RKB Author Interview with Katrina Thornley

Katrina Thornley resides in rural Rhode Island on a family farm that has been in her family for generations. It is situated in the Arcadia Management Area, a location that has greatly influenced her writing. She has had short stories and poems published in numerous anthologies over the years and is currently publishing the Arcadians Collection of Poetry. She graduated from the University of Rhode Island in 2016 with a BA in English. In her free time she enjoys hiking, swimming, and reading thriller novels.

You can follow Katrina through her social channels:

Amazon | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Goodreads  | Website

Tell me about yourself. What inspired you to write?

I can’t pinpoint what exactly it was that inspired me to write. I think it was a combination of quite a few things. Growing up, my parents and grandfather got me hooked on reading. I loved literature and using the writing of others to create images within my mind. And then I started creating my own stories to use as distractions from life. I suppose that has continued into adulthood.

Describe your desk / writing space.

I tend to enjoy writing outside more than sitting at a desk because I’m stuck inside for my day job all day. I miss the sunshine! I have a small table beside a fire pit under a massive Pine Tree that is growing out of a large rock in our front yard and my chair has a little cup holder and shelf attached to it. It’s the perfect spot to sit in silence. I also go to a local park and sit on a rock that just out into the water to create poetry.

Do you have a writing routine, or do you write when inspired?

I’ve been working on cementing a writing routine, I feel like I have steal hours here and there. I definitely get more writing done between the hours of 5 and 7pm and throughout the day on Saturday. I prefer working in silence.

How do you come up with the title to your books?

My poetry collections are all inspired by nature and one of my favorite places to go is the Arcadia Management Area. It’s a beautiful place to hike and there’s so much history hidden within the management area. It’s such a wonderful area that truly gets the creative juices flowing. As “Arcadia” means “harmony with nature” I thought “Arcadians” would be a wonderful term for those of us that find peace within the woods, perhaps with a book of poetry.
My novel “Kings of Millburrow” gained its title from the family that seems to run the small town. Their last name just happens to be “King” and the plot circles around the patriarchs seedy past even though he is not the main character. He put things in motion that could not be stopped.

What was the hardest scene for you to write? What types of scenes are your favorite to write?

At the end of Kings of Millburrow I had to kill off one of my favorite characters. I debated whether or not it was the right move or not, but after receiving feedback from readers I think I made the right choice.

I honestly love writing the scenery for scenes, any scene. I love putting myself into the store and picking out details from the world my mind is creating. Its therapeutic.

What inspired your book/series?

Kings of Millburrow was inspired by a creative writing class at the University of Rhode Island. We had to draw a map of a fictitious world or town and create a story that went along with it. I created Milville which eventually turned into Millburrow. The map led to the creation of a back story of the feud between the Kings and Crofts family and then I heard a Carrie Underwood song that fit perfectly into the plot between Albert King and Randall Croft.

What are you working on next?

I am currently working on a murder mystery set in a small town. I can’t give away too much, but I can promise there is a bit of a plot twist at the end and relationships are torn apart.

What authors or books have influenced you to start writing?

I would have to say J.K. Rowling and her work played a part in influencing me to start writing. Her ability to create worlds and relatable characters is amazing. I have since been inspired by books like Bittersweet (Miranda Beverly-Whittemore) and A Good Idea (Cristina Moracho).

If you had to compare your writing to another author which one would that be?

I would say my writing is similar to Cristina Moracho and Lee Smith.

Is there genre you’d like to write but never have?

I have dabbled in a little bit of everything, I have a collection of short stories available that has stories that span through different genres (26 Brentwood Avenue & Other Tales) including gothic thriller and romance. However, I would love to be able to devote more time to a fantasy series I’ve been thinking about for about five years.

Do you enjoy writing short stories or long form i.e., manuscripts? And why?

I enjoy writing both, if I am crunched for time and feel that I need to get a story out I will write a short story. I do enjoy writing novels more though as I can give the characters their full breadth and show readers different sides of them. Kings of Millburrow started out as a 5-page short story about James and Lilly (who was originally named Tristan) and then became this full-length novel to include Lilly’s sister and James’s best friend.

What advice would you give to unpublished writers?

Keep writing and keep reaching out to publishers. The worst anyone will say is “no thank you” and you’re going to hear that quite often. If you choose to self publish, spend time editing yourself before sending it off to an editor. (And reach out to your local mom and pop shops to see if they will carry your book or if you can host an event within their facility!).

Do you have a new book coming out? If so, what’s the title and when?

 I am currently working on 2 projects actually! One of the projects is the 3rd installment in the Arcadians poetry series and this should be available in November of 2023. This collection will again include poetry inspired by rural Rhode Island and the beautiful nature we have to offer, but it will also hold an array of photographs taken during my escapades through the wilderness. I am also working on a murder mystery set in a small town. There isn’t yet a release date for this particular novel, but I am looking for BETA readers if anyone is interested!

RKB’s author interview with D. R. Perry

D.R. Perry writes primarily in Revealed World. These are open UF YA Academy books with diverse characters and cute magical critters. She lives with her spouse, child, and dog in Rhode Island.

