By Azulie Von Dayme
SUNSHINE Coast author, Rebecca Lennard (pictured), is publishing another book related to her popular “all slaying, no laying” fantasy series for ages 13+, Lissae. In this newest publication, Rebecca has created a bestiary of fantastical creatures to give readers a visual experience of the Lissae world through the author’s perspective. This is an exciting addition for any fans as the full colour publication truly brings to life the different creatures and beings of Lissae.
GC&M News interviewed Rebecca about her upcoming book and uncovered some deeper insights into both the book series and the author. Rebecca’s initial idea for the first book was “a bunch of islands in Canada”, but after someone mentioned elemental magic, it evolved, becoming a portal to a different world with a myriad of strange beasts, crystals and clashing realms. The first book took 17 years to emerge but as the story gained momentum, the completion times shrunk until the final book blazed its way to publication in just seven weeks.
“I wanted to write about, somebody who could defeat all the bad dreams,” Rebecca says. Her eldest son was a great inspiration for the series, prompting the main storylines for all the books. The author aspires to be like her character, Zana, who has a steady presence and is a quiet leader but likens herself more to Amara, “because she stumbles through life and I’m pretty good at that”, Rebecca chuckles.
Despite having already written two books, Rebecca suffered through a major case of writer’s block during Talhan (book three). Her grandmother had just died, she was moving houses, and she just couldn’t write. She combatted this by “refilling her creative cup”, which meant writing down one line from each movie, TV show or book that sparked an idea and ignited her creativity. With this strategy, she overcame her writer’s block and went on to publish five more books for the main arc.
Upon reflection of becoming an author, Rebecca remarks: “I thought writers were these people in far-away high towers who hand-wrote their manuscripts and delivered them by phoenix. Then I met an author.” Jo Jensen worked at Caloundra library, and the fact that she was a real person whom Rebecca could bounce ideas and questions off helped Rebecca realise that she too could become a published author.
Rebecca commented that self-publishing is a harder road to take. Yet, when asked if authoring was all she dreamed it would be, Rebecca answered with a resounding “Yes. It’s so much more”.
Many people believe writing to be isolating, but Rebecca’s experience has been to the contrary. By engaging in numerous writing groups, she has become part of the creative community and has an outlet for asking questions and receiving support. Rebecca wants to return the kindness and wisdom she was offered and extends her assistance to any emerging authors who might reach out.