Interview with Rachel Rossano

We are delighted today to have an interview with Rachel Rossano!

First could you tell us a bit about yourself?

I am a happily married homeschooling mother of three rambunctious children. I write to keep sane in the craziness of all my other responsibilities. I also design book covers and format books on the side.

What's your favorite book?

The Bible, but that was a given. Beyond that, I have too many to count. :) I love to read and enjoy many books.

Who's your favorite Author?

My mainstay author that I pick up when I am needing a bit of creative boost is Diana Wynne Jones. She writes fun middle-grade and up fantasy. She came before and was a better writer than J. K. Rowling, but with a similar style.

If you could meet one person who would it be?

I am looking forward to meeting my Savior, Jesus Christ. There are many people I would love to meet, but am equally fearful that I would botch the meeting. Though, I would have liked to speak with C. S. Lewis and pick his brain about writing, the classics, and theology.

Can you tell us anything about the book your working on right now?

I am currently editing the sequel to Duty. The new novel is titled Honor and explores the challenges of serving an dishonorable master for honorable purposes. After five years as Securer of the Realm, the Earl of Dentin begins to lose his sense right and wrong. Sent on a mission that bothers his conscience, he encounters, Lady Elsa Reeve, the daughter of a destitute baron. A woman with no power and no control over her own future confronts him with the way he is blindly following a corrupt king.

How did you begin writing?

I didn't like the ending of some of my favorite books, so I began rewriting them in my head. Then I started writing my own stories from scratch mixing and matching elements I liked from other books. Before I knew it I was writing them in my head. Putting them on paper was just a natural progression. Once I finished my first novella as a teenager, I was hooked. I have been writing ever since.

What inspired you to begin writing?

I spent my childhood reading great stories, engaging characters, and exploring new worlds within the pages of books. Before long I was thinking of ways I thought I could make the story better or more appealing to me.

What is your favorite genre?

I like many genres. I can't seem to stick to one. For reading, I especially enjoy history, historical fiction, science fiction, romance (clean and sweet), literary fiction, mysteries, adventure, and many more. Writing wise, I tend to stick to non-magical fantasy that feels like Medieval historical adventure novels, but I have tried my hand at science fiction, speculative fiction, and contemporary romance. All of my novels reflect a Christian world and some of them are inspirational.

Do you do any research for you books? If you do what are your main sources?

I do research for my books, especially my medieval world ones. I use a variety of sources. History books, YouTube videos, online articles from good internet resources, videos and audio courses from Great Courses have all helped me in the past. Also, there is nothing like speaking with someone who has first hand experience with something, like handling and riding horses.

What do you like most about writing?

Oh, I have to choose? I love the writing part. Creating a world, characters, and situations and then exploring them makes for great fun. It takes more work than simply reading a book, but the work is worth it because I have something tangible when I am done. Something I can share and others can enjoy over and over again.

Any final thoughts?

Thank you for interviewing me today. I am delighted to meet you all. It is always delightful to spend sometime talking about writing, books, and the wonderful world of words.

Thank you for your time Mrs. Rossano!

-Mikayla-

Find more of Rachel here:

Blog ~ http://rachel-rossano.blogspot.com/ 
Twitter ~ http://twitter.com/RachelRossano 
Facebook ~ http://www.facebook.com/RachelRossanoRambles 
YouTube ~ http://www.youtube.com/anavrea
GoodReads ~ http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/1430209.Rachel_Rossano 

Writing Advice With: Rachel Rossano

What is your favorite part about writing? Why? 

Oh, I have to choose? I love the writing part. Creating a world, characters, and situations and then exploring them makes for great fun. It takes more work than simply reading a book, but the work is worth it because I have something tangible when I am done. Something I can share and others can enjoy over and over again. 

Who helped you the most while you were beginning to write? 

The first people to read my writing beyond my parents were a huge encouragement. My piano teacher, Mrs. Holden, found something to praise even though I am sure she also saw the flaws in my meager attempts at writing. She related to my characters, which guided me to pursue developing and replicating that in my next story.

My mother taught me to work hard. She never gave out praise unless it was merited. She showed me there is constantly room to improve and grow. Learning, growing, and improving are hard work, but they are worth the effort.

What first gave you the idea for Wren? 

A group of my friends, both writers and young women interested in writing, came up with an idea of doing a writing project together. Creating a family of nine siblings, we endeavored to each write one sibling’s story. We intended to begin and end each book in the same place and connect the stories through letters (hence the epistles in the series title). 

Wren’s character began with her name. I wanted her to be like her namesake, small and plain looking, but extraordinary in quiet ways. Unlike her siblings, she does not struggle with her faith in her God, but she does struggle with how to walk by that faith. She is a strong woman in a world that does not welcome women of her ilk. Despite her unconventional skill set (she is a bounty hunter and falcon mistress), she maintains her femininity and tries to adhere to the path God has set out for her. She is a woman of seeming contradictions, which I love about her. The aspect of her character that I really latched on to as I wrote the book was her confidence. She is far more self-assured than I have ever been.

