Rhavensfyre

Author: Rhavensfyre
Best known works: Switching Gears
Where you can find them: Website / Facebook
Top writing tip: Keep improving your skills, listen to your editors, but don’t lose your voice in the process.

Thanks Rhavensfyre for allowing us to get to know you a bit better by answering a few questions for us.

To begin, can you tell us a little about yourself?

We are a writing team, and have been writing for years together. My wife is a horse trainer and farrier, and I am in the medical field and dabble in art. We have vastly different backgrounds, age differences, etc. 

What life experiences led to the writing of this book? 

The characters are troubled, complex and have life experiences that many of us have experienced or seen. It is this realism that we try to accomplish that may mirror or represent some of our own trials in life. 

When did you realize you were pagan?

Since I was a child, being forced to go to Sunday school with my babysitters…hated it. Asked so many questions that I got kicked out. It never felt right to me, being in a church on hard benches. I spent my childhood in the woods, looking for fairies. KL is Christo-pagan…she recognizes the patterns of the myths over time, and has come to meet me somewhere in the middle of our beliefs.

When did you begin writing?

We have written most of our lives. Even through high school and college. It is one avenue of creativity that we enjoy when not engaging in other forms. Writing is like art, color, texture, and storyline by word rather than paint or pen. It is art, and like any art, it demands to be let free.

How do you feel about your experience with your publisher?

Our publishing house, Sapphire Books, is a small lesbian owned and operated House. It has been a great experience, and having editors to work with is an excellent way to improve a manuscript from OK to incredible.

Is this your first published piece?

This is our first Published work.

How did you come up with the storyline for your book?

While we were driving on the freeway, we often take long trips and over the course of 6 hours in a truck… you can hash out a lot of storyline. Also, we bike ride a lot…so we get our ideas out in nature as well.

Who inspires you?

The readers. Knowing that they want to read what we write, that is inspirational.

What is Switching Gears about?

When Olivia Holden first met Micah Connolly, she knew it was a bad idea to take her on as an intern at her law firm. The intelligent and darkly handsome young woman reminded her that there was more to life than work, and less in her life than she wished she had. She really shouldn’t have led the young intern on, not when she knew she couldn’t act on her desires, but she also couldn’t let her just walk out the door and out of her life either. Besides, the rules were about to change. With her father’s pending retirement, the strict rules laid out by the senior Holden would no longer keep her from telling Micah just how much she wanted her. The only problem was, she never got a chance to.

Micah Connolly had spent most of her life trying to please others, starting with her family, and ending with Olivia Holden. When she found out that her beloved grandmother had passed away, she was bereft and sought solace with the only other person she thought might offer her comfort. Olivia Holden was full of mixed messages, none of them clear, but most of them leaning towards a keen interest in Micah. Their first kiss was a disaster, overwrought with emotion. She had let things get out of hand. She had meant to tell Olivia she had to go home and get her grandmother’s affairs in order, but instead, the night ended in a volatile exchange of words that sent Micah running.

Well over a year had passed since that fateful night, and Olivia still regretted her strict adherence to a set of rules that had made her lose the one woman she felt she could love. Chance and fate changed everything when she recognized Micah weaving her bike wildly through the busy streets of New York. Olivia had expected to find her practicing law somewhere, not working as a lowly bike messenger. It didn’t matter, though; she had found Micah again, and she had to at least try.

When Micah and Olivia finally met again, it wasn’t your standard happy reunion. Micah had changed, a lot. She was darker, edgier, and carried herself with an air of experience that Olivia found intriguing. This new Micah also wasn’t the sort who let Olivia take charge of their budding relationship. Micah had found herself, and found out a lot about herself over the last year, including a great deal of things that she wasn’t so sure the high-powered attorney would be game for. A subtle and erotic game of power play ensued, with Olivia discovering just how much she enjoyed giving up control for a change. Just how game Olivia was both surprised and delighted Micah, but left her with a difficult choice. One that threatened to break past all of her carefully constructed walls and leaving her more vulnerable than she had been since she left the first time, all those months ago. She had come full circle, but there were a lot of things that had happened in that span of time, things that would require an explanation she wasn’t sure she could give Olivia.

Do you have any additional projects in the works?

We have three more books in the works, the next book is a modern fantasy with a decidedly pagan flavour. We also have short stories sent out for an anthology that should be interesting.

Do your dreams ever come up in your writing?

Yes! Very often the ideas will play out in the dream world before they make it on paper…or computer. More often than we like, the story demands to be written and one or both of us gets up to write something just in case. You will find us up at 3 AM on most nights, typing away in the dead of night.

Do we see any of you in Switching Gears?

We get this question a lot.  Since there are two of us, people try to figure out who is who in the book. While we have to admit that there is some of us in our characters, we try very hard to give them their own personality, voice and “personhood” so that you can really come to love them as much as we do.  We want you to talk to them, yell at them if they are being silly, laugh and cry with them, and if they are the bad guy, hate them with all your heart. We also want you to wonder where they are headed, and imagine any future adventures they may have. 

Do you ever create characters based on people in real life?

Everyone is fair game! If you are interesting…you will get our attention, and some parts of you may end up as a character in a book.

How important are reviews of your work?

We love reviews. We love to hear what you found good, bad and ugly. We love to hear what you think of the characters, if you want to see a sequel, etc…but most importantly, we love to know if there was anything in the book that really spoke to you. We address some pretty intense subjects sometimes, they are bound to hit a chord a time or two. We are always open to dialogue. 

Do you think EBooks have changed the market for better or worse?

For better! E-books are green!! No dead trees…and it lets people who otherwise couldn’t afford books a way to enjoy all of the literature out there. It opened up a huge global market, where people can afford e-books but not hardcopies due to cost of shipping. Also, e-books can remain relatively private, especially in areas were certain topics are taboo or even illegal. Since we write characters who are gay/lesbian, this offers a safe way for them to explore who they are without worrying about being discovered.

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Thank you for taking the time to talk to us. We wish you every success with your current and future books.