Today I am pleased to welcome Rachael Wade, author of Amaranth and her new release, The Gates. After the interview, be sure to catch my review of Amaranth and The Gates and Enter to WIN a copy of The Gates.
Welcome, Rachael. I have to tell you I was ecstatic when you agreed to this interview because I loved Amaranth and The Gates and can’t wait until .
Wow, thanks,
Regan. I’m so glad you enjoyed it and I’m honored to stop by your blog today.
:)
1. My first question is one that I’ve been
wanting to ask you ever since I read your fantastic novel, Amaranth. I love the title; it’s what
drew me to your book, well, that and the awesome cover. How did you come up with that name?
Good
question. I’m not sure exactly what inspired it. All I know is when I came up
with the concept for the Amaranthian exile, I wanted to name it something that
the city represented. So I was thinking about eternity and immortality, and
then the theme of Gavin and Camille’s love—an everlasting, loyal kind of love.
So I began playing around with words that meant “everlasting,” and Amaranth
happened to be one of them. Apparently, it also refers to an imaginary, undying
flower and a plant. And while I wasn’t referring to the plant, I do like the
idea of this indestructible flower that “freezes” life. Hence the frozen souls
in the series...
2. I read that you always have a playlist
while writing and that you sleep, eat, and shower with your iPod. Can you tell us a little about
the playlist for The Gates, and why you chose those songs?
Haha, yup, I
do really eat, sleep, and shower with my iPod. It’s my little sidekick. Well, music
really helps me set the tone for painting the scenery in my stories, and the
songs on The Gates playlist were chosen because something about each one was
very atmospheric and eerie. Additionally, the words in each song on the list
meant something literally or figuratively for my characters during the
progression of the story. I always say that if you listen to my playlists from
beginning to end, you’ll pretty much see and hear the entire story in sequence.
It’s that crucial to my writing process—I pretty much outline the story with a
soundtrack or I can’t write.
3. Here’s a question for other newly
published authors if you wouldn’t mind sharing some of your trade secrets. What are some of your best
strategies for marketing your books?
Sure thing.
When it comes to marketing, I basically invest what I able to financially in
advertising, particularly sites like Kindle Nation Daily. Other than that, I
mostly focus on interacting with readers and writers in general. I focus on
being myself, being a person, talking about normal things like life, music,
art, and the day-to-day grind. I’m not a fan of shoving my work down peoples’
throats. I don’t hop on Goodreads or Twitter and spam people with links to my work.
I figure if they get to know me and they like me, they might check out my work
some day. I leave the hard-selling tactics to paid advertising and some
occasional plugs on my Facebook and Twitter, and put most of my energy into
building relationships with people. I enjoy that naturally, so I think that’s
why it works for me. Goodreads is my backyard. I live there. But aside from the
occasional event invite offering a giveaway copy of my book, I spend time there
discussing books and life with the people I meet and that seems to send a lot
of readers my way. It’s a win-win. I meet some really great people, make new
friends, and build my platform at the same time.
4. This is a two-part question. Have you
always lived in Florida and if not, where else have you lived? And part two, if you had a choice to live anywhere in
the world, regardless of price, where would
it be?
I’ve lived
in Florida since I was 3 years old. I was actually born in Philadelphia and
lived there as a baby. But I’ve been a Florida girl ever since. And if I could
live anywhere in the world regardless of price, it would be right near
Eastsound on Orcas Island in Washington. It’s my favorite place in the whole
world and hope to make it a reality some day. I’m trying to visit once a year
now because I can’t stand being so far away. Coincidentally...it’s used as a
setting in Preservation. :)
5. Did you always know you wanted to be a
writer and if not when did that occur to you?
I’ve wanted
to write since I was a kid, was always interested in writing for film and
writing screenplays. But finding out a career working with marine animals
wasn’t going to be my path after all is what led me to finally decide to write
for a living. (I worked and volunteered at Sea World for a while, was going to
work with animals.) That and too many dead-end jobs. It hit me hard one day
that I wasn’t happy with my career goals and it was because I wasn’t doing what
I loved the most—storytelling. I just never thought it was possible as a “real”
job, even after English teachers in high school and college encouraged me to
pursue it. I never bothered. I used to write lyrics for music, used to sing and
perform, so during that time, I found an outlet to use my love for words
through writing music. But it wasn’t enough. I wanted to write full-length stories,
so I finally did and am thankful I took the plunge.
6. Here’s a question you recently asked me
and I thought it was a great question, so I’m asking you. If you could be any fictional character,
who would you be and why?
