Writer’s Note: I still can’t believe the brilliant author of ‘The Ascendance Series’ actually responded to my email! Thank you so much, Mrs. Nielsen! Do check out her books here.

SHRIYA: Which one of your characters is the most like you?

MRS. NIELSEN: All of my characters come from a part of me, even if we make different choices or have differences in our personalities. However, I am probably most like Imogen. I will say though that Sage is left-handed because I am left-handed, and I like to climb, so he likes to climb, and we have the same sense of humor. I am just smart enough not to say most of what he actually does say.

SHRIYA:  Where were you and what were you doing when the idea for the Ascendance Series hit you?

MRS. NIELSEN: I think the idea first came to me after hours and hours of watching the same Barbie movie with my daughter, who was then only about 6-years-old. That was THE PRINCESS AND THE PAUPER, about a princess who has to switch places with a poor girl. I didn’t love the movie, but I do think somehow, the idea for the Ascendance series began there.

SHRIYA: Who is Jaron inspired by?

MRS. NIELSEN: The inspiration for Jaron came from a song called Guaranteed, by a singer named Eddie Vedder. A line in the song said, “I knew all the rules, but the rules did not know me, guaranteed.” It struck me that this was the character I wanted to write about: someone who knew exactly what game he was playing, but none of the other characters knew that all of the rules were being very quietly changed. From the song, I had Jaron, and once I had him, I knew exactly what story I wanted to write.

SHRIYA: How do you create such strong characters who readers cheer, love and cry for?

MRS. NIELSEN: I think readers love characters who have 1) A clear goal – something they want that is good but also easy to understand; 2) Desperate – something that is highly important to them; and 3) A good heart – they are someone that the reader wants to see win.

SHRIYA: Which of these items would you want to the most (only one!):
      – a bulla
– the book of knowledge
– the King’s (Jaron’s) ring
– Possession over the cave of treasure

MRS. NIELSEN: The Book of Knowledge. There is a price for magic, power is always up for grabs, and treasures will be spent, but knowledge pays, cannot be taken away, and only grows with time.

SHRIYA: Every writer, at some point, feels like giving up. Did you ever experience this, and what did you do to overcome it?

MRS. NIELSEN: Absolutely I did experience this. Mine came when I was trying to break into the business and I’d had a very long string of rejections. Finally, there was one rejection that stung worse than most and I decided that day that I had to make a choice: either I would admit that I had no talent and that I never would become a published author, or I would never fail at this again. So I threw out everything I thought I knew about writing and started over with a new manuscript. That new manuscript became my debut book, but I literally had to hit bottom before I really began to figure out how to write well.

SHRIYA: I’ve heard that holding your book in your hands in the best feeling in the world. Is it true?

MRS. NIELSEN: It’s amazing, but no, the best feeling in the world is being with people you love and who love you. But I’ve got to admit, holding your own book in your hands is at least in my top three.