Date Published: April 13, 2021
Publisher: Acorn Publishing
Orion City has been on lockdown for ten years. Courtney Spencer, a disillusioned barista doomed to live a “normal” life in a quarantined fishbowl, is certain she’ll never see over the Wall again. Until one rainy evening, Courtney unintentionally befriends W, an eccentric customer who leaves a switchblade in the tip jar. The unexpected acquaintance soon opens the door to a frightening string of questions that flips everything she knows upside down. Stumbling into a world of secrets, lies, and disturbing truths, Courtney grapples with a burning temptation to look again at the Wall. Surrounded by citizens trained to ignore its looming shadow, Courtney no longer can. Intrigued and terrified to expand her world, Courtney finds herself toeing a knife’s edge between the law and justice, learning quickly that the two are not always compatible. She wants to cling to her morals. She also wants to stay alive. But most of all, she wants to see a certain customer again, despite everything in her whispering W is dangerous. In a gritty urban clash of hope and fear, passion and survival, The Walls of Orion explores the edges of light, dark, and the gray in between.
Is There a Message in Your Novel That You Want Readers to Grasp?
Yes. I’d love for readers to walk away with the
notion that they are never too small to make a difference, no matter how
daunting or scary the problem they’re facing. It’s never too dark, too cold,
too broken or too far gone for a light to shine and truth to stand. I wrote
this novel when I was coming out of a very dark place, and honestly it was a
powerful way for me to process PTSD and angry questions about the world. I
never intended for this story to see the light of day, or expected a message of
hope to emerge from it at all. When it did, it felt healing. I grew from
writing this novel, and I hope that anyone with scars or disillusionment grows
from reading it.
Is there anything you find particularly challenging in your writing?
I find it challenging when I
can picture a scene in my head or a feeling so clearly but have no idea how to
make the words knit it together. Sometimes I wish I could just project the
movie screen I see in my head onto a reader’s brain, and call it a day.
Some days, it’s particularly
hard to get anything written, and I shut my laptop in frustration and
insecurity because I’m comparing myself to other writers or role models that can
crank out 3,000 words in a day, every day… and I can’t even write 250 some
days. But when I get my motivations back on track, and realize that I’m writing
this story for me, and for God, and not for anyone else, it’s easier to find
the words and flow again. If I don’t enjoy what I’m writing, it’s time to take
a break until it’s fun again.
How many books have you written and which is your favorite?
I’ve written eight novels,
including The Walls of Orion, some of which will never see the
light of day because they were penned when I was a baby writer and didn’t know
much about anything. XD But they still hold a special place in my heart. My
favorite novel series is actually a saga I’ve been working on off and on since
2013, a series called Shadow Walkers. It’s about a secret non-human race
that’s been living under our noses since history began, and a girl with stolen
memories who discovers she’s a war hero… and soon finds out she doesn’t want to
be the warrior she once was, and starts questioning whether that war should’ve
been won at all.
If You had the chance to cast your main character from Hollywood today, who would you pick and why?
I’d cast Julianne Hough from
Safe Haven as Courtney, since she just looked a lot like her with her
short hair in that movie. It’s been really hard to find an actor to fit W! I
spread my search wider to just any celebrity that looks remotely like him, and
landed on Tyson Ritter, the lead singer from All-American Rejects. Not an
actor, I know, but they definitely look similar! W’s just way thinner, all
skin-and-bones, so an actor would probably have to be super method and go on
some super-diet to play him, lol.
When did you begin writing?
I’ve been writing since I
could hold a pen, and was pumping out stories and comics for my mother to read
as early as five years old. I wrote my first full-length novel at age twelve,
and taught myself how to type on our old keyboard that year. My mom was a
hobbyist writer at the time, and inspired me a ton, teaching me her tricks and
editing my stuff (she didn’t pull her punches! Lol, but I’m grateful for it).
How long did it take to complete your first book?
A year. I wrote my first 120k
word novel between seventh and eighth grade, and kept cranking out more in that
old fantasy series throughout high school. Funny enough, it took longer and
longer to produce a novel the older and more experienced in writing I got.
Hopefully that means my words are better? Lol. Now, on average, it takes about
2 years to write something I can type “the end” to with satisfaction.
Did you have an author who inspired you to become a writer?
My Mom, and Bill Meyers. I
actually had the privilege of meeting Bill last year, and it was such a great
experience. He writes thrillers and speculative Christian fiction, geared
towards adults, but I was reading his stuff in 4th grade and loving
it. I loved how he could put deep truths into fiction, and write meaningful
stories full of action and exciting characters that revealed sharp insights
about the world.
What is your favorite part of the writing process?
Dreaming up the characters
and their interactions :) I love a character-driven story. My favorite thing is
when I’m randomly walking through the grocery store, or in the shower, or on a
run, and I have to drop everything (sometimes literally leaping out of the
shower into a towel to run to my laptop or notebook) and write down some plot
twist or character conversation that just popped into my head. I solve the
biggest plot holes or come up with the best twists at the most inconvenient
times. I’ve got all these characters banging around in my head, and they often
wake me up at 3a.m. with an urgent whisper to go write down their next scene,
before I forget it, and if I don’t listen to them, I likely will. Lol. But I
love it all and wouldn’t trade it for anything, extra hours of sleep included.
Describe your latest book in 4 words.
Gritty, thought-provoking, edgy
and fast-paced.
Can you share a little bit about your current work or what is in the future
for your writing?
I’m working on my next big saga, Shadow
Walkers, and am ridiculously excited to share it with you all. Probably
even more excited than The Walls of Orion, to be honest, because this
book includes my favorite character I’ve ever made (a close second to W, he’s
up there pretty high on my list too). It’s got all the fun tropes like the
“found family” storyline, a sizzling enemies-to-lovers arc, and a rich, complex
world with non-human characters and folklore from multiple cultures blended
into an “oh-shoot-the-stories-were-real” type of adventure. I’m hoping to have
the first one out within the next couple years, so stay tuned and check in for
updates on my instagram ;) @tdfoxauthor
About the Author
Armed with a bachelor’s degree in Intercultural Studies, her favorite stories to write usually involve a clash of worldviews, an unflinching reevaluation of one’s own internal compass, and an embrace of the compelling unease that arises when vastly different worlds collide.
When not recklessly exploring inner-city alleyways during midnight thunderstorms in the States, she can be found exploring rainforests without enough bug spray somewhere along the equator.
Contact Links
Facebook: T.D. Fox
Twitter: @TDFoxAuthor
Instagram: @TDFoxAuthor
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