When and how did you start writing?
I always had a love for stories whether books or movies, since I was a little girl. Somewhere along the way, I started telling stories first to my classmates and much later to my young children.
But it was my husband encouraged me to start writing.
Tell me about your books?
I write about imperfect families, flawed characters and love and redemption. I often happen to use the canvas of fantasy for my writing.
Writing about strong women, I’m continuously inspired by such women from all walks of life - whether authors or ordinary women or sportswomen and I never hesitate to give them a shoutout when I can.
What inspired you to write your series?
All my life growing up I read stories about hapless princesses who were waiting for the right man to come along and rescue them. Whether from a tower or a dragon or an evil witch. I wanted a princess who needed a prince in her life because she loved him not because she wanted his protection. I needed a princess who could be a warrior as well as a mother, a daughter and a wife and so I created her.
Thus Broken, my debut happened because I was jaded and weary of ‘princesses’ who needed a prince to rescue them. I wanted a girl who was kind and loving but able to stand up for herself, protect herself. The kind of woman who would say, “Hey wait up, let me rescue you.”
Did you plan the series out or are you taking it one book at a time?
I believe that young girls need inspirational fictional figures to look up to. I work with that premise on each book and I have an overall sense of the direction I’m going in but I don’t have preset detailed notes for each plot or character. I’m a true blue pantser.
What was your biggest writing challenge?
Writing Redemption. Metamorphosis ended on a bit of a cliff hanger and Broken, had ended with a sort of a happily ever after. Yet, I wanted to bring characters from both books together (though both books were quite disparate from each other ) even though they were set in different times. Accomplishing that, and doing a great job at it (thanks to the help of all the alpha and beta readers) is what makes me feel like I crossed a major hurdle.
What do you consider your greatest writing accomplishment?
People have told me that I was taking a huge risk writing a series about different characters and also different POVs in each book this but to tell you the truth I’m a person who follows my heart and the story. These were the stories waiting to be told and they had to be told in a certain way.
What do you want your readers to feel when they have closed the last page of your book?
Sad that the story is over, that they had to say good bye to characters they had grown to genuinely care about. But I also want them to feel joyful that the story has reached the kind of ending that they might have never envisaged. I love surprising my readers, because as a reader that’s what I love—surprises. And also, I want them to look forward to more from me as a writer.
Has a book really touched you? Made you rethink your views on life? If so, what was it?
Little Princess by Frances Hodgson Burnett. She taught me that being a princess (read, being a better person) is about caring, being genuine irrespective of your personal circumstances. Wealth does not make a princess. One’s behavior does. Now think about that!
What would you do if you didn’t write?
I was an HR professional for 10 years after completing my post-graduation qualification, and I was pretty great at my job. But this, right here, writing is where I truly found myself. So, if I was not writing I hope it would be doing something like helping writers promote their work. I’m great at writing blurbs and marketing promos for books. Many say I have found my true calling.
What is your ultimate dream as a writer?
I have an affinity for words. I write better than I talk. Seeing my words on paper, seeing a story unfold, and when other people appreciate my writing that’s what makes it rewarding. But people buying my books, talking about my books and a movie, the typical writer’s dream, that’s my dream too.
What are your current projects? What should we be looking out for?
I’m working on a fantasy thriller called Mother Knows Best. And I have Book III of my series, The Breach Chronicles, Redemption, due for release on 23rd September 2023.
Biography
Ivy’s stories are often a blend of a fractured fairy tale and a dark fantasy but are also, always full of love and light. These original tales, pushing the barrier between fantasy and reality, challenge myths—does a dragon always have to be terrifying, why does the prince face the dragon, is a happily ever after defined by only two people madly in love, do blood diamonds only have to appear in gritty movies and non-fiction books? Can fantasy stories be about vulnerable characters and situations that we see in the world around us? Can fantasy books be written for non-fantasy lovers? Why exclude readers who love thrillers, mysteries, adventures and romance? The Breach Chronicles is for everyone—grown-ups and children. Ivy loves coloring outside the lines and her stories hold meaning for everyone who reads them. It is interesting to note that Ivy enjoys writing clean stories about strong women and young girls who are far from perfect but find it in themselves to stand against injustice. Her characters are fighters, but they love, cry, hurt, and bleed. They believe in family, friendship, and sacrifice. They might live in fantasy worlds, but they are real, fragile and vulnerable, while being strong as you and I.
LINKS
Broken (Broken But Not Lost)
Kindle Edition
Broken (Broken But Not Lost)
Print edition
Metamorphosis ( The Girl With No Face)
You can find Ivy on her website https://www.ivylogan.com/
Follow her on Twitter https://twitter.com/Ivyloganauthor