You may have guessed by now that I love hosting my fellow authors on the blog. It's very interesting for me to learn about that person's path to publication. Additionally, I get to introduce you to new books! To add a little fun to the interview, you'll have a chance to win a prize at the end. I'll tell you about that later! Here is DL's book cover and blurb:
Angels may not reveal themselves to mortals.
But when the mortal Rachael’s watching over is hurting, how can she stay hidden in the shadows?
Guardian angel Rachael becomes trapped with the mortal she’s been assigned to watch over. Unable to watch him suffer, she decides the only way to free him of his inner demons is to break the rules about becoming involved, revealing her true identity, and applying divine intervention. But what choice does she have? Without her help, his soul will be trapped forever. Then a stranger appears, giving Rachael reason to wonder if his is the only soul in need of saving...
Links: AMAZON AMAZON UK ETOPIA PRESS BARNES & NOBLE
But when the mortal Rachael’s watching over is hurting, how can she stay hidden in the shadows?
Guardian angel Rachael becomes trapped with the mortal she’s been assigned to watch over. Unable to watch him suffer, she decides the only way to free him of his inner demons is to break the rules about becoming involved, revealing her true identity, and applying divine intervention. But what choice does she have? Without her help, his soul will be trapped forever. Then a stranger appears, giving Rachael reason to wonder if his is the only soul in need of saving...
Links: AMAZON AMAZON UK ETOPIA PRESS BARNES & NOBLE
Chat with DL:
The Bird With the Broken Wing released Sept. 16th. What is the most exciting part about getting your book published?
DL: The validation from knowing I have been on the right path, even though it’s been a long walk getting to this point. Only a few weeks before getting the email from Etopia Press that they wanted to publish The Bird With the Broken Wing, I was jokingly telling friends that I couldn’t get a ransom note published so I might as well create my own e-books to give away for free. What a relief that I didn’t really mean it about giving up.
What's the most difficult part of the process?
DL: Finding the time to write because I also work full time. I feel stretched beyond safety limits trying to be a wife, a friend, a cook, an author, a cleaner, a family member, staying fit, maintaining a web and blog….
Please give us one sentence that summarizes what this story is about.
DL: Rachael is a guardian angel who is surprised to find out she hasn’t been doing such a great job of looking after her mortals as she thought.
Have you been writing for long? Has it always been young adult fiction?
DL: I began writing 15 years ago as a hobby. The internet wasn’t around back then so avenues for publishing were known only to those with degrees in English or journalism, and I didn’t have either. So everything I wrote got filed away in a box. When I began going out with Ian, who’s now my husband, he encouraged me to get back into my writing. I wrote two women’s fiction novels that never got published but I did get very encouraging rejection letters. I switched to writing young adult simply because the word count was less. Not that the writing itself is easier, but at least I could spend six months writing a book as opposed to two, even three years. I became hooked on young adult fiction and I have so many ideas for stories. It’s a genre I’ll be working on for some time yet.
I know you're also a reader. Do you have any favorite books you've read lately?
DL: I re-read The Hobbit recently and loved it as much as I did the first two times. I’m making my way through the Harry Potter books. While editing The Bird with the Broken Wing, I read a Dean Koontz novel and Stephen’s King’s On Writing.
In The Bird With the Broken Wing, Rachael is a guardian angel. What do you admire most about Rachael? Does she have any weaknesses?
DL: Rachael’s main weakness is her inability to look beyond what she sees in front of her. She lives in her own little world and thinks it’s as it should be. But she’s fiercely loyal and never gives up helping the mortals she’s been assigned to watch over.
I'd like to get to know Rachael a little better. If you had a chance to hang out with Rachael this weekend, what would you guys do? (concert? movies? restaurant?)
DL: What could we do that Rachael hasn’t already seen in her role as guardian angel? Would she be impressed if I took her to the local zoo which began as a refuge for rescued animals? Would she be bored eating fish and chips on the beach while we watched my dog chase seagulls? Would she enjoy wandering around the antique shops and home wares stores till our feet grew so tired that we had to rest them over coffee and cake? Would she like to finish the day off with gelato and a walk on the promenade? I sound like an advertisement for my home town, but I’m a real home body and I love living on the coast.
Let's get to know you better. What are your preferences for this list: coffee or tea, steak or pizza, motorcycle or bicycle, roses or candy, rock music or classical music?
DL:
DL: I wish I could write to music but I simply can’t. I find it too distracting. Music makes me want to sing. I need to write in total silence.
Are you working on your next novel now?
DL: Yes. I’m working on another YA novel, which is more speculative fiction than paranormal. First draft is done and now the fun of editing begins.
The Bird With the Broken Wing released Sept. 16th. What is the most exciting part about getting your book published?
DL: The validation from knowing I have been on the right path, even though it’s been a long walk getting to this point. Only a few weeks before getting the email from Etopia Press that they wanted to publish The Bird With the Broken Wing, I was jokingly telling friends that I couldn’t get a ransom note published so I might as well create my own e-books to give away for free. What a relief that I didn’t really mean it about giving up.