It is a
great question, but a tough one, right? Haha. I’d say Katniss Everdeen because
of her strength, but I wouldn’t want to be dropped into her world. So I’d say
Ana Steele from Fifty Shades of Grey, just to have a few minutes with my
favorite book boyfriend. I could go on about a movie character I’d love to be,
but if I start down that road, I’ll never shut up. ;)
7. As a novelist, what part do you like
best, creating the story or editing it and can you tell us why?
I like
creating the story the most, coming up with a concept and getting to know my
characters. The characters are always my focus, so developing them is my
favorite part of writing.
8. Many authors go through their manuscripts
a multitude of times and as a writer I know, we are never really ever satisfied, but there comes a time that we have
to say, “finished.” How many times did
you edit your books before you finally said, “enough?”
Oh, man. I
think that is the toughest part of the writing process—letting go. I tend to be
a perfectionist, it’s definitely a flaw of mine, so I always find something
that I want to improve. Now when I read Amaranth, I cringe, wishing I could’ve
changed this or changed that. And I’m sure I’ll feel that way with my new
releases. I think I already do. Typically, though, I go through 3 or 4 drafts
on my own before I hand it over to my critique partners and editor. Those final
rounds, when my editor is cleaning things up and handing it back for the final
pass—that is when I’m absolutely spent. I want to toss the manuscript in the
ocean at that point. Thankfully, I’m learning to let go with each new work.
When you’ve exhausted your resources, spent hours tweaking continuities, and
have done all you can, I think you just know you’re done. It’s the best you can
do. If a typo of grammar error makes it through after all of that labor, most
readers will recognize that you are human, and so is your editor. Nothing will
ever be perfect in the eyes of the author or the reader, so accepting that
helps me to know when it’s okay to let go.
Oh yeah, one
more question. What exactly is sponge candy?
LOL! I take
it this question is referring to a stop at Anna Dase’s blog? In my book, it’s
the best candy ever. It’s a Buffalo NY and Canadian thing, which is where a lot
of my family is from, so I grew up with it. It’s always really hard to explain
because it has a distinct taste and you won’t know how good it is until you try
it, so I always send newbies here: http://spongecandy.com/faq/what-is-sponge-candy/
Thank you so
much for joining me today, Rachael I wish you all the best of luck with all
your books.
Thanks again
for having me, Regan. I really appreciate your support.
The Gates is in paperback at Amazon and Barnes and Noble, and is available on Kindle and
Nook on 4/25.
MY REVIEW OF THE GATES:
The Resistance Trilogy is not your normal vampire story. Rachael Wade has created an amazing world for these creatures and she does a terrific job going from our world to theirs. The Gates has everything, vampires, witches, spells, portals, villains, suspense, mystery, and my favorite, love. Even sex this time. J
I love reading from the male point of view and was quite pleased to see some of that in this book. I think reading from the male POV gives that extra edge into the hero’s mind, and quite honestly, men baffle me so when I get to read what they are thinking, even if it is just someone’s fantasy and imagination, I consider it a treat. That might be why I love reading romances written by male authors so much. But I love it even more when a woman does it, because after all, we know what we want more than the guys do and when a female writer can do it and make it sound believable, that’s magic, and Rachael Wade knows magic. I loved the twists she weaved into this one and was extremely pleased by the turn of events.
Ms. Wade’s writing is spot on and solid. I’m really looking forward to the next one in this trilogy and her next book.
MY REVIEW OF AMARANTH:
This little gem took me by surprise on two counts.
One because it was very good and the other, because I read it based purely on
the cover. In fact, I never even read the short synopsis posted so I had no
idea what it was about and the title gave me absolutely no clue, since the word
amaranth is a plant often cultivated for food and cereal in Central and South
America. (I admit, I had to look that one up to be sure, I knew it had
something to do with plants). The name, Amaranth, and the cover intrigued me so
much I had to read the book. I know you’re not supposed to base a book on its
cover, but this time you can.☺
I find it fun sometimes to read a book not knowing
anything about it. It really makes the journey, somehow, more magical, so I
won’t tell you much about it and the beginning didn’t give me much of a clue
either, but I was drawn in immediately from the very first paragraph. Amaranth
is an enjoyable, quick read (mainly because I couldn’t put it down) with a lot
of twists, which I love. Great job, Ms. Wade, I am looking forward to the next book
in this trilogy.
NOW FOR THE GIVEAWAY!!!!!
