I’m thrilled to have young adult author, Tracy Banghart, here today on Creating the Write Reality as my SEPTEMBER “Writer Spotlight”. She recently released her novel, Rebel Wing, on the Alloy Entertainment imprint. Please join me in giving her a warm welcome.
Welcome, Tracy!
[TB] Thank you so much for having me! I’m thrilled to be here. 🙂
[LG] Well, I’m glad to have you!
When my writer pal, Aimee Salter, came to me with a top secret request to be part of her blog tour, I was thrilled. Shrouded in mystery until the day of, her launch came as part of three authors signed under the brand new Alloy Entertainment label. (Click here: Aimee Salter's Interview)
As part of Aimee’s tour package, she sent the NetGalley link not only to her book, Every Ugly Word (new review coming for the Alloy version!), but also to yours and Heather Hildebrand’s book, Imitation. I must admit that your cover and blurb drew me in right away, so I downloaded it with a gleeful smile on my face. Turns out, you now have a new cover since my download. I agree…the new one gives a better sense of the story. But I still love the old one too! 🙂
On my vacation last month in Ireland, I dove into Rebel Wing on my Kindle. Let’s just say that I had trouble putting it down. It drew me in immediately with the pace, the imagery of the world, the characters, everything. *Sighs* Well, rather than repeating all the wonderful things I said below in my review, let’s just chat.
[LG] Tracy, the world you built in Rebel Wing was filled with beautiful imagery—colors and places kept popping into my mind as I read. When you described Lux, where Aris lived, I pictured something like the small hilly villages in the Greek islands. Where did you draw your inspiration?
[TB] I’m so glad that’s the image that came to mind! Lux was definitely inspired by the Mediterranean. I really wanted to create a different world – but I felt it was important to ground it in familiar details. It’s funny – there’s a part early on where the dominions are all described as jewels on a gaudy necklace…I think my inspiration sort of flowed from that initial image, in terms of world building. I had colors in mind, more than anything. Atalanta, where Aris lives is “green” – it’s very lush, eco-focusd. Everything is run with solar power. Ruslana is “ice blue” – it’s loosely inspired by Russia and is a snowy, diamond-hard place.
[LG] I loved your dedication in the ARC: “To Andy’s abs.” I also noticed they’re now a twitter handle. Um, I’m your 28th follower. Your husband, aka MAJOR HOTSAUCE, is in the military. Is that why you chose the military theme for Rebel Wing? What inspired the story?
[TB] Ha ha. Yes, “Andy’s Abs” is actually my husband’s account. I made him join because he’s much funnier than I am. J The book was dedicated to his abs because I wrote the early drafts while he was deployed, and when we met for his mid-year leave, I made him read it. He really liked it and dared me to dedicate it to his abs when it sold to a publisher. Even though the book went through a long, arduous journey after that, I never forgot (cough he wouldn’t let me cough) my promise. And yes, his deployment very much inspired the story. I actually had a dream while he was gone about a girl whose boyfriend is deployed and no one around her seems to care. That was the tiny kernel the story grew out of. It was also a bonding thing for us – he helped me a lot with the military scenes and getting the dynamics of the different soldiers right. Even though it’s a scifi/fantasy, I wanted the character interactions and “life as a soldier” to feel as realistic as possible.
[LG] One of the things I loved about your book was that it seemed ‘real,’ despite the fact that is sci-fi / fantasy. Aris and all the characters were extremely well-grounded, developed, and likable. I also thought you made brave choices alongside Aris with Calix and Milek, meaning this could’ve ended up with a clichéd or unrealistic ending. I really liked that you kept the focus on Aris and her journey in a realistic way. Did you always picture it ending that way or were you tempted to offer up a slightly more romantic version?
[TB] I LOVE this question, and I’m really glad you liked the ending! The truth is, up until the very last draft before Alloy published it, Rebel Wing had a different last chapter. Originally I did try to wrap up the romantic threads a little more…and then I realized (better late than never!) that I was doing Aris a disservice. Book one is about her journey, as you said, and it was really really important to me that she end it in a way that felt fully earned. Plus, you know, there’s always book 2 and 3…. 🙂
[LG] I hear you’re writing the sequel to Rebel Wing (Yay!) which releases in December. This is a trilogy, correct? Tell us more. When is it coming out? What can you tell without giving anything crucial away?
[TB] Yep, this series is planned as a trilogy. Book 2 should be out mid-December. And I’m SO excited about it! One of my favorite elements is that in addition to following Aris, the story also follows Dysis, Aris’s best friend. I love how kick-butt Dysis is, but she also hides a very vulnerable side that we don’t get to see much of in book 1. I’d also say book 2 ratchets up the action – it jumps into the fun, exciting stuff right away. And…yes, there’s some romance in there too.
[LG] How has your journey been so far with Alloy? Tell us a little more about your story? How long were you a self-published author before they signed you? (Click here for the full story! The Story Behind the Story)
[TB] I am absolutely LOVING working with Alloy. When I originally started writing seriously, back in 2009, self-publishing hadn’t taken off yet and I was still squarely in the traditional camp. I was able to secure an agent with my first book, Moon Child, pretty quickly, and then spent the next three years writing books that didn’t sell to publishers. It was incredibly discouraging, but I couldn’t bear to give up. With Rebel Wing (which, at the time, was called Shattered Veil), I knew it was the “book of my heart.” So I decided to self-publish. When Lanie, from Alloy, sent me an email saying how much she loved my book, it felt like all the hard work and discouragement were finally being rewarded. I actually still love self-pubbing, and hope to continue as a hybrid author as long as I can, but working with Lanie and her team – having publishing professionals backing me up – has been an absolute dream come true.
