Guide to Categories – Author Interview – an interview with an author, if there is no review from me, I have not read the book and cannot speak to its appropriateness for a school library

Links in this post may be affiliate links. Purchases made using these links will not cost you more but may pay me an affiliate fee.

We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and related sites. Thank you for using my links.

About the Book

Book: The Burning Tree

Author: Helen Dent

Genre: YA Fantasy

Release Date: September 10, 2024

There’s a secret growing in the woods.

In Ellie Caster’s town of Bishop’s Gap, the Casters and the powerful Levy family have been feuding for generations. The families share just one thing in common—they both dread the mark, a scorch that appears at random on their doors, bringing a curse from the Burning Tree. When the mark hits Ellie’s door, her sister Jean falls into a coma. Ellie knows the Burning Tree is to blame, and desperate to save her sister, she braves the forbidden woods to confront it. But this choice ignites a chain of unintended consequences, forcing her to work with her nemesis, Charlotte Levy.

Together, they must complete an impossible task, uncover the ancient secret of Bishop’s Gap, and end the curse before time runs out for their entire town.

Click here to get your copy!

About the Author – Helen Dent

Helen Dent’s career as a writer began at age nine, when her grandfather paid her a dollar a page for what turned into quite a lengthy story. She studied monster theory (among other things) in graduate school, taught English at a Chinese university, and toured the Scottish Hebrides in a car with a needy radiator. Now she lives in Texas with her husband, kids, a cat, and a hamster. She belongs to the DFW Writers Workshop, the Fort Worth Poetry Society, and Art House Dallas.

 

More from Helen Dent

“‘Oh, Trees, Trees, Trees,’ said Lucy (though she had not been intending to speak at all). ‘Oh, Trees, wake, wake, wake.’

. . .

Though there was not a breath of wind they all stirred about her. The rustling noise of the leaves was almost like words.” – C.S. Lewis, Prince Caspian

This scene of the enchanted trees in C.S. Lewis’s Narnia sparked my imagination the very first time I read it. As a child, like Lucy, I could picture how the trees in my own backyard might look as wood-people, what they might say if they spoke. Even now, when I walk through woods, they still hold an enchanted quality for me. I want to follow all the footpaths . . . to a meadow, maybe, rich in wildflowers . . . or a haunt of bats . . . or an ancient, lightning-struck tree.

There’s a particular wood near my house that I walked week by week during a difficult season in my life. Flowers bloomed, birds nested. The light changed. Leaves fell, then budded again. It was a comfort to wander under the sheltering trees – and that comfort wasn’t just the peace of being out in nature.

Each rustle of the trees carried an echo of a much greater story.

It’s always struck me as particularly beautiful that there are individual trees at the beginning and end of the Bible: the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil in Genesis, and then the tree of life again in Revelation, this time described as having “twelve kinds of fruit, yielding its fruit each month. The leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations” (Revelation 22: 2b ESV).

So every walk in the woods reminds me that brokenness isn’t the end of the story. Death isn’t the end of the story.

It’s probably no surprise, then, that I set my book, The Burning Tree, in an enchanted forest. where the trees have been twisted into something destructive, but where there’s always the possibility of a different outcome . . . just waiting to be unlocked.

Author Interview with Helen Dent

When did you first know you wanted to be an author? 

Growing up, my house was always full of books — Margaret Wise Brown and the Boxcar Children and Frances Hodgson Burnett. My parents prioritized reading, and early on I discovered the incredible joy of getting words down on the page myself. In school, I was affirmed for my writing, and I think I always just assumed that’s the path my life would take. The actual journey turned out to be more difficult that I anticipated . . . more on that later! 

What is your favorite thing about this time of year?

I love glancing out the window to discover that the light of summer is mellowing out to autumn. The leaves start glowing just before dusk, the signal that cozy times are coming.  I pull out my favorite mug — the one shaped like a pumpkin — pour some coffee, and sit down to write. 

How does your faith play out in your writing?

That’s a great question. My faith informs the way the stories themselves play out  . . . how a plot resolves, for example. My characters often discover that the real source of a problem is not what they’d initially thought. Faith also significantly impacts the setting of my books. Romans tells us that the world we live in, the world God made, is meaningful  — it shouts His glory. In my story worlds, too, everything is charged with meaning, which sometimes spills over into the magical. 

As a former K-12 school librarian(and since this blog is geared toward school librarians) I have to ask – what is your favorite children’s book?

I’m not sure I can narrow it down to one! Can I give my top three? First would be The Ark by Margot Benary-Isbert, a less well-known book, I think, that describes a girl’s life in post-war Germany, focusing on the process of healing and regaining hope. Second, Emily of New Moon by L.M Montgomery, because as an aspiring writer, I really identified with Emily. And third, The Mysterious Benedict Society. It’s quirky and deep and I love how Trenton Lee Stewart portrays the relationships between characters. 

Young Author’s Days were an important part of my work as a school librarian.What advice would you give to a child or teen who wants to be a writer?

Here’s what I wish someone had told me! When I first began writing, I thought that great authors get a fabulous idea, write it down, and that’s it – they’re done. When that didn’t happen for me, I temporarily gave up on the dream of writing. But I was mistaken. Actually, for most authors, getting the story down is just the first step. Then they spend a lot of time bringing it to life by working on setting and dialogue and character growth. 

Not only that, but authors don’t bring stories to life alone. Often they’re part of groups where they share their stories and find out what others enjoyed and what wasn’t working … yet. So here’s my advice. Don’t expect your first drafts to be perfect. Instead, find someone else who likes to write and swap chapters (or short stories or poems). Discuss them together. For me, that’s been the key to growing as a writer.  

Thank you so much for joining us today, Helen. We enjoyed getting to know you a little better.

Views expressed in this interview/guest post do not necessarily reflect the views of this blog host.

Blog Stops

Inspired by Fiction, September 14

Library Lady’s Kid Lit, September 15 (Author Interview)

Texas Book-aholic, September 15

Stories By Gina, September 16 (Author Interview)

Jodie Wolfe – Stories Where Hope and Quirky Meet, September 17 (Author Interview)

Locks, Hooks and Books, September 18

Guild Master, September 19 (Author Interview)

A Reader’s Brain, September 20 (Author Interview)

Back Porch Reads, September 21 (Author Interview)

Truth and Grace Homeschool Academy, September 22

A Modern Day Fairy Tale, September 23 (Author Interview)

Fiction Book Lover, September 24 (Author Interview)

Tell Tale Book Reviews, September 25 (Author Interview)

Becca Hope: Book Obsessed, September 25

Happily Managing a Household of Boys, September 26

Through the Fire Blogs, September 27 (Author Interview)

Giveaway

To celebrate her tour, Helen is giving away the grand prize package of a $50 Amazon gift card and a signed copy of the book!!

Be sure to comment on the blog stops for extra entries into the giveaway! Click the link below to enter.

http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/00adcf5442

Read more Author Interview posts

Do you enjoy these reviews? Want to help support this blog? You can leave a tip here.