Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I count myself lucky to be able to say I’m not sure how many books I’ve written. That is, should I count my novels that are complete but aren’t worth publishing? I suppose not, since you’ll likely never see those, so the relevant answer is that I have six novels (and one novella) currently available and published, and a seventh and eighth soon to come. And yeah, before that, going back to my teens, I wrote at least three or four others that were pretty darn terrible but which were all part of the learning process and therefore were valuable in their way.
What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
The latest one released is ‘Immortal’s Spring,’ which wraps up the trilogy beginning with ‘Persephone’s Orchard.’ The inspiration there was simply the Persephone/Hades myth–I loved the Greek myths as a kid, and that story stuck with me as having a lot of dramatic potential and unanswered questions I could flesh out. So I finally did, and it became a three-book series.
Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I mess with the font a lot, in whatever my work-in-progress is. Probably every couple of weeks, I change the entire manuscript into a new font, to see how the prose strikes me when it looks different. Strangely, this actually helps me find and fix clunky spots. But I think it’s also a form of procrastination.
What authors, or books have influenced you?
Some of my favorite classics I’ve adored since reading them in my teens, for all the magic and love they bring me every time: ‘The Secret Garden’ by Frances Hodgson Burnett, ‘Les Misérables’ by Victor Hugo, ‘Jane Eyre’ by Charlotte Brontë, ‘A Room with A View’ by E.M. Forster. And I admit to the occasional obsession with something more modern like the early books of Anne Rice’s Vampire Chronicles, or Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings.
What are you working on now?
I’m finishing up final edits on ‘The Goblins of Bellwater,’ a stand-alone novel about a goblin curse affecting the lives of people in a small Puget Sound town. It’s based loosely on Christina Rossetti’s poem “Goblin Market.” And I’m also getting close to having a full draft of a guy/guy love story, romantic-comedy style, which has been incredible fun to work on.
What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I think it’s good to try a lot of different sites and methods; book tours, bloggers, social media, and in-store appearances all have their benefits. Goodreads has stood out as a very active site where you’re likely to find a lot of avid readers if you interact there (as a reader–not just as a writer promoting your stuff).
Do you have any advice for new authors?
Being professional and considerate in all your interactions is of key importance! It’d be fabulous if everyone on the internet could remember to treat everyone else on the internet that way, yes, but it’s doubly important for authors or anyone else making a public name for themselves. You want to come across as someone who’s a pleasure to work with, not as someone who’s a headache. If anyone’s taking the time to read your words, do your best to find gratitude for them, even if they’re critical about what they’ve read.
What is the best advice you have ever heard?
EVER ever? I suppose it’s essentially: no one else is responsible for your happiness. This means living for external validation is counterproductive, which is in turn almost a paradox for authors, who HAVE to take reviews and editor/reader opinions into consideration to some degree. But the balance can be managed if you try.
What are you reading now?
Among other things, I’m in the middle of Rachel Morgan’s Creepy Hollow series–really cool faery-world novels. Good fantasy is always a delight for me. And I keep finding myself browsing Dreamspinner Press and similar sites for male/male romance, which is another of my reading joys.
What’s next for you as a writer?
Once I’ve wrapped up the draft of my own male/male romance, I’ll have to choose what to work on next, which I haven’t entirely decided yet. So I may have a month of exploratory pre-writing ahead to sort that out and choose my next obsession.
If you were going to be stranded on a desert island and allowed to take 3 or 4 books with you what books would you bring?
The limitation of this idea terrifies me! Can’t we make it 3,000 or 4,000? Still, I guess I’d choose nice thick ones to keep me as occupied as possible. Maybe that unabridged ‘Les Misérables’ ought to be one of them.
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Molly Ringle Website
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Great interview, Molly! Love all your books. Your advice about being professional is perfect and you are one of the most professional writers I have come to know.