In honor of yesterday's Kickstarter launch for the anthology "Athena's Daughters 2" I am pleased to host fellow contributing author, Rori Shay, to talk a bit about her upcoming story in AD2 and about writing in general.

Tell me about the Athena's Daughters Anthology
It's science fiction stories by women writers with women as the protagonists in each tale. The anthology is such a good platform to promote women in the science fiction writing community. There's always been a feeling in that community that only men have a handle on this genre. But lately more women writers are coming forward, providing a very commercial approach to scifi. I love the women scifi writers I've read to-date, and I'm excited that this anthology will introduce people to a whole new set of women scifi writers.
What is your story about?
It's the prequel to my scifi dystopian trilogy The Elected Series. Elected is about an 18 yr old girl, Aloy, who is about to take her country's presidential role after the world is virtually destroyed by climate change. It's very mulan-esqe in that she has to pretend to be a boy to take the position. The Pendant is a prequel told from the point of Aloy's mother. It's a story of betrayal, lies,and sacrifice for the ones you love. It also gives some secrets as to what happened to the boy who was supposed to take the Elected role before Aloy!
What was your inspiration for the story?
Elected is told from the first person point of view of Aloy -all three books in the trilogy. So this short story was a fun way to tell another person's perspective.
Do you write short stories only or longer fiction too?
This is one of the first short stories I've written. I mostly write full length novels, Elected being the first one that's been published so far.
Do you write strictly scifi?
No, I've actually written two new adult (chic lit) novels too, but I haven't put those out there for publication yet.
What authors have influenced your writing?
Suzanne Collins, Diana Peterfreund, Marissa Meyer, JK Rowlings
Anything else you'd like to share?
The link for Elected on Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Elected-Book-1-Rori-Shay-ebook/dp/B00JUEWUP0/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1415309756&sr=8-1&keywords=elected
and Barnes and Noble: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/elected-rori-shay/1119587657?ean=9780989676847
About the author:
Rori Shay is a strategic management consultant living in the Seattle area with her family, black lab, and cat. In the writing world, Rori is primarily known for her science fiction trilogy, The Elected Series. She enjoys running, reading, snow-shoeing, pumpkin-picking, and right now…writing the third ELECTED novel! Rori is also a member of the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI).
Thank you so much to Rori for stopping by to share a bit about herself. Athena's Daughters 2 will be available for pre-order during the Kickstarter, which will run mid-Dec 2014 to mid-Jan 2015. The project funded in the first 24 hours, but there are lots of great stretch goals still to reach! I hope you will check out the Kickstarter, the anthology and Rori's "Elected" series.
It's science fiction stories by women writers with women as the protagonists in each tale. The anthology is such a good platform to promote women in the science fiction writing community. There's always been a feeling in that community that only men have a handle on this genre. But lately more women writers are coming forward, providing a very commercial approach to scifi. I love the women scifi writers I've read to-date, and I'm excited that this anthology will introduce people to a whole new set of women scifi writers.
What is your story about?
It's the prequel to my scifi dystopian trilogy The Elected Series. Elected is about an 18 yr old girl, Aloy, who is about to take her country's presidential role after the world is virtually destroyed by climate change. It's very mulan-esqe in that she has to pretend to be a boy to take the position. The Pendant is a prequel told from the point of Aloy's mother. It's a story of betrayal, lies,and sacrifice for the ones you love. It also gives some secrets as to what happened to the boy who was supposed to take the Elected role before Aloy!
What was your inspiration for the story?
Elected is told from the first person point of view of Aloy -all three books in the trilogy. So this short story was a fun way to tell another person's perspective.
Do you write short stories only or longer fiction too?
This is one of the first short stories I've written. I mostly write full length novels, Elected being the first one that's been published so far.
Do you write strictly scifi?
No, I've actually written two new adult (chic lit) novels too, but I haven't put those out there for publication yet.
What authors have influenced your writing?
Suzanne Collins, Diana Peterfreund, Marissa Meyer, JK Rowlings
Anything else you'd like to share?
The link for Elected on Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Elected-Book-1-Rori-Shay-ebook/dp/B00JUEWUP0/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1415309756&sr=8-1&keywords=elected
and Barnes and Noble: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/elected-rori-shay/1119587657?ean=9780989676847
About the author:
Rori Shay is a strategic management consultant living in the Seattle area with her family, black lab, and cat. In the writing world, Rori is primarily known for her science fiction trilogy, The Elected Series. She enjoys running, reading, snow-shoeing, pumpkin-picking, and right now…writing the third ELECTED novel! Rori is also a member of the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI).
Thank you so much to Rori for stopping by to share a bit about herself. Athena's Daughters 2 will be available for pre-order during the Kickstarter, which will run mid-Dec 2014 to mid-Jan 2015. The project funded in the first 24 hours, but there are lots of great stretch goals still to reach! I hope you will check out the Kickstarter, the anthology and Rori's "Elected" series.