Saffron and Emer from The Dust of 100 Dogs with A.S. King

Known for her bloody and action-packed novel of a fearsome female pirate, A.S. King has dominated part of the YA fiction world with her novel, The Dust of 100 Dogs! Today the author herself is here with her two characters, Emer and Saffron, to get some questions that readers may have cleared up. You're on Amy!

~~~

Hey Diana!

Congratulations to you on your blogoversary! I think book bloggers are an essential part of this business, and I think that’s happened because so many intelligent and talented readers and reviewers have chosen to be heard through their blogs. Thank you for what you do and I wish you many more years of success!

Now—for my crazy idea. I want to put Emer and Saffron in a room together and toss out reader comments and questions!

AMY: Hey guys. We get a bunch of reader mail—did you know that?

(Emer & Saffron look at Amy like she has nine heads. Emer looks especially cranky and seems to be whittling a stick with a small sharp knife. Never a good sign.)

AMY: So, I wanted to bounce some stuff off you, and see what you think. First off, I get a lot of compliments about how the two of you alternate your stories throughout the book, but I have heard also that some people don’t understand if you are the same person or two different people. Do you have an answer for them?

SAFFRON: I’m a whole person all by myself, thanks. And I’m a lot smarter than Emer was. She was too ruled by her ugly childhood and her temper. I’m calmer and have over three hundred years of experience.

EMER: (picking teeth with recently whittled stick.) She’s a coward. Wouldn’t stand up to a fly. You can’t swashbuckle with yer brains.

AMY: Saffron, which experiences taught you more, do you think? Your dog lives or your time as Emer?

SAFFRON: I don’t know. I think both taught me a lot. It took me over a hundred years as a dog to see where Emer went wrong, and to understand how. I mean, there she was, with everything she ever wanted, and she blew it. By the time I was born, I knew that humans were too focused on money and material things to see the important things they live with every day. Their families. Their loves.

EMER: Here! I knew well what love was worth! And what fool headed cow would say such a thing to me about family? You try my life and report back.

SAFFRON: If you knew, then why didn’t you cancel the whole Spanish fleet plan?

EMER: (in mocking tone) Why didn’t you cancel the Spanish fleet plan? For the love of all holy things, Saffron, yer not as smart as you claim to be. Could I have canceled it? What would my crew have thought? And what of their hard work and dedication? It wasn’t all about me, you know. It was about them.

AMY: Okay—new subject. Saffron, some readers are appalled by your inner thoughts and feel you are a homicidal maniac. What do you think about that?

SAFFRON: I think people who think that must be very out of touch with their own brains. (Not to mention sarcasm and metaphor.) Everyone has unspeakable thoughts. Everyone. Anyone who says they don’t, is lying. Seriously. Some humans are so freaking judgmental, I want to scream.

EMER: I’m having unspeakable thoughts right now.

AMY: So, it doesn’t bother you that people think you’re homicidal, Saffron?

SAFFRON: Nope.

AMY: Emer, I’ve had several readers complain that I told the truth about what happened to you. Are you sorry you allowed me to do that?

EMER: I wager most people hate the truth. So, if you tell it, you’ll always get a complaint. Tis the nature of yer business, King. You’re thick skinned same as I am. We got this way by facing the truth. Let the lily livered go and wallow. I’m not ashamed of what others did to me! Why should I take the burden of Cromwell on me own back? Or the others?

SAFFRON: They say the truth will set you free.

EMER: (rolls eyes) Sounds like modern rot to me…but the girl has a point. The acts done to me were done to millions. Still are—whether it’s the act of one man or many. Being quiet about it never got us further. Have we cured it yet? Well, then. Quit yer bitchin and lend a hand.

AMY: Another one for you, Emer. I get complaints about how violent you are.

EMER: Did they not know I’m a pirate?

AMY: No, they know.

EMER: So—are they drunk, then?

SAFFRON: I can’t figure that out, either, Amy. Seems to me most people used to know that pirates are violent murderers, for the most part. Maybe they thought because Emer was female, that she’d be nicer?

EMER: Watch yer tongue!

SAFFRON: What?

EMER: You know what. Just because yer so smart doesn’t mean I won’t slice you.

SAFFRON: (shrugs) I don’t get you, Emer. I was just stating the obvious.

EMER: Just don’t badmouth yer own kind, girl. We have to stick together. And don’t be telling me that in modern times things got brighter for the (mocks) females. Yer still as disrespected as I was. Only in a different way.

AMY: Ladies, why do you think whenever I get you in the same room, you’re at odds? You’d think you’d have a lot in common.

SAFFRON: She scares me.

EMER: She bores me.

(Emer begins to whittle a second stick while Saffron twiddles her hair and looks around uncomfortably.)

AMY: One last thing. Readers have asked if there will be a sequel. Some feel the ending was a cliffhanger. Any thoughts on that?

SAFFRON: Uh Amy—the ending wasn’t a cliffhanger.

AMY: I know. But some think it is.

SAFFRON: Huh. Not sure what to say. I’m pretty sure I know what happened in the end. Do a lot of people think this?

AMY: Not really. Just a few.

SAFFRON: Well, what do you think?

AMY: I don’t know. I guess I’m aware the book takes a minute to digest, so I know some readers aren’t used to that. I also think to get a good idea of the ending, you have to consider the entire book and the vibe of it. The tone. I think it’s pretty obvious from what’s there.

To go further—a book is just a series of dots. Every reader connects those dots in a different way depending on their own experience and their own needs. So, though many know that the ending is a happy one, a few need it to be spelled out completely. Anyway, I can’t see a sequel. I’m glad readers want more, but I’m afraid three hundred and sixty two years inside one book was quite enough!

EMER: You can’t please everyone. Yer job is to keep writing books. But not about us. Aye. I’m done.

SAFFRON: Yeah. Me too. I agree with Emer. Go and write stories about other people.

(Emer & Saffron nod, both obviously dying to get out of this interview. Emer is now chewing the tip off the sharpened stick and spitting the tiny bits of wood at Saffron.)

AMY: Ladies, please thank our hostess and wish her a happy blogoversary. Diana, thanks so much for having us!

SAFFRON: Yes! Thank you! And happy blogoversary!

EMER: To our fortunate proceedings and good success! Clear the decks for pleasant action!

