Today I had the awesome privilege of interviewing fellow bookstagrammer and awesome author, Rae Graham! This interview is part of her blog tour, so if you want to visit the other blogs and see what they have to offer, check out this web page here.
What inspired your novel, To Slay A Curse?
This actually started as a short story assignment in college. We were asked to identify something that hindered our writing, personify it as a monster, and then write an interaction between the monster and another character. I always had trouble coming up with my initial idea: choosing my research topic, formulating a thesis statement, or taking the given prompt and personalizing it for a short story. And hence, Devoron was born! Once I had idea-sucking parasite, the mind-world came naturally and everything flowed from there.
That sounds like an intense assignment, but super cool!
Which character is your favorite from the book and why?
Oh, dear! My answer changes every time this question is asked. I love all my babies!
But, while writing Giselle was cathartic and Ami fun, I think Eamon may be my true favorite. He’s so gentle but also fiercely protective and 1000% there for his friends. Whether you need someone to hold you while you cry or to shove you kicking and screaming out the door on an adventure, he’ll do it, no questions asked.
What is one takeaway from the novel you want us to have?
No matter who you are, what you’ve done, or what’s been done to you, you have worth. Never doubt that.
Amen to that!!!
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What are some of your favorite books?
I’m a hard-core Tolkienite and LOTR will always top my list! Followed closely by Narnia and Harry Potter, of course!
Some less cliché ones are Nadine Brandes’ Out of Time trilogy, Lindsay Franklin’s Story Peddler, and anything by Mary Weber.
What is writing advice you have for young writers?
One thing To Slay a Curse taught me was to maintain self-care but keep going. You’re writing now because it’s fun, but I guarantee you there will be days it’s torture. When you find yourself on the floor sobbing because the words won’t come, take a nap, then keep going. When you want to drown yourself in chocolate because the words are finally coming but they’re terrible, eat a couple pieces of dark semi-sweet, then keep going. Yes, keep going even with the terrible words! They don’t need to be perfect the first time (or several times) they just need to be there. (I didn’t find the right words till my very last read through and was a week late to the editor). When you fantasize about smashing the computer because now it’s time to revise and edit those terrible words, beat up a pillow (or, you know, take a walk. Walks are good), then keep going. And when you want to crawl under the blankets and hibernate for a year ’cause publishing is so stressful, run a bath, then KEEP GOING!
This is such great advice!
It has been a pleasure Rae. Her book is well-worth the read, so definitely go check it out, and follow her in the places below.
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