Interview with Anne Gray
author of Healer's Touch

Q How was writing your second book Healer's Touch different from writing your debut novel Rites of the Healer?

A In the first book, I had an image and from that I got a general idea of where I wanted to go, but the characters, the world — all that was to be discovered as I worked. In the second book, I had to be sure that I was consistent with the first book and that any new actions would be true to the characters I had created.

Secondly, I had to make sure that my main character continued to grow and develop, so I had to put her in situations that would let her do this. She faces challenges and dangers, as she did in the first book, and since they are coming from the same source, they are going to be similar. But they can't be too similar.

A third big difference was in dealing with backstory. Any book will have some backstory, but all readers will be starting at the same point. If you have a 900 page book, you just have to set up the backstory once and anyone reading page 300, will more than likely have read the first 299 pages. But if you have, say, three 300 page books, then you may have someone pick up book 2 who has not read the first book. Or, if you have two readers who have read the first book, one of them may have read it a week ago and the other 2 years ago. Each of these readers will have a different need for — and a different tolerance for — backstory from the first book.

Essentially, then, in the first book or in a stand alone book, you have fewer restrictions.

Q Tell us about Dovella's journey in Healer's Touch. How has Dovella grown as a person since her first journey in Rites of the Healer?

A When the first novel began, Dovella had a closed mind on a number of questions. During the course of her journey, she revised her opinions on almost all of these issues. But accepting something intellectually doesn't mean you assimilate it emotionally. So, for example, even though Dovella came to accept that magic exists, she was still uncomfortable with the idea, and couldn't believe it had anything to do with her.

In Healer's Touch, she comes to terms with the idea that she has magical gifts and that she must learn to use them properly. She's still not completely easy with that or with what it means and will come to mean in her life, but she is now open to exploring magic. Also, in her relations with others, she becomes more tolerant, coming to see that when you understand someone and why they do what they do, you are less likely to want to thwart them.

Q In what ways do you think your teen readers will be able to identify with Dovella?

A They face many of the same issues. I think of these books as being contemporary novels in a fantasy setting, and most fantasy books are, really. There is the problem of prejudice — one's own as well the prejudice you face. There's the conflict in loyalties, trying to choose what's right when those you love are choosing what's wrong. There's facing yourself and your own weaknesses as well as your strengths; and accepting that what you can do may be as challenging as accepting what you can't do. There's being afraid, and acknowledging that, but going on anyway. There's having to choose between what you want to do and what you need to do, between accepting responsibilities and following your own desires. In fact, almost everything Dovella has to face probably has some counterpart in modern day life.

Q You have created a completely believable world in these novels. How did you achieve this sense of reality for your readers?

A Mainly, I think, if your characters relate to their world, if they accept it and believe in it, if they interact with it in a natural way, then readers will be likely to accept it. You have to be consistent or, if not, there has to be a good explanation for why not.

Q In Healer's Touch the reader meets several intriguing characters from far-off settlements. Are you planning to expand these characters and their lives in a third book?

A Yes, I'm planning a third book in which Dovella will journey with Narina and Vebelle to help them find their families, and eventually she will come into contact with the Giants. During this journey, of course, Dovella will face a number of challenges, some similar, some quite different from those she has encountered before. I will continue to explore many of the same themes along with the new ones, and Dovella will come to maturity in her power and in understanding what it means for her and those around her.