Hey everyone! I’m really excited to have Jill Daugherty, author of The Courage series, here for an interview. First, here’s more about the books:

The end of the world will start in the suburbs of Denver with a faery transfer student from Ireland. If you think that’s totally ridiculous, then you understand how Maggie O’Neill feels. In all of her sixteen years, faeries were something you read about in children’s books. They didn’t actually show up on your doorstep. They didn’t kiss you and make your knees go weak and whisper sweet nothings in your ear. Until Simon Brady, that is. Simon changed everything. He makes her heart race and her skin burn with excitement, but he has also changed her core beliefs about the world and made her see it as a dark and dangerous place filled with monsters that belong only in the lines of faery tales. There is no doubt in Maggie’s mind that she loves Simon, but can she see past who he is and find a place for him in her heart?

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Maggie O’Neill had a rough junior year… She fell in love with Simon. She found out Simon was a faery. She spent some time with her dead ancestors. An evil faery with control issues came after her and brought his groupies to kill her. …but that was nothing compared to what’s in store for senior year. She’s the new girl at faery boarding school and is subjected to something she never thought she’d have to deal with in her entire life—mean girls. To make matters worse, she’s seeing less and less of Simon, her faery guard is smothering her in their efforts to protect her, and the evil faery is still stalking her, determined to kill her before she can kill him. She starts to wonder if she’ll make it to graduation. Then the unthinkable happens and she wonders if she’ll be able to survive even one more day.

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Eighteen-year-old Maggie O’Neill is a high school dropout. If her parents knew, they’d probably kill her, but that’s the least of her worries. Balor—the evil faery from hell—is still stalking her, someone is still betraying her, and the mean girl at school is still mean. The worst part of her life, however, is figuring out how to live it without Simon. Will Maggie discover a way to defeat Balor? Will she ever be able to out-snark the mean girl? Will she find Simon? Tune in next week—uh, read the book—to find out.
 

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Psst! Loving the sound of The Courage Series? Jill, the author, will be offering the first book in the series – Courage and Other Demons – for free on Amazon from July 17 – 22!

And now here’s the interview. Enjoy!

Question: As of April 2014, The Courage series is complete and out in the world for all to read. How did it feel to complete the trilogy? To say goodbye to these characters?
Answer: I think it would probably be similar to sending your kids off to college. You’ll still visit them, and they’ll always be a part of your life, but it will never be the same. It was definitely very hard to let my characters go. Maggie and Simon have become such a part of my life that my family talks about them as if they’re real people.

Question: The Courage series sounds AMAZING. Where did the idea come from?
Answer: I read a piece of folklore in a book titled, “West Irish Folktales and Romances.” The book was published in the late 1800’s and is a compilation of stories that had been passed on for generations. One of the stories, Simon and Margaret, really stuck with me because the girl saved the boy from the evil giant. We don’t have enough stories NOW where the girl saves the boy, but certainly not a few hundred years ago. The story stuck in my head, and I developed a story line that I finally decided to write down.

Question: Why Faeries? What is it about faeries that you find fascinating? Why do you think they fascinate readers?
Answer: The origins of the story really decided on the faerie theme. Because it was an Irish folktale, I decided to research Irish mythology to include in the story and, of course, faeries are a huge part of that. I did have to work to figure out what I wanted my faeries to be. There are so many different faeries in Irish folklore, and I took little pieces from many different types and put them together to create the faeries in my books.

Question: Any plans for a prequel, sequel or fourth book in the Courage world?
Answer: I’m currently working on a spinoff of the first series with Maggie’s younger brother, Brandon, as the romantic lead. It takes place a few years after the end of the first series, and introduces a new character, Abbey, who witnesses a crime while watching the Abbey Road Studios webcam. This sets off a series of events that pulls Abbey into the world of faeries.

Question: What scene (from any of your books) do you most regret having to cut?
Answer: I didn’t really cut anything that I felt shouldn’t be cut. If there were a particular dialogue or description that I was in love with, I’d move it to a different scene and change it a bit.

Question: On the flip side, what was your favorite scene that got added during edits (from any of your books)?
Answer: I didn’t add any, but did do some shifting.

Question: Favorite Faerie book you’ve ever read?
Answer: I hadn’t really thought about it until I read that question, but I haven’t really read many faerie books. My first thought was that I should be ashamed of myself, but then it occurred to me that maybe that’s a good thing. I don’t have other writers’ ideas about what a faerie should be in my head. I just create my own.

Question: Craziest thing you’ve had to Google for a WIP?
Answer: I can’t think of anything too crazy that I’ve Googled, but this question does make me think about a time when I was shopping when my mom called and asked me how the writing was going. I started talking to her about having to kill off a character and how it had been hard and I hated to do it, but I knew someone had to die and chose that character. I noticed a man following me around the store and realized that I was doing what I always do—talking about my characters as if they were real. I mentioned something to my mom that made it clear that I was a writer and the man chuckled and walked away. Evidently, he thought I was confessing my crimes in the middle of TJMaxx.

Question: What are three must-have items when you sit down to write?
Answer: My computer, a distraction-free environment, and something to drink—usually tea or water.

Question: Are you working on anything new?
Answer:I’m working on the Abbey’s Road series, a spinoff of the Courage series.

About the Author:
 
 
Jill Daugherty lives in Denver with Bailey, the world’s cutest dog. By day, she works with gifted children and their teachers. By night, she writes. A lot. She is the author of the Courage series, which has received glowing reviews. At the insistence of her readers, she has started work on a spin-off series.
 
 
 

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