How do you create characters for a novel?
CCR: I’m inspired mostly by people around me, the stories I see that I think should be told, people in my life who bring me joy. My sister, for example largely inspires the personality and kind of sibling relationship two of my characters have. A teacher once told me “write what you know” so I do.
What do you enjoy/hate about the writing process?
CCR: I enjoy venting about how people behave and how the world works. Granted I write fantasy, but so far, I basically have a three-book long rant about healthy relationships and taking on a fucked-up world. Feel free to censor me. I hate the anxiety of letting people in. My books come right out of my heart and so I feel very exposed—I’m letting people into my head. That’s very scary to me. I’ve always been a socially anxious person…which is why I spent more time with fictional people than real people since high school.
If you had the opportunity to live anywhere in the world for a year while writing a book that took place in that same setting, where would you choose?
CCR: I particularly enjoy setting my books in places where I have been for that very reason (well, when my books aren’t in an entirely other realm.) If I get to go anywhere for a year, I’m leaving the country for sure! Choosing one place is difficult since I like to diversify my settings so much, my future books will be going to many places. But I’d love to spend a year in Europe or the UK.
Picture this: You feel uninspired and you’ve sat at the computer for an hour without conquering any words. How do you get your creativity flowing?
CCR: When I get stuck somewhere, I let myself work on other scenes. I don’t care about writing a book in order, I care about letting the scenes come naturally, forcing my way through a block has never produced anything good. I listen to playlists inspired by the books when I’m away from the computer and that usually has me itching to write SOMETHING by the time I get back from the gym or… I guess that’s the only place I go.
How do you think being a writer has helped you as a person?
CCR: Being a writer really developed my ability to introspect and self-analyze. To get into a character’s psyche you have to be able to dig through your own, and then recognize that everyone around you has just as complex and messy a psyche as you. I think it has made me a far more empathetic person, maybe too empathetic.
What is your favorite word, and why?
CCR: I really love the word OASIS. I love the sound of it—no sharp edges. And its meaning feels like where we go when we find an amazing book, salvation from a world that is parched and lacking in sustenance.
If you had to give up either snacks and drinks during writing sessions, or music, which would you find more difficult to say goodbye to?
CCR: I don’t eat while I write, I forget to, and have a hard-enough time remembering to just drink some damn water so I don’t dehydrate while my brain is locked into a story. It would be hard to give up music (without lyrics while writing) since at the moment I don’t live alone and I often need to drown out the sound of tv shows from elsewhere in the house.
Do you feel like it’s most important to have a) epic settings b) strong characters or c) mind-blowing plot twists?
CCR: Strong characters: I write to explore relationships the most. For me characters’ internal struggles and their relationships to each other is what keeps me writing and reading.
What is your motivation to write?
CCR: To tell stories that make people feel less alone, less invisible.
What is your favorite genre to read, and why?
CCR: My favorite genre fluctuates but I will always come back to a good fantasy.
What are two of your favorite book covers of all time?
CCR: This is a tough one…the illustrated covers of the Abhorsen Trilogy (and Across the Wall, a book of related short stories) by Garth Nix. Now there are more books in the series but they don’t have those same covers and it makes me very sad that the new books don’t match! One of my cats was named after a character in these books: Mogget.
Do you have any writing buddies?
CCR: I do have a writing buddy. We met in the Creative Writing program in college. We were the only two ‘genre writers’ in our advanced Creative Writing class and we had this insufferable professor who discounted genre fiction as having any value. My friend and I definitely bonded in that class and found we work well together on critique and brain-storming for our required workshop writing. She even workshopped my first book for me and helped me improve it leaps and bounds before I published it.
I'd love to (write a name):
a) have lunch or coffee with... Anna Akana (she’s a YouTuber who oozes creativity, mental health positivity, and cats)
b) have a drink with... Medusa
c) write a novel/short story with... Mary Shelley
d) to talk with... my Papa (my mom’s dad) the only grandparent I never got to meet.
Favorite song of all time... Somewhere Over the Rainbow
Favorite book of all time... The Mists of Avalon by Marion Zimmer Bradley
Always in my bag... composition book
What I miss from my childhood... my cat Sweetheart
Something you didn't know about me... I have crooked pinkies
Something I can't live without... the written word
Things that inspire me... Music and the people I meet
Where I want to go one day... Egypt
Character I wish I could be... Stitch
―✧―
Author of the Hidden Magic Series. Majored in English Literature and Creative Writing at the University of Arizona.
More informations: official page, Facebook Page, Twitter, Instagram, Goodreads.
More informations: official page, Facebook Page, Twitter, Instagram, Goodreads.
