Interview with Leigh Fallon

Welcome to Cotton Candy Reviews, Leigh. Thanks for joining us.

Thank you.

For those who have yet to read your book, can you tell us a little about it?

Carrier of the Mark or 'The Mark' is a paranormal romance set in a small seaside town in the south of Ireland.  Megan moves with her father from the US after he is mysteriously offered an amazing job. Megan is an easy going girl, devoted to her lonely father, and adaptable as she's moved around most of her life. But this time it's different. Strange things start to happen, she meets the DeRises, Adam, Rían & Áine, and soon discovers there's much more to them than meets the eye.  Megan’s life is about to change forever as she discovers that she is linked to the DeRises and destiny that is plotted out for them, a destiny full of magic, lore, and dangers.

Describe Megan and Adam in five words.

Sweet, intense, loving, devoted, friends.

What was the inspiration for Carrier of the Mark?

The inspiration for Carrier of the Mark came from a few places.  Firstly, I was living in Kinsale at the time.  Kinsale is such a beautiful place, its rugged gorgeous coastline, pretty multicolored village, and the absolutely stunning historical sites screamed to be written about.

The history and mythology that inspired me has been with me since I was a child.  I grew up in Dublin, Ireland.  I went to a convent school, grew up in the Dublin Mountains, and went on these amazing school tours to various historical sites around Ireland.  All this things contributed to Carrier of the Mark, and we work our way through the trilogy, you’ll see more and more of it come out.

Who have the main influences been in your life, writing wise?

I grew up reading Judy Blume, Virginia Andrews, Roald Dahl, and Jilly Cooper.  They’re all very VERY different, but they are all amazing and they really called to me.  I felt inspired by the contemporary humor of Blume, by the dark thoughts and twisted stories of Andrews, the laugh out loud humor of Dahl, and the sizzling romance and hysterical shenanigans of Cooper.  All those voices swirl around in my head when I write.

You first published you book on InkPop and it was then picked up by Harper Collins. Can you tell us a bit about that?

I uploaded Carrier near the end of December 2009. It quickly rose the ranks and stayed in the top five to reviewed by HarperCollins at the end of January 2010, I received my critique at the end of February.  It was very good, positive, with lots of excellent editing advice.  I thought that was it done.  I was happy to take my editing advice from a real live editor and head upon my merry way.  Then three weeks later I got an email that would change my life. Erica Sussman, a senior editor at HarperCollins Children’s books, sent me an email, saying that she loved Carrier and wanted to work with me on it. Two weeks later, I was offered a publishing contract.

 How does it feel to be a debut author?

It feels amazing; I still have to pinch myself sometimes.  I’m crazy busy all the time, there really is no downtime, but it’s worth the sleepless nights.

Can you give us a sneak peek at book 2?

Well it’s still with my editor so I can’t give too much away, but you can expect to see a lot more of Aine.  We delve further into her life, her power, and her struggles.  We also get to know Rían better and find out what makes him tick.  Things hot up with Rían…big time (pardon the pun (you’ll have to have read Carrier to understand the pun) LOL). 

You can find out more about Leigh on her website.