What's the most difficult part of the process?
DL: Finding the time to write because I also work full time. I feel stretched beyond safety limits trying to be a wife, a friend, a cook, an author, a cleaner, a family member, staying fit, maintaining a web and blog….
Please give us one sentence that summarizes what this story is about.
DL: Rachael is a guardian angel who is surprised to find out she hasn’t been doing such a great job of looking after her mortals as she thought.
Have you been writing for long? Has it always been young adult fiction?
DL: I began writing 15 years ago as a hobby. The internet wasn’t around back then so avenues for publishing were known only to those with degrees in English or journalism, and I didn’t have either. So everything I wrote got filed away in a box. When I began going out with Ian, who’s now my husband, he encouraged me to get back into my writing. I wrote two women’s fiction novels that never got published but I did get very encouraging rejection letters. I switched to writing young adult simply because the word count was less. Not that the writing itself is easier, but at least I could spend six months writing a book as opposed to two, even three years. I became hooked on young adult fiction and I have so many ideas for stories. It’s a genre I’ll be working on for some time yet.
I know you're also a reader. Do you have any favorite books you've read lately?
DL: I re-read The Hobbit recently and loved it as much as I did the first two times. I’m making my way through the Harry Potter books. While editing The Bird with the Broken Wing, I read a Dean Koontz novel and Stephen’s King’s On Writing.
In The Bird With the Broken Wing, Rachael is a guardian angel. What do you admire most about Rachael? Does she have any weaknesses?
DL: Rachael’s main weakness is her inability to look beyond what she sees in front of her. She lives in her own little world and thinks it’s as it should be. But she’s fiercely loyal and never gives up helping the mortals she’s been assigned to watch over.
I'd like to get to know Rachael a little better. If you had a chance to hang out with Rachael this weekend, what would you guys do? (concert? movies? restaurant?)
DL: What could we do that Rachael hasn’t already seen in her role as guardian angel? Would she be impressed if I took her to the local zoo which began as a refuge for rescued animals? Would she be bored eating fish and chips on the beach while we watched my dog chase seagulls? Would she enjoy wandering around the antique shops and home wares stores till our feet grew so tired that we had to rest them over coffee and cake? Would she like to finish the day off with gelato and a walk on the promenade? I sound like an advertisement for my home town, but I’m a real home body and I love living on the coast.
Let's get to know you better. What are your preferences for this list: coffee or tea, steak or pizza, motorcycle or bicycle, roses or candy, rock music or classical music?
DL:
- Coffee or tea? Coffee. I drink it weak and black and I like my coffee percolated.
- Steak or pizza? Steak. T-bone. Well done.
- Motorcycle or bicycle? Motorcycle as long as it’s a dirt bike. I am deathly afraid of road bikes as I value my life. (I have 2 brothers who have permanent injuries due to motorbikes.) I do enjoy occasionally riding on the back of my husband’s dirt bike though.
- Roses or candy? Mmm. Tough choice. Roses are gorgeous but you can’t eat them. So candy.
- Rock or classical music? Rock. My favorite artist of all time is Joan Jett. I was 12 when I Love Rock n Roll came out and it’s still my anthem today.
DL: I wish I could write to music but I simply can’t. I find it too distracting. Music makes me want to sing. I need to write in total silence.
Are you working on your next novel now?
DL: Yes. I’m working on another YA novel, which is more speculative fiction than paranormal. First draft is done and now the fun of editing begins.
D L Richardson was born in Ireland and came to Australia with her parents as a baby. She went to a public school in Sydney's western suburbs and the books she read were given to her or borrowed from the library. However, it was music that first captured her creative interest. She joined the school choir at age eight and got her first acoustic guitar at age ten, although she really wanted a piano. In high school, she took up lead vocals after the girl she was to sing a duet with failed to show up. After that, she told her stage fright to get lost and took up singing with the school band where she performed in many concerts. When she left school, she helped form her own rock band where she sang lead vocals, played bass guitar, and wrote all the lyrics. At age 26, she realized she wanted to write novels for the rest of her life or die trying so she sold her equipment, quit pursuing a music career and began writing instead. Since then she has had four short stories published in Australia, the US and the UK. She currently lives in Australia on the NSW South Coast with her husband and dog. When she's not writing or reading, she can be found practicing her piano, playing the guitar or walking the dog.
Find DL Richardson online:
WEBSITE TWITTER FACEBOOK BLOG
Find DL Richardson online:
WEBSITE TWITTER FACEBOOK BLOG
Want to win? Follow DL on one of the social medias listed above. Leave a comment here stating which one you did for a chance to win the prize. You could even leave her a comment about a fact in her interview or her book, and you'll still get a chance to win. As a tribute to DL's rock-n-roll roots, I'm giving away a couple of guitar string bracelets. Two winners will be drawn on Saturday.
guitar string bracelets
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