Author Spotlight

What is your name?
Savannah J. Goins

What is your dragon name?

If I were dragon, my name would be something like Jaicael. (Jay-say-ell). “J” for my middle initial, “cael” because it is latin for sky and sounds pretty, and “ai” in the middle because it fits nicely. I would name myself after the sky because 1) my favorite color is blue, 2) the sky is vast and beautiful and full of possibilities, and 3) because that would be a cool thing to be named after. “Savannah” translates to “an expansive, open plain” such as the grasslands in Africa. A smidge too lacking in the area of inspiration for a dragon name. (Though I am very happy with it as a human name!)

Where are you from?

I was born in Florida, raised partly in Georgia and partly in Indiana, where I still live now.

What do you do creatively?

Besides writing, which takes up most of my spare time, I like sketching my characters, hand-writing poems and thoughts, and arranging plants for display in my home (the later being a very recent artistic interest). I also want to make a faerie cottage. A friend of mine made one and it is definitely a must have crafty item for a fantasy enthusiast! Even though I don’t write about faeries, I do like their style. (Greg's note: It isn't about "liking" their style, you have to appease the little bastards)

What is the first thing you ever remember creating?

I remember when I was about sevenish years old, I built a frog circus (Greg's note: If this isn't a signal that your child will be looking into the veterinary arts... I don't know what is.) out of boxes and pipe cleaners. There was an elevator to take them to the top level where they could walk across a platform and pretend to be tightrope walking, and little rings on the floor for them to jump through. The rings were made from red pipe cleaners to simulate the daring feat of jumping through fire. :)

If you were to get rid of one state in the U.S., which would it be and why?

Maybe Alaska, just because it’s so cold! But I don’t know really, I feel bad exiling anyone! (Picture right, do you really want to get rid of that?)

What are your inspirations?

Music. All kinds--from rap to country to pop to classical to 40’s and everything in between. Songs, even the ones without words, tell stories and I like to drink them all in. Also books. I find a lot of inspiration in reading the kind of stories I want to write as well as the ones outside of my comfort zone. And movies are another big idea-generator for me. I left the theater after seeing the new Kong movie with all sorts of fantastic ideas for choreography of animal fight scenes. I get great ideas for future books pretty much every time I see a movie, but lighting up the theater with a phone screen is generally frowned upon so I end up forgetting a lot of them!

You’ve been given an elephant. You can’t give it away or sell it. What would you do with the elephant?

I would keep it. We would be best friends and I would sit on it’s back and ride it to work everyday. I would teach it the way so that I could write during the commute and not have to pay attention to traffic!(Greg's note: You know, once I'd like the answer to this question to include a howdah.)

Where can we find your work online?

You can find my website at savannahgoinsbooks.com. There is an excerpt from the second chapter of my upcoming debut novel, The Gwythienian, there, as well as a giveaway for one of five signed hardcovers! Once it is published on November 3rd, it will be available as a print book on Amazon and in select bookstores across the country, and as an eBook through Amazon, Barnes and Noble, iBooks, and Kobo. What can we expect from you in the future?

The Crivabanian, which is the sequel to The Gwythienian, will hopefully be available by late 2018. Official release date TBD. The third and final novel in the trilogy will come out soon after that, and I have several possibilities in the works for future novels outside of those (the meager few that I can remember long enough to write down!)

What is something people should know about you?

My day job is being a legit dragon wrangler, and a wrangler of many other unusual animals, which is a pretty cool job!

Anything you'd like to add?

I have three pet rats named Kaz, Inej and Jesper after the Six of Crows characters. And I love chocolate milk. (Who doesn't love chocolate milk?)

What is the coolest animal you’ve had a chance to work with?

The coolest dragonesque animal was a four-and-a-half-foot long Savanna monitor (not just because we share a name!)(Mmmhmm... we believe that) She was the biggest lizard I have ever held. The most impressive animal I have ever come in contact with at work, however, would be a full-grown tiger.

Name someone you respect and why? What is their story?

Michele Israel Harper is a speculative fiction author and publisher who is also a member of one of the writing groups I attend. She has worked really hard to build her business, and has become very successful with it. But she still puts her family first and despite the full schedule, she is always cheerful and enthusiastic and can make anyone feel welcome and important. I wish I was as outgoing as she is, and I hope to follow her example!

(I have a theory that this is Savannah, too!)

If you had a dragon, describe it and what would be its name?

If I had a dragon, it would of course be a sentient dragon. Not as bossy as Saphira, but just as wise. Big enough to ride, and either blue, green, or white. I love blue and green, but just today a patternless grey-white bearded dragon with eyes that were half brown and half black came into the clinic and it was so beautiful I wanted to sneak it out in my pocket! So whitish with cool eyes would also be a possibility. As for a name… I would have to meet him or her before I could decide. I wouldn’t be able to choose a fitting name without getting to know the dragon a bit.