I’m so excited to be able to share with all of you my Q&A with Amy Ewing – author of The Jewel. You can find a complete tour schedule for the Walker Books Australia blog tour at the bottom of this post.

The Jewel is an exciting novel about a society where girls are sold to the wealthy as surrogates. They may seem to have a luxurious life attending balls and living in mansions but their lives are no longer their own. Violet Lasting finds it hard to adapt to her new life and after she meets some unlikely allies, she gets involved in something which could change the entire way society runs….

It’s an interesting world with some great characters and a delightful romance. There’s also fantastic friendships and some intriguing fashion. The Jewel was a great read and the start of a trilogy where I can’t wait to see what happens next.

Q&A with Amy Ewing!

What are five words you would use to describe The Jewel? Dark glamour, hidden dangers, choice.

What inspired you to write The Lone City series? I got the idea for the Auction while watching the movie Taken—weird, I know. There’s a scene when Liam Neeson’s daughter (the one who gets taken) is paraded on stage and bid on by wealthy men. As I watched that scene I thought to myself, “What if it was women buying that girl?” And that’s how the Auction, and eventually the Jewel, came to life.

Are there any similarities between you and Violet? I did used to play the cello when I was in middle school, but not nearly as well as Violet! I hope I am as fierce a friend as she is. And I’m a bit of a romantic too. Oh, and we are both stubborn. Thankfully, my stubbornness has never resulted in any kind of horrible punishment.

Violet is quite an accomplished cello player. Is music something that is important to you? Were there any songs which you listened to whist writing The Jewel? Music is very important to me and always has been. I was a classically trained singer when I was younger. And I play guitar and write my own songs. I never listen to music while I write, but Bach’s Prelude to his Cello Suite in G Major was hugely influential. I listened to it on repeat every time I was gearing up for a cello-playing scene.

I read that prior to writing The Jewel, you were studying acting. Has writing a novel always been something you have wanted to do? I actually never considered being a writer professionally. I always wrote for my own benefit, as a way to express myself but never intending my stories to be shared. As an actor, you need a cast and a director and a theatre and a play…as a writer, all you need is a computer (or pen and paper!) and an idea. I found it liberating to be able to be creative on my own time, whenever I wanted and for however long.

How did you come up with the ideas for some of the elaborate fashions the royals wear in The Jewel? I did a LOT of image searches on the Internet. That was probably the most fun thing to research—the dresses and the palaces. I wanted to keep it early twentieth century, so there was a fair amount of research on that time period as well. And some things just came out of my imagination! Since I’m not nailed to an actual, historical time period, it was fun to embellish here and there.

What are some of your favourite books? Are there any you would recommend for people who loved The Jewel? The BFG by Roald Dahl is my all-time, favourite book. It was the first book I ever reread—and I am now a huge rereader of books. I loved Little Women and The Lord of the Rings trilogy when I was a teen. Right now, I’m on a contemporary binge—The Summer I Wasn’t Me by Jessica Verdi and Life by Committee by Corey Ann Haydu are two of my top picks!

What was the last book you finished reading? I just finished Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins and I absolutely loved it.

Aside from writing, how do you like to spend your time? And since I saw you were a fan of The Vampire Diaries I feel compelled to ask – Stefan or Daman? 😀 STEFAN! (And I love this question!!) The character of Ash is actually (loosely) based on Stefan. But only in terms of physical appearance—I promise Ash is not a vampire! When I’m not writing or watching TVD with my best friend (she is a Damon fan, so we’re well balanced), I love playing guitar and writing my own songs. I also love cooking.

I’m so excited that The Jewel is the first in a trilogy and I’m anxiously awaiting the release of the next two books. In just a few words, would you be able to tell us what readers are to expect from books 2 and 3? Look to find out more about the other circles of the Lone City! And meet some exciting new characters

Is there anything you would like to say to your readers? Thank you so much for reading! It’s hard when you work on something in private for so long, and then you have to let it go out into the world. But it’s incredibly exciting to see people connect with your characters and their story. I know the joy of getting lost in a book, and if even one person can get lost in The Jewel, then I have done what I set out to do. And I am so grateful for each and every reader.

I feel so lucky having had the chance to ask Amy some questions – and I loved reading her answers. She’s a Damon from TVD fan AS WELL as being just as musical as her character Violet! 😀

IF you want to know more about The Jewel, be sure to check out some of the other stops on the blog tour.

Thursday, September 18th Diva Book Nerd
Friday, September 19th Inside My Worlds
Saturday, September 20th Books for a Delicate Eternity
Sunday, September 21st Thoughts by J
Monday, September 22nd Kids Book Review
Tuesday, September 23rd Striking Keys
Wednesday, September 24th Genie in a Book
Thursday, September 25th Fictional Thoughts
Friday, September 26th Book Much

@amyewingbooks | amyewingbooks.com