Name:
K.C. Rivers
The Title of Your Work:
Prince of Light
Where are you from?
Central Oregon, where the weather is more finicky than a cat deciding what to eat for breakfast.
In what genre do you write?
Young adult medieval fantasy. How’s that for specificity?
In your own words, what is your book about? If you were not the author and trying to explain this awesome book you just read to a friend, what would you say about it?
I like to call it every fangirl’s dream book. Basically, it’s about a human girl who stumbles into an alternate world where she makes friends, falls in love, and finds herself stuck in the middle of a war that involves shapeshifters and elves. Sounds exciting, right?
What is your writing style? Do you follow all guides and rules? Synopsis, outline etc. or do you just sit down at the computer and type to see what happens.
I usually have a basic idea of what I want to have happen or sometimes just a particular event in my head. The rest seems to flow from there. I don’t usually outline very much, so I guess you can call me a panster.
Have you ever written anything and thought; "The world has got to see this!"?
Yes and no. I mean, obviously I would love for the world to read Prince of Light, but I’ve always been pretty realistic in my goals for this book. It’s a tough market to get into, so I’m just happy for any and every reader that comes my way. I’ve actually been more proud of some of my blog posts. Seriously, I crack myself up. That tends to be more when I think, “How can you not find this funny? I have to share it with everyone!”
Do you have an editor and Cover Designer or do you do this yourself?
I did most of it myself, but I had a lot of help along the way. I’m fortunate enough to know a professional photographer, so in exchange for helping her paint her studio, she did a photo shoot for free. The model is my brother’s girlfriend, and I put the images and cover together. My cousin-in-law happens to be a published author and did a line-by-line edit for me, plus I had multiple beta readers. So yeah, I formatted it and actually put it on the web, but I’d say it was a joint effort all in all.
Who is your favorite author. Not just someone that you read a lot. I wanna know whose book you read that made you suddenly know that if you didn't do this for the rest of your life then you would never be happy.
Hmm. That’s tough. I’ve been reading and writing my whole life, but I would probably have to go with C.S. Lewis. His writing greatly inspired me in many ways, and I grew up reading The Chronicles of Narnia. Loved them back then and still love them now.
Is there anything you find particularly challenging in your writing?
Ugh, finding the time. I finally know the meaning of the words “starving artist.” The stories are there in my head; it’s just a matter of getting them on paper. Unfortunately, weekends fill up pretty quickly. That means fitting in an hour or two of writing whenever it’s even remotely possible.
Do you write your characters or do they write themselves through you?
I usually have an idea for a character ahead of time, though many times they just pop into my head as the story progresses. Sometimes they take over completely and I’m just along for the ride. Delanor, for example, was originally supposed to be just a “filler character,” and he ended up being an integral part of the storyline. I can’t imagine it without him now.
Do you ever write yourself into the characters?
For me, it’s more that these are things I wish would happen to me. Places that I would love to see in real life, or creatures/people that I would love to meet. There’s a little bit of myself in the main characters, I suppose, because I’m imagining how I would react if I were the one in the situation.
Is writing your full time job or are you "Keeping your day job"? So to speak.
I hope to make writing my career in the future, but in the meanwhile we’ve got bills to pay. Multiple obligations mean very little time to actually write, so I still have a day job for right now. Don’t get me wrong, in this economy I’m grateful for it. But there are some days where I wish I could just stay home with my laptop and write for hours on end.
If you could go back in time and meet one famous person or legend in history, who would it be?
Honestly, it would be epic to meet J.R.R. Tolkien. I know there are some video interviews of him available, but I would love to hear the elfin language from his own lips, or listen to him singing the songs he wrote. *fangirl squee*
There are millions of new books released every year. What in your mind makes yours stand out from all those millions in your genre?
It’s a mixture of multiple things, which makes it kind of unique. I've had a few readers tell me that they've never anything quite like it, but it’s hard to pinpoint exactly why. There are elves and shapeshifters and mages and dragons, but the settings and histories behind them aren't really what they “usually” are, if that makes sense. The shapeshifters, for example, are mainly eagles. Okay, there's one wolf, but he's kind of a loner. It’s almost like a cross between a standard medieval fantasy, a manga story and a video game world all mashed into one. Probably because those are all of the things that helped inspire it.
In the world of Indie, marketing is very difficult, especially if you don't have the funds to pay for it. Have you found a great free way to market your work that you think other Indies will benefit from?
Since I’m limited on time, I tend to fill out a form here and there on various web sites to get the word out. I’ve made a few connections with other indie authors, so that helps. AgentQueryConnect has been probably one of the best web sites with resources for indie authors. Because of the people that I’ve met there, I’ve been able to find other blogs (including this one!) and web sites for marketing. I’ve also done a couple of giveaways, for both e-book and paperback format.
Links to find and follow KC's work:
Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/pages/KC-Rivers/217129291722692
Twitter: @kcrivers
Website/Blog: kcrivers.com
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