Author Interview Tori V. Rainn
Hello, Sydney! Thank you for having me as a guest on your blog. So thrilled to be here to talk about my debut novella, Curse of the Blacknoc Witch.
If you haven’t already guessed it from the title, it’s fantasy with a sprinkle of romance and supernatural elements. I’m super excited for the reader to take this journey alongside Layla Marlowe and Samuel Fawcett, who are the two main characters of the story.
Samuel and Layla are two teens who become trapped by a vicious curse that sends them into a forest realm each night. A dark witch has all the monsters under a spell to do her evil bidding. Samuel is one of these monsters and must hunt and eat each kid. What’s special about Samuel is that he was given a chance to go against his beastly impulses. Instead, he chooses to protect the kids from the other monsters. What I love about Samuel is that despite his ugly past and what he did to get transformed into a monster, he finds a way to forge on through an impossible curse.
Layla is the kind of girl you would want to run side by side with when chased by monsters. Her strong will to survive burns like fire. For these reasons, she’s my favorite! One trait I admire about her is her stubbornness to not accept her dire circumstance. Much like Samuel, she’s a fighter. That’s why they make such a great team!
My favorite part about writing this story was not only seeing the interaction between Layla and Samuel but getting the chance to write a full story from what started as a simple seed. To think this story was originally a short story. I was really focused on the redemption part, something I wanted to show through Samuel’s pov especially. Speaking from a place I was at in my life, there are times when we really feel like a beast, much like Samuel. So much so that we let other people or ourselves condemn us to an indefinite hell. Here’s to Samuel and Layla for saying NOPE to that, and finding their own means of escape out of their bindings.
Thanks for reading! Curse of the Blacknoc Witch releases April 22nd. You can actually pre-order it now. I will be sending out prizes to a handful of entrants who pre-order so be sure to keep those receipts for your chance to win! You can follow my website or any social media links for future updates on that!
QUESTIONS
1. Do you try more to be original or to deliver to readers what they want?
I do try. I don’t know if I ever succeed but I try. By doing that I just try to avoid clichés in general. When I’m reading books I don’t like to be able to predict the plot. I love to be surprised, especially when the author tosses a plot twist. I love those moments! I think readers like that too so I try to incorporate that.
2. If you could tell your younger writing self anything, what would it be?
Don’t wait. Don’t wait on anything or anybody. I regret how much time I wasted waiting on the days for procrastination to end. One of the reasons why I say don’t wait is because you just don’t realize how much time goes by until it’s gone. One day you have one great story idea. You write the first ten chapters and then the doubt begins to settle. Next thing you know, months fly by, and the story you were so excited about turns eight years old. Don’t wait for the validation to come through and say you’re a great writer. Don’t wait because you’re fearful of criticism or rejection letters from editors. Just do it. Just write and make your own path. Learn how to snort the criticism. No one is going to make you a writer for you. You must do this on your own.
Then again, if I actually had told my younger self this I probably would have rolled my eyes at my older self, haha. There are just some things you learn at your own pace and there’s nothing wrong with that. 
