Book 1: WHERE RAINBOWS HIDE is an environmentally conscious SciFi adventure with a 19 year old heroine at the centre of the plot.
Book 2: WHEN RAINBOWS CRY is set some 30 years later and features a 14 year old heroine battling the stresses of teenhood along with her concerns for her failing world.
So let's get all comfortable and ask Rae some questions.
When and why did you start writing?
I started writing as a child around age 11/12 and was inspired by my maternal grandfather who wrote short stories for a South African newspaper. I however started with poetry - the typical teenage angsty stuff, before graduating on to short stories. Then I couldn't seem to stop and have been writing ever since.
What 3 things (not including paper, computer, pens) would you like to facilitate a good days writing?
I currently have everything I need to ensure I have a good day's writing. But if there was one thing which would probably improve my experience then it would be a back support chair from The Wave Seat Company. It's on my wish list.
Do you write to a schedule, eg every day or three times a week, set times, etc or do you write as and when the mood strikes?
I write 2 days a week as I have a teaching job at a local charity on the other 3 days. It means I have to get a lot in on those designated writing days so they're sacred to me.
Who is your favourite fictional character (that you've written) and why? (no spoilers please! though teasers are fine)
My absolute favourite character I've written is called Sprax. to know him is to love him. Here's an extract about him because it's easier to understand his nature through this and I've also attached a drawing of him my friend Sarah did for me.
Sprax nudged his way from beneath the leather tooled cover till his head and shoulders were free. He used the back of his hands to wipe the sleep from his eyes before adjusting the points of his ears. Lanna should know better than to think she could keep him confined like that. Huffing and puffing he pushed the rest of himself out, unfolding his spindly legs till they touched down on the surface of the desk. Surveying the barely explored territory before him, he hunched down closer to the surface and sniffed at the honey aroma of the wood polish. He stuck out his long tongue and tasted it.
“Yeuch! Nose lied.” His face squidged up in disgust as his tree frog fingers tried to scrape the offending taste from his tongue. Unhinging from his crouch he shrugged a purple toned shoulder and stepped forward to investigate. His temple was jabbed by the edge of the hefty dictionary piled on top of art history texts.
“Foolish Sprax - slowing down - rushing less - time is time is time.”
His finger pads soothed the hurt as he side stepped jauntily and continued on his trail around the desk and its accoutrements till he reached the precipice. All the while he talked in a steady babble of conversation to no-one but himself.
And always, pulling at him, was The Essence of Faetaera. But he ignored it, shrugged it off. This was home now. Because the Essence of Here was oh so fascinating. And Lanna was here.He's from a book called Sharp Dark Things I've been working on for a while now which I'm hoping to get back to next year once I've completed all my publishing commitments for this year.
Is writing your main source of income, I read lots of articles saying writers make no money, and my readers asked this question a lot! Can you survive on book writing alone? if not, what else do you do?
Sadly I can't survive on writing alone. I've only just started out in the self-publishing business. I'm learning the trade and sometimes it's pretty full on. To pay the bills I teach after school clubs for a creative writing company called Inkhead and also do private tutoring in the evenings on top of my 3 day stint at the charity.
What are your favourite biscuits?
Ginger butter biscuits from Lidl - there are chunks of ginger in the dough. So yummy with a cuppa.
Where do you do most of your writing?
My desk in the living room but a lot also goes on in my head when I'm shopping or driving the car. I usually make a note of ideas on my phone if this happens.
What book are you reading at the moment?
Am reading 3 books simultaneously: Jingo by Terry Pratchett, Hag-seed by Margaret Atwood & Blue Gold by David Barker.
Is truth really stranger than fiction?
In my personal experience it generally is. Most of my stories spring from experiences in life which I then simply translate into my writing.
If you could genetically cross an animal with a fruit or vegetable what would you choose and why?
Can't think of a fruit/veg animal cross but would rather like a breed of pig which regularly sheds its skin and as it does this it automatically turns into crackling. I'd go for that. (I'll allow it - sounds tasty)
If reading and writing were banned on pain of death, what would you do instead?
If it doesn't exist already, set up an underground network to fight this dastardly evil, maintain a secret library and battle to the death to free humanity from this disastrous situation. (many other authors has said the same thing, I think it would be an interesting underground...)
If you could bring a dead person back from the dead for one day to have tea and a natter with them, who would you choose and why?
My mother - I miss her wisdom and spade is a spade attitude to life.
Thank you so much for sharing Rae, good luck with the new book (launch date - Dec 2nd 2017)
Follow Rae's blog here and check out her author page on Amazon here. Rae is on twitter and Facebook
You can even claim a FREE e-Book (Six Degrees) here.
This post is part of a blog tour, pop over and read more at Lisa M White's blog, Lindsay Bamfield's blog, and at Anna Caig's blog.