AUTHOR SPOTLIGHT: Carter Roy

Carter Roy is the author of The Blood Guard and The Glass Gauntlet. 

Interview Conducted by:

Arianna

1. What is your favorite book that you have ever read?

My absolute favorite book is probably The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald. (In fact, my wife and I got married on Fitzgerald’s birthday; that’s how much I love it.) But the books I have loved the longest—meaning, from when I read them for the first time as a kid—are probably Half Magic by Edward Eager, and From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler by E.L. Konigsburg. The first is a funny, funny book about a magical charm that almost grants wishes, and the second is a Newbery-winner about two kids who run away to New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art. I can’t visit the Met today without thinking of that book.

2. How long did it take to write the Blood Guard and the Glass Gauntlet combined? 

You know, I’m not entirely sure. I wrote the first 100 pages of The Blood Guard about a year before I went back and finished the rest of the story. Altogether that probably took nine months of work. And The Glass Gauntlet I actually wrote twice. The first version wasn’t really working, so I pulled the bits I liked, kept one chapter I loved, and tossed the rest. Then I rewrote it from the ground up. That one probably took a year all told.

3. What is your favorite character in The Blood Guard or The Glass Gauntlet?

It’s Jack Dawkins. He’s fun to write, and he’s probably closest to me in terms of how he looks at the world.

4. How many books have you written?

I’ve written three, and am hard at work on the fourth. You see, The Blood Guard and The Glass Gauntlet are my second and third books. The first, called Very, sold to a publisher three or four years ago (and was written about three or four years before that). I’m supposed to revise that book soon. Even though I wrote it first and sold it first, it won’t be published until after the third Blood Guard book. Publishing is a strange business!

5. What is your favorite book you have written?

Gosh, I feel like a parent saying she loves all her children equally. I mean, I love ‘em all, but for different reasons. (Kind of a cheat of an answer, I know, but I can’t pick favorites!)

6. What is your favorite character from any book in general?

My favorite character from books is maybe Iorek Byrnison, the armored bear in The Golden Compass by Philip Pullman. We all should have armored bears watching our backs!

7. What was your inspiration for The Blood Guard and The Glass Gauntlet?

A long time ago, I came across a mention of a religious believe that there are thirty-six pure souls whose existence save the world. Who would protect these people? I wondered. And my answers to that question eventually became The Blood Guard.

8. Why do you write books (do you just enjoy it)?

I admit it: writing books is a lot of fun. I can’t think of a better job to do than to come up with stories and people and bring them to life on the page.

9. What is your favorite scene in the Blood Guard?

I love when Jack returns, after Greta and Ronan thought he was smooshed by a truck. His recounting of how he woke up in a body bag and escaped makes me laugh—even now, having read it several times, and even though I was the one who wrote it! I like funny business, and I find that whole scene forever amusing.

10. What is your favorite scene in The Glass Gauntlet?

I’d have to say it is Agatha’s chapter, in which we learn what happened to her. It turned into a surprisingly dark tale for such a sweet little girl, and maybe because I hadn’t been expecting that, those scenes are my favorites from the book.

11. Do you use any particular software or method to write your books?

I use anything that works! I outline with pencil and paper (good for erasing mistakes), and I write using Microsoft Word as well as a program called Scrivener. The most important part of the method has to do with putting in the time: sitting in a chair for hours on end and coming up with bits of the stories themselves. After that, the writing and software doesn’t matter so much.

12. Are there any other books to the series? If so, I would love to review them for you! 

I am working on the third book now, which is at the moment called The [ ] Bridge. (There will be a word in that blank space there, but I’m saving that reveal for later. I hope you like it as much as these first two installments!

13. Any other interesting facts/information about you. 

Nothing else of interest, except maybe this if you like pets: I have a cat. Her name is Maeby, and she is sweet but a little bit bitey. Here’s a picture I took of her a few weeks ago.

Thank you so much Mr. Roy for all of your support!