Blog Tour: Kit Grindstaff’s Top 10 Inspirations for Writing The Flame in the Mist + Giveaway!

Today I am super excited to be part of the blog tour for Kit Grindstaff’s debut novel, The Flame in the Mist.

book cover of The Flame in the Mist by Kit Grindstaff

Set in an imagined past, this dark fantasy-adventure is for fans of Philip Pullman’s The Golden Compass. Features Jemma, a fiery-headed heroine held captive in Agromond Castle, yet destined to save mist-shrouded Anglavia.

Fiery-headed Jemma Agromond is not who she thinks she is, and when the secrets and lies behind her life at mist-shrouded Agromond Castle begin to unravel, she finds herself in a chilling race for her life. Ghosts and misfits, a stone and crystals, a mysterious book, an ancient prophecy—all these reveal the truth about Jemma’s past and a destiny far greater and more dangerous than she could have imagined in her wildest fantasies. With her telepathic golden rats, Noodle and Pie, and her trusted friend, Digby, Jemma navigates increasingly dark forces, as helpers both seen and unseen, gather. But in the end, it is her own powers that she must bring to light, for only she has the key to defeating the evil ones and fulfilling the prophecy that will bring back the sun and restore peace in Anglavia.


Top 10 Inspirations for writing THE FLAME IN THE MIST

1. This heroine who kept scratching at the inside of my skull, trying to get out.

2. Seeing her in my imagination in a remote, creepy castle, trying to get out.

3. A long-time fascination with ghosts and spooky places.

4. Lyra Bellacqua, the MC of Philip Pullman’s HIS DARK MATERIALS. Loved the books – and loved her. An inspiring heroine—feisty, and fallible.

5. A book I read as a child called TITUS GROAN, by Mervyn Peake. The gothic sprawl of Titus’s home, Gormenghast Castle, influenced the atmosphere of Agromond Castle. The names of Gormenghast’s cast of characters also inspired me in their expressiveness: Lord Sepulchrave, Titus’s father; Fuschia, his sister; Flay, Sepulchrave’s servant; Steerpike, the evil, scheming kitchen-boy…and loads more, which are fabulous! They influenced a few FLAME names, in particular Drudge, Marsh and Dr. Graves.

6. The idea that there’s a reality beyond what we can see, and that nothing is actually the way we see it. What kind of beings might that reality contain?

7. Meeting a shaman in Peru who could tell you things about yourself he had no way of knowing. His eyes would go glassy, and it was said he was reading your aura. It was mind-blowing, and I was intrigued to capture a sense of that in a story.

8. Girl empowerment!

9. The opportunity to defeat unrelenting evil. I may not be able to do it in life—but I can on the page.

10. The story itself. Once I started writing it, it kept urging me to continue.

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About the author:

Kit grew up in the rolling countryside of England. After a brush with pop stardom(under her maiden name, Hain), she moved to New York and embarked on her career as a pop song writer. Kit now lives with her husband in the rolling countryside of Pennsylvania. The Flame In The Mist is her first novel.

Readers, you can find out more about Kit Grindstaff and her books over on her website! And don’t forget to check out the rest of the blog tour hosted by The Modge Podge Bookshelf!

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