AUTHOR SPOTLIGHT: Gifts of Good Foods Makes Cinda Williams Chima Happy

Tour rituals, midwest flavor and a new series makes for a trifecta of good times for fans of Cinda Williams Chima. What’s better than food recs from someone who knows the area? Chima, also, has received some amazing fan gifts. Her most memorable, of course, comes back to food.

Which frankly, made for a deliciously good chat.

Do you have a favorite restaurant in Ohio? Is there a specific place you go that you take out-of-towners to get that midwest flavor?
There are so many good restaurants in the Cleveland area. For midwestern fare, I like the Welshfield Inn in Geauga County; a great mingle of comfort food and culinary innovation. I’m also fond of Grove Hill in Chagrin Falls.

What is your favorite food and why?
Wow, I don’t even know how to choose. Popcorn is right up there, partly because my family had popcorn for dinner every Sunday night from the time I was little. It was an extra treat to look forward to top off the weekend. I still do that when I’m home.

Was it difficult to return to the Seven Realms since it sounds like things have not progressed kindly in that world? Or did you always have a vision for this new series?
I guess I could say I had a vision for it, because some of the scenes and events in the Shattered Realms happened in some earlier fiction I’d written set in that world. The Seven Realms was a kind of prequel to these stories. That said, the stories, characters and so on have changed dramatically.

If you were a mage, what do you think your skill set would include and why?
I love the notion of being able to shape magic through words, eg spells because, after all, I am a word person.

On tour, do you have any traditions? Anything you do to get yourself pumped up for going in front of crowds?
Before every tour, I have this ritual where I read four or five blogs on how to pack for a tour in a carryon. I get out my little carryon suitcase and make piles on my bed, counting things out and coordinating and then I just throw a whole bunch of other clothes in, because, anything can happen, and switch to a checked bag.
I’m fortunate in that I’ve done quite a bit of public speaking in my life, and I love to hang out with people who love books.

Can you tell us about some of your most memorable gifts from fans while on tour?
Once in Texas I mentioned that I am most fond of salsa, and a fan who owned a specialty foods company sent me a whole array of salsas and sauces from blistering hot to relatively mild.

COVER REVEAL:

SYNOPSIS: Alyssa ana'Raisa is the reluctant princess heir to the Gray Wolf throne of Fells, a queendom embroiled in a seemingly endless war. Hardened by too many losses, Lyss is more comfortable striking with a sword than maneuvering at court. After a brush with death, she goes on the offensive, meaning to end the war that has raged her whole life. If her gamble doesn't pay off, she could lose her queendom before she even ascends to the throne.

Across enemy lines in Arden, young rising star Captain Halston Matelon has been fighting for his king since he was a lýtling. Lately, though, he finds himself sent on ever more dangerous assignments. Between the terrifying rumors of witches and wolfish warriors to the north and his cruel king at home, Hal is caught in an impossible game of life and death.

Set in the world of the acclaimed Seven Realms series, this is a thrilling story of the unfathomable costs of war, the allure of dark magic, and two principled and conflicted characters, drawn together despite everything they stand to lose.

DISCOVER MORE: 

New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Cinda Williams Chima grew up with talking animals and kick-butt Barbies. She began writing poetry and stories in third grade and novels in junior high school. These days she writes fantasy fiction for teens of all ages. Her Heir Chronicles contemporary fantasy series includes The Warrior Heir (2006), The Wizard Heir (2007), The Dragon Heir (2008), The Enchanter Heir (2013) and The Sorcerer Heir (2014).

Chima’s high fantasy Seven Realms series launched with The Demon King (2009), followed by The Exiled Queen (September, 2010) The Gray Wolf Throne (2011) and The Crimson Crown (2012).  Both series have been New York Times bestsellers.

Chima’s Shattered Realms high fantasy four-book series is forthcoming from HarperCollins. The series debut, Flamecaster, was published by HarperCollins in April 2016.  The sequel, Shadowcaster, is scheduled to release in April 4, 2017.

Chima’s books have received starred reviews in Kirkus and VOYA, among others. They have been named Booksense and IndieNext picks, an International Reading Association Young Adult Choice, a New York Public Library Book for the Teen Age, to the Kirkus Best YA list, and the VOYA Editors’ Choice, Best Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror, and Perfect Tens lists. Her books also appear on numerous state awards lists and won the Buckeye Teen Book Award in 2011.

Chima was a recipient of the 2008 Lit Award for Fiction from the Cleveland Lit and was named a Cleveland Magazine Interesting Person 2009. She lives in Ohio with her family, and is always working on her next novel.

Find Chima online at www.cindachima.com or http://cindachima.blogspot.com/. She is on Facebook at www.facebook.com/cindawilliamschima and on Twitter @cindachima and her Instagram tag is cindachima.