Saturday 1 December 2012

ABOUT THE AUTHOR & A CHAT WITH GWEN PERKINS



What is your name, where were you born and where do you live now?
I'm Gwen Perkins.  I was born in Salem, Oregon though I always think of myself as being from Brinnon, Washington out on the Hood Canal.  Presently I live in Tacoma, Washington also known as the "City of Destiny," in a neighborhood once called Excelsior.  Clearly it was meant to be.

More about Gwen

Gwen Perkins is a museum curator with a MA in Military History from Norwich University. She has written for a number of magazines, exhibitions and nonfiction publications. Her interest in history fueled the creation of the world of The Universal Mirror, inspired in part by people and events of the medieval and Renaissance periods.


Gwen Perkins has always regarded the deep rainforest of the Olympic Peninsula as the one place that she feels most at home. Gwen grew up in small towns across the Pacific Northwest, going to slug races and strawberry festivals when she wasn't scribbling on any scrap of paper she could come by. She boasts the dubious distinction of going to a public school with only eight students, learning Irish sea chanteys from a man who sang with the Clancy Brothers, and catching tadpoles during classes.

Her adult life is generally just about as much fun.

She lives in the City of Destiny (better known as Tacoma, Washington). Her hobbies include wandering beaches, baking pies and lampworking. In between all of this, Gwen has written two novels in the Artifacts of Empire series: The Universal Mirror and The Jealousy GlassThe Universal Mirror has been nominated for a 2013 Endeavour Award!

She is presently at work on future novels in the Artifacts of Empire series while working on another series in collaboration with Wilson Fabián Saravia.

Did you always want to be a writer? If not what did you want to be?
To be honest, yes.  I always thought that I'd have to be a writer and a something else though.  I never wanted to be a ballerina, however—it was always being an astronaut that I dreamed of, then later of being a high school history teacher.  So I suppose working for museums wasn't too far off base.

When did you first consider yourself as a "writer"?
I think I always have thought of myself as a writer.  Telling stories with paper is a pivotal part of my identity—I've never not done it.  It still amazes and pleases me that other people are now able to take joy in my work just as I do.

How do you come up with the Title and Cover Designs for your book/books?  Who designed the Cover of your books?
The Artifacts of Empire series has been fairly easy to come up with titles for.  I generally start out with an artifact—I find it by looking through museum collections and then start thinking about I could twist that and make it a magical item.  If it works with the plot, it becomes the titular artifact.  On occasion, I actually throw names up for a vote on my fan pages and let the readers decide.

The covers for my book were painted by Enggar Adirasa who's done some great work, not just on the Artifacts covers but also on the recent novel, The Exile's Violin.  (It ranks as one of my favorite steampunk covers, actually :)

Where can you fans/readers follow you?

Your blog details?  
I currently blog over at A Few Words, http://gwenperkins.wordpress.com.  I'm thinking of revamping the site a little with the New Year but for now, that or my website is the best place to catch me.

Your web site?

Your Facebook page?  
facebook.com/gwendolynlperkins

Your Goodreads Author page?  
http://www.goodreads.com/helleder

Your Twitter details?  
@helleder

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