Rebecca Ross's Blog, page 86
April 4, 2018
April 3, 2018
What is the main difference between your original vision for Impassioned and the final version of the Queen’s Rising?
The bones of the story are the same. Brienna struggles to find her calling and passion, and after going through a challenge at the summer solstice, she finds herself joining a secret revolution to take down a usurper king and restore a queen to the throne.
Part 1 of the original draft was much longer. There were more scenes of Brienna with her arden sisters at Magnalia that I ended up cutting for the sake of pacing. I also had more scenes of Brienna in Beaumont, with Jourdain and Luc, that had to be cut to move things along.
I would also say the original draft was focused on her recovering the Stone of Eventide and becoming a mistress of knowledge. When I went through edits with my editor, I changed a few of the subplots, some of which are a tad bit spoilery so I won’t mention them here. But making those shifts brought out more emotional conflict for Brienna and also honed the desire and purpose for the revolution.
Hey! I recently finished TQR and it was perfection in a story! I just want to compliment the way in which you incorporated a slow-burning romance between Brienna and Cartier without it becoming TOO strong in the story. I feel like so many teen/YA books the
Thank you so much! I’m happy you enjoyed it.
The previous question, continued: King Lannon in TQR, Lord Endrick in the Traitor’s Game; and the two rival kingdoms: Maevana and Valenia in TQR, Norta vs. the northern Lakelands kingdom in the Red Queen books. I love how every author uses these similar th
(2/2) Okay, so this is something that I think every author thinks about at some point. Because we are also voracious readers, and we have favorites authors whose stories and styles undeniably inspire and influence us. I also think if you look at any genre, you will see familiarities between books, such as the ones you mentioned for fantasy. These tropes can be overused, and readers can certainly get weary of them (even though we sometimes find comfort in the familiar). But you’re already one step ahead by recognizing this and being aware of it as you write.
And if I look back to when I was a teen, when I spent hours at my desk writing, I realize that I absolutely mimicked my favorite authors. I mimicked C.S. Lewis with finding a door to another world. I mimicked Bonnie Bryant with her Saddle Club books (I, no joke, created a series about girls riding horses and called it “The Bridle Club”). And it was okay that I was doing that, because I was learning from the masters. But there also came a time when I needed to discover my own style and my own story.
It never hurts to write a list of commonly used tropes. And then examine that list and say, “I do not want to play into this trope, or that trope.” Find ways to turn that trope inside out and upside down. And you might have the two opposing kingdoms and the tyrannical ruler as well in your book, but find a way to make your protagonist turn an old weary trope into shimmering gold, and readers will love it.
So my advice is to first of all write and explore through storytelling. Don’t be worried too much about mimicking. Let the words flow. As you draft and then edit, you will begin to see the shape of the work. You’ll understand your characters. You’ll know their secrets and their desires and their fears. You’ll find your own style and voice.
But ultimately? Write the story of your heart, the story YOU want to read.
How does one make sure their book isn’t too similar to another one when they are writing it? There are obviously themes that exist and are constantly reused by many YA fantasy genres like, in yours for example, there is the quest to locate the “enchanted/s
(½) I’m going to fully answer this is part 2 of your question…
April 2, 2018
Hi! I loved TQR so much, thank you for writing it! You inspired me to start working on my own story again. :) I was wondering, out of Brienna's arden sisters, who is the tallest? Can't wait for book 2!
Thank you so much! I’m so happy to know that I’ve inspired you to write!
And Abree is the tallest. Brienna is the second tallest :)
I mentioned this in my stories this morning, but I also feel...
I mentioned this in my stories this morning, but I also feel like I need to make a post about this so everyone can be informed. I woke up this morning to discover that someone had impersonated me, created a fake insta account with my profile picture, and was trying to take advantage of my current giveaway and my followers. Let me say that this made me extremely furious and frustrated. And it’s hard to get on my bad side. Thankfully, a few of you let me know right away (thank you! Or else I would not have known this was going on!!) and helped me begin reporting this individual. I have no idea if Instagram has taken down the account yet, but hopefully it will be soon because this account is trying to get you to download an app of theirs to spam you. Which, again, absolutely *infuriates* me. I was so excited about this giveaway—I want to celebrate and thank all of you amazing people—and here we have someone try to spoil it. So, I want to make sure everything is clear and there’s no confusion:
• The account beccajross_giveaway is fake. It is a spam account.
• If they messaged you and said that you were a winner and all you needed to do was click on a link and download their app… DON’T. Please don’t. Report and block them.
• For the record and any future giveaways… I will never create another account to announce a winner. I will always announce the winner on my own account. I will tag you if you win and then it will be up to you to DM me.
All of this to say… I truly hate that this individual has done this. But thank you all for alerting me and helping me report them! And my giveaway is still on! It’ll close tomorrow at noon, EST and I’ll announce the winner on Wednesday!
I love your book!! When do you plan to release more?
Ahh thank you! :) So my next book is a sequel to THE QUEEN’S RISING. It’s on schedule to release February 2019, and is titled THE QUEEN’S RESISTANCE. I’ll be unveiling the cover and synopsis in the next few months, so more to come soon!
How did you name your characters and places?
I definitely employed a few name banks to help me find the names I used. I’m rather picky so naming characters and places can be difficult and it can take me a while to find the perfect ones.
I always want names to fit and sometimes I get several chapters in and have to change a name because the name isn’t working or there are too many names that begin with the letter M and that’s always hard on my brain to swap them. So I always try to have everyone’s name established before I write them into the narrative. Sometimes I pay attention to the meaning of names, because I do feel like that can tie into a character’s attributes.
Websites like Nameberry and Behind the Name are my go to sources. And every now and then, I’ll create my own names. Like Merei :)
