Today I will be interviewing Rhiannon Paille.
Author Bio:
Interview:
1.When did you start writing?
I was eleven, I got kicked out of my English class for being too smart. The teacher sent me to the library to do “creative” writing. One of my first discarded stories had something to do with an Octopus. The other one was a play about three sisters.
Then I began writing things my pastor deemed “disturbing”.
1.Did you always know you wanted to be a writer?
These questions are all number one now. I think I like it.
I wanted to be a vocalist actually, and when that dream fell through, a teacher. Writing was something I never thought I’d do and then I did it.
1.What inspired you to write Surrender?
You know without going into how I came to the story itself, the truth is I wanted to write something honest, beautiful, different, and meaningful.
I also wanted it to be sexy and dangerous but those things weren’t as important as the character development, plot points and voice. It took me a long time to hammer all those things out. For a long time SURRENDER was nothing but a folktale to me, bits and pieces relented to me by my guides, some really big concepts in the mix.
SURRENDER is a tale of innocent love gone terribly wrong. It’s forbidden love, but it’s true love, and it’s real danger, danger so terrifying it leaves the overall story in some serious jeopardy.
I think at the end of the day the real challenge was pulling it off right. I had history, folklore, ancient guides and even more ancient archetypical characters I needed to impress. There was no “doing it wrong” and I slaved over it until it was as perfect as it could be.
1.How did you choose the names of your characters?
They came like that. I absolutely mean that and take it however you want, but my characters all came to me with names in hand.
1.Who are some of your favourite authors?
Cassandra Clare, Maggie Stiefvater, Erin Morgenstern, Tamora Pierce, Julie Kagawa, John Green, Katie McGarry, and the list goes on and on.
Thank you Rhiannon for answering my questions!
2 of your fave authors are my faves and they are Cassandra Clare and Julie Kagawa.
Here are some other interview questions that Rhiannon gave to me to share as well.
1.Surrender is such a unique story, where does all of that originality come from?
Hahaha. I’d love to say it comes from my genius mind, but it really doesn’t. I have a penchant for studying obscure things like Celtic and Norse myths, Buddhist, Hindu, Pagan traditions, witchcraft, metaphysics, parapsychology, ecopsychology, fairies, sacred geometry, sacred places, etc. I actually own a copy of the Bhagavad Gita, which is basically the Hindu bible.
I think that because I’m eccentric, my writing reflects that.
2.What is a Flame? (and where did that idea come from?)
3.How do you feel about insta-love?
I keep hearing this term being thrown around the blogosphere and I do get it. I don’t like it when relationships are super easy for characters, but I also dislike it when characters purposefully put up roadblocks for their own happiness. If a character knows they like someone they should just be honest.
And that’s the thing about Elvens, they have no choice but to be honest. Sure, they’re not expected to fall in love because love is impractical, but they’re also not the type to ignore it if it does happen. I don’t think it was easy for Kaliel and Krishani to give in to their emotions (they spend a lot of time away from each other fighting their feelings) but once they do their lives get easier for awhile . . . until ultimately that love becomes their downfall. (Talk about a cautionary tale)
4.If you could do it all over again what would you differently?
5.Is there a book you wish you’d written?
The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern, damn that was a great book.
This or That
Sprite or Mountain Dew? Water please
Chocolate or Jellybeans? Both!
Home Cooked or Take Out? Take Out, unless you want me to burn dinner again.
Coffee or Tea? I’m allergic to coffee so tea.
Beach or Mountains? Forests
Rain or Snow? Snow
Print or E-book? E-book
Laptop or Desktop? Laptop
Author Bio:
Rhiannon writes about things that were lost and while most of her books are fictional you can be sure that her characters are not—fictional that is. She has a PhD in Metaphysical Science and is a world renowned Metaphysical Therapist. When she’s not writing books she’s reading minds, singing karaoke, burning dinner and sipping iced cappuccino despite her allergy to coffee. Some day she’d like to own a unicorn—as long as it doesn’t eat her. SURRENDER is her first novel. www.yafantasyauthor.com
Interview:
1.When did you start writing?
I was eleven, I got kicked out of my English class for being too smart. The teacher sent me to the library to do “creative” writing. One of my first discarded stories had something to do with an Octopus. The other one was a play about three sisters.
Then I began writing things my pastor deemed “disturbing”.
1.Did you always know you wanted to be a writer?
These questions are all number one now. I think I like it.
I wanted to be a vocalist actually, and when that dream fell through, a teacher. Writing was something I never thought I’d do and then I did it.
1.What inspired you to write Surrender?
You know without going into how I came to the story itself, the truth is I wanted to write something honest, beautiful, different, and meaningful.
I also wanted it to be sexy and dangerous but those things weren’t as important as the character development, plot points and voice. It took me a long time to hammer all those things out. For a long time SURRENDER was nothing but a folktale to me, bits and pieces relented to me by my guides, some really big concepts in the mix.
