Maria Elena thought she’d sworn off gaming
forever. But she hates her new internship, so her brother Balt convinces her to
play Heroes of Avonell, a cutting-edge virtual-reality video game with such
complex programming that it’s like the non-player characters are self-aware.
Disappointed with the usual cliché job
class offerings, Maria Elena’s character Quinny stumbles through a glitch in
the game and ends up in Caed Dhraos, a strange city populated with friendly
monsters. Quinny decides to work for the resident dark lord as part of his
magic personnel, but she can’t tell anybody she’s playing in off-limits areas
of the game—not even Balt. Soon Quinny finds herself getting to the bottom of a
mystery surrounding an ancient demon and why Caed Dhraos is suffering from the
Blight.
But the artificial intelligences in the
game really are self-aware, and some of Avonell’s so-called “heroes” have
decided they don’t like humanity very much. The game has gone out of control,
and Maria Elena and her new friends have to find a way to set things right. Can
she save Avonell – and Earth – while juggling her real job and trying to
salvage her crumbling relationship with her brother?
Pixeldust is a dive into a fantastical, fun
virtual world where the universe may be made of data, but the dangers,
friendships, magic, and lessons learned are very real.
Purchase Links
https://www.amazon.com/Pixeldust-T-K-Arispe-ebook/dp/B08DD612GR (ebook)
https://www.amazon.com/Pixeldust-T-K-Arispe/dp/B08DBZD91T (paperback)
Author Q&A
1. What would you consider to be your Kryptonite as an
author?
I like writing unique stories,
but sometimes that’s a double-edged sword because I have difficulty marketing
them within the constraints of society’s book marketing rubric. If I write a
science fantasy, do I market it as sci-fi or fantasy? If I write something with
no intended age range, does it go in the YA, middle grade, or adult section?
And what about when my cover looks completely different from what covers in its
genre are “supposed” to look like? All of these things would be a headache for
any traditional publisher, which is why I went indie.
2. If you could tell your younger writing self anything,
what would it be?
“Have more confidence
in yourself and your stories. If you like writing, there is a place in the
world for your writing. And you’re a better writer than you think you are.” One
of the reasons why it took me so long to start taking my writing seriously was
because I didn’t think I could actually be a Real Writer, and now I regret not
starting to write sooner.
3. Favorite childhood memory involving books?
Going to the library and checking out as
many books as I could carry. I always had so much fun browsing the shelves. So
many books, so little time!
4. If you could dine with any literary character, who would
it be and why?
Probably Gandalf. I feel
like any amount of time spent hanging out with Gandalf would be amazing.
5. What fantastical fictional world would you want to live
in (if any) given the chance?
Dinotopia.
Not only is it an incredibly fascinating and beautiful world, but it’s
remarkably safe as far as fictional worlds go. Some fictional worlds are really
interesting to read about, like the Wizarding World and Middle-earth, but you
always get the feeling you’d be in mortal danger every five minutes while you
were there!
6. Did you want to be an author when you grew up?
In elementary school, I wanted to be a
paleontologist or a marine biologist. In high school, I wanted to draw graphic
novels. I didn’t decide on being a novelist until after college.
7. What is your most unusual writing quirk?
I binge-write excessively. If I get really
into a story, I have been known to spend most of the day writing it. This leads
to books getting finished faster, but boy do my shoulders hurt if I forget to
take breaks and stretch!
8. What’s one movie you like recommending to others?
Castle
in the Sky, one of Hayao Miyazaki’s first films. It’s a shame that it’s a
fairly obscure film outside of Japan, because it’s really a masterpiece of
steampunk fantasy adventure. And the animation is absolutely stunning,
especially when one considers that it came out in 1986 and was produced without
the aid of computer graphics.
9. If you could own any animal as a pet, what would it be?
Totally a T-rex. I’m not entirely sure
where I would keep it, but that’s beside the point.
10. Have you ever met anyone famous?
I met James Gurney, the author of the Dinotopia books, when he was giving an art lecture in my area. I
shared some of my dinosaur sketches with him and he was super nice about it.
That was fun.
11. How long, on average, does it take you to
write a book?
Depending on the length of
the book, it will usually take me 2 to 3 months for the first draft (barring
any interruptions). Because my first drafts tend to already be pretty polished,
editing moves fairly quickly after that, usually taking about a month tops.
12. How do you select the names of your
characters?
For “realistic” names, I
often consult a baby naming website to find names with meanings that fit the
characters, or pay homage to family and friends, as I did with Pixeldust. For fantasy names, I keep a Word
document with a list of names that I either made up while playing with
syllables, or are real, but very unusual names that I come across in my
research. When I’m making a new fantasy character, I’ll go down that list until
I find a name that I feel fits them best. For example, Zaragoz’s name comes
from Zaragoza, the name of several places in Mexico, to tie in with Maria
Elena’s Hispanic heritage.
13. What creature do you consider your
"spirit animal" to be?
Probably
the qilin, the Chinese dragon-unicorn. It’s like they combine the best of both
dragons and unicorns!
14. If you were the last person on Earth, what
would you do?
I would go live with the
animals. I think we’d get along swell.
15. Do you have any advice for aspiring writers?
Write what you like and don’t try to fit it
into anyone else’s mold. You have a unique writing voice and unique ideas with
the potential to change the world for the better.
16. What is your favorite genre to read?
I love science fiction and fantasy with
creative ideas.
Author
Bio –
T. K.
Arispe is an illustrator, gamer, and unashamed nerd with a background in animation
and webcomic production, including the webcomic Trainer Wants to Fight! which somehow got its own page on TVTropes.
She loves interesting stories, well-crafted worlds, and memorable characters,
and is passionate about creating quality, intelligent, slightly offbeat media
that everyone can enjoy. Most of her story ideas come from random research
binges, usually in the fields of theoretical physics, computer science, or
oddly enough food history. She lives in California, where she enjoys not having
to deal with snow because it is terrifying.
Social
Media Links –
Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/tkarispe
Instagram:
https://www.instagram.com/tkarispe/
Goodreads:
https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/9833615.T_K_Arispe
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