I’m so excited to be a part of the book tour for Spellbinders: The Not-So-Chosen One that is hosted by TBR and Beyond Tours. I was really excited to also be able to interview the author for this book!
INTERVIEW
How would you describe Spellbinders: The Not-So-Chosen One in one sentence?
What if all your wildest dreams came true… and made everything in your life more complicated?
Can you introduce us to the main character(s) of Spellbinders: The Not-So-Chosen One?
Like all fun fantasy role-playing stories, the Spellbinders series is all about a party of adventurers, which in this case is comprised of four young characters who are searching for their place in the world. I give each of them their own chapters to build out their points-of-view, and hopefully this will endear them to readers. In Spellbinders: The Not-So-Chosen One, our main character is Ben Whitlock, who is doing everything in his power to keep his life from coming apart. His parents have separated, and he’s moved with his mom to a new town where there’s not much going on, a classic setup for anyone who’s ever dreamed big dreams and felt stuck in a place where big dreams go to die. He copes with losing his family, friends, and community by diving deep into his gaming hobby, and building protective walls of imagination around himself. He’s a good kid, a strong heart, but he’s also a lovable doofus who has a lot to figure out on his road to becoming a hero. Niara, on the other hand, was born to be a hero. Clever, confident, and highly skilled, she is a secret agent for a mysterious group of mystics known as the Council of the Elders, and she’s given the task of finding and retrieving the lost Chosen One from another world. She finds Ben instead, which, as you can expect, doesn’t go well. The other two main characters are the lovable shape-shifter Merv, who struggles with feelings of alienation and insecurity, and the valiant (and overly dramatic) Drake Ransom, a dashing warrior with a reputation so large it almost matches the size of his ego. Well, almost.
Do you know from the beginning how your books will end or do you let your characters decide their journey?
Wonderful question, especially with regards to Spellbinders. A resounding NO. Ha. Ha. More than in past stories, Spellbinders held a lot of surprises for me as a writer, and I could never predict where the story was taking me when I sat down to work. Writing can be very exhausting and difficult, so I cherish those moments of discovery, when it feels like you and the book are in conversation with each other. Not always a friendly cat either; I’ve had some truly frustrating arguments with a few of my novels. 😉 There’s a particular event in Spellbinders: The Not-So-Chosen One, one might even call it a “twist,” that came out of nowhere and sent me reeling, re contextualizing everything I believed about the story. Sure, it created a lot of work, but it also pushed the whole series in exciting, unexpected new directions, and that’s the kind of moment you dream about as an author.
Outlining is a useful exercise for a lot of people, but I tend to veer off any path I’ve set for myself, so I’ve learned not to build expectations or guardrails for myself in advance. I let the characters drive their stories, and their choices usually lead us where we need to go. Only after those first few drafts do I even understand the story I’m attempting to tell, and then I can finally get down to the business of turning what was once a hodgepodge of scattered ideas into a coherent narrative. It’s painful and time-consuming, but it’s how I write books. Understanding your process is one of the most valuable skills of a working writer, and sometimes it takes years–or decades–to learn those lessons.
Do you have a favorite scene, moment, or quote from the book?
I like to describe the Spellbinder series as “a good hang,” because my favorite parts of any stories are when characters get a chance spend time together outside the context of the plot. I love when heroes relax between battles and brag about their victories, or crack each other up with inside jokes that should have gotten stale years ago but still manage to make them laugh. Those moments are more exciting to me than any monster attacks or ancient booby-trapped tombs. Fantasy escapism is wonderful, but nothing beats the companionship of great friends.
An example from Spellbinders: The Not-So-Chosen One is when Ben first meets Merv. Ben, our hero, has gotten some bad news and is planning to run away from the Tower of the Elders and escape his responsibilities as the Chosen One; meanwhile, Merv is stuck at the tower as a servant, sentenced to work there as punishment for stealing. Ben doesn’t really want to leave but he feels that he must, and Merv wants to escape desperately but can’t. The two immediately connect over their shared feelings of alienation and a silly sense of humor. They’re adorable, and that moment serves as the catalyst for the rest of the party to form around them.
What is something readers will find in Spellbinders: The Not-So-Chosen One that they may not realize based on the
synopsis?
It’s a very warm book, and by that I mean it’s earnest in its treatment of the emotions with which each character struggles on their journey. The book can be very silly, and the plot is chock full of action and epic scenes of high fantasy, but at its core it’s a story about four young people who are experiencing a moment of loneliness and find one another. That’s a relatable feeling and one I think most readers will understand.
I recently described the Spellbinders as “cozy,” and I think that’s true. In my opinion, the best books are the ones you wrap yourself around in a warm chair by a window for a few hours to enjoy that special magic only they can offer: escapism, with a hint of honesty and humor.
What’s something you hope readers will take away from Spellbinders: The Not-So-Chosen One ?
Growing up isn’t something we do alone. Everybody needs friends.
And games. Play more games.
What are three books you would recommend if someone enjoyed Spellbinders: The Not-So-Chosen One ?
For humorous fantasy, I would recommend the Hero’s Guide series by Christopher Healy, anything by James Riley, and the classic Dealing with Dragons series by Patricia C. Wrede. There’s also a lot to love about the How to Train Your Dragon books by Cressida Cowell, especially because they feature wonderful illustrations that add a lot of additional humor and character to the storytelling. Most of all, I always recommend the books of Douglas Adams, which feel ageless and endlessly appealing despite having been originally written in the 1970s for radio. I’m always chasing my writer’s voice, but humor is elemental to who I am as a human being.
ABOUT THE BOOK
TITLE: Spellbinders: The Not-So-Chosen One
AUTHOR: Andrew Auseon
GENRE: Middle Grade Fantasy
RELEASE DATE: June 6, 2023
Synopsis:
“Ben may only be pretending to be the ‘Chosen One’—but I’ve definitely chosen this one as my favorite new fantasy series.”
—Max Brallier, #1 New York Times bestselling author of the Last Kids on Earth series
How far would you go to play the hero? One lonely seventh grader gets way more than he bargained for when he is swept into the fantasy quest of his gaming dreams in this magical illustrated series full of laughs, adventure, and twists.
Ben doesn’t feel chosen by anybody—not by his friends, who haven’t kept in touch since he moved after his parents’ divorce, or by his mom, who’s so busy he barely sees her. He spends all his time living in fantasy worlds and writing extensively planned adventure campaigns in his role-playing-game notebook. So when Niara, a character who could be right out of one of his favorite games, shows up and tells him he’s destined to save her realm (like, foretold-by-a-prophecy destined), Ben has two possible tell her the truth or play along. He’s tired of feeling left behind, so his choice is clear—game on.
One interdimensional portal later, Ben is in full hero mode. At first, adventuring in Lux seems like a dream come true, but pretending to be the Chosen One—and lying to his new friends—isn’t quite what he imagined it to be. And the more he learns about Lux and his quest, the more he realizes this is way beyond a game—and the rules seem to be changing as he goes. In fact, it might be time for him to write some new ones.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Andrew Auseon is a writer of novels for young people, and a designer of video games. He holds a B.A. from Ohio University and a Masters of Fine Arts in Creative Writing for Children and Young Adults from the prestigious Vermont College.
He lives in Baltimore, Maryland with his wife, Sarah Zogby, and their two daughters.
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