Hidden Magic: The Portal Opens
Lost Prophecy: Realm of Secrets
Dragon King : Ruler of the Realm
When Raiden Aldor Cael accidentally runs through a portal and causes his world to crash with Nicole Jameson’s, her life as a high school senior and his life of solitude intertwine to become a whirlwind of change. As they embark on a journey to uncover the hidden magic that brought them together—a great power inside Nicole—they soon discover that her new abilities come with a realm full of enemies.
After Nicole leaves behind everything she has ever known, she must master her volatile powers before her enemies can find her. As she struggles to reconcile her independence with a growing attraction to Raiden, he is haunted by visions of Nicole’s demise and a future of his own with someone else. When nightmares and mistakes from Raiden’s past come looking for him, he risks everything while leading Nicole into the very fate he hopes to change. Together they must fight for their lives and the right to decide their own destinies—or else let their enemies decide for them.
In this gripping tale, two strangers from different worlds must determine how to utilize the dangerous power within one girl to conquer the adversaries that go with it, as their futures precariously hang in the balance.
After Nicole leaves behind everything she has ever known, she must master her volatile powers before her enemies can find her. As she struggles to reconcile her independence with a growing attraction to Raiden, he is haunted by visions of Nicole’s demise and a future of his own with someone else. When nightmares and mistakes from Raiden’s past come looking for him, he risks everything while leading Nicole into the very fate he hopes to change. Together they must fight for their lives and the right to decide their own destinies—or else let their enemies decide for them.
In this gripping tale, two strangers from different worlds must determine how to utilize the dangerous power within one girl to conquer the adversaries that go with it, as their futures precariously hang in the balance.
Lost Prophecy: Realm of Secrets
It’s been a week since Raiden Cael ran through a portal and straight into Nicole Jameson’s life. Now she lives on the run, and every hour that passes means a portal might open that allows her enemies to track her down. As her foes race to find her, Nicole and Raiden search for a way to stop them.
While Raiden makes a difficult choice to protect Nicole, she learns just how far she is willing to go to keep her loved ones safe. In Raiden’s absence, Gordan grows closer to Nicole and discovers that his debt to her is not what he expected. As he watches Nicole struggle with how her enemies are changing her, Gordan sets aside his newfound happiness to provide her with the chance to find her own. But when Raiden uncovers the truth of the fera and the plans her enemies have for her, Nicole realizes she will have to embrace the monstrous identity she has been trying to escape in order to take her life back from her enemies.
Lost Prophecy: Realm of Secrets continues the tale of a young woman trapped between two worlds as she struggles with her terrible powers and her seemingly dark destiny.
While Raiden makes a difficult choice to protect Nicole, she learns just how far she is willing to go to keep her loved ones safe. In Raiden’s absence, Gordan grows closer to Nicole and discovers that his debt to her is not what he expected. As he watches Nicole struggle with how her enemies are changing her, Gordan sets aside his newfound happiness to provide her with the chance to find her own. But when Raiden uncovers the truth of the fera and the plans her enemies have for her, Nicole realizes she will have to embrace the monstrous identity she has been trying to escape in order to take her life back from her enemies.
Lost Prophecy: Realm of Secrets continues the tale of a young woman trapped between two worlds as she struggles with her terrible powers and her seemingly dark destiny.
Dragon King : Ruler of the Realm
The Council is dead. The Courts have fallen. But the fight is far from over. With the keys to the realm around their necks, Nicole and Raiden hardly have the chance to breathe before the role of Kings sweeps them into the heart of Veil. Raiden just wants to keep Nicole safe, and the fated Palace of the Keys seems the only place in either realm where Venarius can’t touch them. Nicole knows she can’t hide from Venarius forever; but she can’t shake the horrors of the Courts, or the deepening fear that the people she loves will be endangered because of her choices.
To lure out their enemy, Nicole and Raiden travel across Veil under the pretense of their kingship. As the realm teeters on the brink of instability, Nicole and Raiden hope to find allies in the leaders of Veil’s old kingdoms, but members of Dawn are everywhere. While Venarius observes Nicole and tests the protections around her—Nicole must find a way to live her life despite being on the royal stage on which she’d rather not be standing.
To lure out their enemy, Nicole and Raiden travel across Veil under the pretense of their kingship. As the realm teeters on the brink of instability, Nicole and Raiden hope to find allies in the leaders of Veil’s old kingdoms, but members of Dawn are everywhere. While Venarius observes Nicole and tests the protections around her—Nicole must find a way to live her life despite being on the royal stage on which she’d rather not be standing.
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