Nancy Madore Author Interview & Giveaway!

LEGACY OF THE WATCHERS (the series)

Thousands of years ago, something came out of the sky that changed the course of human history. Testimonies abound of these ‘angels’ and their hybrid offspring, the ‘Nephilim’ giants. These mighty ‘gods’ quickly rose to power, and the ancient world came alive with industry and culture. Many consider this period in history to be the ‘dawn’ of our civilization. People who lived as hunters and gatherers for hundreds of thousands of years suddenly began settling in one place, cultivating the land and even governing themselves. They invented irrigation, the wheel, protective armor and algebra. They somehow acquired knowledge of our solar system that even modern technology wasn't able to confirm until the 1970s. Most importantly, they began to read and write. Yet an undercurrent of terror was spreading like wildfire, carrying whispers of ‘djinn,’ ‘daeva’ and ‘demons.’

The Watchers were supposed to do just that: watch. But humankind proved far too tempting and they ‘fell’ to earth, taking wives for themselves and even having children. But their children grew into unruly giants whose souls didn’t ascend like human souls, but remained here, on this earth. These errant Nephilim souls haunt the earth to this day. They are the ‘djinn,’ the ‘hidden ones,’ also known as ‘daeva’ and ‘demon.’ They have one purpose—to live. But to live they need bodies.

This chain of events has now reached the point where the djinn need more than just our bodies to survive. They must take back control of the earth, just as in the days when they ruled as gods.

THE HIDDEN ONES, Vol. 1

As CEO of her own thriving company, Nadia Adeire is flush with success, but a secret society dating back to the Essenes believes her to be one of the ancient djinn—the notorious demoness of Hebrew legend, Lilith. What’s more, they have reason to believe that she’s plotting a catastrophic attack on the world.

Nadia is snatched from her ‘perfect’ life and trapped in a maze between a present day disaster and the ancient legends of the djinn. The only way out is to retrace the steps of her deceased grandmother, Helene. The deeper Nadia goes into the past, the harder it will be for her return unscathed. But it is the only way to stop the impending disaster that was set in motion five thousand years ago.
________________________________________________________________

Interview with author Nancy Madore

Q: Where are you from?

A: I was born in Somerville, Massachusetts, but I grew up all the way on the other side of the country, in Oregon…and then California, and Pennsylvania, then back to Massachusetts. You might say I get around.

Q: When and why did you begin writing?

A: Having always been a voracious reader, I knew at a very young age that I wanted to write. But I married and began a family before I really took myself seriously enough to contemplate actually pursuing a writing career. I have a great deal of respect for women who can ‘do it all,’ because I personally couldn’t find the time to write while raising a family. And I was much too distracted. So I put it off, figuring I would begin my writing career once my children were grown. In the meantime, I read everything I could get my hands on about writing and getting published. It’s sounds strange, I know, but when my children were grown, I actually sat down and started to write.

Q: How did you come up with the title?

A: ‘The Hidden Ones’ is actually the meaning behind the Arab word ‘djinn.’ It describes a being that, I believe, is one and the same as other beings that were popping up throughout the ancient East around that time and shortly thereafter, such as ‘daeva’ and ‘demon.’ I chose ‘the hidden ones’ because I like the way it sounds, and it actually describes this creature rather well.

Q: Are any of the characters in your novel based or inspired by real people in your life?

A: The idea for the series and its characters was inspired, not by a person, but by my religious upbringing. Bible studies led me to other writings from that era. The characters found in these ancient texts—Lilith, Gilgamesh, Solomon, and so forth—have always fascinated me. I spent my childhood musing over them. So many details are left out! Though I’ve always been skeptical of the divine nature of religious texts (most of the ancient writings are religious, to some degree), I’ve never doubted that the people in the stories existed. I’ve always wanted to fill in the missing details and complete their stories. And that’s exactly what I’m doing with this series.

Q: What was the most fun about researching for your book and did you learn anything new?

A: I’m always learning something new and the more I learn, the more I realize how much I don’t know. The research itself is fun and exciting to me. I can’t get enough, especially when it comes to this topic. If it has anything to do with ancient civilizations, mythology or theology, I’m interested. I could spend all my time just doing research.

Q: If you had to do it all over again, is there anything you would change about your book?

A: I did have to do it all over again. My computer was stolen and I lost everything except my research, which I happened to have stored on a different computer. In re-writing the book, there were two things I changed: first, I wrote the second version from past to present instead starting from the present, and working backwards, as I did the first time around (my book relates the individual stories of three very different women from three different time periods). I recalled that working backwards had resulted in an excessive amount of edits, so this time I started with the oldest story of Lilith in ancient Mesopotamia, then I wrote about my main character’s grandmother, Helene in Qumran, in 1948. And finally, I wrote about my main character, Nadia, in the present day. From there, it was easy to arrange the various stories however I wanted to present them to the reader. This method was much smoother. Oh, and the other, even more important change is that this time I backed up all of my work!

Q: What book are you reading at the moment?

A: I’m currently reading The Persian Empire, by Lindsay Allen. I’m working on the second book in this series, which means my reading will be limited to research for a while.

Q: What is the strangest object on your desk? :)

A: I work from a laptop, so my ‘desk’ is a small table, a chair and the floor all around me. I have books spread out all over the place, and notes and drawings on large pieces of construction paper (I draw maps to keep track of where I am at the moment). I guess the strangest feature would be my stuffed cat (not an actual cat, a stuffed animal). I have no idea how he got there but every now and then I look up, meet his eyes, and get the most peculiar sense of clarity regarding whatever point I happen to be turning over in my mind.

Q: Is there anything else you would like to say to the readers?

A: Yes. Please read my book.

______________________________________________________________
 

Now for the giveaway! 3 lucky winners will win an eBook copy of The Hidden Ones! Just fill out the Rafflecopter form below to be entered for a chance to win this prize.

 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Thank you again Nancy for taking the time to do the interview and for sponsoring this giveaway! It was so much fun. :)