Author Interview/Giveaway: Rachael Wade

 

Rachael Wade: Author of Amaranth

Find Rachael on: Rachael Wade Blog

Find Rachael on: Facebook - Goodreads - Twitter 
See Donna's review of Amaranth: HERE
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Amaranth: Book One of The Resistance Trilogy.
Knowledge changes everything......
Hoodoo- influenced Souther Louisiana seems like the perfect place for Camille to relocate and escape her abusive past. She didn't expect to fall in love and plummet herself into the world of Amaranth, a place of exile for reformed vampires. Thanks to her deadly vampire ex-boyfriend, she's confronted with decisions that not only threaten her life but the lives of her inhuman friends that she has come to love. Entangled in her friend's quest for freedom, she dives into their realm and faces the threats of the rules of Amaranth.....the mother of all vampires.....and her own inner demons. 
Will she derail her life and make the ultimate sacrifice for the very monsters that interrupted her bumpy path back to sanity.....the one she wanted so desperately in the first place? Or will she fins a way to escape her vampire love before it's too late?

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Welcome Rachael! Thank you for doing our interview today, its great having you here. So, lets get on with the questions. 

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Can you tell us a little bit about yourself:

I live in Orlando but my heart belongs to the Pacific Northwest. I’ll get there soon enough. I live with my equally movie-obsessed, witty husband, 2 cats, and a crazy black lab retriever. I’m an animal lover, have a serious case of wanderlust, and am obsessed with indie films and music. Freelance writer by day, novelist and poet by night. Not a bad life.

When did you first starting writing:

I’ve been writing since I was a kid. I started off writing what I thought were “scripts” for movies, and began submitting stories to publishers in 2^nd grade. I would get really nice responses, actually, encouraging me to keep writing as I got older. I also sing and have recorded music and played in bars and stuff, so I grew up writing song lyrics and lots and lots of poetry. My English teachers in high school and college pulled me aside and recommended I take writing seriously as a career but I never thought I could actually write for a living, never listened to them. I was so artistically frustrated and finally figured out that it was something I had to do or I’d go crazy. So, I’ve been writing since I can remember, but finally decided to make it my career just within the past few years.

How did you choose the genre you write in:

It was just a no-brainer for me. I’ve always loved vampire mythology and everything supernatural, and then romance and drama are what I love more than anything. The paranormal romance and fantasy genres involve everything I love: romance, lots of drama, imaginary worlds, and mysterious, creepy characters. I love dark, epic stories with fantastical elements. This genre lets me embrace that drama and gives me the opportunity to be a poet, so it just suits my personality and writing style really well.

How did you come up with the title:

I already had the concept of the exile city in mind, so when I began working on the plot and started fleshing out the storyline, I wanted a name that was ethereal sounding and that was relevant to some of the themes that ran throughout the story. I was thinking timeless, imaginary, everlasting, unfading...and then stumbled across the various meanings of Amaranth. When I began writing, the name just really embodied the feel of the city and the plans I had for it.

Where do you get your ideas from:

By soaking up influences from loads of music and movies. I watch tons of indie films and listen to a lot of music while I write and brainstorm. It’s a requirement for me. I’m a very visual person, so I write everything as I see it in scenes. The scenes come when I listen to music, so I listen to a lot of big sounds, a lot of dramatic music: opera, classical, heavy rock. Florence and the Machine is my biggest musical influence, and I’m inspired by Tim Burton. He’s a visual storytelling-genius and his style really inspires me.

What was your favourite chapter (or part) to write and why:

I loved writing the Amaranth chapter, which is told from Gavin’s POV. It’s my favorite because I loved writing about Samira, liked introducing her character. I also had fun with the bayou scene when Camille visits by herself. Writing it was like going down the rabbit hole for me. An Alice in Wonderland moment.

How did you come up with the names of your characters and who is your favourite: 

I couldn’t picture the main character being anyone but Camille Hart. Her name just came to me and it just worked. I also chose some French names. I study French and so I read a lot of history and origins behind some of the names, like Gavin’s last name and Vivienne, the Hoodoo woman. My favorite character also happens to be my favorite character name—Samira. She’s elegant, exotic, and deadly. She was actually inspired by a favorite French teacher of mine whose name was Samira.

Can you tell us about any upcoming projects: 

The 2^nd book of The Resistance Trilogy will be out around the New Year, so I’m working on book 2 and 3 at the moment. I’m also working on another fantasy romance novel that involves both fallen angels and vampires, and I have a literary novel in the works, which is completely unrelated to the fantasy and romance genre.

Where can readers purchase your books:

Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Smashwords, and Goodreads all offer the E-Book version of Amaranth, and the print version releases on Sept. 30^th and will be available from these same venues. RachaelWade.com also offers free samples and current promotion information.

Three Random Questions:

If you had to describe yourself in three words, what would you say: 

Dramatic, quirky, geeky.

What's your favourite food?

Pizza.

What's your favourite book?

Tough one, but I’d say The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath. It’s haunting and full of poetic brilliance.

Thanks so much for joining us! And good luck with the release of the book.

So who wants to win a copy of Rachael book?
Well lucky for you Rachael has kindly offered to giveaway a way a few of her book. They will be e-book copies but have a guess how many winners we get? One....no! Two.....no! Three.....no! Four....no! Five.....no! Six.....no! Seven.....no! Eight.....no! Nine.....no! Ten.....YES!!!
Yep! That's right, 10 copies, that means we will have 10 lucky winners. 


So, all you need to do is fill out this: GIVEAWAY CLOSED
It is international and only one entry per person. 
Closing date will be August 25th, 2011.
Extra entries are optional. 
Winners will be announced on August 26th. Don't forget to leave us a comment below with your thoughts. 
Good Luck!