This is one geeky author who loves writing for the sense of adventure and wonder. In her books, you’ll find real characters, fantastic worlds, and a handful each of humor and hope.

D.R. hopes you have as much fun reading her books as she did writing them.

Her next book is the fourth installment of Messing Psychic Academy, titled Twisted Fate, releasing on March 15th.

You can follow D. R. through her social channels:

Amazon | Facebook | Instagram | Pinterest | Goodreads | Bookbub | Website

Tell me about yourself. What inspired you to write?

I was inspired by the idea of magical schools. So many of the books I’ve read in this subgenre are secret, dystopian, or mean-spirited in some way. This led me to create Revealed World, a setting where magic coexists with the mundane. Since everyone’s aware, schools for magi, psychics, shifter, faeries, and other supernatural beings to learn control of their powers are required.

With that world built, I set out to write hopeful books where kindness matters, featuring protagonists who are somewhat (sometimes extremely) different from the usual main character. Each series has an ensemble cast, because Power of Friendship and Found Family are some of my favorite themes.

Describe your desk / writing space.

Variable. I face a number of physical challenges, so I can only sit at a desk about half the time. The other half, I need to recline, lie down, or be in the dark. So, my writing space could be at a desk but also on the sofa with a tablet on a lap desk, or murmuring drafts into a microphone with an ice pack on my head to be transcribed later.

Do you have a writing routine, or do you write when inspired?

Neither. I write when I am able. My good days don’t run on a schedule, so writing time is catch as catch can. Inspiration is also unreliable, rarely coinciding with high function days. I take notes though, so I always know what book I am working on next.

How do you come up with the title to your books?

So many ways. Puns, song titles, idioms, famous quotes are all fair game. Sometimes, I stitch two or more of those together to make a title. Series names are simpler because they’re named after the magical academy.

What was the hardest scene for you to write? Which scene was your favorite to write?

One of the hardest scenes for me to write was in Messing Academy: Being Around. My main character walks in on something he’s personally powerless to stop. Without that scene, I never could have gotten to one of my favorites, the big confrontation at the end of the next book, Everybody Hurts. It’s a huge payoff and totally worth all the effort.

What inspired your book/series?

Messing Academy was inspired by my own personal experience looking for disabled protagonists in speculative genres. Often, the character’s condition is negated or cured with magic or technology. When it wasn’t, they got relegated to support roles, or their story focused on the disability instead of the conflict or adventure.

Ben’s disability comes from an accident, not a chronic illness like mine, but magic won’t fix his legs. He’s still every bit as heroic as other YA protagonists, though. I thought it was important to write a story from that perspective, to create what I didn’t find in print.

What are you working on next?

I am finishing the last bit of Messing Academy, which is the final set of books set in Salem, MA. After that, the next series focuses on dragon shifters. They attend Weir Academy, a high school spanning the border between the USA and Canada at Niagara Falls.

What authors or books have influenced your writing?

One of my greatest influences is Jane Yolen. She is so prolific and writes beautiful works in multiple genres for several age groups. Truly an inspiration.

If you could live anywhere, in this world or fantasy, where would you live?

I’m not sure I could leave this world; there’s so much I’d miss. However, if I had the chance to spend a few hours in Ben’s garden on the Sidhe Queen’s side of the Under, I’d take it in a heartbeat.

What is your favorite meal?

That’s a much trickier question than I’d expected. Let’s just say, it’s subject to change.

Coffee or tea? Wine or beer?

Coffee. Alcohol isn’t a good idea with the medications I’m on, but if there’s a celebratory toast, wine is the way.

Describe yourself in three words.

Tenacious. Encouraging. Tired.

Welcome J. W. Elliot

James is a twenty-nine-year-old stuck in an older man’s body. He loves to paddle his canoe, shoot his handmade longbows in the woods, make knives, study martial arts, and generally enjoys challenging himself. When not teaching or writing about the real past, he is imagining worlds and histories that might have been, should have been, or may yet be.

James has two homes (though only one house)–the mountains of Idaho and the forests of New England–where he canoes, hikes, camps, rock climbs, and shoots the longbows he makes himself. He lives in Massachusetts with his wife.

His next book: Heirs of Anarwyn, Book III: Shattered comes out in a few months.

You can follow J. W. Elliot through his social channels:

Amazon | Facebook | Instagram | Goodreads | Bookbub | Website

Tell me about yourself. What inspired you to write?

I’m a professional historian of Latin American and World History with five academic books published. I also study martial arts, and I love the outdoors and outdoor activities including canoeing, archery, hiking, rockhounding, and rock climbing. I bring all of my hobbies and professional expertise into my fiction writing.

