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How did I get here?
I often think back to where this all began, how I started. I’d always had a dream, a desire to write. I’ve been an avid reader since I can remember—stories are, simply put, captivating. They transport us into another world, another realm, another time and place. We get to experience a new culture and another’s life. Something about the adventure of it is just so grand and so safe. I can live among Vikings, villagers, vampires, dragons, and Fae all from the safety of my couch. But writing it? Writing it is anything but safe.
You know that nightmare where you forgot to put your clothes on, and everyone sees you naked? Or the seen from Princess Diaries where the mean girls reveal Amelia while she’s changing in a tent. That. That anxiety, that fear, that vulnerability—all of that accompanies writing and sharing stories. Why? Because, though I’m physically clothed, a writer bares their soul and piece of their creativity when they show their art to the world—a hard and judging world. Not everyone will love it, but some will. Not everyone will enjoy it, but some will. This leads me to ask, why bother? Why write it?
Because I enjoy it. These worlds I’ve created, characters and stories, deserve to be shared. They are worthy of being shared. I have had so much fun writing Fangs of Fate and its sequel. Tate and Chance are, in many ways, real to me. They aren’t just one-dimensional characters on a page—they’re dynamic and have a past. This world I’ve created grew from my imagination and took life of its own. Did I always know where the story was going? Nope. A lot of times it felt like they grew legs and decided for themselves what would occur, I was just a tool to be used at that point. But I think this is what makes a story so good and successful. It’s very rare for a chapter or manuscript to end how I think it will. Often, I am pleasantly surprised at the turn of events. You may be thinking, ‘ok but she’s the one writing it, yeah?’. And you’re right, I write it, but I don’t always know how a chapter will end, let alone a sentence.
I often start writing with an idea, an end goal for a book and something I want to accomplish with a chapter and then I just…begin. I let the characters decide. Perhaps Tate is walking in the Glenn, what does she pass? What does she smell? What does she see? All of these things I’m thinking as I’m writing—in many ways I get to be surprised at what occurs. Maybe I knew she’d get a blood latte, but as I’m writing it Tate ends up flirting with the vender or perhaps she has an altercation with them—or what if they spit in her drink? How would she respond? Or what if the stranger behind her is tall, dark, and handsome and pays for it…or perhaps, she drops her coins and he picks it up and their eyes lock, lost in each other, only to realize they’re sworn to hate one another. The possibilities are endless. All the drama, the events, the character arch and world building options are unfathomable. So how do I decide to move forward?
It starts with a secret smile. An idea. A lightbulb. Something triggers in my mind, perhaps one of the above scenarios, as I’m writing, and I just go with it. I play it out and see how Tate would respond, how the scene would unfold. And then…then, I’m off to the races. I let the characters take lead and stay true to who they are and how they would respond, not how I would respond. This is key to authenticity. And this is the key to how I write.
As the story goes on, day after day, month after month, until I at last have a complete manuscript. From there it’s off to editing, more editing, and—did I mention, more editing? I work tirelessly to bring to life these characters and worlds—to share the child of my labor.
It is with greatest excitement that I announce Fangs of Fate, the Untish Series book one, will be released October 29th!
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xoxo
Rebecca
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