City of Roses by Donovan Pruitt
Publication date: May 5th 2015
Genres: Fantasy, Paranormal Romance, Young Adult
A young man ventures to his lost love’s childhood home in the abandoned city of Pripyat, Ukraine. When a sudden accident puts him off-course, he awakes to discover a lively and vibrant culture living in a nearby village and a woman who reignites his heart. But something sinister lurks in the shadows, and he must face the terror and help defend the village from evil before it is lost forever. Go beyond the tragedy of Chernobyl and discover the magic in the City of Roses.
1. Do you have any tricks you use to get into the mood to write or do you simply sit down and roll with it?
It’s funny, actually. I love to read. What writer doesn’t also enjoy reading, right? Sure. But when I start reading a book when I’m in the middle of writing one, I get mad at myself for not working on my own story. Seeing other awesome stories motivates me to contribute to the bookshelves of the world.
2. Where do you get inspiration for your characters and plot lines?
For my latest book, City of Roses, I used the locations of Chernobyl and Pripyat, Ukraine because I have always been fascinated with the history and culture there. But instead of focusing on the nuclear tragedy, I wanted to highlight aspects of the culture that people in the west might not be familiar with. With that in mind, I did something I’ve never done before: I wrote a love story, both in the story itself and thematically for the people and history that once thrived there. The rest of the details for the characters involved a lot of research into Ukrainian folklore/mythology, which was great fun.
3. How old were you when you started writing?
I started writing as a hobby when I was just thirteen years old. Don’t ask to see any of it, it’s terrible. It was all Star Wars this, and Star Trek that. Pew pew!
4. If you could collaborate with any famous author, who would it be and why?
I think Victoria Aveyard and I could write one hell of a story together fueled by superpowers.
5. If you could spend a day with any fictional character, which one would it be and why?
Tony Stark. One, because he’d pay for everything. And two, because even though he wouldn’t let me in the Iron Man suit, I might be able to convince him to let me wear a repulsor glove.
6. Favorite band/musician?
Coheed and Cambria. Claudio Sanchez is a sci-fi author who chose rock music to tell his story. And then comics. And then novels. No, I’m not jealous.
7. Favorite city you’ve visited so far?
Moscow was an amazing experience. My second degree was in Russian Language and Culture, and visiting Russia was sort of the culmination of my education.
8. A city that you’d like to visit?
Oslo. I want to nerd out with some Viking history.
9. Favorite food?
I essentially exist on Italian and Mexican cuisine.
10. If you had to pick one city to be lost in for the rest of your life, which one would it be?
London. I have been several times and it’s still my favorite city in the world. The culture and the history are very dear to me. I even love the weather.
Donovan Pruitt has a passion for science fiction and fantasy, especially those titles that trend toward young and new adult storytelling. City of Roses was his first standalone book as an indie author, though he has also written for video games and was previously published as a co-author in the fantasy genre. You can visit him online at www.KalaEmpire.com or join the discussion on Twitter @KalaEmpire.
My Amazon book reviews are available here: https://www.amazon.com/gp/profile/A2BE15IF4S23I1
