1. When we write, we need to get the balance right between setting, characters, plot, and pace. Do you think Dinsdale managed this? Which were his strongest and which were his weakest aspects?
For me, he achieved a balance and kept me reading.
2. This is a mash-up between urban fantasy and historical fiction. Did the mix work for you? Why/why not?
For me, it was a mash-up of family saga and magical realism. Loved it. Reflected my life, so engaged me.
3. The first half of the book was magical and upbeat until WW1. Once WW1 was over, a new war raged within the Emporium walls and the story became darker and darker. This drew many complaints in Goodreads reviews. What do you think?
I did not find the first half magical and upbeat. Made me cry, the girl-child pregnant and leaving her birth family to make a new life for her and her baby. Starting the story on the eve of WWI told me to expect terrible events. Shades of Virginia Woolfe and Septimus Smith. The events unfolded, concluding with the rise of McCarthyism in the USA, though not mentioned in the text. The underpinnings of today's book bannings.
4. Especially at the beginning of chapters, Dinsdale often broke the fourth wall and spoke directly to you. Did that involve you in or pull you out of the story?
The narrator spoke to me on a deep level, like having him here, chatting with us in the Colony. I have not researched this, but as I recall from my childhood, authors often did this, as did movie producers, i.e., have an authorial narrator speak directly to the audience. As with flashbacks and dream sequences, I found these passages the most immersive.
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Please forgive me for choking up about Cathy and her baby. I did not mean to pause the webinar. I often cry when I read. In everyday life, I am old, stern, serious, rational. In my imagination and reading, I am open, loving, joyous, and magical. And young, for in imagination, we can be what we truly are.
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@Hannah F Thank you. I hope to read his other books. Truly inspiring.
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