Interview With Author Rhyse Furio
Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I am a fourth-culture kid who’s a native of the Philippines but has lived the greater part of my life in Cyprus, Lebanon, and the United States of America. Thus, I am very eclectic and have written a variety of materials and genres: newswriting, grant proposals, articles for a secular business magazine, and articles for a church magazine. I write romance, young adult, and fantasy, even high fantasy. I am not afraid to step out of the box and to challenge the status quo. I also have a hodgepodge of interests, such as playing music, singing, dancing, moviemaking, knitting, and cross-stitching.
Although I have a lot of writing stored on my laptop, I’ve only published one so far because I recently learned self-publishing on Kindle Direct Publishing of Amazon.com is free. But I aim to publish Book Two of my debut novel this October 2023. Book One was published on February 14, 2023, then republished on April 19, 2023.
What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
My latest and debut novel is *A Seal upon the Heart.* But Book Two, *A Thief in the Night,* is due to be published this October 2023. Both books were actually one book at the outset, but I had been encouraged by some of my test readers to split it due to its length and difference of focuses. But both books have the same inspiration: (1) my dreams of having my own family that loves the Lord Jesus first and that put Him at the center and (2) my desire to share that God-given dream to my fellow Filipino women here in Beirut, Lebanon, who often fall into the wrong relationships because they are so desperate for love, they just settle for anybody who could give them even a tiny bit of love. My message to them is “Don’t settle. Wait for the Lord’s best. As a good Father, the Lord can be trusted to give us the best if we love and focus on Him first.”
Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I color code all my writing as cues to certain things I need to research, ask, or remember. I also check all words with ambiguous spellings, such as “mouthwatering” or “mouth-watering,” in a single reputable dictionary: https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/. Maybe these are not such unusual writing habits.
What authors, or books have influenced you?
My three greatest influences are the peerless J. R. R. Tolkien, who is a master at creating whole hierarchies and family trees of characters. I am also a very detail oriented person, so I highly admire this skill of Tolkien’s and am attempting to emulate it in my forthcoming (God willing) high fantasy novel, *Armageddon.* Next is bestseller Francine Rivers, who wrote an unparalleled romance, the bestseller *Redeeming Love,* which is based on the Book of Hosea in the Bible about the persistent wooing of a man of God, Hosea, of his prostitute wife, Gomer. It is a very powerful story about how the Lord God Himself courts us unfaithful creations of His. I actually believe DeAnna Julie Dodson’s writing is lovelier than Rivers’, but she is just not as well known. But her word choice and the flow of her narrative are on point and musical.
What are you working on now?
I am putting the final touches on Book One, *A Seal upon the Heart,* which made it to #1 for its title last week, launch week, on Amazon.com and has earned ranking around the top 5,000. I am researching a more aggressive marketing strategy for that. And today, actually, I plan to start adding more chapters to Book Two, *A Thief in the Night.*
What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
My best website is probably just Facebook, as most of my contacts are there. I am not really much of a social media person, but the publishing industry has forced me to branch out to Instagram and TikTok. I don’t plan to ever sign up for a Twitter account though. Tweeting is just not my thing; I value my privacy.
Do you have any advice for new authors?
If you’re new to self-publishing, be aware that it is gonna be a huge challenge at first. You will have to learn a whole lot not just about writing but about publishing and even about computers in general. Give yourself lots of time to get a handle on things because if you don’t, you’re going to be very stressed and nervous. But the good news is I have learned a lot of things that I believe will better equip me for an easier self-publishing experience next time. I have hopes it will be the same for you.
What is the best advice you have ever heard?
There really has not been much advice that have turned on the lights in my head. Probably the most apt, recently, was my brother’s “Don’t sweat the small stuff.” I am a perfectionist, so I like to really iron things out till I am satisfied, details hardly anybody would even care about. So this last self-publishing period, I had to let go of some minutiae in the interest of publishing on time. But I still noted them down so I could republish at an opportune time, correcting those details, haha.
What are you reading now?
I have not have time to read due to wrapping up Book One details and gearing up to write a few chapters and editing Book Two. But the last book I’ve read, probably last month, was Francine River’s *The Masterpiece,* an unexpected romance between a graffiti artist and his secretary, both of whom have broken pasts. I actually used it as a comparative title for *A Seal upon the Heart.*
What’s next for you as a writer?
I am praying to get Book Two, *A Thief in the Night,* published this October 2023 after which I will be job hunting for editing jobs in Europe, likely in London, England. At some point, I do plan to publish my other writings on my laptop.
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 bring with me my Archaeological Study Bible, no doubt, J. R. R. Tolkien’s *The Silmarillion,* which I consider his best work and the Bible of all fiction books, DeAnna Julie Dodson’s *In Honor Bound,* and Francine Rivers’ *Redeeming Love.* Actually, I also want to bring along Rivers’ *The Mark of the Lion trilogy—so could I bring three more? Hehe.
Rhyse Furio’s Social Media Links