(Mini)Author Interview: Rachel Vincent

I just finished reading My Soul to Take and yes, I cried a little at the end. ;) However, since I knew Rachel was awesome, I thought I'd conduct a short interview to answer some questions I had relating her two famed series:

Shifter

Stray

Rogue

Pride

Prey

Shift

Alpha (Oct. 1)

Soul Screamers

My Soul to Take

My Soul to Save

My Soul to Keep

Even though I haven't read them all, I suggest you start both series and you can thank me later. Now on to the grilling...

CR: If you switched places with Kaylee Cavanaugh for just one day, what would be the main thing you'd focus on first: Nash or her bean sidhe ability? Why?

Bean sidhe heritage. Because boys come and go, but your species is forever. ;)


CR: You've probably heard this one most often but what was the transition like between Faythe's world and Kaylee's? What would you say was the biggest difference between the two?

The biggest difference is the freedom that comes from Kaylee's world. The world building is on a much broader scale, so there are many more possibilities for plotlines, conflicts, and characters. But then, there's also the extra challenge involved in making sure the narrator's voice is authentically adolescent, allowing for the fact that Kaylee is no ordinary teenager. ;)

The transition between the two series can be tough, but I've done it several times now. The Shifters series is six books long, and I'm writing book five in the Soul Screamers series, so jumping back and forth is getting easier. But writing the books is not. ;)


CR: What's something you most liked exploring in Kaylee's bean sidhe story that you aren't able to in Faythe's Pride?

The Netherworld. Faythe's world doesn't have an alternate dimension.


CR: Where did Kaylee's character come from initially and what was the inspiration of using bean sidhe mythology?

I never know how to answer questions like this one. Kaylee didn't come from any one place. She developed over the course of the first book, and in fact, she's still developing and maturing, and losing a little bit of that shiny optimism in exchange for a really bitter dose of reality. But she's strong, and only getting stronger. And I don't think you could ever really stomp all the grit out of Kaylee. ;)


CR: Closer to the ending of My Soul to Take (and this is something I noticed deeply considering my personal relationship) what made you write Kaylee's father more of a non-existent character where as in the Shifter series Faythe's father is a fundamental character?

That wasn't a conscious decision, and for the record, he's much more of a real father figure in the subsequent books. But here's how it worked: When I sat down to write My Soul To Take, I thought about who I wanted Kaylee to be, including her strengths, her weaknesses, and her fears. Then I took her life and worked backward, deciding what would have to have happened to her in the past to create the girl I wanted to write about. Part of that backstory included a dead mother and an absentee father. Part included time spent in a mental institution, which gave her control issues and a fear of being confined. Make sense?




Totally makes sense, specially if you read My Soul to Lose, the prequel that started Kaylee's madness. It is a free short ebook that have no excuse for not reading.

Thanks again, Rachel!

LiLi