Welcome to my blog interviews with novelists, short story authors, scriptwriters, and more. Today’s is with author Roxanne Smolen.
Armen: Hello, Roxanne. Please tell us something about yourself, and how you came to be an author.
Roxanne: Hello, Armen. Thank you for having me here today. I’ve been writing songs and poetry since kindergarten. When I was in high school, I graduated to short stories thanks to the encouragement of Ms. Sanderson, my teacher. In the year 2000, I lost my eyesight as well as my job. I thought it was the perfect opportunity to write a book. I’ve since written twelve novels. More on the way.
Armen: Teachers do a lot more than instruct us in the basics. One of my elementary teachers, Mrs. Windt, was a powerful motivator for me. When did you first consider yourself a writer?
Roxanne: I was always a secret writer, but I never felt confident enough to say it out loud until SynergEbooks (www.synergebooks.com) agreed to publish me.
Armen: What inspired you to write your first book?
Roxanne: My first book is called Resort Debauch. It’s a science fiction romance about a pleasure planet where anything goes. The story was inspired by a photo I saw many years ago of a woman in a cage. The despair in her eyes was haunting. The accompanying article stated that she was forced into prostitution to pay for her family’s debts. I thought it was a great premise for a book.
Armen: That’s a pretty powerful image and a bit off the YA path. Why did you change focus to the YA genre?
Roxanne: Harry Potter really opened my eyes as to what you can do with Young Adult books. It’s not just for kids anymore. But ultimately, I entered the genre because I didn’t want to write anything that my grandchildren wouldn’t be allowed to read.
Armen: I don’t have grandkids, but my own children were a big influence on my interest in the genre as well. What books have you published to date? Do you write under a pseudonym?
Roxanne: Thanks for asking! My books are:
The Anneliese Thielman Trilogy
Resort Debauch (2001)
Prajna (2002)
Mortar’s Keep (2004)
The Colonial Scouts Adventures
Alien Worlds (2008)
Alien Jungle (2008)
Watery Deep (2009)
Satan’s Mirror (2010)
Mindbender (2011)
The Amazing Wolf Boy (2011)
I also have two children’s books that I self-published under the pseudonym R.A.P. Smolen:
Violet and the Missing Laptop (2012)
Violet and the Missing Puppy (2012)
Armen: Wow, you really are very prolific! Are your books in ebook, print, or both?
Roxanne: All my books are in both ebook and print except for The Colonial Scouts Adventures. I hope to have that series in print soon. I believe in ebooks, but I recognize that some readers still want a physical book in their hands.
Armen: What are you working on now?
Roxanne: I’m currently writing a sequel to The Amazing Wolf Boy, my YA paranormal romance, and I’m planning another Violet book to be written over the summer.
Armen: Do you plot your stories?
Roxanne: Yes! I’m a big proponent of mapping out a book. Timing is everything. I’ve recently discovered the computer program Scrivener, www.literatureandlatte.com/scrivener.php. I highly recommend it.
Armen: What do you find challenging in writing?
Roxanne: As I mentioned, I am blind. My vision isn’t totally black yet, but it’s getting there. I can make out parts of my computer screen if I sit an inch away, but then I get a crick in my neck. So I write using a computer program that verbally echoes everything I type. It’s called JAWS, and it’s expensive. I got it with the assistance of the Department of Blind Services. Nowadays, there are several free programs that work just as well. If you know someone who has trouble with their eyesight (or if you just want your computer to read your chapter to you) point them to www.screenreader.net and click Thunder.
Armen: That’s pretty amazing, thanks for sharing the link. Do you get a second opinion before being published?
Roxanne: I try to get as many eyes on my work as possible. Writing is lonely work, and sometimes you can be too close to a project to see it properly. With that in mind, I got together with some local writers and founded the Coral Springs Writers Workshop, a support group dedicated to honing writing skills by critiquing a first draft into the ground.
