Ask the Author: Allison Tebo
Answered Questions (12)
Allison Tebo
Hey Becca! Thanks so much for your question! I'm so glad to hear you enjoyed Life at Hedgerose! I had a lot of fun writing it.
Sadly, "Life at Hedgerose" had to be put permanently on hold due to ill health. Chronic pain limits my time and ability to write, and I was forced to prioritize. I decided to focus on Ambia, since that is my main project and there was more interest in that series than in Life at Hedgerose.
I am encouraged, though, to hear that people are still reading Life at Hedgerose! If there were enough demand for the rest of the story, I might have to reconsider my prioritizes and commit to finishing it someday!
Sadly, "Life at Hedgerose" had to be put permanently on hold due to ill health. Chronic pain limits my time and ability to write, and I was forced to prioritize. I decided to focus on Ambia, since that is my main project and there was more interest in that series than in Life at Hedgerose.
I am encouraged, though, to hear that people are still reading Life at Hedgerose! If there were enough demand for the rest of the story, I might have to reconsider my prioritizes and commit to finishing it someday!
Allison Tebo
Hi Michelle! Were you asking about The Frog Prince, which is book 2, chronologically?
It hasn't been released yet - and hopefully, this video makes that confusion a little clearer!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y8GQu...
You can read book 3, A Royal Masquerade, without any spoilers or any confusion (The Frog Prince is a standalone) and you can A Royal Masquerade on Amazon!
https://www.amazon.com/Royal-Masquera...
Please do let me know if you have any questions or comments!
It hasn't been released yet - and hopefully, this video makes that confusion a little clearer!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y8GQu...
You can read book 3, A Royal Masquerade, without any spoilers or any confusion (The Frog Prince is a standalone) and you can A Royal Masquerade on Amazon!
https://www.amazon.com/Royal-Masquera...
Please do let me know if you have any questions or comments!
Allison Tebo
Being a twin is my normal; not having a twin would be weird to me! :) It's definitely a very, very special bond. She's my back-up brain and my other half; my perfect team mate.
I wouldn't say that being a twin has affected my writing, but she, as a person, has affected my writing! She is an incredibly smart, intuitive creator who is very talented at thrashing through the nitty-gritty details of a plot or character. We have very similar tastes in stories and we've had a lot of brilliant brainstorming sessions bouncing ideas off of each other.
I wouldn't say that being a twin has affected my writing, but she, as a person, has affected my writing! She is an incredibly smart, intuitive creator who is very talented at thrashing through the nitty-gritty details of a plot or character. We have very similar tastes in stories and we've had a lot of brilliant brainstorming sessions bouncing ideas off of each other.
Allison Tebo
My device is running out of battery and I can't find my charger. I can't afford to buy one, either.
Allison Tebo
Great question, Lauren! I know this isn't a very popular answer and some would be offended but I would have to say - no. A lot of people think that anyone can write and I suppose that's true, but that doesn't mean it would be good or that you're meant to write. I used to want to be a doctor or a nurse, but as I got older I realized I was too empathetic and unable to cope with such a job. Writing is exactly the same, you can always learn more about it - but you either "have it" or "you don't". You have to be born to write just as someone would be born to be an accountant or a pilot - everyone is unique and comes with their own skill sets and just because you can't or don't write doesn't make you an inferior person, just like just because I can't perform surgery doesn't make me inferior. One of the most amazing things is seeing people in the right place, recognizing their strengths and their limitations and utilizing their abilities in the right place and in the right way, as God made them to. Some of them will do that by being writers. Others won't, or shouldn't, whatever the case may be. In either event - no one is more important than the other!
Allison Tebo
This is a very hard question! I would have said Narnia right off - but recently Neverland has started to carve out a bigger space in my heart. And then of course, Ambia has started to mean a lot to me.
If I could go anywhere I would go to the Wood Between the Worlds in The Magician's Nephew, the place where every pool of water lead to a different world - that way I could go wherever I wanted, whenever I wanted, as many times as I wanted.
