Author Spotlight: Emily Anne Ward's FINDING FIONA

It's time for the next installment in my author spotlight series, where I'm interviewing select authors whose books are included in my Big Awesome YA Giveaway 2011.

If you haven't entered to win yet, you can find out more information about that here, and a list of all the prizes here..


And now, the interview...


*musical intro*



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Kate: Today I'm interviewing Emily Anne Ward, author of the sci fi novel FINDING FIONA. Welcome, Emily! Tell me a little about Finding Fiona. (And I just love the cover!)

Emily: The victim of a brutal attack, Fiona remembers little about her life until she meets someone who claims to be from her past. He tells her that her parents were killed for a human replication machine. He's shocked to discover she's still alive since her body was found in the wreckage of the fire. She soon travels to her old home in New York to figure out what happened to her and her family. She needs to find out who she is, but more importantly, confront the men who killed her parents.

Kate: I love amnesia stories! I'm actually writing one right now, as a matter of fact. 

What kind of reader would this story most appeal to, and why?

Emily: Readers who enjoy light, fast-paced science fiction should enjoy this book. If you're looking for a quick read over the weekend, Finding Fiona is perfect. Also, if you liked Keary Taylor's Eden, you might enjoy Finding Fiona, too. Fiona has a lot in common with Eve: amnesia, a strange past, a journal which gives her some answers, but not enough.

Kate: It sounds like a great read. Besides the main character or hero/ine, who’s your favorite character in this book, and why?

Emily: Probably James. He's Fiona's past boyfriend, and he's very supportive and devoted to her. I think if they hadn't run into each other at the library, he wouldn't have stopped searching for her until he found her. He's willing to do anything to keep her safe. I was lucky enough to find a great guy like James.

Kate: Me too, by the sound of him. :) Is there a particular theme of Finding Fiona that spoke to you personally as you were writing it?

Emily: Fiona and her parents were working on a human replicator, so parts of the book deal with the moral issues of creating people through science instead of natural, biological means. Even though the technology to do this is hundreds, perhaps more, years in the future, I still got to explore the idea of a soul and a person. Can someone have a soul if they are created through scientific means? What makes someone unique? Seeing how my characters dealt with these questions was a joy, and it made me think about what makes someone human. 

Kate: I love books that explore those kinds of questions.

Is there anything you’re working on now that you’d like to tell us about?

Emily: Yes! I have an upcoming fantasy series titled The Protectors. The first in the series is called Promising Light. Grace is a noble with no knowledge of shape changers until they kidnap her and tell her she can break the curse on their family. She is forced to choose between sacrificing to help them or staying in her comfortable life as a noble. Promising Light will be published early January.

Kate: That sounds really intriguing! 

Now tell me, where can readers interested in your work go to find out more?

Emily: My website: http://emilyannward.com
My blog: http://wordsofeward.blogspot.com

Kate: Thanks, Emily!

Emily: Thank you so much!

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You can enter to win Finding Fiona and much more here, or see the whole list of prizes here.