Today, I have Nichelle Rae in the studio, to talk about her book “Only A Glow.”

Let’s dive right in!

Q. Tell us a little bit about your book.

“Only A Glow” starts the journey of Azrel, Rabryn, and Ortheldo across their land in hopes to save it from another age of the evil Shadow God’s rule. Azrel’s journey however, isn’t just across the land she lives in, but it’s a journey of healing and self-discovery that she needs to take. It’s a journey of accepting who she is and to do something great with it.

The end of the book isn’t just about whether she wins or loses the battle to save her world (though that’s still a huge part), but also to see if she can overcome her own self-hatred and become everything she was born to be, or if she will fail and destroy herself, and the world with her. It’s also interesting to see how she overcomes some obstacles and how she often fails at overcoming others.

Q. What excites you most about your book’s topic? Why did you choose it?

It’s a strange thing really. I didn’t pick the Fantasy genre; it sort of picked me. I think what I love the most about the fantasy genre is that anything can happen. With other genres you often have to stick to the rules of reality. But with fantasy, things happen that don’t happen in real life.

Q. How long did the book take you from start to finish?

The entire 7 book series took me 2 years to write from when I was 19 until I was 21 years old. Believe it or not, I actually wrote it freehand in 27 five-subject notebooks, filled to the brim.

Q. Did you seek the support of a writer’s group or class?

I did not. When I started writing this series I wasn’t considering a novelist as a career option. I just wrote because it was fun and I was bored. I would love to join local writing classes if there were any, but so far I haven’t found one. I’m dying to do writing workshops and the like because there is always room for improvement in a novelist’s career. I just haven’t found anything in my area.

Q. What surprised you the most about the book writing process?

Nothing really surprised me about the book writing process but I did have a few surprises happen along the way as I wrote. I’ll answer what kind of surprise in the next question because the craziest thing that happened while writing the series was also my favorite thing to happen.

Q. Did you have any favorite experiences when writing your book?

There was one instance where I wanted my story to go somewhere, but even as I was writing out what I wanted to happen, there was the nagging feeling of having something else happen that I had absolutely no intention of making happen. I actually got mad at one of my characters once because it felt like he was prodding me to make this other thing happen that I didn’t want to happen. When I finally did give in to the nagging (after writing almost a whole chapter), I realized later in the book the reason for that nagging. What ended up happening had to happen for the sake of the plot later on down the line. What was weird about it was that I hadn’t even planned the end of the book yet. I didn’t know that this plot twist was going to happen down the line that absolutely depended on my giving into the nagging voice of my character. I wasn’t so mad at him after that.

Q. What tips would you offer to anyone writing fiction for the first time?

Have fun with it. Don’t make it a job. Don’t expect success right off the bat. I wouldn’t even recommend writing to try and become successful. Write because you enjoy writing and can’t ever imagine not writing.

Q. How did you come up with your title?

Each of my book titles is a description of the place Azrel is in her journey. Because Azrel wields white fire magic, the titles are centered on fire. The state of the fire in the title is a statement of where Azrel is in her journey (Book #1, Only a Glow. Book #2, The Blaze Ignites. Book #3, Steady Burn. Book #4, Doused. Book #5, Embers Under the Ash. Book #6, Commanding the Fire. Book #7, Fire of the World). Only a Glow refers to the fact that my main character Azrel is just beginning her journey, but she hasn’t made any significant personal or war triumphs yet, so she’s Only A Glow of the Fire of the World warrior she was born to be.

Q. What books have influenced you the most?

All of the authors I have read could be considered influential to me. They have shown me what I like and what I don’t like in stories. I see what works and what doesn’t and see what gets annoying and what gets exciting. If I like a book I read it translates into my own writing. If I don’t like a book I read, I know what I don’t want in my writing. I think all authors impact each other more than they really realize. Some of my favorite writers include, J.R.R Tolkien, Terry Goodkind, Brandon Sanderson, Rick Riordan, Brandon Mull, R. A. Salvatore, Stephanie Meyer, Iris Johansen, and Mercedes Lackey.

Q. What projects are you currently working on?

I’m currently working on getting book #3 in The White Warrior series titled “Steady Burn” done for a tentative July 2013 release. After that I still have four more books on the way out in this series.

Q. What can we look forward to in your next book?

There is a lot of action and a lot of personal victories won for Azrel in “Steady Burn,” as well as some interesting secrets revealed. It’s my favorite book in the series! Azrel just kicks tail in this one!

Well, that’s all the time we have. Thanks for coming in!

Nichelle Rae was born and raised in Massachusetts. Her love for writing began when she was 14 years old and she wrote short stories about meeting her favorite music group at that age. She received so much praise and complements on her writing ability that it quickly became a passion of hers. Throughout the years she has gotten much praise from peers, professors, and professional author’s she’s had a chance to work with about her writing and her ability to put emotions into text.

The White Warrior Series is her debut fantasy series she’s publishing as an independent author which will consist of seven books total. Nichelle already has begun three more fantasy series that she hopes to publish in the future after The White Warrior Series.

Link To Book on Amazon

http://www.amazon.com/Only-Glow-White-Warrior-ebook/dp/B009MN5QI2/

BOOK TRAILER LINK

http://vimeo.com/51313772

CONTACT INFO

Facebook: www.facebook.com/TheWhiteWarriorSeries

Twitter: @Nichelle_Writes

Website: www.thewhitewarriorseries.com

Goodreads: Nichelle Rae

Respectfully,

Arshad Ahsanuddin