Author: Kristine Clancy
Genre: YA Fantasy
Book: Wings of Valhalla
Wings of Valhalla: Lauren Bennet escapes living in a cage but doesn’t remember doing so. In her attempts to find her missing memories, she encounters genetically engineered beings with wings and claws (known as angels) living on a secret island. In order to survive and claim a freedom she’d never known, Lauren must rely on the help of the island’s royal family. Because the one who took her captive wants her back.
The Secret Life of a Published Teen Author
Interview by Jenny Fulton
Kristine Clancy is the pen name of a teenage Christian fantasy author who, in addition to reading and writing, loves hanging out with animals and horseback riding.
“I actually feel God calling me to be a surgeon in the future, and I love learning about the medical field. I guess that is what inspired the character of Baron Luthian in the book.”
As far as her pen name goes, she explains her reasoning for it in the back of her book.
“First, I prefer to stay anonymous because I am 17 years old. Secondly, I did not write this book for recognition. I wrote it because the story was in my head and I wished to share it with anyone else, especially if there are other young adults wanting a clean book with winged characters.”
Becoming a Writer
Kristine doesn’t remember exactly when she first realized she like to write, but she does know she was very young when she did.
“I always loved reading, and I think my love for writing just grew out of that. I’ve been writing as long as I can remember.”
Her favorite part of the writing process is getting to know her characters better “once they are on the page and not just existing in my head.”
She says the most challenging aspect for her is, “making the words behave.”
“It sounds silly,” she shared, “but when I actually sit down to write, the biggest challenge is translating a scene that plays like a movie in my head and making it into words that accurately describe it. Sometimes I think the words are misbehaving on purpose.”
Personally, I don’t think that sounds silly at all, and I can certainly understand the frustration of trying to get those words in line.
The biggest influence on Clancy’s writing is her Christian faith.
“It impacted my reading first, when I couldn’t find many clean Christian young adult books. Then when I started writing, I knew it had to be included. Throughout my series, I intend to bring more than one character to a saving faith, showing how God’s love can change lives and help people heal.”
Wings of Valhalla
Wings of Valhalla can be described as a mix of Modern, Urban Fantasy and Science-Fiction.
Inspiration: Kristine was inspired to write it when she had difficulty finding the kinds of books she liked to read.
“I’ve always loved book characters with wings, but I could never find any that were either clean or just not a typical love-triangle, girl-falls-for-immortal-being type plot. I started daydreaming about my own universe with winged characters in 2020 as the pandemic hit, and it snowballed into a complete plot. So, I started writing it down and here we are. I figured if I wanted winged characters in a book that wasn’t a trite romance, others would too. Although clearly, I don’t have anything against romance because I have it in my book.”
Life Experiences: As Clancy developed her characters and embarked upon the task of taming words, she pulled from her experiences in dealing with anxiety when she wrote the character of Lauren Bennet.
“Although she suffers from it so much more than me,” Kristine clarified. “Lauren might be the most unfortunate self-insert of a character to exist, but I definitely see myself in her.”
This young author also gathered inspiration from her interest in medicine and her life in a rural setting.
“My own interest in medicine inspired Baron. Also, while it’s not apparent in the book, I modelled the Penwright house after my own childhood home. My love for horses also comes through as I named the Penwright’s mare after one in real life.”
Key Themes: Healing, Hope, Faith, Friendship
Personal Impact: Kristine said that writing this book helped her heal from things in her own life.
“It also made me appreciate the books I read even more now that I know just how much blood, sweat, and tears goes into publishing a book.”
Hopes for Readers: Clancy hopes that when people read her book, they’ll come away with the confidence that they can survive whatever hard times they are going through, “especially if you have friends that count.”
Published Author Life
Greatest Benefit of being a Teenage Author: “One of the benefits is having super supportive parents, who are more than willing to be the sounding board for plots since I live with them.”
Greatest Drawback to being a Teenage Author: “I feel like I’m not taken seriously sometimes, or people think I’m just writing a kiddy story because I’m young.”
Important Lessons Learned about the Publishing Process: “To definitely spend more time editing. I had to choose between another round of formatting/grammatical editing and publishing my book before I turned 18. I chose the latter, and while I definitely do not regret it, I intend to spend more time on formatting and editing for my other books.”
Best Experience since Publishing: “Being told by an actual published author that it’s good (my old 2nd grade teacher).”
I have it on very good authority that the former teacher wasn’t lying.
What’s Next: “I am in the process of writing the sequel to Wings of Valhalla and intend to write two more books in the universe. I also have several other stories I would love to write and publish.”
In Book 2, readers can expect, “More time spent on healing and mental health, Kai and Lauren truly investigating Christianity, and naturally more of the sarcastic Dannens.”
Advice for Other Young Writers and First-Time Authors: “Write first and edit later because you can’t edit a draft that doesn’t exist.”
With her first year of college in full swing, Kristine’s life is definitely busy. However, she still makes a disciplined, intentional effort to sit down and write. In fact, her experience in authoring a 600+ page novel is helping her in her classes.
“I know to write first and edit later, which makes writing essays easier. I intend to keep writing as long as I have ideas, and it makes me a more well-rounded person.”
Although she hasn’t yet taken any writing classes beyond the required high school Literature and English Composition ones, Kristine Clancy plans to take at least one Creative Writing class in college. Given how strong her writing voice and natural ability already are, I have no doubt this young author will continue to grow and excel in this God-given gift.
Book Blurb for Wings of Valhalla
Ten months ago, Lauren Bennet escaped the cell she grew up in. Now, she’s simply trying to establish the normal life of a 16 year old girl. Living in Iowa with her foster family, the Penwrights, seems the perfect place to hide from her captors and begin her new life.
All is going well, until Kai Whitlock shows up at her school, a transfer student from New Jersey. Lauren knows the boy’s voice, but not the boy, and becomes determined to find out what he knows about her past. When Lauren’s old captor returns to take her back, she is forced to rely on Kai to keep her safe. This compromise reveals Kai’s involvement in her past but also throws her into the society of Valhalla, an island full of genetically engineered humans born with wings and powers. An island full of angels. A friendship begins to bloom between Lauren and Kai. Perhaps even more than a friendship, to the eyes of those around them, but Lauren is mostly focused on staying alive.
They team up with a pair of mysterious twins with a past even darker than Lauren’s in an attempt to capture a terrorist group, Angels of Death, before the terrorists capture Lauren. There is more to Lauren’s past than she ever guessed, and she’s going to learn it all.
Find the Book
Connect with Kristine
- Instagram: @author_kristine_clancy
- Amazon: www.amazon.com/author/kristineclancywritesbooks
Heart Soul Mind 