Author: R. Rodriguez
R. Rodriguez is the author of Grace - An Eternal Beloved Novel (check out my review here) and she agreed to doing an author interview and a giveaway of an a-copy of her novel here on My Life...
During the preparation for this interview I mentioned that this Special Guest post will go online on July the 20th and she answered that this is her birthday.
Happy Birthday R. Rodriguez! I hope you have a fabulous day!
What
inspired you to write your novel “Grace”? How did you get the idea?
After high school and
during the college years, women are faced with different dilemmas that can
affect the rest of their lives for better or worse. My concern for this
audience sparked my ideas. I didn’t want the books to be so serious, so I
combined my message with my love of paranormal romances, to create a book with
a message in a paranormal romance setting. Grace is about a young woman who has
always wanted to commit suicide. She almost achieves it, but is saved
unexpectedly. Death has already noticed her, though and doesn’t let go. The
book details her efforts at self development, her setbacks because of bad
decisions, and the power, only she has, to change her destiny. The main themes
are suicide and abuse. This series is not a saga or a trilogy.
How
many parts of the Eternal Beloved series are planned?
The Eternal Beloved
Series is a series that will contain four books in total. Every book in this
series has a female protagonist that tackles a central theme in a paranormal
setting.
How
does your typical writing day look like?
I am career woman, as
well as a writer so I schedule in two hours to write every day. Some people
have asked me if I have a writing ritual. I don’t. I do have some preferences,
though. I like writing by hand first, on a legal pad and then onto my laptop. I
also listen to my iPod during the whole creative process. I can write various
chapters by listening to just one song over and over again. There are certain
songs that inspire me during the creation of a certain part of the story.
Do
you have a favorite authors or book?
I am an avid reader so I
have many favorite books. I would say that I have favorite books for every one
of my life stages so far. As a kid, it was the Ramona Quimby Series, anything
by Judy Blume, and V.C Andrews. As a
teenager, my favorite books were The Catcher in the Rye and The Outsiders. As an adult, I enjoy
many genres. My favorite books include Memoirs of a Geisha, Anna Karenina, The
House of Spirits, The Twilight Series, and especially Paulo Coelho’s books.
Can
you tell us about the next book in the Eternal Beloved series “Chastity”?
Chastity is the second
book in the series. It should be out by the end of July. In Chastity, the
themes of promiscuity, neglect, and the pain caused by tragic death are
explored.
Do
you have any tips for new authors? How do you motivate yourself? What do you
have to do to self-publish?
This is a tough business.
While breaking into traditional publishing is brutal, being a self published
author is even harder. The best advice I can give an aspiring author is to be
persistent. Giving up is not an option in this business. Fortunately, with the
appearance of eReaders we have more options to become published. Writing is my passion so that’s my
motivation. It doesn’t feel like work because I extremely enjoy it. To self
publish, you have to not only write a book, but take care of all the behind the
scenes aspects of publishing that a publishing house would normally take care
of. Some of these tasks are editing, formatting, marketing, and distributing your
book.
Is
there something else you want to tell my readers?
I hope to touch as many
lives with my writing as I can. My target audience with my first series is
young women. I hope to build a network of young women in search of empowerment.
My books are available
at Smashwords.com, Amazon, and Lulu.com.
You can follow me on Facebook.
Giveaway
I will give away one e-copy of R. Rodriguez's first novel
Grace
- to enter please follow the instructions in the rafflecopter form
- you must be at least 13 years old or have your parents permission to enter
- this giveaway is open internationally.
- the winner will be announced on the blog after the giveaway ends.
- to protect your privacy please do not leave your e-mail adress in the comment section.
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