For the past twenty years, we’ve met every week to read and critique our books. Our axiom is name three reasons for this chapter. If it doesn’t advance the plot or character, they’ll hound you to take it out. I’ve been told that you shouldn’t stay with a critique group longer than a year because you get to know one another and become complacent—but we always have new members drifting in and out, so I don’t think that’s a danger. Currently we have eight members. Shout out to Betty Housey and Zelda Becht who’ve been with the group from the beginning.
Armen: I know one of the most famous writing groups, the Inklings, included Tolkein and C.S. Lewis. Kudos to you for not only creating one, but for keeping it alive for so long. Do you do much marketing?
Roxanne: I try to do a few book signings a year, and I do readings at the local library. My biggest push, however, is through social media. You can find me online at:
www.facebook.com/roxannesmolenauthor
www.linkedin.com/in/roxannesmolen
www.youtube.com/user/moonRoxinc
www.goodreads.com/author/show/1157902.roxanne_smolen
Look me up. I follow back.
Armen: That’s a strong presence. What is your least favorite aspect of your writing life?
Roxanne: Marketing, hands down. I’m a writer, and I want to write. But no one will read what I write if I don’t tell them that it’s there. So I juggle my time and try to get the word out.
Armen: Are there any writing-related websites that you can share?
Roxanne: Every morning, I scour the Internet for helpful writing and marketing tips, and I publish links to the articles on my Facebook page, www.facebook.com/roxannesmolenauthor. Just Like my page and I’ll share them with you.
Armen: I’ve already liked your page and look forward to your findings. Where can we find out more about you and your writing?
Roxanne: Go to www.roxannesmolen.com and thanks in advance for visiting my site.
Armen: Thank you so much for spending your valuable time with me. As an extra bonus for our readers, would you mind sharing an excerpt from one of your YA novels?
Roxanne: Of course not it would be my pleasure, and thanks for having me.
ALIEN WORLDS (The Colonial Scouts Adventures)
Synopsis: Impani is a homeless girl who turns out to be a technological whiz. Trace is a rich kid who struggles to prove he is more than his father’s son. These two mismatched and insecure teenagers are paired together as they study to become Colonial Scouts. But during a training exercise, a system malfunction traps them in a fractured wormhole, transporting them across the galaxy from one terrifying planet to the next. Can they overcome their differences and work together to get home?
Watch the book trailer here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ylT6UWgLpc8
Excerpt:
CHAPTER 1
Impani leaned against the tree trunk, wishing she were invisible. Her pulse thudded in her ears. A twig snapped. She gasped, and then bit her lip hard.
The beast gave a low growl.
Dreading what she would see, she peered around the tree. She saw a bristly black snout and jagged, brown tusks. The beast’s single eye turned in its socket. It stared straight at her.
Impani ran. Her facemask jolted with each step. Thorns reached for her, trying to snag her, trying to slow her down, but her skinsuit slipped through as if she were made of glass. She bounded over gullies and fallen branches, her boots skidding and scarring the hard-packed clay. The clumsy thrashing of the creature sounded right behind her.
She couldn’t keep this up, she thought. She was fast, but the beast had endurance—and he had it in for her. She shouldn’t have entered its lair. That was one of the first rules she learned as a cadet. But the cub was so cute.
Sliding down a hillside, she landed on her rump in a mud puddle. A flock of winged geckos took flight. She glanced to the side and saw the beast detour around the standing water.
Couldn’t bear to get its fur wet.
The thought brought a wry smile. She leapt to her feet, dodging through the forest, turning back the way she came, back to where she forded the stream, leaving her partner, Davrileo Mas, digging up his rocks. If she could reach water, the creature might lose interest in her.
Her new direction took the beast by surprise, but it bellowed an eerie, nasal cry as if to tell her it still had her in sight. Impani stumbled over the uneven ground, fatigue overrunning her initial burst of adrenalin. Her breath hitched, and she held her side. The carotene-based plant life swayed, flagging her path. She pushed through leaves of red and orange, feeling like she was running through fire.
Ahead, she heard the babble of a shallow stream. Impani forced her burning legs to move faster, arms pumping, teeth bared. She burst from the crimson trees into bright yellow sunlight, crashing over the rocky bank, splashing into the stream. Moisture dotted the surface of her mask. She ran until the water was over her knees, and then risked a glance behind.