To get there, I would of course have to dig up the magic rings - which I believe are somewhere in a garden in England (because I don't think they were buried with Peter) and then I would prefer to fly to the Woods Between the Worlds, so I would need to lay a trap for a pixie to get some pixie dust - probably by nabbing someone's - or somethings - shadow. The pixie would go with me so that she could keep me awake in the Woods Between the World and guard me from enchantment while I'm making up my mind about which pool to enter next.
If I could go anywhere I would go to the Wood Between the Worlds in The Magician's Nephew, the place where every pool of water lead to a different world - that way I could go wherever I wanted, whenever I wanted, as many times as I wanted.
To get there, I would of course have to dig up the magic rings - which I believe are somewhere in a garden in England (because I don't think they were buried with Peter) and then I would prefer to fly to the Woods Between the Worlds, so I would need to lay a trap for a pixie to get some pixie dust - probably by nabbing someone's - or somethings - shadow. The pixie would go with me so that she could keep me awake in the Woods Between the World and guard me from enchantment while I'm making up my mind about which pool to enter next.
Allison Tebo
I have the rest of the Illyon Chronicles and the Blades of Acktar series to finish - and a few classics I haven't read before.
Allison Tebo
I deal with writer's block with dismaying frequency! I just force myself to write anyway - it isn't always good - but it's still words on paper; that's the important thing.
And I pray. God cares about everything I do. He created inspiration - and I want Him to be my source.
Watching movies and reading also helps get the creative juices flowing!
And I pray. God cares about everything I do. He created inspiration - and I want Him to be my source.
Watching movies and reading also helps get the creative juices flowing!
Allison Tebo
Not really. I think perhaps that sometimes my emotional experiences serve as an unconscious inspiration - but that's it; unless I'm writing something in a contemporary setting, in which case I use a lot of my own preposterous blunders as inspiration for humorous scenes.
But most of my books are set in sci-fi or fantasy settings...not very similiar (unfortunately) to my real life experiences!
But most of my books are set in sci-fi or fantasy settings...not very similiar (unfortunately) to my real life experiences!
Allison Tebo
Probably fantasy and sci-fi (as well as their various sub-genres).
Though, really - no genre is safe from me!
I think what I love most about sci-fi and fantasy is the escapism - they define adventure for me. I can do anything and be anything in these genres. I can create my own world and simply GO FOR IT, as a writer and as a reader. I have also found these genres rich mine fields for powerful allegories.
It will always be a great disappointment to me that I cannot leap from castle roofs swinging a sword like Prince Valiant - or help Princess Leia escape from the Imperial prison block.
But by writing in these genres, I can satisfy this thirst for adventure; and hopefully - craft stories and messages that will resonate with my readers.
Though, really - no genre is safe from me!
I think what I love most about sci-fi and fantasy is the escapism - they define adventure for me. I can do anything and be anything in these genres. I can create my own world and simply GO FOR IT, as a writer and as a reader. I have also found these genres rich mine fields for powerful allegories.
It will always be a great disappointment to me that I cannot leap from castle roofs swinging a sword like Prince Valiant - or help Princess Leia escape from the Imperial prison block.
But by writing in these genres, I can satisfy this thirst for adventure; and hopefully - craft stories and messages that will resonate with my readers.
Allison Tebo
I am currently working on my NaNo novel, it needs serious revisions before it's fit to be read. I also have another fairy tale novella and a steam punk novella that I am hoping to draft next month.
Allison Tebo
I got the idea for the Reluctant Godfather as my family was returning from Labor Day vacation. For some reason, the entire end 'finale' popped into my head. The story was simply there in it's complete form in my head. All I had to do was write it down.
The idea for the Keys to The Chains came to me while I was watching a B&W TV show. A prisoner, in route to prison, was marooned on an island with his guard....the island was about to be decimated because it was a the test site for a nuclear weapon. I remember thinking: "He's fighting so hard to live - just so he can go to jail?" And my story idea popped into my head.
The idea for the Keys to The Chains came to me while I was watching a B&W TV show. A prisoner, in route to prison, was marooned on an island with his guard....the island was about to be decimated because it was a the test site for a nuclear weapon. I remember thinking: "He's fighting so hard to live - just so he can go to jail?" And my story idea popped into my head.
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