Hi! We're flattered to have Rhiannon Paille for an interview today. Rhiannon a psychic, a metaphysical therapist and the author of The Ferryman and The Flame series. Her first book, FLAME OF SURRENDER is coming out on November 1st, 2011, which means it's just a few weeks away. Without further ado, let us hear what Rhiannon has to say.
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Tell us about your new book
Flame
of Surrender, the first book in The Ferryman and The Flame series is a
tragic love story between a boy that is destined to become the ferryman
and a girl that is a flame, one of nine individually hand crafted
weapons hidden in the body of a seemingly harmless girl.
Can you share your journey of writing and publishing with us?
Sure,
but it's not all that interesting ;) I did what everyone else does, I
wrote stuff, it was horrifying, I beta tested it, revised it, queried,
got shot down, and eventually by chance began talking with an editor who
was interested. The whole thing about my publication deal is that
technically, I called him about his company coming out to an event I
work with, and I ended up pitching him over the phone. About 8 weeks
after that, I signed a book contract with him.
What was the spark/inspiration that made you write Flame of Surrender?
Have
you ever thought you heard a story as a kid, and you know it so by
heart that you can recite it by heart if asked? That's how The Ferryman
and The Flame has been for me. I've known this story like the back of my
hand for as long as I can remember that part of me feels like it really
happened at some point history and that the story was lost. That
Chapter 0 bit about Kemplan finding the lost parchment . . . I actually
own the original parchment that was based on. I found it pressed into
the pages of a book in my husband's house. No, I've never gone so far as
to have it checked out, it just provided endless inspiration for the
building blocks of a story that I've known bits and pieces of my entire
life.
Tell us how was a day in Rhiannon Paille's shoe.
You're
right, some days I'm only wearing one shoe and about ten different hats
at the same time. I'm a mom, a store owner's wife, a secretary for a
major annual festival event, a metaphysical therapist, an author, and a
freelance writer for various spirituality publications.
Half the time I have no time to breathe.
What's your favorite thing about being an author?
I
don't have one favorite thing about it, I have about ten thousand
favorite things. I love writing down the scenes that have been stuck in
my head forever. I love seeing the cosplayers in my character's
costumes, I love shooting the book trailers, I love the fans and their
perceptions of the book (both good and bad) and I love the entire
process.
Better question would be what I dislike and by far, the copy editing process wins.
Was writing what you'd always wanted to do?
No,
this might sound awkward but I wanted to be a singer. I had dreams of
being a major recording artist and touring the world. When I was 18, I
tried out for Canadian Idol and I failed, and those dreams just faded
away. I replaced them with other dreams of becoming one of the best
metaphysical therapists in the country and writing great books both
non-fiction and fiction.
Is there any thing you need when you're writing?
I need music. I found I couldn't write something without the perfect music to go along with the character's mind frame.
Books and writing aside - what is you favorite:
- novel (okay, just one book related question) Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater
- movie The Holiday with Cameron Diaz and Kate Winslet
- drink Canadian Iced Tea and 7-Eleven Slurpees
- past time Karaoke . . . it's an addiction, and admittedly I don't do it enough.
What is the one thing you can't live without?
My
husband. There used to be a lot of people that would tear me down for
my lofty goals. They wanted me to have more realistic goals and to be
like everyone else. The problem is, I'm not like everyone else, not even
a little bit. My husband embraced me for who I am and he had similar
lofty goals. Together we have helped each other get to where we are
today. I can't live without him, he can't live without me, we just make a
great team.
Since you made it - what is your advice to inspiring authors?
If you have a really awesome idea for a book, but you've never written a
book before, write something else. Once you get your pacing, style, and
personal preferences down, then you can take out that shiny awesome
idea and turn it into the best book you've ever written.
In case you're wondering, Flame of Surrender was the
first full length novel I've ever written and I wish I had written
something else first because I will always feel like there's something
still flawed in this first book. I suppose that's because this was a
growing book and I had to rewrite it about four times before I finally
got it right and I feel in some ways that it'll never be perfect.
At least that's behind me now, I won't be able to
change things when it comes out so all I can do is move on to the train
wreck that book 2 is and the shiny first draft of the third book.
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Thanks Rhiannon, for sharing your life in one shoe! We will be waiting for your book. Have a nice day!
Find
Flame of Surrender on :
Goodreads
Find Rhiannon on :