~~~

Thank you Amy, Saffron, and Emer for being here with us today! We appreciate it very much! I look forward to

your future novels, Amy!

Prize(s): A signed copy of The Dust of 100 Dogs
# of Winners: 1
Eligibility: International

How to get entries: (please put keep it in the format below when you comment!)
+1 Comment
+1 New follower
+2 Old follower
+1 Linking this contest once somewhere else around the web

You can read more about A.S. King and The Dust of 100 Dogs on her website or blog!

Author Interview: A.S. King

Fabulous author, A.S. King, is here today to answer some questions I have. She wrote the popular YA pirate novel, The Dust of 100 Dogs, which I absolutely love. If you have not yet read it, you really should!

If you would like to learn more about Amy and her novels, visit: www.as-king.com or check out her blog: www.dogfact9.blogspot.com.

First, I am most curious, why did you decide to let Saffron live in the late 20th century instead of the 21st?

I got the idea and started writing the book in the 20th century—so I think that’s probably the first thing to consider. At the time, I was living on a secluded Irish farm, not watching TV and completely out of touch with the world (you could say I dropped off the face of the planet in 1994) so writing about a 21st century teenager in the USA would have read about as clueless as I was.

But I have a more truthful and [most likely] more frustrating answer that I’ll tack on, too. My books come as they are. I have little control over where they decide to set themselves. If I was to meddle too much in the name of commercialism, I’d feel I was doing a disservice to the story because it knows where it wants to go, and forcing a thing never works well. I also feel it would be kinda condescending to assume today’s teens/readers aren’t willing to read about other time periods—whether it’s the 17th century or the 20th. (Until this question started coming up, I have to admit, I never once thought about it.)

Looking back at the finished version of The Dust of 100 Dogs, is there anything you wish you added or changed in the story?

