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Welcome to It's Raining Books. Do you ever wish you were someone else? Who?
I wish I could be a healthier version of myself who had more energy and slept better. That’s a pretty boring option, when I could be a superstar or a hero with magical powers, but it’s something I think about almost every day. Just getting rid of my allergies would be wish-worthy – I’d love to be able to taste watermelon or snuggle up to a cute cat. When most people make wishes, they look at the big things but I’d be happy with a lot of little everyday joys. Most of my characters practice a sport as a hobby, there’s a runner, a swimmer, and, in my latest release, a woman who does aerial yoga. That part of my writing is definitely wish fulfillment.
What did you do on your last birthday?
Walked by the ocean and enjoyed a delicious plate of fried shrimp from the best clam shack in New England. I moved to Salem, Mass. in February, and while this Florida girl hasn’t adapted to the winters – and probably never will – I love being close enough to the ocean to walk along the beach. It’s a simple pleasure that always brings a smile to my face. The water is way too cold for swimming, but just watching the waves feels special.
What part of the writing process do you dread?
From about twenty-thousand words to around forty-thousand. That’s the part where there’s almost no momentum in the story. It leaves me half-convinced I should just delete everything and start over from scratch. Stories are like starting a fire for me. The bad part comes when the spark of an idea has almost fizzled out, but the slow smolder of a real story hasn’t caught on yet. I have a lot of unfinished stories that died around twenty-thousand words. Sometimes they just need to rest for a while. I’ve had manuscripts sit at twenty-thousand words for five years before I picked them up and finish in three months.
Do you ever suffer from writer’s block? If so, what do you do about it?
Sometimes! When I turned forty, I challenged myself to write every day for a hundred days. It was a defining moment for how my writing worked. Now, writing streaks keep me motivated. I’ve either written or edited a book every day for the last 239 days. Trust me, I don’t wake up ready to write with a thousand great ideas all of those days! Instead, I’ll write what I see – a pretty sunrise becomes the sun hanging over a crime scene, the knickknacks on my bookshelf turn into magical relics in a museum collection, and the blanket tucked around my toes turns into someone’s bedsheets.
Tell us about your latest release.
It’s a murder mystery and a slow burn romance with middle aged adults as the main characters. They all know their own minds and have complicated lives. Ravenna, Raven to her friends, has three doctorates, two best friends, and one slightly crazy ghost of a mother hanging around. She’s a dragon who can shift into human form but she spends a lot of time on the move to avoid anyone finding out. The second main character, Ian, is a former trauma surgeon who was injured in a shooting. He went through a dark period after he was hurt, but eventually found a new calling helping paranormal citizens. He’s gotten into his trust fund, so he’s rich again, but still estranged from his family. And then there’s Cloak, the relic that’s bonded to Ian’s soul, a very sassy magical creature that can hide as a tattoo or shift itself into any piece of fabric. The three of them have wonderfully thorny interactions as they work together to solve a string of murders. I really enjoyed writing characters who didn’t trust immediately and who brought so much of themselves to the page.
A dragon terrified of being discovered by the government, Ravenna Drake is constantly on the move. When the woman who raised her gets cancer, Ravenna trades her nomadic work restoring black market magical goods for a steady job. But her cautious life ends after her name is found at the scene of a werewolf murder.
Dr. Ian Chen, a sorcerer bonded to a powerful relic, works for the government treating supernatural citizens. He insists on investigating when his patient’s body is discovered completely drained of blood. His search leads him to the beautiful but frustrating Ravenna Drake, who refuses to stay away from the case or follow his instructions.
As more bloodless bodies surface, threats from secret societies and corrupt politicians force the dragon and the sorcerer to work together. If Ravenna and Ian can’t catch the killer, the people they love the most may be the next to die.
Read an Excerpt
He wanted to pry more of the story out of her but decided against it. As she followed him down the block, they blended into the small crowd on the street. Ian watched the people around them for a second. Normal people, with no idea my world even exists.
She broke the silence, “You know this neighborhood?”
“There was a gang that recruited a witch. He wasn’t that powerful but he knew how to use sacrifices to call a demon. It took me a while to figure it out.” Ian shivered with the memory of living fire, a monster in the shape of flame. He could work with dead bodies but remembering the smell of burned corpses would always be a problem.
“I thought you didn’t like the word witch.”
He glanced at her expression of wide-eyed innocence. It had to be fake. “This guy, he wasn’t doing much. Calling him a sorcerer would be a bit of an insult to the real ones.”
“Not that you know any real ones.” She smiled up at him. Why were they playing this game? She probably wasn’t the murderer, if she was, she knew what he was. Why not just come clean?
Cloak answered the question as if he’d been asked, “Then tell her about the BPA.”
“Right, that was why.” Because once she knew who she was helping, she’d probably stop. The BPA wasn’t popular with all the people they protected, and even the non-paranormal citizens seemed to think his agency was either evil or a scam. He’d say enough to get her help, but leave things vague enough to keep her, and the investigation, safe.
About the Author:
Website: http://www.rachelgraves.com
Amazon Author Page: https://www.amazon.com/Rachel-Graves/e/B011H977D0
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/RachelGraves
Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/AuthorRachelGraves/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/rachel.graves.370
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/author_rachel_graves/
Amazon buy link: https://www.amazon.com/Searching-Dragons-New-York-Book-ebook/dp/B0BGFGNF7V/ref=sr_1_1
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Thank you for showcasing my new book!
ReplyDeleteThanks for hosting!
ReplyDeleteWhat a gorgeous cover! And a new author for me.
ReplyDeleteThank you! I work with an amazing artist who stages her own photo shoots. Her work is so beautiful, I use her for all my covers.
DeleteYou're welcome! The second book is in edits now. Oddly enough, I know what'll happen in book four, but the characters are being coy about how book three will go.
ReplyDeleteGreat cover, this sounds pretty interesting.
ReplyDeleteThanks for reading!
DeleteI enjoyed reading the interview, Rachel, great excerpt as well and Searching sounds like a my kind of book!
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing it with me and have an awesome day!