Welcome back yall for our second installment of our interview with Rebecca P. Minor. If you are just joining us and would like to read the earlier post introducing Minor and her books. Click here. Today we are going to talk a little about the writing life and her first book release party. I think having it at the Renaissance Faire was an awesome idea. How did it go?
Author Rebecca P. Minor, Curse Bearer Release Party.
It was indeed at the PA Renaissance Faire on October 14th, and it was incredible. the weather was perfect, we had over 50 guests in attendance, and I got excellent feedback from the people who came. I even sold a bunch of books.
The funny thing: I forgot to put my glasses on to do my reading, and only after about two pages of reading did I realize why I was having such a time slogging through the words. I didn’t want to stop to get the glasses, so I pressed on. Then the wind blew my page, and I lost my place for what seemed like an eternity! It was probably about ten seconds, but somehow, silence makes each second seem like an age. Other than that, things went without a hitch, and I’m so grateful to have been able to do it. It was really a once-in-a-lifetime event.
Oh, no! I would be so blind without my glasses. I’m glad that it we went well. I’m collecting ideas for my own book release party somewhere down the road. I think I’ll be adding this to my collection, if you don’t mind. 🙂 So when you say once-in-a-lifetime event, do you mean you won’t plan on doing another one like this?
Well, since this event was funded entirely through donations that I raised through Kickstarter, I don’t foresee having the budget to pull an event like this off again. I would have to suddenly sell tens of thousands of books to be able to set aside a percentage of profits to afford this level of marketing on my future books. While I don’t count such huge sales beyond something God could do if he so chose, let’s just say I’m trying to keep my expectations realistic. 🙂
So y’all go buy her book and spread the word. Maybe the sequel will even have a bigger release party. We can always dream big, right? But yes, we’re all living a life balanced between reality and dreams. Good place to be. If any of you would like to read up on her release party and see more pictures, check out her blog post here.
The Writerly Life.
So, what’s your story? Did you write as a child or grow into it? How did your involvement in D&D help your worldbuilding in Curse Bearer?
I have been a writer since junior high without really realizing it. (And may no one ever find the awful, rambling, directionless stories I wrote in those years!) During college (film and animation school) I avoided writing my own scripts from scratch because I had convinced myself many others were far better equipped to build a story than I was, so during that time, I wrote primarily adaptations. But as time went on, characters I had developed (yes, most of them for my role-playing gaming world) clamored more loudly for their own stories. So I took all my old notes from my gaming days, expanded them and deepened them, and began writing novels in the world I had created. While my novel world resembles the campaign setting I had written for role playing back in the day, I like to believe it is a much more robust and better-realized world today.
I think readers would agree, your world and characters have depth, but what comes first for you: characters, plot, or a map?
Danae from Curse Bearer
Characters, definitely. My technique is basically to build a character or set of characters, subject them to a scenario, and see how it all plays out. I am a seat-of-the-pantser in the worst way.
A panster, eh? I used to be a panster, then I became a little OCD. Maybe it was lurking beneath the surface until I discovered the power of outlines and schedules. Ha! We, writers, know that to write, we need to put our butts in the chairs and just do it. Sometimes its easier than other times. Do you have anything that helps you get into the writing mood? Chocolate? Do you write with or without music?
I tend to get into the writing zone by retreating into my big, puffy headphones and listening to movie soundtracks. I have to drown out the majority of what’s going on around me to really be able to write effectively. And if I need a reward or motivation, dark chocolate is always a welcome pick me up. If I can get a box of See’s Candies, then I’m in heaven. (If you don’t know what See’s is, ask anyone from the West Coast.)
Y’all hear that? See’s Candies. We want to read that sequel soon. 🙂 You’re also an artist, how does that help you’re writing? Do you do a lot of sketching of characters, symbols, maps, etc?
I tend to draw when I’m stuck. Visualizing characters or objects helps loosen up the creative joints if they are getting locked. I end up drawing maps when I need to make sure the travel logistics work out in the story, but I will admit, I’m still not great at drawing them to scale. The maps I have drawn make me realize I need to consider more bodies of water in my stories…they present major challenges for characters that I think I ignore more often than I should.
Captain Vinyanel Ecleriast from The Windrider Saga, Cover art for Digital Dragon Magazine, August 2010
That’s awesome. I love maps. For those of you interested in seeing some of her art, she has some on her Facebook page. Any advice for the rest of us drooling after the writer’s life?
It’s actually very un-glamorous for most of us. Christian speculative fiction is a small niche in the writing world, so it’s not as though those of us who are published, even by larger houses, are exactly household names. So I guess my advice would be to write what you love and feel driven to tell, because most of what you get from the pursuit of writing is a sense of personal accomplishment and the opportunity to meet some really cool people who do what you do. And in the end, those will outlast the royalties.
Thanks Rebecca! Well, that wraps up today’s interview part two. Friday we will finish the third installment with some fun questions. Whoohoo! See you then!
The Giveaway!
Head on over to Rebecca P. Minor’s Facebook page and enter for a chance to win Curse Bearer, your choice of ebook for Kindle or paperback; the novellas Divine Summons & A Greater Strength for Kindle, a specially designed T-Shirt, or a character sketch* of our favorite couple: Danae and Culduin.**
*Sketch will be available to ship in January.
**Due to shipping cost, we cannot at this time ship internationally. International winners will receive Kindle novellas Divine Summons & A Greater Strength in place of the T-shirt or character sketch.
Giveaway ends midnight on November 10th 2012
J. L. Mbewe 