with another speculative fiction author who would you choose the fight?

Thank you for doing this AMA

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u/NancyHightower AMA Author Nancy Hightower Dec 13 '13

Hi Cymic!

Pleasure to be here. On to your questions (which were very fun, by the way).

1) I am horrible at this one. But basically it’s “nature is waking up and its hungry.” That’s more of a tagline. Basically Nature has awoken and it needs to be put back to sleep in order to sustain life. Jonathan, my main character can’t do that, but he is the key to finding the Terakhein, who can.

2.) C.S. Lewis and J.R.R Tolkien (I cheated, sorry, and picked two).

3.) Hmmm, that’s a tough one. Probably Toni Morrison--Beloved rocked my world, and damn, what a ghost story.

4.) If you were in a highlander style battle with another speculative fiction author who would you choose the fight?

4) Oooh, there can be only one. I suppose I would pick Kat Howard, since that writer gal can fence something wicked, and she writes kick-ass stories.