BLOG TOUR
Hey, everybody! The totally fabulous Rachel Morgan, author of the Creepy Hollow series, is joining me on my humble little blog today. She is celebrating the recent release of the second book in her Creepy Hollow Young Adult novel series, The Faerie Prince. If you haven't picked up a copy of the first book, The Faerie Guardian, you are missing out! Make it so, people (you know who you are)....
Shall we begin?
Rachel: It was the name, Creepy Hollow. It just popped into my head one day, and I kind of came up with the story to match the name. In my head, the name Creepy Hollow conjured up a magical forest inhabited by all kinds of beings and creatures. That morphed into a more specific idea about kick-butt magical characters who protected humans from dangerous magical creatures. Finally, these guardian characters became faeries.
Me: That's awesome! Do you have a special interest in faeries and fae?
Rachel: When I was little I believed that faeries were real. I made special little gardens for them outside, and I wrote letters to them (and I believe my mother/grandmother wrote back on behalf of the faeries!). They’re probably the first magical creature I knew anything about, and I’ve always loved them.
Me: Wow, that's amazing. I'm sure I didn't even believe Santa Claus was real when I was little.... But, back to your novels. What I really like about your books is that they are very distinctively YA. Why do you, as an author, like writing YA?
Rachel: I like the YA years because that’s when characters
Me: Yes, yes it is. I like the main character Violet’s love/hate relationship with her childhood friend Ryn. It really seems like something that could progress into might-actually-like-him territory. Does their relationship have a real life source of inspiration, or is it just a fabulous imagination on your part?
Rachel: No real life inspiration, just my fabulous imagination. Haha! And probably a whole lot of stories I’ve read and movies I’ve watched all mixed into one. I love those kind of relationships where people have known each other for so long that they know almost everything about one another.
Me: I know I love the relationships with lots of friction! Okay, explain to us a little bit about what your faeries are like and why they are tasked with becoming Guardians.
Rachel: My faeries are not tiny things that fly around with wings and wands. They’re human-sized, they have modern magical techniques and devices, and they can kick serious butt. Just like in the human world, faeries can be a lot of things when they grow up. Those that choose to be guardians are the ones that want to protect humans (and other fae) from all the dangerous magical creatures that inhabit the fae realm.
Me: Noble faeries. Who would have thought? Only a clever person like you.... So, how many books do you intend to write for the Creepy Hollow series?
Rachel: With Vi as the main character, there will be three novels. But I’m not opposed to future novels set in the same world with possibly some of the same characters (I may already have vague plans for said future novels ;-) ).
Me: I sure hope so and would love to see many more books.... So, you’re a self-published author, as I hope to be one day, too. Why did you decide to go down this publishing route rather than hunting down an agent?
Rachel: It all started off with my curiosity about digital publishing and wanting to try it out for myself. Along the way, I’ve accumulated other reasons for wanting to remain an independent author: I get to have control of most aspects of the publishing journey; I can get my books to readers far quicker than a publisher could; the royalty percentage is much higher; and I’m sure there are other reasons!
Me: Oh, you bet there are! These are all the same reasons I'm drawn to self-publishing, too. I like retaining ownership over things I've worked hard to obtain, or create, for that matter.
Thanks so much for your time, Rachel, and good luck with the launch of The Faerie Prince!
Purchase The Faerie Prince
Author Bio
Rachel Morgan was born in South Africa and spent a large portion of her childhood living in a fantasy land of her own making. After completing a degree in genetics, she decided science wasn’t for her—after all, they didn’t approve of made-up facts. These days she spends much of her time immersed in fantasy land once more, writing fiction for young adults.
The Creepy Hollow Series
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Rachel's Links
If you can see more stories in the same setting, go for it, Rachel.
ReplyDeleteThanks so much for the great chat, Cathy! :-)
ReplyDelete@Rachel: You're so welcome! Thanks for chatting with me. :)
DeleteI still haven't been able to read Faerie Guardian. I wish I had a thousand more hours a week. Congrats on the release of the Faerie Prince :)
ReplyDeleteGood luck to Rachel, she seems like she has great success with her books, amazing rankings on Amazon :).
ReplyDeleteOoh, more books set in Creepy Hollow. I like the sound of that! :-)
ReplyDeleteGood luck to Rachel! This is a great interview.
ReplyDeletewww.modernworld4.blogspot.com
Great interview! I love the idea of writing to fairies and having them write back.
ReplyDeleteMy goodness, Rachel has been working hard and has a lot of books out. That's awesome! (Meanwhile, my butt is permanently stuck to the couch cushions. lol) I wish Rachel much success with THE FAERIE PRINCE! :-D
ReplyDeleteGreat interview! And I hope there are more Creepy Hollow stories beyond Vi's. It's an awesome world you've created, Rachel!
ReplyDelete