Author Agatha Rae Interview

Author Agatha Rae Interview

1. So let's start from the beginning,  how did you get into writing? 
AR: I have always liked writing and creating stories. It  has always seemed natural and quite efortless to come up with ideas for short stories, or novellas. It has never been any concrete decision, I am just lucky enough that, first of all, Danielle Zwissler found me and gave me a chance to spread my wings a bit with Firefly and Wisp Books and, secondly, that there are people who like reading what I come up with. 

2. Did you always wanted to be a writer/author? 
AR: No, it hasn never been any particular plan :) 

3. How did your idea for your first novel start?
AR: My first novel, "Oenone" is a romance/drama story with some supernatural sprinkle. The very first thought of creating a book concerning a supernatural being came to my mind when I was watching a program on television showing fortune-tellers. People would call them, talk to them about their life problems and were expecting to be told about their future and to be given advice on how to make their lives better and less miserable. I remember finding the program incredibly interesting not because of the fortune-tellers, but because of the people who were desperate enough to call a TV show, disclose their most private affairs and expect all their tribulations to be miraculously cancelled. I thought that the perspective of having any kind of divine intervention with solving one’s problems must be undoubtedly tempting for people facing lugubrious and troublesome moments in life. The promise of having it all disappeared would definitely seem worth trying.While I was watching the program, I began to wonder what would happen if there actually was a force capable of helping people, but wanted something back. Or, a force capable of helping people, but perverse enough to lure with a promise of help and giving a person in need something opposite? Did those people calling the TV station know what they wanted? Did they give a single thought to the idea of what they are actually willing to step into? Who was to say who was actually listening to their requests? Who was to say who was actually giving the power to fortune-tellers allowing them to help and cure? Provided the silver screen fortune-tellers were true healers and not some cunning swindlers, of course.That was the initial idea; writing a story about a supernatural being having the power to help people in need, but perversely deciding to do the opposite, thus, in fact, jibing at them.

4. Was it easy to get your first novel noticed and published? 
AR: "Oenone" was meant to be a short story I sent to Firefly and Wisp for their anthology. Danielle liked the story and told me it had a potential to become a novel. She asked me to rewrite it, to make it bigger, and then when she read it, she okayed it and allowed it to be released. So no, it wasn't very difficult, which doesn't mean I have not been rejected countless times with other books I have written. 

5. How long do you usually take on a novel?
AR: You mean how long it takes to write it? It depends. I needed about half a year to write "Oenone", but for "Tangents" it was only six weeks. I had such a flow, I was so focused on it, I used to spent my whole days in front of the computer and write, and write, and write. I couldn't concentrate on anything else. Once I finished it, I felt relieved and quite sad I was saying good-bye to my characters... at least for a while :) So it's all different. No rules. 

6. How would you describe your writing style? 
AR: People that read my books underscore that they enjoy the fact I thoroughly describe my characters' thoughts and feelings. If they have doubts, I make it clear, if they need to think about something for a longer time, I give them that time. So perhaps thorough is a good word? As a reader I absolutely hate it when a story has too fast paste. It doesn't necessarily mean it needs to have the size of an encyclopedia, but I love being led into the story, introduced to it, and not thrown at it from a cliff. I do my best to write my story in such way so that when I read them, I really enjoy doing it.  

7.  How was 2015 for you concerning your writing?
AR: Pretty good, to be honest. In January my second novel "Tangents vol.1" was released and in February a short story collection, co-written with Danielle Lee Zwissler,  "Coming Home For Christmas" was published. In March I went to the States, to Ohio and Kentucky , to promote my work both individually and as a part of Firefly And Wisp Book Publishing team during the Kentucky Comic-Con. In June, "Tangents vol.1" was released in English in Sweden and in September I went to Gothenburg to promote the book along with L.C. Förlag publisher. In September I also signed a contract with a Polish literary agency which will help me have my debut novel "Oenone" published in Poland. In November the very first issue of The Firefly magazine appeared with my Halloween short story and my articles inside, and at the end of December my novella "The Belt" was released. If I add two ESL books I either wrote or consulted this year, then I must admit it's really been pretty good. 

8. What do you believe a person should be/do to be a successful writer? 
AR: Write. Pay attention to what you write, namely be consequent, and keep focused. Read. A lot! Nothing improves your imagination better than books! Honestly, I don't think there's anything more to say. 

9. Are you happy with all your novels are is there ine you wish you could rewrite?
AR: Everything is how I wanted it to be :)

10. What is next for you in 2016?
AR: I am looking forward to 2016, to the release of my next novella "The Garden", Swedish version of "Tangents" and who knows, perhaps a Polish release of "Oenone" :)

Favorites:

1. Male author?
AR: Stephen King, Tennessee Williams, Jack Kerouac, Bill Bryson, Andrzej Sapkowski, JD Salinger, Charles Bukowski

2. Female author? 
AR: Danielle Lee Zwissler

3. Novel series?
AR: The Witcher Saga by Andrzej Sapkowski

4. Stand alone novel?
AR: "Revolutionary Road" by Richard Yates, "Catcher In The Rye" by JD Salinger, "Brief Interviews With Hideous Men" by David Foster Wallace (although, technically, I don't think it's a novel per se), "On The Road" by Jack Kerouac, Stephen King's: "Needful Things", "Bag Of Bones", "Firestarter", "The Dead Zone," "The Shining", Bukowski's "Pulp", and "Hollywood"

5. TV series?
AR: The Killing (the American version), The Office (the American version), Friends, True Blood, 

6. Horror movie?
AR: I don't watch horrors.

7. Romance movie?
AR: Romantic comedies if we talk about that genre... "Sleepless In Seattle", "While You Were Sleeping", "Love Actually"

8. All time favorite song?
AR: Anything by my beloved band, The Tea Party

9. Moment in writing? 
AR: Completing a book. Great satisfaction :)

10. Quote about writing?
AR: "If you wrote something for which someone sent you a check, if you cashed the check and it didn’t bounce, and if you then paid the light bill with the money, I consider you talented." Stephen King

Thank you for your time :) I really appreciate it a lot.

AR: You're welcome :)