For this Fiction Feature, we have an interview with Andi Katsina, the author of Rick & Wylie's Fantastical, Magical Adventures.
What was the hardest thing about writing this book?
The whole story is to be told over a series of three books, each book is packed with scene changes and fantastic action. In the first book there is a scene where Rick has been taken to Tibet, (the Meru Guardian chapter), here he learns of the evil wizard and the Meru Guardian’s back story. A fair bit of research was needed to get this scene correct, there’re mythical animals, lakes, rivers, monks, gateways, a weeping Buddha, ice fire flames, green mist, mountains, monastery, caverns, a crystal sleeping chamber, Meru Guardians, a battle scene etc., it took some doing to put it all together. For the most part, writing this book was very enjoyable because I really do like the story.
Which of your characters can you relate to the most?
Actually can relate to both Rick and Wylie. Rick is fraught with anguish and driven by determination. He’s been forcibly separated from his daughter and nothing will prevent him from getting to her. Often times in life one must do all to succeed, to stand up and be counted, to support a worthy cause, charity etc.. Wylie is a teenage girl who has been violently separated from her father and told she has to awaken a sleeping kingdom. She must cross a vast mystical forest, mostly by herself, knowing that extreme danger is constantly lurking only feet away. Despite the fact that she really doesn’t want to do this alone, she understands that in order to succeed and be reunited with her father, she must forever go forward and face the danger in her path. I very much relate to this, growing up I was faced with many difficult situations, it wasn’t easy to always choose the right path, and if finding myself on the wrong path, fighting to get back on the right path was often difficult, but necessary. We all of us face these situations, but the measure of each one of us is in moving forward and not being held back, or frightened off the right path.
Which part of the book was the easiest to write?
The beginning of the book was the easiest to write, it’s fresh and moves at a nice steady pace. Father and daughter taking a vacation in Hawaii, the friends they meet and activities they’re involved in, hardly any sign of what is to come, right up until their boat is capsized on the Na Pali coast. I so liked writing this five chapter opener, all the time knowing of the great adventure that was to unfold.
Which actors would play the main characters in the movie version of the book?
At the moment I only have in mind an American teenage actor, Wylie Quinn Anderson, to play the role of Wylie, she’s perfect for this role.
Which songs would be on the soundtrack of the movie version of the book?
Mai, I’m much more a word orientated person, presently I have no thoughts on music scores. We’re only in the early stages of negotiating for the film, so I will have to clue you in on the ‘music’ situation at a later date.
Any future books in the works?
Oh yeah, lots. My books tend to be quite involved works. I write long, complex stories with an awful lot happening throughout. The second book in the trilogy, Rick & Wylie’s Fantastical, Magical Adventures book 2 [Hot pursuit on the Road to Discovery] should be released late Spring 2013. And later that year another of my books, a fantasy adventure written in 2007, will be released; Gurk & Whale [The Rose Mane Arrows].
ABOUT ANDI KATSINA:
Hello my friendsI'm English, of rich Irish, African descent. Born in the sound of bow bells, an orphan, I grew up in Manchester, England. Quite a bit more than forty, I‘m a vegan, though occasionally lapse into vegetarianism.Throughout my school years I was a champion athlete and swimmer, going on to become an athletics coach, swimming teacher and youth leader. After which time I was trained as a Chartered Accountant. Interrupting my training, I branched out, working freelance as a troubleshooter in the field of accountancy. Six years of adding and subtracting, was followed by two years of trading as an international commodities broker. This led me to the sedentary position of ‘trader in antique, oriental carpets’. It was at this juncture that I became completely inspired to become a writer.As a ‘school kid’ I very much enjoyed writing plays in English, Latin and French. Fortunately for me, writing came naturally. I so, so like writing stories that give people, especially young people, and people young at heart, the chance to exercise their own imagination.I love taking my readers on fantastic journeys. The enjoyment and taste of adventure my stories give to my readers, warms me greatly.Best wishes from Andi Katsina
AMAZON LINK: http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Dstripbooks&field-keywords=rick+%26+Wylie%27s+fantastical%2C+Magical+Adventures
GOODREADS: http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/13503049-rick-wylie-s-fantastical-magical-adventures
ABOUT THE BOOK:
Every few thousand years, true evil, the likes of which roamed the earth eons ago, attempts to rise up from the navel of the world, to once again instil its darkness and establish its reign.
