DELOS: The Moon’s Eye received a 4+ star review, making it an IndieReader Approved title.
Following find an interview with author Blake Miller.
What is the name of the book and when was it published?
DELOS: The Moon’s Eye (published April 19th, 2023)
What’s the book’s first line?
Wrottly hated this—waiting, doing nothing.
What’s the book about? Give us the “pitch”.
Shortly after returning from Lurkur Woods where they saved the mysterious sacrosite known as the Arba Magon, the “impossible” twins, Cynthia Summers (a black girl) and Kaden Krossway (a white boy) must again travel across worlds, this time to save the Lurkur Witch known as the Lil of Lurkur. Along with their best friend Alec Mulsiver and a surprising fourth companion, their journey takes an unexpected turn when they are sent to retrieve a mysterious and powerful substance known as the Seventh Water. But acquiring it means surviving the Test of Six Waters, which is in fact comprised of six separate missions, each one more daunting than the last, testing them to their breaking points mentally, emotionally and magikally.
What inspired you to write the book? A particular person? An event?
I have an inborn need to create worlds and adventures, and writing is how I satisfy it. Michelangelo once said, “It is well with me only when I have a chisel in my hand.” This is a quote I very much associate with—even though I’m not a sculptor. Rather, it is well with me only when…I’m writing toward a great climax.
What’s the main reason someone should really read this book?
To be entertained from beginning to end. Then to wish for the story to continue (and to know another installment in the DELOS series is on the way).
Cynthia and Kaden are “impossible” 16-year-old twins, a black girl and white boy, with different parents and from different parts of the world. I’ve been with them for so long (I literally started working on the DELOS series over 20 years ago) that I don’t associate them with anyone else—fictional or otherwise. They’re made additionally unique because they’re partially defined by the bond that connects them and makes them twins. So (in my mind, at least) there is never one without the other.
When did you first decide to become an author?
After reading Dune by Frank Herbert some twenty-five years ago.
Is this the first book you’ve written?
This is the third book I’ve written. It’s the second book in the DELOS series. My first novel is called The Eye of Apollo; it revolves around a treasure hunt for the legendary Eye of Apollo diamond, which is supposedly buried in Delphi, Greece.
How much time do you generally spend on your writing?
Until my brain feels like it’s turning to mush, then I go to bed 🙂
What’s a great piece of advice that you can share with fellow indie authors?
Have a destination, then write toward it.
Would you go traditional if a publisher came calling? If so, why?
I would certainly meet with one of the larger publishing houses. Their ability to get books onto shelves of bookstores across the country is what makes them most appealing.
Is there something in particular that motivates you (fame? fortune?)
I think everyone is, to different degrees, motivated by fame and fortune. They represent validation and achievement—success—of the highest order. But I would still write even without the acclaim. Writing isn’t just what I do, it’s who I am. At the core of my being, I am a storyteller, a creator…a writer.