Lovely, isn't it?
Here's the back cover blurb:
Fifteen-year-old Jen can't remember her imagination. She knows she had one once, though, and honestly, she'd like it back. It's been eight years. One day she finds a young boy who claims to be one of her imaginary friends and that her imaginary world is being eaten by a hydra-like monster called the Polystoikhedron. He helps her find the Ankulen, a special bracelet that had given the ability to bring her imagination to life and together they embark on a quest to find friendship, healing, and perhaps even some family.
I thoroughly enjoyed The Ankulen. Here's the GoodReads profile so you can go add it to your shelves.
And here's a mini-interview with Miss Ardnek about The Ankulen.
1. What sparked the idea that became The Ankulen?
There was no initial spark for The Ankulen. My
younger cousin and I were in the yard trying to come up with a play for
us to perform at our next family get-together. We had being trying to
do something based on a story I had found that my mom had written, but
it wasn't going anywhere.
So we did what we always did when we
wanted to come up with a new story. We assigned ourselves names, and
started making stuff up as we went along. I was Jen and he was Chris.
When he popped out of our toy castle claiming to be a friend who had
once been my best friend but had been trapped in my imagination for the
last eight years, we knew we had struck gold. We never performed the
play, unfortunately, because we couldn't come up with an ending that
would work with our limited budget.
2. Who is your favorite character, and why do you like them?
This
is probably the most difficult question people ask me, since I love
every character in a different way and for different reasons. However,
I'll go with Derek as my favorite today. I often struggle with my boy
characters, since I'm a girl and I don't know any boys older than twelve
with whom I could sit down with and ask "okay, now how does your brain
work?" But I think I got Derek right, and my Grandma and my Great Aunt
(both of whom grew up with two brothers and no sisters) agree. Derek is a
very complex guy, and he's stingy with his back story. (Which is
probably the worst of any character in the book), and as a result, I
didn't grasp his complete character until draft two. For the longest
time, I thought that he didn't care about anything, but I was wrong. He
does care about things, deeply, and he's very protective of anyone he's
cares about. But he's been hurt a lot, so he's afraid to care. The full
extent of his horrible childhood is never revealed in the book, but
there are hints, and I do know most of it now. If I ever write a sequel,
I will reveal the rest.
3. What was your favorite part of writing The Ankulen?
I'll
go with the relationship between Derek, Jen, and Megan. I've never been
in love, so I feel kinda awkward writing romance (fun though it may
be), but I do have brothers and sisters. I also have cousins who live
close enough to be practically siblings. I love writing about the bond
that siblings share, and since Derek and Megan are adopted, writing this
bond into existence was lots of fun. Megan and Jen get it right off,
but there are lots of rocks where Derek is involved.
Kendra E. Ardnek is the eldest
daughter in a homeschooling family of four. She has been making up
stories since an early age and published her first book, Sew, It's a
Quest, when she was sixteen.
When she isn't writing, she's
usually knitting, crocheting, making swords out of paint-stir sticks,
or looking up random facts. You can follow her writing adventures on her
blog, Knittedbygodsplan.blogspot.com.
Sew, it's a Quest was equally enjoyable. You should read them both.
And, she's having a release party on her blog on September 6! Mark your calendars!
And that is all I have to say today. A wonder-filled day/evening/morning/whatever to you.
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