Savvy Saturday: Interview with Holly Hunt and Lauren

Welcome back to Savvy Saturday! Today, we are happy to have Holly Hunt with us and Lauren from Tyrant of Tarsit.

Hello Holly! Lauren, how wonderful it is to meet you.

H: You as well. Thanks for having us here, you have a wonderful living room.

Well today we wanted to get to know both of you a little bit more. First question on the agenda: Holly, where did you get the idea for Tyrant of Tarsit?

H: Tyrant is a story set in a much larger world. It's a prequel-ish of Scale & Feather, without the dragons and griffins that make that story so much fun. It tells the story of the origins of the Southern States, a magic-hating confederation of bigots. This is why they hate magic.

L: I would have liked to see the dragons. What gives?

Lauren, how does it feel to be a modern day woman stuck in the past?

L: Well, there's a lot of things that modern people take for granted, which I had to learn to live without. If I had the choice to go back to Tarsit, I'd take tampons. Lots and lots of tampons.

And the food! Hearty and delicious, like you'd never get here. Fat? More the merrier! Salt? Pour that stuff in! Sugar? Do you even need to ask? In it goes!

Overall, it's a good thing, I guess. I like living in Tarsit. So much less stressful, even on execution row.

I’ve heard from a little bird that you like motorcycles. What started your passion for biking?

L: My dad. He took me on his bike when I was a kid, and I loved the speed. I'd sneak out on his bike whenever I could, until he caught me Eventually, he bought me a bike of my own, my sweet little black thing that goes like you wouldn't believe. Thank god we managed to rig it to run on magic instead of gas, or I'd have had to leave it behind when the tank ran out in Tarsit!

Holly, do you ride motorcycles as well?

H: No way, you will never get me on a bike. I've seen more than enough people splattered across the road.

L: Chicken.

H: Quiet, you.

Lauren, when you aren’t riding, what is you favorite thing to do? Same for you Holly, what’s a favorite pastime?

L: I'm actually very good at alchemy, something that Malcolm and I share. He's the one who taught me, actually. The best I can do is turn straw into cotton, but he's so good he can turn straw to gold! One day I hope to be that good!

H: I spend a lot of time in the garden, I enjoy growing pumpkin vines and bean stalks. Nothing better than spending time and energy on something you can eventually eat!

L: Only a modern person would take pleasure in something her grandparents spent their time doing and hating!

H: Oh, shush.

Well, I won’t keep you ladies too long. Thank you for joining us today!

H: Pleasure is all mine, honey.

L: Thanks for having us!

Butcher by day, author by night, Holly spends her days off writing, playing in her garden and watching superhero cartoons. Holly lives with her husband Matthew and her cat Talia al-Kitty in a two-bedroom flat crammed with comics, video games, books and movie memorabilia. An active cosplayer, Holly and Matthew take time out of their days to entertain kids as various DC comics characters, and make their own costumes (when Real Life allows).

For more information on Holly Hunt's books, including upcoming releases, visit her site or follow her on Facebook.