Do you have any more projects in the works? 

Oh, yes! I am currently working on releasing the next two installments of the Theodoric Saga. (The Crown of Anavrea, the first book, is already available.) I am finishing up the rough draft of the sequel to Duty, which is tentatively titled Honor. A number of short stories from Duty and Honor’s world are in the works and will follow soon after. Also, there are other projects, both old and new, in the queue and ready for my attention. In the mix are an inspirational speculative fiction trilogy, an modern day inspirational retelling of East of the Sun West of the Moon, a Regency mystery/romance, a fourth Theodoric Saga novel with plot problems, ideas for two more sequels to Duty and Honor, more than one science fiction novel, and a whole mess of short story ideas.

The ideas are endless. The challenge is finding the time. 

If you were to start over, what would you do differently? (Providing that you still had the knowledge of writing you do now?) 

I would spend more time reading, writing, and editing. Writing is a journey and I am constantly learning new things about the craft. 

Also, I would pay attention more closely in marketing class. 

Regardless of which way you end up publishing, writers are required to do more and more of their own publicity as time goes on. The one marketing class I took in college turned out to be a great resource despite my lack of interest at the time.

Remembering when you were first starting out, what was the most important thing you were told or learned along the way?

I have learned that you can’t please everyone. Make sure you please God. He is the most important audience you will ever have. Write for His glory and trust Him to handle the rest.

Additional note:

Also, for those of you who are on the brink of publication or researching publication feel free to contact me with questions. I would be happy to offer my services at a discount or just point you in the right direction. Traditionally published or independently published, we authors need to help each other. 

 Blog ~ http://rachel-rossano.blogspot.com/

Twitter ~ http://twitter.com/RachelRossano

Facebook ~ http://www.facebook.com/RachelRossano...

YouTube ~ http://www.youtube.com/anavrea

Goodreads ~ http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/...

                                                                                -Ysa-

January Contest

Bonjour everyone and happy New Year!

Rachel Rossano is gracosily giving away a e-book copy of Wren for this months contest!



This month we are doing a bit of a larger contest, that's why we are giving you till the 22'nd to complete it. You have two weeks to write and perfect 1.000  words that begin a story. It can be any kind of story, but we want to encourage you to focus on your opening. This is the first thing people will see when they read your book so make sure it introduces your character/characters, tells readers where they are, sets the stage for a bigger story and most importantly gets your readers so hooked that they don't want to stop reading.

Don't worry if you go a few words over, it doesn't matter. When your finished with your entry just send it to Futurehomeschoolauthors@gmail.com and we will post the results on the 29'th.
1'st gets the book and posted on the blog
2'nd and 3'rd get posted on the blog

Happy writing ya'll!
-Mikayla-

Contest Results

'Ello ladys and gentlemen, can't imagine what your here for, it couldn't be the contest results could it? ;) First I would like to thank the few people that entered this month for taking the time, in one of the busiest times of the year, to do this. It was a pleasure! And I am very proud to present the winner of Kaycee Browning's Ember Flame:

 Gloria Newton!!! 

Congratulations Gloria! We hope you enjoy Ember Flame! 

Here is Gloria's entry:


        This was not as easy as it looked. I trekked through the snowy mountainside, struggling to see through the howling storm. From the base of the mountain, where I grew up, the journey didn't look dangerous or even very imposing. Now I knew how hard it was to climb uphill and down, in the biting cold, and in a storm, no less. Of course there were plenty of snow storms, when I was younger, but there was also a nice, warm fire. Here it was a whole different story.  It was  helpful to have three of my best friends with me, but after two days of hard traveling, I was almost ready to give up.

Second place goes to.... Ruth! Thank you for entering Ruth!

This was not as easy as it looked. I'm not normally one to be pessimistic, but this was getting to be too much. The concept of farming was not too hard to grasp, but slaving in the sun, from morning till night was going too far. The governor told us that we were being assigned these jobs to prepare, supposedly for the impending invasion. I don't think that's true. I think they're trying to distract us from what is really going to happen. I don't know what it's going to be, but I do know one thing. This attack won't come from a foreign power, but from one within...

Third place goes to... Nathanael!!! Thank you so much Nathanael! 

 This wasn't as easy as it looked. Drina and I were surrounded by at least 13 Blackfire warriors in the Blackfire jail.

  "Do you have a plan?" Drina asked desperately, gripping his sword.

  "Working on it. Anyway I broke you out of jail didn't I?" I replied.

