Interview With Author Quinn Raye
Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
Hello everyone. My name is Quinn Raye and I’m from England. I write multi-genre YA short stories and novellas. I enjoy exploring historic houses as well as ex-RAF airfields, to look at equally historic aircraft. I’m a metal-head and my favourite bands are Rammstein (from Germany) and Grandma’s Smuzi (from Ukraine.)
I’ve been writing for about forty years, since I was six years old, so I couldn’t really say how many books I’ve written in that time! I’ve published about half a dozen books though on such retailers as B&N, Rakuten Kobo and Smashwords with many more planned.
What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
The last book I published at the time of writing this response was the second in my ‘Dragons of Fire and Ice’ series which is entitled ‘Back to Blackloch.’ It was originally published on Amazon in 2017, but I’ve been republishing a lot of my older works (as well as my newer works) on the above-mentioned sites. (I don’t publish on Amazon anymore.)
I can’t say what inspired the story anymore, other than it was a follow-on from the first book (DoFaI #1: Escape from Adiren). I wrote it about ten years ago, so it’s been a while!
Do you have any unusual writing habits?
Not necessarily. I just write in the evening and set myself the target of 1500 words per evening (which I don’t always adhere to.) I always write in silence too as I have bad concentration issues and so am easily distracted by any noise at all. I don’t think these are very unusual habits but perhaps they might be to some.
The only thing that might be considered unusual is perhaps the fact that I ever include a headshot of myself anywhere, but that’s not quite a writing habit. I would rather have my books speak for themselves instead of people judging them by what my face looks like or how I have my hair or whatever. My lack of a visible face is also connected to privacy issues too as I still remember when personal photos were continuously stolen some eighteen years or so ago and used unannounced by marketing sites (for money which the owner of the photo never received as they didn’t know their photo had been stolen…. ) Ad I’m not even touching the AI issue these days…
What authors, or books have influenced you?
I think the closest influence I probably have is Anne McCaffrey. I don’t think I necessarily write like her as she’s more sci-fi orientated than I am (though I do write sci-fi); it’s more the fact that my love of dragons was aided and abetted by her Pern sequence. I do write a lot about dragons.
I’m probably also indirectly influenced by Terry Pratchett. I do try and inject humour into my stories although I do believe Sir Pratchett’s Discworld series is one heck of a lot funnier than my books though. He was an absolute master at comic fantasy and I want to be him when I grow up.
What are you working on now?
At the moment, I’m working on the second book in a new series entitled ‘The Annals of Elvish Espionage’. That’s the series title but the book itself doesn’t have a title yet! It’s a mish-mash of historical fantasy, Mayan pyramids and military intelligence (yes, really) and has been great fun to write so far. I can’t say too much about it yet as I haven’t finished writing the first draft yet. Things may change drastically in between now and whenever that publishing date will be, so if I do say anything about the plot right now, it might be redundant by the time it’s published. I also have to publish the first book in that series, too, in the meantime.
What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
My best method at the moment is to have a go at filling in author interviews! I’m also planning on submitting some guest blog posts at some point when I’m ready to do so. I also have made book trailers to post on YouTube, to get the word out about what I’m doing! I also have a website where you can keep up with what I’m doing and publishing as well as providing links to my works on sites such as Goodreads.
Do you have any advice for new authors?
I think the best advice that I’ve heard myself that I could pass on to others is this – the number one rule in writing is that there are no rules! It doesn’t matter what people say as to how you SHOULD write, do it the way you want to do it, what feels natural to you. That way your stories will feel authentic even if it flies in the face of all the advice out there. Of course, you do have to still proper spelling and grammar, but I think other than that, I agree with the advice that I was given. There are no true hard and fast rules as to how you should write.
What is the best advice you have ever heard?
The best advice I’ve ever had is the rule that I mentioned in the last response! I found it oddly liberating when I first heard it and have lived by that rule ever since
What are you reading now?
• At the moment, I’m reading a book called ‘The Sunflower Boys’ by Sam Wachman. It’s a YA book that follows a couple of very young brothers as they come of age during the current Russo-Ukrainian war. They come from Chernihiv and obviously they see and hear some pretty horrific stuff. It does come with some warnings through. The brothers hear their grandad being shot and their mama being raped by the Russians, for two such examples. Those events are not explicitly described but…. They’re there. The book itself is very beautifully and powerfully written and it’s a very important read, given what’s still going on in Ukraine. (by the way, I’m very staunchly pro-Ukrainian, which is why I wanted to read this book.)
What’s next for you as a writer?
I’m planning on publishing a new book sometime in March although I’m not sure as to what date that book will be published as yet. I don’t like committing to exact dates as I always miss these deadlines. They whoosh by, like a Martian heat ray. I just wait until I’m ready and then – ta-da! Now book has dropped!
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?
I would take these three books –
– War of the Worlds by H G Wells
– The White Dragon by Anne McCaffrey
– Mort by Terry Pratchett
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