The beast paced the bank, its massive, inward-turned paws raking the rocks. Its thick collar of fur stood straight out.
Impani gnawed her lip. Go away, she thought. Go back to your baby. She sighed when the animal lowered its ruff and turned to leave.
As she relaxed, an arc of blue-white energy streaked overhead, striking the beast behind its shoulder. It roared and spun back toward the bank. Impani looked to the opposite shore to see Davrileo holding out his stat-gun. He fired again.
The blast hit the beast mid-chest. She saw the whiteness of its exposed ribcage, the raw, black, scorched flesh. The creature flew backward, slamming the ground, its heavy legs twitching and slashing the air.
“No!” Impani yelled.
Davrileo shot a final time. The beast shuddered and fell silent. Impani looked at her partner. She wanted to throttle him, wanted to smash his grinning face.
“What do you think you are doing?” she shouted, wading across the stream. “It had a cub. It was protecting its young.”
“It would have killed you,” Davrileo shouted back.
She moved her hands to tear at her non-existent hair. “It was leaving.”
“A little gratitude might be nice,” he said. “What were you doing over there anyway? We’re supposed to be partners.”
“We’re explorers.” She looked at the red and black mass that was once a living creature and thought of the cub alone in its lair. “We aren’t here to butcher the locals.”
“Well, let’s get back to exploring those rocks. This world is a geological haven. I can’t wait to give my report.”
Impani turned to him, standing gaze to gaze. Disgust seeped into her anger. In a low voice, she said, “If you’ve cost me my chance—”
She never finished the sentence. A familiar tug grasped the pit of her stomach. Alarms wailed in the back of her mind.
They were being recalled. The sensation usually triggered disappointment—she could never learn enough about these distant, alien worlds. But this time she wanted to leave the planet. She wanted to get back to the academy.
Looking up, she imagined a circle of swirling black energy, although she knew the Impellic ring was imperceptible. She invented this image of it to calm her fears about traveling through space without a spaceship.
Darkness formed within her mind. Her vision dimmed, and she closed her eyes. She sensed tendrils reaching toward her, pulling her from the world on which she stood. The rocky bank, the sound of the water receded. When she opened her eyes again, she saw only the void— deep and empty, yet somehow giving the impression of extreme velocity.
Blinding light speared her eyes. Impani winced. She felt a cylinder materialize behind her, a platform beneath her feet. Her vision wavered, and then focused upon a mirrored room.
The Impellic Chamber. Its many reflections showed Davrileo Mas on the other side of the cylinder. Impani removed her mask and slid off the hood of her skinsuit, willing her stomach to catch up.
“Welcome home, cadets,” a voice said through a speaker. “Shower down and report to debriefing.”
Update
Roxanne republished the Colonial Scouts series in mid-2016
Great interview, Roxanne! Thanks for sharing some of your trials as a writer. My mother is sight-impaired and loves to read, so eBooks and eReaders have been a savior for her, allowing her to adjust the font to whatever size she needs. Back in the day, we had to spend a lot of money on audio and large print books for her, and the selections were very limited. With her Kindle, she can read any book she wants to, even mine. =D
While, I’m not sight-impaired myself, I have Meniere’s Disease, which causes hearing loss, vertigo and balance issues, so I do understand living and working with physical challenges. Readers don’t always realize how much harder we have to work to keep up with our writing and marketing. But every book we finish is a grand achievement. May you write and publish many more books!
Thanks for your comments, Dana. I agree – ebooks and computers have opened a whole new world for the sight impaired. My best to you and to your mother.
Reblogged this on Library of Erana.
Good to hear from Rox, again. Big fan here. Keep
Thanks for stopping by. It’s good to hear from you, too.
Reblogged this on Roxanne's Space.
An enlightening and entertaining interview. I have enjoyed many of Roxanne Smolen’s books. They are involving, fast paced and occasionally frightening. Although some of them are considered YA fare, adults can enjoy them as well.
Thanks for those kind words. I strive to involve the reader in all aspects of my writing. I hope my stories will continue to excite you.