  "Lord, help me." i closed my eyes, concentrating,

  "Now do you have a plan?" Drina asked desparately,

  "Shut up, and drop your weapons." The warriors growled.

  "The grate under us leads to the sewer, that's our ticket out." I whispered.

  "Get ready."

Thank you all for entering this month, please join us next month for another contest! 

-Mikayla and Ysa-

Reveiw: Ember Flame

Kaycee Browning: Ember Flame

    'For centuries, the Leverage Children have kept the world of Holdinus safe from wars and evil....traveling back and forth across the countries restoring peace to all. Whether it be a trivial fight between neighbors or a diplomatic solution between countries on the brink of battle, the Leverage would restore security. But when the dark lord Sicreet and his Pull dictatorship takes over, the Leverage are scattered and forced into hiding. Some of them turned to evil. Others strive to destroy the Pull. But the most powerful Leverage was lost and knows nothing of her ancient heritage and her duty to the world, which is near total destruction now... Les Bough grew up in the dense forest of Grel, raised by common woodcutters. Until tragedy strikes, and Les is forced to discover her place in the world as Ember Flame, one of the six Leverage, and the only one, who can overthrow the grip Lord Sicreet has over Holdinus.'

 

    Ember Flame is a well written, action packed, fantasy-fiction book.  The story is set in... fantasy land! I don't really know when it would be set in our world; I guess you have to figure that out for yourself.

   Ember thought she was an orphan, and then all of the sudden she finds her brother and the fact that she is part of a group known as the Leverage. As she travels through Holdinus, she discovers secrets about herself and about others. Ember meets many different people along the way, and she also learns to believe and trust in Elathor (God).

    This was an incredible book.

   The plot was well thought up. There were so many unexpected twists and turns! Every chapter ended in  a cliff hanger of some sort, encouraging me to keep reading. It was so suspenseful; I found it hard to sit still. In the story, new characters show up over and over again, some good, and most of them bad. It was really hard to guess who was good and who was actually bad.  I liked how descriptive Kaycee was. I could easily picture each and every place the characters were. I also had a pretty good idea of what each character looked like.

   It was hard to find anything to critique about this book; however, one thing that I could say wasn't awesome about this book  is that I noticed a few grammar mistakes. They were all simple things, like a forgotten apostrophe, a misused comma, and such. However, other than that, the story is extremely well told, and the characters are awesome.

   I hope to be purchasing my own copy of this book soon, and I would encourage you to do the same!

   You can buy a copy here.

 -Rose-

Interview with Kaycee Browning

Hello everyone! I am very proud to present an interview with Kaycee Browning author of Ember Flame!



Hello and welcome to Future Homeschool Authors Kaycee! Thank you for stopping by today!

Thanks for having me!

First, could you tell us a bit about yourself? 

Sure! I'm a sixteen year old homeschooled teen living in North Carolina. I started writing when I was twelve years old and have since written three novels. I'm writing the fourth novel currently. Other than writing, my favorite hobbies include reading, blogging, skeet shooting, hanging out with friends, and going on adventures. Most importantly, I'm a Christian and I strive to make my novels, and everything I do, glorify God.

What's your favorite book? 

'Lord of the Rings' by J.R.R. Tolkien is my absolute favorite book. Tolkien's diction and description are breathtaking, and the story itself is inspiring and thrilling.

Who's your favorite Author?

Tolkien probably, but I also enjoy Alexandre Dumas, Brandon Sanderson, and Wayne Thomas Batson.

If you could meet one person who would it be? 

Hmm... contemporary or historical? How about both? Both is good. I would love to meet Peter Jackson, director of the 'Lord of the Rings' films. We'd sit down, have some 'taters and mushrooms, and just geek out over Middle-Earth. Historically, I would have loved to meet the Apostle Paul. His faith in Jesus Christ was astounding and I think it would be super cool to have heard a sermon from him. Maybe I will someday in heaven! Probably not a sermon, but at least I could chat with him for a bit, right? :)

Can you tell us anything about the book you're working on right now?

I'm currently writing 'Flake Frost' which is the final book in the trilogy that 'Ember Flame' begins. It follows Flake, a friend of Ember's, on some of her crazy adventures.

How did you begin writing? 

When I was twelve, my parents bought me an amazing writing curriculum. The last assignment in the curriculum was to invent a knight for King Arthur's round table and write a short story about him. That did not sound hard, so I invented a knight named Javen and began to type. I suddenly realized that I had no control over the crazy twists and adventures Javen found himself on. 23,000 words later, I had finished his story and conquered my fear of novel writing. The next year, I wrote my first novel using the 'One Year Adventure Novel' curriculum.

What inspired you to write 'Ember Flame'?

