Please help me welcome Rachel to my blog. Give her lots of comments and you get entry into a prize drawing.
What genre(s) do you write in and why?
I write paranormal romance, erotic romance, and am dabbling with some contemporary romance, but I’m pubbed in both para and erotic. I like my para rom for the worlds I can esc ape to. The creatures follow my rules, and I’m the dictator in their lands, lol. Erotic romance I write for a much more personal reason—I think it’s the absolute most basic truth in life.
What move best describes your life? Why?
My life is boring chaos, so maybe Bridesmaids—yeah, I’m that girl. I’m a little hardwired to be different. I think it frustrates those that love me. I’m sure they’d like it if I followed the same path as everyone else—at least every once in a while. But, for the most part it is boring. We go to work, we come home, I write, hubby finds some way to entertain the teens…or just hides from them. It’s pretty normal.
How has your experience with self-publishing been?
Hmmm…self-pubbing has been a lot of hard work, and as of yet, it hasn’t really shown to be any more beneficial that traditional. I’m sure that’ll change as I gain more works beneath my belt. I do like the total control, but then I also hate it. It’s nice to have someone take the responsibility out of your hands every once in a while.
What advice do you have for other authors wanting to self-publish?
Hire an editor. Readers are smart. Book reviewers and critics, even more so. Don’t insult them by polishing your work, thinking it’s “good enough” and throwing it out there.
Do you have critique partners?
My critique partners change quite often, but yes, I always have them. And sometimes I use a crit partner on one project but not the next. I try to find people that I can match skills to book. And sometime I already know where my biggest problem is, so I’ll ask a crit partner that is awesome in that area to help me out.
What is most difficult for you to write? Characters, conflict or emotions? Why?
Oh, this is easy. It’s emotion. I’m not an overly emotional person and if you ask my friends, I’m not always the most empathic, so it’s difficult to really put myself in a situation and understand what those emotions should be.
Was your road to publication fraught with peril or a walk in the park?
Hmmm… A little of both. I will admit that it happened a lot faster than I thought it would or maybe even that it should, but I’m glad it did. I had a great editor that took a chance on me and taught me so much with that first pub. If it’s too easy, I don’t trust it.
Do you have a view in your writing space? What does your space look like?
My writing space is a 4’ wide by 6’ long nook. I have three bookshelves and a desk crammed into this little hole. It’s usually mostly tidy—my teen daughter doesn’t let me get too out of hand (she has OCD.) I do have a view. We own 26 acres of beautiful, river country, Texas land. In the spring it’s vivacious and green, and in the summer its burnt. Yeah, I know that’s not a color, but it’s the truth. Oh, and there is a tank directly behind my pc.
Title: Creating Fate
(An Unspun Novella, #1)
Author: Rachel Firasek
Genre: Paranormal Romance
Length: Novella
Release Date: July 10, 2012
She gave away her heart…
Giving her heart to a mortal wasn’t something the First Fate planned. Losing him nearly shattered her soul. Upon his death, Clothos swore never to love—or weave life—again. Hoping she’ll change her mind before it’s too late, Zeus commands the spinner of life to take a much needed vacation from her immortal responsibilities.
He had to hide his…
Dane is close to cracking the drug ring he’s spent the last two years infiltrating, but needs to perform one last heist to meet the head man and prevent an impending war. An undercover agent, he’s now on the run from drug lords, thieves and with the very woman whose tears make him forget his purpose.
Together they’ll find a way back from the dark.
Chloe will have to put her trust in the man walking the same path as the murderers that killed her fiance, or face an eternity on Earth. Without the desire for life, hope could slip through the cracks of time if he doesn’t love away her sorrow.
About the Author:
Rachel Firasek grew up in the south and despite the gentle pace, she harassed life at full steam. Her curiosity about mythology, human nature, and the chemical imbalance we call love led her to writing. Her stories began with macabre war poems and shifted to enchanted fairytales, before she settled on a blending of the two.
Today you’ll find her tucked on a small parcel of land, surrounded by bleating sheep and barking dogs, with her husband and children. She entertains them all with her wacky sense of humor or animated reenactments of bad 80’s dance moves.
She’s intrigued by anything unexplained and seeks the answers to this crazy thing we call life. You can find her where the heart twists the soul and lights the shadows… or at www.rachelfirasek.com .
https://twitter.com/#!/RachelFirasek
https://www.facebook.com/RachelFirasekAuthor
https://www.rachelfirasek.blogspot.com
ADD TO CREATING FATE TO YOUR GOODREADS TBR HERE!
I like that you call it “burnt”! I think burnt is a perfect color. :0) I want a husband with OCD… LOL.. Maybe we could zap mine and he’ll get it. Love the interview!
Jesse
Haha, OCD hubbies are the best. But, occasionally it can get on the nerves. I like fast and get the job done, he’s more take your time and do it right….hmmmm…on second though…I do love that about him. Thanks for stopping by today!
Congrats on your adventure into self-publishing. I’m both traditionally epublished and self-published and can agree with you about it not quite where you want it to be.
Things do change rapidly and what isn’t selling one day, may just be a knockout the next. It is so hard to tell in this business. Still, you have a great attitude and that’s what one needs!
Your story looks great and I’ll be putting it in my Kindle library quite soon!
Best of luck in everything!
Lynn
Thank you. I’ll admit that my attitude suffers on occasion, just like everyone elses, but…I back away from all social media when that happens. I hear you about the fluctuating sales. It’s a crazy biz. Thanks for stopping by!
Thanks for sharing, Rachel. I share your views on self-publishing. It would be nice to have someone share some of the responsibilities of marketing and promoting. Those I find hardest to do.
Good luck with your stories.
Ana
Ana, it is a totally lonely biz, huh? Also, it’s hard to know what will work. Things that work for some won’t work for others and it’s really just a matter of finding what fits your book. Wish we all had a crystal ball.
Cynthia, thank you so much for having me on today. I’ve been at the
Authors After Dark Conference in New Orleans all week and we’ve decided to leave early. So, I’m about to get on the road, but I will check back in later this afternoon and try to answer any and all questions. iphones are great, huh? 🙂 See ya in a bit!
I like your idea on critique partners. I have three great partners. I love your book too.
Marian, thank you! 🙂 You are such a sweetie. I’ve had to play around with what works for me in critting, but I think I have a handle on it—kind of. lol.
Nice look into your world. Love your views. I agree on the editor. If only I could find that crit partner. I’ll click my heals together. The promo part is a big time drain. That I find I could use assistance with. Keep writing you have a great imagination.
Cora Blu
Cora, thanks, love. 🙂 Haha, I love how you’ll click your heels together, that’s about how it works. Promo is a drain, but a necessary evil—er…fun way of finding readers, lol. I don’t really mind it, but with a day job, I find blog interacting really hard.
Can’t wait to read this book it sounds great!
Thank you, Renee. 🙂
Hi Rachel. Thanks so much for joining me today. I hope you’ve had a great time and enjoyed the comments.
I love the contrast between macabre war poems and fairy tales. Congrats on your latest release.
Shelley, I know, lol. I go in and out of dark times, and find plenty of influence from the world around me. 🙂
Thanks for that interesting interview with Rachel. I’m about to go indie as well and I thoroughly agree with getting yourself a good editor before embarking on your publishing journey. I did just that.
It cost me a bit, but at least my readers will be reading as professional a book as a traditionally published one.