SURRENDER is a tale of innocent love gone terribly wrong. It’s forbidden love, but it’s true love, and it’s real danger, danger so terrifying it leaves the overall story in some serious jeopardy.
I think at the end of the day the real challenge was pulling it off right. I had history, folklore, ancient guides and even more ancient archetypical characters I needed to impress. There was no “doing it wrong” and I slaved over it until it was as perfect as it could be.
1.How did you choose the names of your characters?
They came like that. I absolutely mean that and take it however you want, but my characters all came to me with names in hand.
1.Who are some of your favourite authors?
Cassandra Clare, Maggie Stiefvater, Erin Morgenstern, Tamora Pierce, Julie Kagawa, John Green, Katie McGarry, and the list goes on and on.
Thank you Rhiannon for answering my questions!
2 of your fave authors are my faves and they are Cassandra Clare and Julie Kagawa.
Here are some other interview questions that Rhiannon gave to me to share as well.
1.Surrender is such a unique story, where does all of that originality come from?
Hahaha. I’d love to say it comes from my genius mind, but it really doesn’t. I have a penchant for studying obscure things like Celtic and Norse myths, Buddhist, Hindu, Pagan traditions, witchcraft, metaphysics, parapsychology, ecopsychology, fairies, sacred geometry, sacred places, etc. I actually own a copy of the Bhagavad Gita, which is basically the Hindu bible.
I think that because I’m eccentric, my writing reflects that.
2.What is a Flame? (and where did that idea come from?)
The Violet Flame was something I stumbled across when I was eighteen. It was an accident. Further inspection into its life showed that current myth seriously misunderstands The Violet Flame, painting it as a thing, not as a living, breathing being. It’s traditionally from Eastern tradition, and people in the Middle East and Asia still meditate on the Violet Flame.
This was the starting point for my story centered around The Flames. At some point in my journey down the rabbit hole I found a reference to eight rays, which were related to the Violet Flame, though texts always called the Violet Flame the ultimate spiritual energy. It then listed off things the Violet Flame can do (erase karma, transmute energy) and because it sounded like a genie in a lantern (St. Germaine carried it in a lantern) I thought it would be interesting to craft a story around it.
That’s essentially how Kaliel became Kaliel.
3.How do you feel about insta-love?
I keep hearing this term being thrown around the blogosphere and I do get it. I don’t like it when relationships are super easy for characters, but I also dislike it when characters purposefully put up roadblocks for their own happiness. If a character knows they like someone they should just be honest.
And that’s the thing about Elvens, they have no choice but to be honest. Sure, they’re not expected to fall in love because love is impractical, but they’re also not the type to ignore it if it does happen. I don’t think it was easy for Kaliel and Krishani to give in to their emotions (they spend a lot of time away from each other fighting their feelings) but once they do their lives get easier for awhile . . . until ultimately that love becomes their downfall. (Talk about a cautionary tale)
4.If you could do it all over again what would you differently?
It’s funny because I’ve had the opportunity to rewrite Surrender a number of times, and each time I’ve changed very little about the overall story line. There is one thing I’d like to change though, but it’s not something I can control.
I wish Surrender wasn’t my first book.
I wish I had written other fiction before tackling Surrender because Surrender was a major project and it required a lot of love. I guess it’s one of those “If I had known then what I know now” situations, I might have been able to make Surrender “better.”
5.Is there a book you wish you’d written?
The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern, damn that was a great book.
This or That
Sprite or Mountain Dew? Water please
Chocolate or Jellybeans? Both!
Home Cooked or Take Out? Take Out, unless you want me to burn dinner again.
Coffee or Tea? I’m allergic to coffee so tea.
Beach or Mountains? Forests
Rain or Snow? Snow
Print or E-book? E-book
Laptop or Desktop? Laptop
Here are the blurbs (from Goodreads) for Rhiannon's first 2 books in
The Ferryman and The Flame series!
The Ferryman and The Flame series!
How far would you go to save everything you ever loved?
Kaliel was warned about her love for the Ferryman. One day he will marry the land and leave Avristar forever. She doesn't listen, and because of what she is-- a Flame-- one of nine apocalyptic weapons, she sparks a war. In a desperate attempt to save her home and her love, Kaliel tries to awaken Avred, not knowing she may have to make the ultimate sacrifice.
Buy Links:
How far would you go to destroy yourself?
Krishani always knew he would have to go to the Lands of Men, but he never thought it would be like this. Enemies everywhere, an ancestor he can't respect, elders he can't trust, a curse he can't stop and friends he can't help but hate. Desperate to end the pain, he sets out on a quest to find the other Flames and face the enemy that took everything from him.
Buy Link:
Amazon Kindle
**SURRENDER (book 1),
LANTERN & POISON (book 1.5),
& BLOOD & GOLD (book 2.5)
are FREE April 24th and 25th only!!**
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