Technically, I’m a troll, but not in the creepy little green monster sort of way. I’m of normal height and fairly attractive. In Trylle culture, the use of changelings is a practice that dates back centuries. The custom’s intention is to make sure Trylle offspring have the best childhoods possible.
I’m supposed to be a Princess in F?rening—the compound in Minnesota where the Trylle live. My birth mother is Elora, the Trylle Queen. After spending a few weeks in F?rening, I decided to head home. I had a falling-out with Elora, who had forbidden me from seeing Finn Holmes simply because he’s not royalty.
I escaped and took Rhys with me. In F?rening, Rhys had shown me genuine kindness, and I felt he deserved some of that in return. I brought him here to meet Matt, since he is really Rhys’s brother, not mine.
Of course, I couldn’t tell Matt all of that. He’d think I was completely insane.
Growing drowsy, I thought again how good it felt to be home. It only took ten minutes for Rhys to shatter that comfort when he crept into my room. I was almost asleep, but the sound of my door opening made me alert. Matt had gone downstairs, presumably to make the phone call I suggested, and if he knew Rhys was in here, he’d kill us both.
“Wendy? Are you asleep?” Rhys whispered, sitting gingerly on the edge of my bed.
“Yes,” I muttered.
“Sorry. I can’t sleep,” Rhys said. “How can you sleep?”
“It’s not that exciting for me. I lived here before, remember?”
“Yeah, but . . .” He trailed off, probably because he had no argument for that. Suddenly he tensed and sucked in his breath. “Did you hear that?”
“You talking? Yes, but I’ve been trying not—” Before I could finish my sentence, I heard it too. A rustling sound outside my bedroom window.
Considering I had just had a horrible run-in with some very bad trolls known as Vittra, I was alarmed. I rolled over and peered at the window, but the curtains were drawn, blocking my view.
The rustling turned into actual banging, and I sat up, my heart pounding. Rhys shot a nervous glance at me. We heard the window slide open, and the curtains billowed out from the wind.
If you enjoyed Switched, you’ll love Ascend. The third novel in the Trylle series.
Wendy Everly can barely remember what it was like to feel like a normal girl. She’d wished for her life to be different but everything is so much more complicated than she’d expected. And she certainly hadn’t dreamt she’d be getting married at eighteen to a man she didn’t love – all for the sake of duty.
As the big day approaches, Wendy can’t stop thinking about two different men – and neither of them are her husband-to-be. Finn – quiet, strong and determined to do what’s right, and Loki – dark and seductive, a sworn enemy who once saved her life . . .
With an all-out war just days away, Wendy needs to act quickly if she is to save her friends and family. But while her loyalties and duties are to her people, deeper passions are leading her elsewhere.
And as her worlds collide Wendy must sacrifice everything she loves to save them. But will it be enough?
An interview with Amanda Hocking
What first inspired you to write?
There was never a time in my life that I wasn’t obsessed with fantasy worlds or telling stories. My grandma once recorded me when I was two or three, and I’m doing a re-telling of Little Red Riding Hood. As soon as I could write, I did. My inspiration has always come from everything around me, but I grew up watching a lot of fantasy – Labyrinth, Star Wars, The Neverending Story, Legend. These have all heavily influenced what I write.
Do you start with a character or a storyline?
Characters first. It’s always the people, and then the story builds around them.
Have other authors/books inspired you, and why?
Judy Blume was probably the first young adult author I read, and while I always liked her books, I remember wishing they’d had romance. I also read a ton of Stephen King, and his use of horror has definitely been influential in my books. Richelle Mead is an influence, I’d say. She was the first young adult author I read that didn’t seem to talk down to the readers. YA books can at times get a bit preachy and gloss over things because they don’t want to expose kids to too much, but I think that alienates teenagers.
So far you’ve written fantasy, romance and horror: are there any other genres you’d like to try?
I might try a contemporary novel, without the paranormal elements, but I think I’d really like to play around more with horror.
Your books appeal to adults and young adults – would you ever write a children’s book?
I was actually talking about this recently with a friend of mine who is a school teacher, and I definitely might write one in the future.
How do you manage to keep all your other characters and series separate when writing?
I take copious notes. Keeping the characters separate is easy, but keeping the details straight would be impossible without notes.