Realms of Hope
Hi Sabrina, and welcome to my blog. Can you tell me, please:
1. Was Four Realms always going to be a series?
Yes, by the time I wrote the actual Prophesy, I knew the
book was going to be a series. Next
thing I knew I was grabbing paper from my printer and I began to draw a chart
(in pencil) of my characters, their connections to one another, looks (so I
could remember who looked like what) and so on.
I have nine books outlined so far, but I have a feeling this series
could blow up into so much more if I wanted it to.
2. I love that you outline in pencil and draw charts. I have all sorts of scribbled charts around my desk, and a growing series on my computer, which leads to my next question. Did you know the stories in the series before you started? Did you know the characters?
As I began to write the first book I found
myself writing a lot of character back stories.
There is one chapter in the first book, Briksanna’s Sacrifice, where I
spent describing each member of her family and a bit about how they came to be
a part of the family. This is key,
because their back story is what ignights their own stories. It is what tells the readers who they are as
individuals when it comes time to read their books.3. So now I'm wondering, given such rich backstories, which comes first, character or plot?
Plot for sure.
Sometimes I write random chapters while writing another book because I
can see where an action or choice being made in someone elses timeline has an
impact in the lives of someone else.
That is what I like about creating the plot first. I think I wrote the actual scene of the first
person I was going to kill off in my series a year ago. I have yet to find a place in my series where
that scene will happen. I have done
several book chapters that way and I store them for when the time will come for
me to add them to the book they belong to.
4. I have random scenes from my series waiting for a plotline to house them too. But in general, which part of a book do you write first, beginning, middle or end?
Well I start at the beginning and add in pieces of scenes I
have written previous, but I like to let the story take its flow from my
creative mind while I write.
5. Which part of a story do you rewrite most, and why?
The beginning and middle.
Typically the end has a definite character all of its own. I know the story by then and there is not
much I feel I need to add to it, but the beginning can always use more creative
words to express my characters thoughts or actions.
6. That makes a lot of sense. So, looking at your completed novel now, and without giving anything away, which part of Katerina's Hope are you most proud of?
Both main characters outlook on life. They both lack the faith of a hope for a
happily ever after future, and I am proud of the way I was able to write the
story so they ended up being strong characters true to themselves and each
other.
7. Something real, as well as imaginary, characters need to learn. So you ever identify with your characters?
At times I feel I have written a bit of myself in the
storyline. My values and my ideals. They come from me and from them.
8. And finally, where can readers find you, and your books?
Follow for photos, history and book tour information: www.sabrinarawson.com
Email me at: sabrina.rawson@outlook.com
Follow: Twitter@SabrinaRawson
Briksanna’s
Sacrifice:
Amazon CAN http://www.amazon.ca/dp/B00JVURJB8
Amazon UK http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00JVURJB8
Amazon AU http://www.amazon.com.au/dp/B00JVURJB8
Barnes
and Noble http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/briksannas-sacrifice-sabrina-rawson/1119404031?ean=9780996013901
Katerina’s Hope:
Barnes
and Noble http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/katerinas-hope-sabrina-rawson/1120383987?ean=9781785200342
Thank you Sabrina! And now, here's some more information about the books and author, plus a giveaway.
About the Book
Title: Katerina’s Hope
Series: A Four Realms Novel #2
Author: Sabrina Rawson
Published: September 23rd, 2014
Word Count: 100,000
Genre: NA Urban Fantasy
Content Warning: Non-graphic sexual content and minor violence
Age Recommendation: 16+
Synopsis:
Lady Katerina Kastekanos believes Striker Wells is the other half of her heart. Assisting the High Council in talks of peace she struggles with deep rooted fears of abandonment, but can she be true to the man she has fallen in love with before her darkest secret can destroy any hope for a future with him? Before anyone can embark on the quest for the Firing Sword Katerina is kidnapped.
Striker Wells is son to Queen Briksanna and knowing Katerina is her best friend he does not feel ashamed of his love or his commitment to pledge his life to her. Before their lives can begin Katerina is kidnapped. Devastated, Striker searches for his lost love sworn not to stop until she is found. The woman he finds is not the same woman when she was taken. Will Striker be able to overcome his personal demons of abandonment to accept the man Katerina will need him to be for them to have a lifetime of happily ever after?
Find it at:
About the AuthorAlthough Sabrina Rawson had been physically writing for two years the ideas that conceived her first novel had been percolating in her mind for many years. In many ways she found life experiences had influenced her story although written in fantasy format.
Nelson Mandela’s words inspired her:
“There is no passion to be found playing small – in settling for a life that is less than the one you are capable of living.”
No truer words could have been said. After her first cancer battle four years ago, she was in the mindset to survive, get back to my swing of things. Problem was she couldn’t. She wasn’t the same person anymore. She relapsed by the end of the first year. She survived that experience exhausted and has had multiple tumors pop up ever since. To say her health presented a mental and physical challenge was putting it mildly. She wanted to be more, do more, and was determined to reinvent herself along the way.
What she left behind after that first surgery, was her passion for life. Cancer didn’t take that away, she put buried it along with her drive and ambition. Her creative muse happily skipped right along with the rest of her dreams leaving her disconnected. She had to rediscover herself and it was a slow personal process. Four years post her first surgery and even if she had to do it all over again tomorrow, so what! She refused to settle for a life less than what she could create for herself.
Sabrina has published works with Survivor’s Review Online Magazine and Titan InKorp Online eMag. She published the two novels within a New Adult Urban Fantasy Romance called A Novel of Four Realms, titled Briksanna’s Sacrifice (Book One) and Katerina’s Hope (Book Two). Book three is due to publish early spring 2015.
Sabrina lives in Sonoma County heart of the wine country of California enjoying life in the rural land happily married to a wonderful supportive husband. You can always find her reading a book or cooking a meal for her multitude of children.
Giveaway:
a Rafflecopter giveaway
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