Rick and Wylie’s fantastical, Magical Adventures, tells the story of a father and daughter, Rick and Wylie, who go on a week’s vacation to the island of Kaua’i, in Hawaii.
Wylie buys a bag of costume jewellery from a yard sale, to decorate a ship’s anchor, as part of a school project. Amongst the jewellery is a small quartz pebble. Wylie asks her dad can she take it with her on vacation. Rick takes teardrop shaped pebble to the old traditional Chinese jewellers, near his L.A. studio, to have a ribbon threaded through the hole, so that Wylie can tie it to the inside of her pocket, to guard against loss. The jeweller, Mr Fang, says he needs to keep on to the pebble for a few days, Rick doesn’t let him.
Rick and Wylie have a great time on holiday. Friends come to visit them. They go to visit friends in Maui. In Kaua’i they go ziplining, they visit lots of places, and go kayaking.
On two separate occasions Wylie tells her dad that she has seen the jeweller, Mr Fang, lurking about. Very concerned, he contacts his Production Company staff in L.A.. They go to Mr Fang’s shop to establish his whereabouts. Strangely enough, they are unable to find Fang’s shop, it has disappeared! They all become quite anxious about this, but with only a day of their vacation left, they agree it should be okay.
On the last day, Rick and Wylie go on a boat trip, during which, Mr Fang can be seen on the cliff tops, screaming up to the heavens, screaming out to the ocean, as if controlling the elements. A storm ensues. The boat capsizes. Rick and Wylie are separated.
Wylie is taken by the magical, invisible Manini fish, to an underground seawater cave, where she meets the Forest Keepers, Cherub like people, caretakers of the Mystical Küpono Forest; a mystical, magical forest, deep within the island of Kaua’i.
The Manini fish tell Wylie that she must wake up the Sleeping Menehune Kingdom, and that’s where her dad will find her. On her journey she passes from region to region, encountering many trials, and creatures. Wylie makes it to the kingdom, discovers the underground palace, and waits for her dad to rescue her.
After the boat capsized, Rick began sinking. When he realised Fang was after the Wylie’s quartz teardrop, he took charge of it. Sinking, he remembers Wylie had said there was a name scratched on the back on the teardrop. He utters the name. Suddenly he is flying up in the air, in a little fluffy cloud. Rick zooms off to a holy mountain in Tibet, it opens up, and still in his cloud he plunge deep down, ending up on top of the sacred Mount Meru. It transpires that the cloud is the hat of a genii, a Meru Guardian, one of the guardians of the world.
The Meru Guardian takes Rick back to Kaua’i. His brother, and members of his Production Team have come to Hawaii to join the search. Two of Rick’s friends, and his brother, return to Los Angeles to try to contact the holy people from the sacred Mount Kailash monastery in Tibet, who’s help they need in dealing with Mr Fang, who is in actual fact a ten headed man-snake demon, in the form of an evil wizard, Wan Chu Fang.
Rick and three friends go into the Mystical Forest to search for Wylie. The route they take leads to many trials and mishaps. In the kingdom, Rick and Wylie go down a dry water well to retrieve a stone key. It’s very hair-raising with bubbling lava hot on their tail. In the underground palace their friends remain in one of the grand stone chambers, whilst Rick and Wylie go along a passageway to insert the stone key into a stone disc. They hear a loud voice, claiming to be that of the Menehune king, asking them to come forwards and declare themselves…. It’s at this point that Book 1 ends, and book 2, with a whole new fantastical, magical adventure, begins…
This is a wonderful story, enjoy, and have fun reading it, best wishes, And Katsina
PUB DATE: June 2012
RELEASE DATE: 1st September 2012
PUB: KatsInc. UK
GENRE: Fantasy Adventure
NUMBER OF PAGES: 550; words: 173,477
ISBN: 978-0955579523
PUBLISHER HUB: www.theindieoracle.com
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