Today our Author Spotlight is shining on Rhiannon Paille! We are very happy to have her with us today. We will be sharing quotes from her soon to be release book JUSTICE (The Ferryman + The Flame #2) on our facebook page today as well so be sure to check them out. Our facebook page can be found here Paranormal Reads FB page. Now onto the interview with Rhiannon!
If you were writing a book about your life, what would the title be?
What's funny is I actually did outline my autobiography and I titled it "My life is an urban fantasy"
What inspired you to write your first book?
I didn't get inspired so much as shanghaied into writing it. I was bombarded by ideas and it wasn't until I wrote those ideas down that they stopped attacking me in my sleep.
Did you learn anything from writing your book and what was it?
I learned that sometimes a story is a story and you have to go with it. You can't make it something everything will like, so you just have to worry about making it something you like.
Surrender is such a unique story, where does all of that originality come from?
Hahaha. I’d love to say it comes from my genius mind, but it really doesn’t. I have a penchant for studying obscure things like Celtic and Norse myths, Buddhist, Hindu, Pagan traditions, witchcraft, metaphysics, parapsychology, ecopsychology, fairies, sacred geometry, sacred places, etc. I actually own a copy of the Bhagavad Gita, which is basically the Hindu bible.
I think that because I’m eccentric, my writing reflects that.
Why did Surrender become a love story?
I think it was always a love story. I’m a romantic at heart, watched Romeo & Juliet about fifty times (the Leonardo DiCaprio version) when I was a teen and I’ve lived my own tragic love story. Surprisingly enough, Surrender was a very natural place for me to start my writing career because I’m so familiar with the love story and the customs of Avristar.
Why did you choose to name places, and people the way you did?
Avristar in its early days was Istalindir (which was a rip off of a Tolkien word). Before that I called the island Avalon (which was a rip off of Marion Zimmer Bradley) At some point I decided that to be original I had to be original. Still, if you read Mists of Avalon, or any Arthurian myth, you will notice a lot of correlations between Avristar and Avalon. One of the reasons I also changed the name was because I didn’t want to have the responsibility of tying my Avalon to the Avalon people are familiar with today. I was afraid critics would tell me my Avalon was inaccurate because it didn’t feature King Arthur or Morgan Le Fay or the Lady of the Lake.
In regards to the people, I went with the names that seemed to suit them the best. For some of them I took words from the Tolkien dictionary (Atara, Istar and Mallorn) but for others, they came to me with their names in hand. (Kaliel, Krishani and Pux.) I didn’t go into a lot of thought, when I needed a name, I chose one that sounded like it would suit the land. (Eurida, Rueann, Luenelle)
What is a Flame? (and where did that idea come from?)
The Violet Flame was something I stumbled across when I was eighteen. It was an accident. Further inspection into its life showed that current myth seriously misunderstands The Violet Flame, painting it as a thing, not as a living, breathing being. It’s traditionally from Eastern tradition, and people in the Middle East and Asia still meditate on the Violet Flame.
This was the starting point for my story centered around The Flames. At some point in my journey down the rabbit hole I found a reference to eight rays, which were related to the Violet Flame, though texts always called the Violet Flame the ultimate spiritual energy. It then listed off things the Violet Flame can do (erase karma, transmute energy) and because it sounded like a genie in a lantern (St. Germaine carried it in a lantern) I thought it would be interesting to craft a story around it.
That’s essentially how Kaliel became Kaliel.
Why a Ferryman? (and where did that come from?)
For the longest time, Krishani was simply Kaliel’s love interest. I knew I wanted it to be a tragic love story based on a girl who is a Flame (therefore hunted because of how rare she is.) and all she wants is to be normal.
Krishani didn’t out himself as the Ferryman until later. Sure, I was writing about his nightmares long before I put it together that he follows death, means he’s a Ferryman. I used to call him a Watcher because he was watching death . . . then it suddenly came together . . . Ferryman, Grim Reaper, Davy Jones, taking souls to the other side, etc. etc.
I don’t explore what Krishani is in Surrender because my focus was more on Kaliel. In Justice however, that’s when I began learning just how crazy being a Ferryman really is.
What do you do when your not writing?
I read minds . . . in the literal I actually read minds and have clients worldwide who ask me to do this kind of sense.
What other stories do you have in the works?
Wow . . . well I have . . . outlines for 17 other books. I’ve written and released three short stories in my Last City on Earth series, and I plan to put out three more stories for that one. Besides that I have a lot of first person urban fantasies outlined. One is about aliens, the other is about a doll. Either way I have enough to keep me busy for many years to come.
If Zombies attacked which one of your characters would you want at your side?
It's a toss up, on the one hand I'd want Krishani there to fight them off, but then I'd also want Kaliel there because she'd kill everyone, including me . . . so I don't know.
Why do you write books in the Paranormal genre?
I actually chose the paranormal / fantasy genre as an escape from my everyday life. It's actually amusing when I put in little things that actually happened to me, because I'd love for readers to figure out what's true v.s. what is made up.
If you were a paranormal being what would you be?
I AM a psychic, so I guess I'd choose that because it's already what I am.
What was the first book you remember reading?
See spot run. I was 6. I saw spot run.
For Fun
Favorite Season - Autumn
Favorite Food - Caesar Salad
Favorite color - Green
Favorite movie - The Holiday
Favorite song - Until We Bleed by Lykke
Blurb for SURRENDER & JUSTICE:
SURRENDER:
How far would you go to save everything you ever loved?
Kaliel was warned about her love for the Ferryman. One day he will marry the land and leave Avristar forever. She doesn't listen, and because of what she is-- a Flame-- one of nine apocalyptic weapons, she sparks a war. In a desperate attempt to save her home and her love, Kaliel tries to awaken Avred, not knowing she may have to make the ultimate sacrifice.
JUSTICE:
How far would you go to destroy yourself?
Krishani always knew he would have to go to the Lands of Men, but he never thought it would be like this. Enemies everywhere, an ancestor he can't respect, elders he can't trust, a curse he can't stop and friends he can't help but hate. Desperate to end the pain, he sets out on a quest to find the other Flames and face the enemy that took everything from him.
SURRENDER
LANTERN & POISON
JUSTICE is out January 22nd, 2013
Author & Book Links
Author, Cookie Burner, Mind Reader, Karaoke Singer, Nerd, Wonder Woman
YA Fantasy:
Surrender (The Ferryman + The Flame #1) on Amazon
Lantern & Poison (The Ferryman + The Flame #1.5) on Amazon
YA Dystopian:
Death Sentence (Last City on Earth #1) on Amazon
East Side Boy (Last City on Earth #2) on Amazon
Carnival (Last City on Earth #3) on Amazon
We would like to thank Rhiannon Paille for being our Spotlight Author today!
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