Raven Starr

Hi Raven. Thanks for agreeing to chat with Enchanting Reviews about your books. We are so excited about getting to know you better.

1. What made you decide to become an Author? And why an author?
This is a good question to answer. I don’t think anything made me become a writer/author. I’ve always written down my emotion and feelings, usually in poetic form. But as I got older, I started put my emotions into my characters bringing my feelings to life through. It’s a great release to have my hero/heroine face the same problems I face and I like to see how they work through them. And why an author? Writing is my passion. It’s most writers’ passion but with me it is truly apart of who I am. I can’t remember a time when I wasn’t writing down something, poetry, stories, recipes; as long as I have a pen and paper that’s the making of a good story.

2. How long have you been writing?
I’ve been writing since I could hold a pencil, so I was a very young and tender age.

3. What was your first book, and how long did it take to ‘break through’? Can you tell us more about your released work?
My very book is called Vampire’s Embrace which after 2 years it still isn’t finished. My first published e-book is entitled FAN-TASY and shortly after writing it and submitting to Red Rose Publishing did I finally break-through so to speak. So now I have three released works, FAN-TASY, HER SMILE, and the first of my Raine Matthews series GOING HOME AGAIN. I’ve got an Egyptian historical coming up, with another instalment to my Raine series THE PLEASURE CRUISE, and a paranormal teaser ONE NIGHT AT THE OFFICE.

4. How do you come up with a story?
This is a weird process I guess, but little things set off Big ideas in my brain. A word or phrase can spin my creative mind into a whirlwind. Mostly, I create characters in my sleep, dreaming of bits and pieces of the outline, plot and core of the story. Then when I woke up the story is there and the characters start begging for their own slice of reality.

5. How do you come up with your characters?
The process is the same as above just a little more intense. When the character is being written, then to me they’re no longer on the page. So when I write and then stop, that character screams at me until their story is completed. It can give me a great headache if I’ve started more than story at a time. LOL

6. Any preference for writing a particular kind of character?
No not really. I love them all, but I do have a fondness for the spookier side of things.

7. Do you feel a calling toward a specific Genre or Style of writing?
I love writing everything but paranormal and YA fantasy are my favourites. I love creating worlds, creatures, and mystical folks, good and bad. It’s all wicked fun.

8. A question we all want to know the answer to – What makes a great hero? Ultimately, a great heroine too?
I think compassion mixed with desire makes a great hero/heroine. Desire of goals, whether good or bad is the making of something wonderful.

9. Do you have a set schedule when you write or do you write when you are feeling creative?
I usually write the story or the character pulls me. I work on a few different stories at one time so I feel as if I’m pulled into different directions. I’ve learned that I can’t force the story, it’s written the way it calls to me. There are days where I am a writing whirlwind, then there days where I can’t write a stitch. I figured out that when I try to force the story forward it doesn’t come out or flow smoothly, so I wait, not patiently sometimes but I wait nonetheless.

10. What encouragements would you give other writers? Any advice?
Read and write. Surround yourself with other creative and positive people that support you while being honest with you. I think that’s very important. It’s good to have honest people in your life; they will keep you grounded while reaching for the stars. Honestly, hurts at times but I’d rather know the truth then live a lie.

11. What do you like to do when you are not writing?
I’m a single mom, so I’m mostly hanging out with my kids, playing the Wii. Now that it’s trying to get warm out the water is calling.

12. Can you give us a sneak peek into what you are writing now? Or a hint of what is up-coming?
Right now, I’m working on my first suspense thriller called Twisted, and another instalment of my Raine Matthews’ series called The Ride, and my favourite a paranormal called Vampire’s Embrace.

Is there anything else you would like to add?
I want to thank you Zee, for this interview, I really had a blast. I love hearing from readers so please feel free to check me out on my myspace www.myspace.com/dkraven I’m having a really cool website being built so I’ll let you know when that goes live.
Again thanks so much and I’ll see ya around cyberspace.

Raven, I wish to thank you for your time today, and we at Enchanting Reviews hope to see more work from you in the near future.
Thank you for choosing Enchanting Reviews.

Interviewed by Zee
May 2008