Author Interview/Giveaway - The Last Beginning by Rachel Firasek

Describe your book in five words or less.
Heartache healed by magical love.

How did the ideas for your books come to you?
I normally will see someone, somthing, someplace, etc... and the stories will just break out in my head. It can be very distracting sometimes. Ari is a character very similar to an old friend of mine, with a little less attitude. :) Grey reminds me of all the stories I hear from my brother and other military families. The two combined bring together a romance that I've always wanted to create. I hope everyone will love it.

Is there a message in your novel that you want readers to grasp?
It's okay to make mistakes. Everyone does. The important thing is that we learn from them.

What is the hardest part of writing for you? What's the easiest?
Hardest: Revisions. LOL! It takes a lot of discipline to go back and layer in all the great elements that bring a story together.

Easiest: Writing. I can throw down 30K words in less than a month, but I wouldn't want anyone to read them.

What's next for you? Are you currently working on or have plans for future projects?

I'm actually going to go back in Jan. and finish up another series. Then I have at least one new UF series in the making for next year involving spirit transfers. It'll be fun. And hopefully a top secret YA series too. (I've never written in that genre, so it should be a challenge.)

Why did you choose to write for specific genre?
I don't. A story will tell me whether it wants to be a Contemporary, paranormal or YA. Sometimes, I'll begin writing in one genre and figure out that the book isn't working with the elements needed. I'll go back and rewrite, either removing the paranormal or adding. Most of the time it's removing. Not all stories need a vampire, ghost or ghoul. But, they sure do make things fun.

What's it like hearing that readers are eagerly awaiting your book's release date?
It's the best high ever---not that I'd know what it's like to be high. I'm pretty straight, lol. It's very flattering to hear that they want to read more, but the best thing is when they will interact with me after reading the story. I love to talk about my books *no conceit here* and find out what really touched the reader. It's the best way to learn. I've been very blessed with meeting readers that aren't too shy to step forward and say, "Hey, Rachel, why did you do this?" or "When is this going to happen?" or my fave comment lately regarding TLA, "How could you kill them?"
It's so much fun to interact and I'm more than happy to share.

What is one question that you've always wanted to be asked in an interview? How would you answer that question?
If you could do anything without fear of failing what would it be?

I'd go skydiving. Failing at that has fatal results.

What was your road to publications like?
I began looking for an agent in May of 2010. After a bucket full of rejections, I decided to wet my feet with epubbing. Through a pitch session I met the fab Heather Howland who was with my debut publisher at the time. She snatched my book up and it's been a roller coaster ride since then. :) When she moved to Entangled Publishing, I knew that I wanted to go to. Libby Murphy is my current editor and every book I work on with her, reminds me that the move was well worth it!

Author Bio:
Rachel Firasek grew up in the south and despite the gentle pace, she harassed life at full steam.
Her curiosity about mythology, human nature, and the chemical imbalance we call love led her
to writing. Her stories began with macabre war poems and shifted to enchanted fairytales,
before she settled on a blending of the two.

Today you’ll find her tucked on a small parcel of land, surrounded by bleating sheep and
barking dogs, with her husband and children. She entertains them all with her wacky sense of
humor or animated reenactments of bad 80’s dance moves.

She’s intrigued by anything unexplained and seeks the answers to this crazy thing we call
life. You can find her where the heart twists the soul and lights the shadows… or at Rachel Firasek

Please leave a comment or questions on this post in appreciation of the author

Author Interview/Giveaway - The Last Rising by Rachel Firasek

Thank you for having me on the blog today!!!


Describe your book in five words or less.
A phoenixes' redemption unlocks love.

How did the ideas for your books come to you?

I was sitting in the airport after the RWA National Convention in the summer of 2010. A storm system had blown in and beat the airport up pretty good. All the flights were delayed until the storm passed. I started thinking about the flights that had taken off before us and how rough their trip was going to be. This inspired the opening scene in the book. A tarot reading brought me the phoenix and thus a book was born.

Is there a message in your novel that you want readers to grasp?

This series is about self forgiveness. I think as women, especially, we hold our guilt to us and can sometimes shift it into our own undoing. This story is about getting past the pain of our own mistakes and forgiving ourselves in order to move on.


What is the hardest part of writing for you? What's the easiest?

The hardest part of writing is staying focused on one story. Creativity is a living creature and once I'm back into that mode, stories will literally haunt me.The easiest is the other side of this, creativity breeds more stories and my mind is an endless plot, or love scene, or moody character just waiting for me to save them.

What's next for you? Are you currently working on or have plans for future projects?
I'm currently working on the rest of the books in this series, but after that I hope to launch my top secret YA creation that is fairly begging to play with me.

Why did you choose to write for specific genre?

I don't choose the genre, the story does. I like the paranormal world and all the possibilities it allows. But, if a story wants to be a straight contemporary, I let it. I'm not going to break my stories to make them fit into a mold. I just don't work that way.

What's it like hearing that readers are eagerly awaiting your book's
release date?

It's pretty amazing. Everytime I see someone add The Last Rising to their TBR list on Goodreads, I shout in glee. My husband and kids think I'm quite looney. :)

What is one question that you've always wanted to be asked in an
interview? How would you answer that question?

Is it worth it? I know that sounds lame, but sometimes we'll write for hours, hours, and more hours and watch a book we love that just doesn't create the hype we thought it would. But, to me it's all worth it. My story is out there and even if only a handful of people read it, I've spread my message and love to someone else. But that doesn't mean I don't want people to buy the book, lol, please rush out now. :)

What was your road to publications like?

This is my third novel to be published, but each road is different. The staff at Entangled has been incredible. Roxanne had been great setting up all of these amazing blog hops. My editor, Libby, is awesome to work with. Heather Howland is creating strong covers that we can all adore, and the publishers are always keeping us in the know. It's a truly unique experience and I'm glad I'm on their team.


Author Bio:

Rachel Firasek grew up in the south and despite
the gentle pace, she harassed life at full steam.
Her curiosity about mythology, human nature,
and the chemical imbalance we call love led her
to writing. Her stories began with macabre war
poems and shifted to enchanted fairytales,
before she settled on a blending of the two.

Today you’ll find her tucked on a small parcel
of land, surrounded by bleating sheep and
barking dogs, with her husband and children.
She entertains them all with her wacky sense of
humor or animated reenactments of bad 80’s
dance moves.

She’s intrigued by anything unexplained and
seeks the answers to this crazy thing we call
life. You can find her where the heart twists the
soul and lights the shadows… or at Rachel Firasek



Please leave a comment on this post in appreciation of the author.