Nope. I worked on the book a long time, and my amazing editor, Andrew Karre, and my really awesome copy editor Sandy Sullivan helped me make sure everything was exactly as I wanted it before we released it.

From your initial stages of the story to the finish, how much did Emer and Saffron change?

Emer didn’t change that much, but Saffron changed quite a bit. I’d say Saffron was the bigger challenge, because she was bound to be flat next to someone like Emer and her entire existence was overshadowed by Emer’s 300 year old curse. But Saffron came alive during revision and her pirate thinking was born, which, for me, is one of the best and funniest parts of the book. (Though some people actually think Saffron is truly homicidal! Of course, Saffron has urges from her past lives, but wouldn’t hurt a fly.)

What was the easiest part of writing The Dust of 100 Dogs? And the hardest?

Easiest part was the writing. Hardest part was the writing.

If you were able to remember your "past life" like Saffron did, what kind of person (or creature) do you hope you once were?

I hope I was someone nice. Or a tree. Or a bird.

Can you give us a hint on what we may expect from you for your future works?

IGNORE VERA DIETZ is coming from Random House/Knopf Books for Young Readers in Fall 2010. Here’s the little blurby thing I’ve got for that: IGNORE VERA DIETZ (14+) is about a teenage girl, her dead (ex) best friend, and her attempt to clear his name. There’s a sarcastic pagoda, too.

What genres/topics do you hope to explore next for future stories?

I don’t think a lot of people know I’ve been writing novels for adults for about 15 years now. I usually land in a magic realism/literary/quirky sort of arena with those, but I started out in science fiction. I’ve been thinking a lot about my favorite sci-fi reads and hope to dabble in it again. I tend to have a mind that’s prone to magic realism though, so I’m not sure I can stay in just one genre anymore, now that I’ve found my own way of telling stories.

I keep my pet topics to myself while I’m writing about them (which means I just wrote a paragraph about them, but had to erase it) but you know I’m not heavy all the time—I’ll probably write about people who drive while talking on cell phones and rude gas station attendants, too.

Lastly, please give us an interesting fact about yourself that not a lot of people know!

I can juggle a basketball, a tennis ball and an apple and eat the apple while I’m doing it.

Thank you Amy!

Thank YOU Diana!

The Dust of 100 Dogs by A.S. King

Title: The Dust of 100 Dogs
Author: A.S. King
Age Group: Older Teens
# of Pages: 330
My Rating: 5/5

Emer Morrisey was an infamous female pirate who ruled the seas with her fearless and loyal crew. But life was cut short when she was cursed upon to live a hundred lives over... as a canine!

One faithful day in the year of 1972, Emer is finally reborned as a human. And with all of her memories intact since the beginning of her pirate days and doggy days!

Now as Saffron, she has only one goal. To go down to Jamaica and shovel her way to a treasure she hid three centuries before.

Remember when I mentioned in this week's In My Mailbox that I read a book that completely distracted me from my studies? Well this is it!

Never have I read a book with a protagonist like Emer/Saffron! She is a character most unique! Bright since she was young, she is someone you would never want to cross! The moment I started on the first page, I was instantly hooked! I was a little surprised though that Saffron's life was in the late 20th century instead of the 21st. I was expecting that she would die and then reborn for the second time so it would take place in the 2000. It never came but I got used to it.

In the novel, it flips back and forth from first person to third person narration. When it starts talking about Emer and her past life, it would be in third person. When it comes back to Saffron and her current situation, she takes over.

What I love about this novel is that it's so entralling in every aspect! I could not keep my hands off of it! It was the first time in so long that I finished a full book in one day! Emer's life just gripped me 100%! From her homeland of Ireland to the raging seas, you will be completely intuned with what she had to go through! I am so glad that I bought the novel but unfortunately started reading at the wrong time!

A.S. King wove a magical and swashbuckling tale in a period not commonly seen in the YA world. With a voice keen on details, this adventure will whisk you away into a foreign life of a strong female lead. There are sexual scenes and lots of violence, be warned.