Identity Blog Tour // An Interview With the Author

hey friends! I am super pumped about today’s post. Now, this type of thing isn’t typically in my niche, but I wanted to do my part in supporting a blogging friend of mine, Annabelle! She is about to launch her first published book, Identity, and I’m hosting one of the stops of the tour! Today we will be interviewing Anabelle, and I will ask her some questions on her book, her life, and more! First, let’s get to know her book and her just a little bit..

Identity Blurb:

Maria Brooks is just a plain orphan girl with a mysterious past. On the day of Maria’s sixteenth birthday, everything seems normal. From being required to do chores all day to being bullied by her own friends, nothing seems to be amiss. But when Maria goes swimming at the beach the next day, she discovers a secret about herself she didn’t even know: she’s a mermaid.

As Maria explores her newfound ability to change from mermaid to human, she finds herself in the midst of an underwater war that contains the secret to her past. In the midst of all this, she finds new friendship, but with friendship comes trust, and with trust comes risk. Will she be able to stand strong as the tidal waves of doubt crash against her?

About Annabelle:

Annabelle Batie is a teenage author and book-enthusiast. She loves mermaids and all kinds of fantasy, and thoroughly enjoys reading and/or writing a good book. She is very passionate about her Christian faith, and she wants to share that passion with others. You will typically find her at her desk writing, playing the piano, or hanging out with her friends. She lives in Traverse City, Michigan, where she homeschools with her three younger siblings and parents. You can visit her on her website, annabelle.batie.com.

Alright! Now, lets get to the interview! My questions will be in bold and Annabelles responses are in normal format! Lets go!

Hey Annabelle!  Thanks for letting me be a part of your book tour!  I’m super excited to ask you some questions to get to know your book and you better!  I’ll start off by asking you a few questions about your book, then move on to a little about you!  Sounds good! I’m excited to get started! Alright, let’s get started then! What inspired you to write Identity? My inspiration for Identity came from a lot of different places. My first inspiration was actually a story I read online about a girl who could change into a mermaid. This story was so well-written and inspiring, but the problem was, the person who wrote the story never finished writing the last few chapters! So I went ahead and finished the story for her for fun, and made some minor changes to the beginning parts. Slowly, the story started to evolve into a story of my own, and now, if you were to compare the story I started with and the one I’m publishing now, they are two completely different things! I was also inspired to write Identity by the love I had for my Savior, Jesus, and the love He has for me. I want to spread his hope and truth through my stories, and this was a way I could to it. Will there be sequels, and if so, how many? Yes, there will definitely be sequels! Three more, to be exact. The second book in the Daughters of the Sea series is called The Keeper of the Phantom Reef, the third book is called The Girl of Yesterday, and the fourth is called The Turn of the Tides. (It’s possible these titles may change later as the story further develops.) I haven’t entirely determined the plot of these books yet, but I have some ideas.  Ooo yay! Guys, that means to go and pre-order your copy now so you’re ready for those sequels! Now, onto the next question… Was there a certain book or author that just made you want to be an author, or was it more of a thing that you always wanted to do?  That’s a really great question! I actually didn’t always want to be an author; it’s something I didn’t really consider doing until a couple of years ago. I always loved writing stories, but I never thought of the possibility of me being a fulltime author.I think a HUGE inspiration for me being an author came from reading The Wingfeather Saga by Andrew Peterson. That book series still stands as my favorite book series of all time, mostly because it inspired me so much, wanting to create a story of my own. Andrew Peterson is an amazing author, so I would highly recommend checking out his books. From what I read of The Wingfeather Saga, it was pretty good-I read it when I was younger, and I should probably read it sometime soon! Who is your favorite character in your book and why?   My favorite character is definitely Alex. *evil grin* Yeah, not all the people who’ve read my book like him as much, but he’s my favorite. I think I like him because he’s more of an anti-hero–he struggles a lot more than the other characters with the difference between wrong and right, and I enjoy contrasting those two using his character. He’s also funnier sometimes… and conflict always follows where he goes. He actually has a main POV in the book (along with Maria), so I really enjoy writing that. Is Identity your first book?  Well, I’ve written some other books, but most of them either aren’t finished or haven’t been published yet. So yes, Identity basically is my first book.How do you think you have grown since you first began writing Identity?  Cool! Can’t wait to see more in the future!! Now let’s get to know you a bit! How long have you been homeschooling?  My entire life, actually! I have never gone to public school before. Oh cool! I’ve homeschooled since 2020, but had gone to Public School before that, and homeschooling (at least in my opinion) is wayyyy better! Do you enjoy it? Yes, I do for the most part. Sometimes I wish I went to public school because it might give me more friendship opportunities and it would also give me a more consistent schedule, but I also love the freedom and flexibility of homeschooling. Yes, I definitely agree with you on that! When do you find is the best time to sit down and work on your book? For me, I work really well first thing in the morning when everyone else in my house is sleeping. I can get up quietly and go to my laptop and let the characters flow out onto paper. I can also write pretty well in the evening when my younger siblings are in bed, as long as I’m not too tired. I also work really well when everything is quiet and calm! Just the peace helps me focus so well. How many siblings do you have? I have three siblings, all younger than me! They have all helped inspire my creativity when it comes to writing, and I’m really thankful to have them. I have 2 younger siblings, and I am the oldest as well! Sometimes are so annoying, but I agree, they definitely can be helpful in all the aspects of life, and, at the end of the day, I do love them to pieces XD. What are some things you enjoy doing when you arent writing? I like reading, playing the piano, hanging out with my friends, skiing, and attempting to draw (although that normally ends up disastrously). You know how to ski?!? That’s super cool, I’ve always wanted to try that! Do you enjoy Michigan?  My family used to live in Illinois and we went there a few times and it was always so fun! Yes, I love living in Michigan! I am so happy the Lord led my family here! Before we moved to Traverse City a couple of years ago, we were traveling around the country in an RV without a true place to call home. Then we came here, and we decided to settle down! That’s basically how we came here, and I’m so glad we did. The weather is perfect, and the community is amazing (I’ve made so many friends!). Overall, I love it here! Warm weather or cold weather? I’d have to say warm weather. I love the summers here in Michigan; it’s so fun to go do things outside! Warm weather is the best! Is there anything else you’d like to say before I wrap this up? I just want to say thank you to everyone who is reading this (you are very brave to read through all my rambling!)

Well, that was so fun, and getting to know Annabelle and her book a bit better made me excited to read it! Don’t forget to pre order it now with THIS link!

And that is all for today’s post! Even though I did post 3 times this week, I still will be posting on Tuesday, so stay tuned for that!! I also am now on Pinterest, and you can find and follow me @mayimblaine or on the sidebar widget on the website!

-Mayim