Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I believe I was born to write. There are stories in me that have wanted to be told for as long as I can remember. I was shy as a little girl, and today I remain a very private person so writing has always been my way of expressing myself while still protecting my essential nature. In my office today, I have file boxes full of stories, the oldest being a book about a dog I wrote at the age of four. Some of these stories were creative writing assignments at school, some were more than that. As a young teen, there came a time in my life—my family—when writing became my means of surviving some really hard things. I escaped with my characters into a shelter from the troubles of life. It is not that I took leave of my senses or of reality, but that by writing these characters I was able to cope with things that I could not control.
I was born into a loving home. The middle of three children. As a little girl I was surrounded, safe, and I thought things would always be that way, but too soon it was snatched away. Exposed to losses that I couldn’t even begin to understand and riddled with wounds that no medicine could heal, I wrote— creating my own outlet for the pain, the betrayal, the sorrow that was inside me. Till one day, I could write no more. I was sixteen at the time, depressed, and I just wanted it all to end. (You may not fully grasp the reasons behind this, but I cannot and will not share them here. Some things are just too private.) I will say this, into my darkest hour came a light and a hope. Writing became an instrument of healing. Those same characters who had once existed merely to help me survive now existed to bind wounds. Along the way, little story by little story, for school and for myself, people came into my life who saw something in my work and encouraged me along the way. First, my mother and father; then teachers at school most notably: Miss Danielle Zawodny and Mr. Kline who were my English Teachers from 9th grade- 12th grade. Upon graduating, I quite abruptly ceased to write. My plan was to be an Elementary School teacher. I had never once considered writing as an occupation! Writing was and is an extremely private thing for me so I went to college. One and a half years into my chosen field of study, through a creative writing assignment in my English class, I started writing again. It wasn’t long before all I was thinking about were these characters and their stories, all coming together in my imagination as they never had before, showing me a story that I just felt I had to write.
In a move that many people did not understand and still do not understand, but one that I knew beyond a shadow of a doubt was absolutely right, I left college to write! To hone my craft, I took correspondence writing courses through the Institute of Children’s Literature and Long Ridge Writer’s Group; to pay my bills I started babysitting some wonderful kids and later tutoring some family friends; the whole while I was writing. I was writing many different kinds of stories, in many different genres but always I would come back to the characters I had created in high school and this new story that was flowing together little piece by little piece. I will not claim that this period of my life was easy; more that I just knew despite what it looked like at times that I was doing what I was meant to do. I was blessed to have the unwavering support of those closest to me, and I do not take that lightly. Not every artistic person can say that. Being an artist can be a very lonely thing and an unimaginable struggle. Finally, in 2005, I had a true story published in Angels on Earth.
I was entering contests, writing, and struggling, hoping, dreaming and endlessly working to follow this path I knew was right when quite suddenly my whole world was derailed. My brother died. Again, writing became a means of survival and then of healing. I like to say that, “Sgarrwrath found his voice.” Sgarrwrath was a character I knew of from my past stories, but who I never named. Now, it was clear that the story had to include him or remain unfinished. Suddenly, old characters and new story pieces just clicked together into a new vision and an entire fantasy series was born out of this tragedy. In 2011, Sgarrwrath, Prequel to the Prophecy of Hope was published. In October 2013, it received an Honorable Mention in the Halloween Book Festival Competition and now, FINALLY, the Prophecy of Hope saga is going forward with the publication of Arising, Prophecy of Hope Book 1 and watch for Mhorag, Prophecy of Hope Book 2 coming soon! There are more to follow. I think my brother would find this a fitting legacy for his memory; he was after all the one who first introduced me to the Fantasy Genre.
In conclusion, writing is not what I do. In a very real sense, it is who I am.
Oh, and did I mention that I LOVE dragons?
What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
My latest book is Arising, Prophecy of Hope Book 1. It is the first official book of a new fantasy/ sci-fi series called Prophecy of Hope Saga.
My debut novel, Sgarrwrath, Prequel to the Prophecy of Hope was the introduction to the series and came about as the result of grief. Arising is the continuation of a healing process for me, but also a story that had to be told. I don’t think there is truly one thing that inspired this book. Beyond this, I can only tell you that my characters speak for themselves.
Do you have any unusual writing habits?
Well, I never write without my furbabies. They are a great source of inspiration. I often need mood music in the background and handwritten manuscripts are kind of nice. You can take them anywhere and work as the mood and the inspiration strike.
What authors, or books have influenced you?
JRR Tolkien is awesome.
I love all kinds of books and will read just about anything so this is a nearly impossible question for me to answer.
What are you working on now?
Right now I am working on Mhorag, Prophecy of Hope Book 2
Sgarrwrath is arisen only to discover he has reduced the ancient landmarks to dust but the deepest foundations are not destroyed. Now the Source of everything must fall if his Void is to stand.
Torn from the Kingdom, Mhorag is forced to face a brutal world where the currency of power is his blood, and nothing less than his soul is at stake. For the survival of all, he must become less than the godling he is to ascend as more than he could ever dream. He must become the Promised of Prophecy or all hope will be lost forever!
What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
www.sgarrwrath.com
www.facebook.com/prophecyofhopesaga
www.facebook.com/fantasyauthorSarahKennedy
What are you reading now?
I am currently reading, Legends of the Dragonrealm by Richard Knaak.
What’s next for you as a writer?
Arising, Prophecy of Hope Book 1 will be going on a cross country Book Tour. First stop will be at the Los Angeles Times Festival of Books on April 12-13!
I will be writing Mhorag, Prophecy of Hope Book 2 very intensely. This book is to be my Camp NaNoWriMo Project this April.
After that I plan to continue the series Prophecy of Hope Saga with another 4-6 books. We’ll see how it comes together.
If you were going to be stranded on a desert island and allowed to take 3 or 4 books with you what books would you bring?
WHO COULD CHOOSE??
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