[LG] I’m always interested in the books people have read that influenced them. What are your two favorite books (not your own) that can still bring tears to your eyes?
[TB] Oh gosh. I have so many favorites! But the books I read as a young person, that made me want to be a writer in the first place, were A TALE OF TWO CITIES by Charles Dickens and THE BLUE SWORD by Robin McKinley.
[LG] What advice would you give new writers just starting out? What has been your biggest challenge as a writer?
[TB] My advice is simple: just keep writing. Honestly, it really comes down to that. If you give up, you’re not giving yourself a chance to succeed. If you keep trying, it could take you two weeks or ten years to get a publishing deal or make money self-pubbing, or win an award – whatever your goals are – but you can’t know going in what trials and successes you’ll see along the way. I shopped three books to publishers without selling. I definitely thought about giving up. But I kept going, writing for myself, finding new ways to connect with readers. And I’m thrilled with the state of both my writing AND my career right now. I’m so glad I didn’t give up.
[LG] What do you enjoy most about the writing process and getting your work out there?
[TB] Reading a review or an email from someone who really GOT my book or connected with one of my characters. That is without doubt my favorite moment.
[LG] What's next for you?
[TB] I’ve got book 2 to finish up, then book 3 in the Rebel Wing series to write. A few other little goodies in the works, as well, but I can’t talk about them yet. 🙂
[LG] What is your favorite dog breed?
[TB] Carolina Dog! They’re like American Dingoes – we have one and he’s awesome.
Thank you so much for stopping by, Tracy! I can’t wait for Book 2!
Without further ado…
REVIEW: Rebel Wing by Tracy Banghart
Genre: Young Adult, Science Fiction, Military
Format: eBook
ISBN: 9781939106407
Pages: 372
Publisher: Alloy Entertainment
Published: July 29, 2014
**2014 IndieReader Discovery Award Winner (2nd Place)
RATING: 5 stars
BOOK BLURB:
The Dominion of Atalanta is at war. But for eighteen-year-old Aris, the fighting is nothing more than a distant nightmare, something she watches on news vids from the safety of her idyllic seaside town. Then her boyfriend, Calix, is drafted into the Military, and the nightmare becomes a dangerous reality. Left behind, Aris has nothing to fill her days. Even flying her wingjet—the thing she loves most, aside from Calix—feels meaningless without him by her side. So when she’s recruited to be a pilot for an elite search-and-rescue unit, she leaps at the chance, hoping she’ll be stationed near Calix. But there’s a catch: She must disguise herself as a man named Aristos. There are no women in the Atalantan Military, and there never will be. Aris gives up everything to find Calix: her home. Her family. Even her identity. But as the war rages on, Aris discovers she’s fighting for much more than her relationship. With each injured person she rescues and each violent battle she survives, Aris is becoming a true soldier—and the best flyer in the Atalantan Military. She’s determined to save her Dominion . . . or die trying. This is a new release of the previously self-published title Shattered Veil.
Praise for Rebel Wing:
“What starts as a tale of star-crossed romance quickly evolves into a gripping page-turner, with gender roles and identity explored and questioned at every turn.” ~ STARRED REVIEW, Publishers Weekly
“Vaguely reminiscent of Suzanne Collins' The Hunger Games (2008) and Lois Lowry's The Giver (1993), this tale quickly takes off in its own imaginative direction…Part mystery, part romance, part sci-fi, Banghart's fast-paced exploration of loyalty, identity and commitment is entertaining and intriguing.” ~ Kirkus Reviews
REVIEW:
Amazing first book in the Rebel Wing series, Rebel Wing captured me and wouldn’t let go. Fast-paced and engaging, I devoured this book. The evocative imagery in this interesting science fiction / dystopian society filled my mind with places sparkling in jeweled colors that were different yet had an echo of the familiar. The world-building was well-balanced—neither bogging us down nor applied too scantily. The scientific innovation of the diatous veil was intriguing and gave me a sense of comfort that Aris had half a chance of pulling off her deception.
The political intrigue between the dominions within the secondary storyline held promise for the future books, and gave a nice balance to the overall story.
Rebel Wing is filled with well-drawn and likable characters. We witness the journey Aris / Aristos takes from an idealistic young girl driven by love into a woman with a sense of herself and a core of inner strength. In the end, her transformation is so complete that I could feel her blossom on the page to the point that her prior life felt like an old shoe that was too tight and no longer fit. With this transformation came a bittersweet feeling of loneliness that only those who have undergone such a change can understand. Not only did she change, she left us, the reader, changed along with her.
A touch of romance is woven into both storylines but doesn’t dominate the book. The military aspects of the book are both as well done and realistic. I was actually pleased that the author had the opportunity to give us a clichéd ending…and didn’t. This lent a brave integrity to the story that I didn’t expect.
Rebel Wing is one of the best Young Adult novels that I’ve read this year. I look forward to my next visit with Aris and the others in the world of Rebel Wing when the Book 2 comes out in December!
ABOUT Tracy Banghart
Award-winning author, Army wife, and mom Tracy Banghart has an MA in Publishing and an unhealthy affection for cupcakes. Her quiet childhood led to a reading addiction, writing obsession, and several serious book boyfriends.
Find and connect with Tracy here:
Twitter: https://twitter.com/tracythewriter
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/tracytheauthor
Website: www.tracybanghart.com
