I’ve had the privilege of becoming acquainted with this lovely author through Instagram and wanted to celebrate her recent book collection release with an exclusive interview. She kindly answered all my questions and I look forward to reading her books.
1. What inspired you to write these stories?
Silence and Escape Room were both originally written as Christmas presents for certain people, so I asked about favorite genres (and prompts, with Silence) and built from there. Carnival Hearts was originally an experiment to see how much I could communicate without dialogue (my writing tends to be really dialogue-heavy), and it was also inspired by the song of the same name by Kayla Diamond. Caithan was built off of assigned writing prompts for a short story swap in one of my writing groups, and I’d decided ahead of time that I wanted it to take place in my fantasy world Deseran, so I worked those building blocks together.
2. If you could pick one character to meet in real life, who would it be?
From the collection? Hm… Probably Rahim from Caithan. He seems like he’d be really fun to hang out with. We both like great views and exploring new places.
3. How do you incorporate your faith into your fiction?
Usually, my faith colors the themes I choose and I just naturally write from a Christian perspective. Sometimes, though, I have overtly Christian characters (or the fictional equivalent) if I think it better suits the story. I tend to prefer to go the subtler route so my books can be enjoyed by a wider audience and, if I have a deeper theme, make people think regardless of their existing beliefs; but I do see the value in overtly Christian stories as well and I try not to shy away from those, either, if those are the stories that need to be told.
4. What’s the best writing advice you’ve received?
I don’t remember if this was direct advice or just something I read, but when I finally decided to take the advice of focusing on one project it totally revolutionized my writing process. I don’t follow that advice exactly–at the very least I tend to have projects in different stages of the writing process going at the same time–but it’s helped me get a lot more done and focus my attention better.
5. What are your favorite books and why?
Ooooh. Every reader’s dreaded question, lol. 100 Days of Sunlight by Abbie Emmons is definitely up there; it’s beautifully written, the characters are wonderful, it’s so real and heartfelt and hopeful… it’s just a really gorgeous book, and I highly recommend it. Anything by Hannah Heath makes it onto my favorite books list; her worldbuilding and characters are both always so vivid and you can just get lost in her stories. Oh! And The Wingfeather Saga by Andrew Peterson is phenomenal; I’ve never read a more emotionally engaging, genuine, believably faith-filled series. The Wingfeather Saga is technically middle grade, but it’s so deep and fantastically written, and I definitely recommend it to readers of any age.
I definitely need to check these books out! Speaking of books, here’s more information about her upcoming book release:
Blurb:
Silence:
Fiona Wildman was born with powers she doesn’t understand. Powers a scientific mega-corporation will stop at nothing to exploit.
Carnival Hearts:
Ethan is amazed when his withdrawn friend Jasmine invites him to the abandoned amusement park for fun, but instead of the slightly-wacky tour he expects, he finds the opportunity to see a different side of Jas.
Escape Room:
Four teens wake in a dark room. Faced with puzzles they must solve to escape, they uncover a sinister secret.
Caithan:
Caithan is tired of her mother’s strict traditionalism, but when she runs away from her own coming-of-age party, she runs into someone who teaches her to appreciate what she’s been given.
Buy the Collection: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B083H33Y5C
Follow the Author
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/RysaArcher
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/rysaarcher/
