Author Interview (and a Giveaway!): Dawn Ford & The Girl with Stars in Her Eyes

Welcome to the Blog Tour for The Girl with Stars in Her Eyes by Dawn Ford, hosted by JustRead Publicity Tours! I’m delighted to have Dawn on the blog today to chat about her new book!

THE GIRL WITH STARS IN HER EYES by Dawn Ford
SERIES: Firebird Series #1
GENRE: YA Christian Fantasy
PUBLISHER: Expanse Books
RELEASE DATE: April 12, 2022
PAGES: 326

Eighteen-year-old servant girl Tambrynn is haunted by more than her unusual silver hair and the star-shaped pupils in her eyes. Her uncontrollable ability to call objects leads the wolves who savagely murdered her mother right to her door.

When she’s fired and outcast during a snowstorm, her carriage wrecks and she’s forced to find refuge in an abandoned cottage. There, her life is upended when the magpie who’s stalked her for ten years transforms into a man, Lucas. He’s her Watcher and they’re from a different kingdom. His job is to keep her safe from her father, an evil mage, who wants to steal her abilities, turn her into one of his undead beasts, and become immortal himself.

Can they make it to the magical passageway and get to their home kingdom in time for Tambrynn to thwart her father’s malicious plans? Or will Tambrynn’s unique magic doom them all?

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Hi Dawn! Welcome to the blog!

Dawn: Summer. I’ve always been able to tolerate the heat better than the cold. I also hate snow, sleet, and icy roads. I really should live in a warmer climate that the Midwest. Maybe when my husband and I retire.

Carrie: I am the exact opposite lol

Dawn: Music. Always music. Besides, I love the reading experience.

Carrie: same!

Dawn: Under. I know, I know. I’m backwards. I just prefer it.

Carrie: FINALLY! Someone agrees with me! 😛

Dawn: Card game! I’m the bomb at Cribbage.

Carrie: haha!

Q: Around here I like to say that reading is my superpower. If YOU had a superpower, what would it be?

Dawn: Creating is my superpower. I love to create strange characters and unique worlds. I even dream in vivid stories.

Carrie: i love that!

Q: Who is your favorite book character from childhood?

Dawn: The first time I remember really desiring to read a series of books was when my fourth-grade teacher read to us the Boxcar Children. I loved all of the siblings and to me it was such a grand adventure living in an old boxcar and trying to survive with anything they could find. In my mind there wasn’t anything they couldn’t do. I still love watching Off-Grid building videos on YouTube where they use timber, mud, and grass to create a fanciful cabin. It fascinates me.

Carrie: i felt the same way about the Boxcar Children – they fascinated me!

Q: Characters often find themselves in situations they aren’t sure they can get themselves out of. When was the last time you found yourself in a situation that was hard to get out of and what did you do?

Dawn: In The Girl with Stars in Her Eyes, I have my main character cornered by some angry magical people on a mountain with nowhere to turn. So, I have her jump off of a cliff. Though she can change into a bird, at that moment she is too exhausted to do so. Then, having thrown caution to the wind by having her jump to certain death, I had to figure out how to save her.

Carrie: … while the poor character is hanging mid-air, waiting on you to figure it out LOL

Q: Did you have the whole plot outlined before you started writing The Girl with Stars in Her Eyes, or did you let the characters dictate what came next?

Dawn: No, this book was all seat of my pants. I sat down one day with an image in my head and before I knew it, I had three chapters written.

Carrie: oh wow!

Q: Some authors like to hide little things in their stories. Is there anything you have hidden in your book?

Dawn: I use a lot of symbolism in my stories. In The Girl with Stars in Her Eyes, I have loads of Biblical symbols if you look carefully.

Carrie: i love stories where I can find Biblical symbolism tucked away 🙂

Q: What is something God taught you while you wrote The Girl with Stars in Her Eyes?

Dawn: Each time I came to a place where I wanted to give up writing this story, God sent me some sort of sign to keep going. One of those signs was winning the Genesis award with it (under a different title.) It was twelve long years of writing and revising, and doubts popped up every step of my journey. Eventually, I had to trust the He had placed this book in my heart to write and that He would bring it to fruition. When I stopped obsessing over it, that’s when I got the publishing contract.

Carrie: He is so faithful, isn’t He? Not necessarily in our timing lol but always in His perfect timing.

Thank you so much for taking time to talk with me! 🙂 Before we say goodbye for today, tell us what‘s coming up next for you.

Dawn: I’m currently writing book two, The Girl with Fire in Her Veins, which will be released next April. This is my first series, so I’m both scared and excited at the same time.