Synopsis:
Title: The Delinquent Crown
Series: Olexia Legends Book One
Release Date: 9/9/2019
Genre: Fantasy Adventure
Category: Young Adult
Olexia is a wild and dangerous world filled with magic.
Miri and Nick find Olexia by chance but choose their fate when they step through the portal. A shard of glass and a hastily-written letter from their mother are all they have to solve their puzzling past.
In Olexia Miri and Nick find danger and unlikely allies, and with their help, they learn to wield their newfound powers and find out the truth about Olexia’s buried secrets. When the ruthless Council leader learns the siblings harbor a powerful artifact, he sends his bloodthirsty LaKaio soldiers to hunt them down at any cost.
With time running out and secrets about their past being revealed around every corner, Miri and Nick must decide if they’re going to hide away or rise up against the sinister leaders of Olexia.
- Hi Sydney, how are you?
○ Hey Madi! I’m great, thanks!
- What inspired you to write The Delinquent Crown?
○ I’ve always had a love for fantasy. When I was a kid, my favorite story was Alice in Wonderland (the books, and the Disney animated film.) I love the idea of people from Earth traveling to another world with magic and mayhem. Once I knew I wanted to be a writer, I was sure a portal fantasy series was in my future.
- What was the writing process like for TDC?
○ It was kind of wild, as in, all over the place. When I started writing it, I was actually working on another book, but the idea for TDC came to me late one night and I literally jumped out of bed to start writing the ideas down. Writing this book taught me about my writing methods, so there was a lot of experimenting with my process to learn what was right for me (half a dozen outlining methods, writing at different times, drafting speed, how much to plan and how much to leave to in-the-moment ideas, etc.)
- How long did it take you to write TDC?
○ Just the other day I figured out that from the time I made my first notes on the story to the day it was released was exactly 3 years. September 9th, 2016 – September 9th, 2019. I didn’t plan that! As for the actual writing, I think I spent about a year and a half on the first draft, and the rest was editing, editing, editing.
- Do you have a favorite scene that you wrote?
○ Oh gosh, okay, without trying to give spoilers… it’s the festival scene, in chapter 25. I had that scene in mind from the early stages of writing TDC and I was so excited to write it!
- If you had to pick a song that readers could get a glimpse into Olexia and its’ characters from, what would it be and why?
○ I have to say “Run Boy Run” by Woodkid. I listened to that a lot while writing, and one of my beta-readers actually said they were thinking of that song when they were reading a chase scene, so that was awesome to me.
○ Some other songs on my writing playlist for this book were “Somewhere in Neverland” by All Time Low, “Ocean Eyes” by Billie Eillish, and “Fly Away” by 5 Seconds of Summer.
- Any fun facts about TDC?
○ Sure! Nick’s name was originally a placeholder, but it grew on me and I ended up keeping it. In the early stages, I played with the idea of Miri and Nick being twins, but their dynamic works a lot better if Nick is older.
- The world of Olexia deals with magical situations, was there a magical moment when you were writing (a spark of inspiration, a scene that you really loved, a moment it all came together, etc.?)
○ Besides when the idea first came to me, there was this time I had crazy-bad insomnia and got out of bed at like two am and wrote, something like seven thousand words in one sitting—that seemed like magic at the time, but the next day I learned my lesson and no longer write while tired due to poor decision making and hilariously-bad dialogue.
○ Also, when I was writing that festival scene, it was one of those scenes that just kind of comes right out and you’re just watching it unfold as you write it without thinking. It was seriously like magic or something. Those are so rare for me, but it’s so rewarding when you’ve been imagining it over and over again and then get to write it like that.
- Any plans for where Miriand Nick’s adventures lead them next>?
○ Absolutely! I’ve been working on the sequel since TDC came out (currently halfway through the first draft!) I’ve had the idea for the second book since very early on. I’m planning Olexia Legends to be 4-5 books long right now. The basic outline for book 3 is in the works, and I have general ideas for 4 and 5 (how the big picture arc will play out, what general events will happen, and some specific scenes.) Just not sure yet how many books exactly it will take to tell the whole story.
- Artifacts play an important part in the novel and in Miri + Nick’s journey, if you went on a similar journey what do you think your artifacts would be and why?
○ That’s a new one! Maybe some kind of amulet that would take me on a journey of self-discovery, learning how to concur my fears. I’m learning to overcome my fears lately (or at least embrace them lol)
A huge thank you to Sydney for her time and thoughtful responses! If you’d like to check out more about the book or purchase it, you can do so at the links below:
Amazon US|Amazon UK|Amazon Canada
Sydney Faith is a young adult author who, after a lifetime of living in her make-believe worlds, decided to start sharing them at 17 in the form of books.
When she’s not writing, Sydney enjoys creating YouTube videos about writing and books, baking and eating chocolate chip cookies, and thinking about writing.
As a Midwesterner, you’ll find Sydney pointing out cows on road trips, enjoying the state fair, and complaining about the snow.
Author Links:
thebooknerddiariesblog.wordpress.com 
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