Sailing in the Sky received a 4+ star review, making it an IndieReader Approved title.
Following find an interview with author Starr Green.
What is the name of the book and when was it published?
Sailing in the Sky, Published April 12, 2022
What’s the book’s first line?
“Piper stepped on top of the sand, trying not to kick any into her sneakers. Normally she’d take her shoes off at the beach, but today time was limited.”
What’s the book about? Give us the “pitch”.
An autistic runaway joins modern gods in a dangerous search for missing humans while falling in love.
What inspired you to write the book? A particular person? An event?
For the last decade, the storyline has been rolling around my head. When I finally put pen to paper, I wrote the main character’s thoughts how I think, but by the time I got Piper finished, I’d been diagnosed autistic and had an ah-ha moment about my character—we’re both autistic!
What’s the main reason someone should really read this book?
I grew up very sheltered, but reading mass amounts of fantasy and sci-fi. I saw same-sex couples and racial equality in those imagined worlds, things I was unaware that earth didn’t already have. With the author’s views of how we all wish things were, I believe the last few generations were positively influenced to create those things in real life. So, I’ve written my trilogy specifically to show how I wish autistic people were treated in the hope that my ideal will shift to the new normal one day.
What’s the most distinctive thing about the main character? Who-real or fictional-would you say the character reminds you of?
Piper is intensely curious. About people, animals, and the world around her. She notices details others might not, and then she acts on what she sees. Piper is like a less confident Greta Thunberg. Unlike Greta, though, Piper’s parents are not very supportive, so instead, she gains her confidence through the trilogy as part of her journey.
Is this the first book you’ve written?
Sailing in the Sky is not the first book I’ve written or even the first book I’ve published. Like any craft, writing takes dedicated practice. Writing skills must be honed with repeated use, so this is the sixth novel I’ve written and the second I’ve published. The first novel I published is a sci-fi story featuring a female autistic lead character. So far, all of my novels are hi-lo books. Meaning they were deliberately written at a lower grade reading level, so they are more relaxing to read.
What’s the best and the hardest part of being an indie?
The best part is being allowed to keep the story as it’s meant to be written without editors insisting on changes to make the story more mainstream. However, getting people to trust your writing enough to put their time into reading it is definitely the hardest part of being indie. If the novel comes from a known publishing house, most people assume it’s great, but that’s not always true. Worse, diverse books rarely make it through publishing houses, but then can’t get enough attention as an indie.
Would you go traditional if a publisher came calling? If so, why?
Unfortunately, how you get noticed as an author is to have a publisher’s marketing budget behind you. Even famously indie authors like Mark Dawson and Gail Carriger started with a traditional publisher and then took their fans with them going indie. So yes, I would briefly answer the siren call of the publisher if it came, but only as another marketing tool to get diverse books out to more readers.
Which writer, living or dead, do you most admire?
I’ve enjoyed a wide range of books, from classics like Anne of Green Gables and Sherlock Holmes to newer novels by Terry Pratchett and Janet Evanovich to nonfiction books by Bill Bryson and James Herriot. However, my first introduction to dragons was by Patricia C. Wrede and Anne McCaffrey, and I have to say that I still admire those two the most. I get so wrapped up in novels by either of them that I forget everything around me. I get to live in their world. That’s the best thing about reading a great book!