My best friend and I were at a Christian overnight camp. The morning's discussion had been about the Book of Judges. My friend and I were chatting about how strangely God works. In Judges, God repeatedly chooses men and women with major flaws to lead His people back to Him. The Judges aren't necessarily any better or worse than you or I, they were simply flawed human beings whom God used to further His kingdom. For some reason, this incredible concept resounded with me. I chattered about it excitedly with my friend and then randomly blurted, "Someone ought to write a fantasy novel about this!" My friend gave me an eyebrow-raised smirk as if to say 'you write it' and then 'Ember Flame' was born!

What is 'Ember Flame' about? 

This is the synopsis on the back cover of the novel:

Orphan outcast Les has longed to discover her true self outside of the dense forest of Grel. However, her own insecurity keeps her permanently trapped ... until soldiers incinerate the forest and slaughter the other woodcutters. Vowing revenge, Les is forced to escape the forest and enter Holdinus- a world plagued with an all-powerful dictatorship, a tyrannical lord, and scattered children with dangerous powers known as the Leverage. Les must accept her place in the world as Ember Flame, one of the six Leverage. If she cannot find her destiny and the other Leverage, the souls of the people will perish. Will she sacrifice her desires for a world that has been nothing but cruel to her? Or will she succumb to the wills of a tyrant and live a life of numbness?

Why do you write fantasy?

Personally, I find truths and themes easier to grasp if they are demonstrated in an abstract way. Jesus taught using parables, and I believe fantasy can be used in much the same way. We live in reality and see it every day. The incredible beauty of God's world is lost in a sea of the mundane because we are used to it. Likewise, we also become numb to the terrible aspects of this world because they are so common. If written well, an abstract world-a fantasy- can help readers "see" reality clearer. For example, the character Gollum from 'Lord of the Rings' helped me see how dangerous a temptation truly can be. Gollum is constantly warring with himself, trying to decide if he should help Frodo, or kill Frodo and take the Ring. Gollum eventually makes the wrong choice, and the consequences are terrible. Now, there are no 'Gollums' in this world, but the complete strangeness of the creature caused me to understand that entertaining temptation is no trifling matter. 'Ember Flame' tries to do the same thing. I want readers to walk away from my book, completely astounded at how God can take flawed, broken humans and heal them in His love and mercy.

Do you do any research for you books? If you do what are your main sources? 

Fantasy is fun because you don't have to research, but the research that you do is a lot of fun! For my fantasies, I pick a 'culture' and base the world on it. 'Ember Flame' is a combination of modern American culture with some Medieval flare thrown into the mix. I did basic Internet searches on castles, swords, fencing, etc., but nothing super in-depth. Pinterest is an incredibly resource for the casual researcher. There are tons of incredible pictures and info-graphs to look through! 

What piece of advice would you give to writers of fantasy? 

Don't become disillusioned to the power than fantasy holds. Don't justify a character's, especially the hero's, wrong choices because it's 'just a fantasy.' I'm not saying to make the hero perfect, but the wrong decisions need to have consequences that show them as wrong. If your hero decides to lie repeatedly to his parents, make sure there are consequences. The same goes for your villains. The villains can get away with a lot, but in the end, their actions need to be shown as wrong.

What do you like most about writing? 

I love the moments when the characters and plot simply sweep me away. The moments when even I don't know what will happen next. Writing the rough draft has many moments like this, so it is probably my favorite aspect of writing.

Any final thoughts? 

I know there are many who have qualms concerning fantasy, and rightfully so. It's sad how dark and dreary the genre has come to be in recent years. However, I don't believe the solution is giving up-but fighting harder! If more authors and publishers would focus on hitting the market with good, wholesome fantasies, perhaps the macabre and horror aspects would fade and disappear. I'm simply asking all Christian to not give up on fantasy, but to at least encourage the authors and publishers who are trying to return the genre to the original depth and light that Tolkien and C.S. Lewis popularized.

Thank you so much for joining us Kaycee! 

-Mikayla-

         

Contest for December

Hello, I hope your having a very good December. Please forgive the late posts this month, we've all had a lot going and with the lack of a reviewer its been hard to pull the load around here. But onto what you really came to see. The Contest. 

This month Kaycee Browning has offered a paperback copy of her book Ember Flame!!!

I'm going to give you the opening line and your going write a 100 words to start off a book, you can go five or ten words over or under, don't worry.  The opening line dose not count towards the word count. In honor of Ember Flame we're going to write Fantasy, it can be as light or heavy as you want but no witchs and please remember the younger aduiance here because if you win it will be posted on the blog. Once your done writing just send your entry to Futurehomeschoolauthors@gmail.com The contest ends December 24'th and the results will be posted on the 31'st.

This is the same as most moths. First Prize gets the book and gets there work posted on the blog. Second and Third place get there work posted on the blog. 

Here is your opening line: 

This was not as easy as it looked.

Happy writing everyone! 

-Mikayla & Ysa-