Some of my earliest memories are of my mother reading to me. We had a subscription to National Geographic, which I devoured, and the Reader’s Digest, as well as a bookshelf filled with encyclopedias. So I have always loved stories and knowledge. But I think the real catalyst in me becoming a writer occurred when I was ten years old, and my family moved from Idaho to Oklahoma. It was a very lonely time for me, and I found solace and friendship in the characters I met in the books and comics I read. That was where I discovered J.R.R Tolkien, Ursula K. LeGuin, and Katherine Kurtz. That experience inspired me to take a creative writing course in high school, and I have been writing fiction ever since.

I dabbled in fiction writing for many years while I went to graduate school and started building my academic career. I often worked on my stories to wind down and relax at the end of the day. Eventually, I started reading them to my kids at bedtime. Their enthusiasm kept me writing—I knew I had to have something new for them the next night. My new series, Heirs of Anarwyn, was created in that give-and-take as I read and my kids critiqued.

Describe your desk / writing space.

I tend to write upstairs in my office surrounded by books with music playing in the background. But I can and do write anywhere. I’ve written in car repair shops, in the car while my wife is driving, on the airplane, restaurants, at church, and under the trees while camping. Writing time is so precious, I take what I can get.

Do you have a writing routine, or do you write when inspired?

I always have at least three books in process at any given time—one I’m editing, one I’m writing, and one I’m planning. I write every day, and I prefer to write in the morning when I can. But since I have a real-world job, I usually have to write in the afternoon or evenings.

My philosophy is that inspiration is not found—it’s created. By that, I mean there is no mystical muse upon which we have to wait for inspiration. I create work habits and processes that generate ideas and inspiration consistently. That’s what I do, and so far it is working pretty well.

How do you come up with the title for your books?

A title needs to catch the reader’s eye as much as the cover does, so I spend a lot of time trying different ideas for titles. I run them by my beta readers and try to find titles that are intriguing while also giving a sense of what the story is about.

What was the hardest scene for you to write? Which scene was your favorite to write?

I guess romance scenes are a bigger challenge for me. My daughters constantly tell me I get things wrong, and I have to rewrite them. My favorite scenes are fight and battle scenes. As a martial artist and a historian who teaches a course entitled The Global History of War, I feel pretty comfortable writing those scenes.

What inspired your book/series?

The Archer of the Heathland series came about because I wanted to write a series in which archery was represented in an accurate way. I also wanted to explore the role of family and loss in the shaping of human identity.

The Ark Project arose from the question of what it means to be human in a world where science and technology have superseded biological evolution. It was challenging because, as a historian, I tend to live in the past. I had to do a lot of research to make sure I got the technology and science correct. Even though I made up a bunch of advanced technologies, I think the future I created for The Ark Project is possible. It could actually happen.

The Worlds of Light trilogy came about because I wanted to see if I could create a magic system that drew on the real history of worshipping light with a modern scientific understanding of light. I also wanted to explore the question of how power can corrupt and what choices have to be made to ensure that it doesn’t.

The Heirs of Anarwyn series came to me one day as I was driving through the Idaho countryside. I wondered what would happen if magic wasn’t just an inert power. What if it had both consciousness and will and actively intervened in human lives to pursue its own agenda. I wanted to explore the nature of evil and how it takes root in the human psyche. I started writing it when I was sixteen, and I still haven’t finished.

Walls of Glass struggles to understand nature of racism and what each of must do to confront it. I drew on my own life experiences and my studies of history for inspiration.

The Miserable Life of Bernie LeBaron examines loss, mental illness, and broken families in a heartwarming story of a young man who overcomes his challenges by developing intergenerational friendships. I drew much of my inspiration for the story from own life.

Somewhere in the Mist examines the challenge of facing tragedy and loss in the era of the Great Depression. I wanted to write a story that explored how the past remains with us despite our efforts to hide from it. I found the central idea for this story in the Marion library in a little room dedicated to a ship called the Mary Celeste, whose occupants disappeared at sea without a trace.

What are you working on next?

After I finish the Heirs of Anarwyn series, I plan on returning to Archer of the Heathland world for a spin-off series with two of my favorite characters.

What authors or books have influenced your writing?

I love all great stories. I really don’t care what the genre is. But my “go-to” fantasy books—the ones I return to over and over again—are, of course, J.R.R. Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings and Ursula K. LeGuin’s Earth Sea Trilogy. I think these stories have a timeless quality to them that spoke to me as a child and still speaks to me as a more jaded adult. I devoured the Terry Brooks Shannara series. Somehow, I missed reading Frank Herbert’s Dune while growing up, but I just read the first book and loved it. So now, I’m getting into that entire series. I really enjoy Brandon Sanderson—especially the Mistborn trilogy and The Reckoners series. I find the Harry Potter series enjoyable, and I’m about halfway through Robert Jordan’s The Wheel of Time.

If you could live anywhere, in this world or fantasy, where would you live?

I think I would love to live in Lórien amid the golden Mallorn trees beside the River Ânduin. In the real world I would like to live in the White Mountains near the Franconia Gap.

What is your favorite meal?

Probably ratatouille. My wife makes a killer batch.

Coffee or tea? Wine or beer?

None of the above. I prefer water.

Describe yourself in three words.

Driven. Caring. Fun-Loving.