I welcome author, William Trelawny. He's talking about his book, The Adventures of Riley Raccoon. Riley Raccoon, is moving up the charts at Amazon!
How long have you been writing? Well, aside from AP English class, I suppose I’ve
been writing since about 8th grade. Nothing serious, of course, and nothing I’m ever
going to publish, but I wrote short, isolated stories or short stories and poems. I
would write from inspiration, much like in Riley Raccoon, but back then I would
always encounter severe writer’s block and the story would end up just being a
single scene. Riley was the first story I wrote that just kept writing and writing,
mostly writing itself. I’d never experienced that before, and it was wonderful that I
was actually able to finish Riley and publish him.
been writing since about 8th grade. Nothing serious, of course, and nothing I’m ever
going to publish, but I wrote short, isolated stories or short stories and poems. I
would write from inspiration, much like in Riley Raccoon, but back then I would
always encounter severe writer’s block and the story would end up just being a
single scene. Riley was the first story I wrote that just kept writing and writing,
mostly writing itself. I’d never experienced that before, and it was wonderful that I
was actually able to finish Riley and publish him.
Your book is for children but it will appeal to all ages. Do you feel that's important when writing for children or young adults? When I started Riley, I had a vague intention of it being a children’s story- being about raccoons and all. But as I wrote,
I disregarded all marketing aspects and just wrote what I felt the story should
be, regardless of readers’ age, background, etc. I wrote Riley for me, and what I
wanted him to be. And the deeper, more mature themes and morals just manifested
themselves as I kept writing, eventually to the point that it was hard to consider this
a simple children’s book, because there’s much in there a child alone might not be
able to understand.
I disregarded all marketing aspects and just wrote what I felt the story should
be, regardless of readers’ age, background, etc. I wrote Riley for me, and what I
wanted him to be. And the deeper, more mature themes and morals just manifested
themselves as I kept writing, eventually to the point that it was hard to consider this
a simple children’s book, because there’s much in there a child alone might not be
able to understand.
Is there a moral to your story? Yes, most definitely. Riley learns, primarily through
the guidance of Charlotte, that the world is filled with mediocrity and creatures
that can’t recognize nor respect beauty and perfection, such as his three “havens”
represent. Riley learns he must do everything in his power to protect and preserve
such beauty in the world, for as long as it exists, it is in danger of being defiled. This
translates very accurately to our current world, in which mediocrity in humans is
praised, and true beauty is either ignored or destroyed by the common average.
What do you do in your spare time...hobbies?
the guidance of Charlotte, that the world is filled with mediocrity and creatures
that can’t recognize nor respect beauty and perfection, such as his three “havens”
represent. Riley learns he must do everything in his power to protect and preserve
such beauty in the world, for as long as it exists, it is in danger of being defiled. This
translates very accurately to our current world, in which mediocrity in humans is
praised, and true beauty is either ignored or destroyed by the common average.
What do you do in your spare time...hobbies?
I enjoy finding ways to live minimally.
I plan on traveling around planet Earth and not spend a fortune doing so.
More conventionally, I enjoy playing baseball, composing music, and reading
philosophically challenging books.
What is your writing process? Do you outline or wing it? I personally don’t like
outlining a story. Unless, of course, you’re writing non-fiction. I did not have an
outline in Riley, I suppose you could say I winged it. But I had a general idea of
what I wanted to happen and what themes and morals I wanted to convey. But like
I said, the story practically wrote itself. Riley and Charlotte are two personas I am
intimately familiar with, so I basically just sat them together and let them talk to
each other, myself acting merely as a scribe of their conversation.
Do you have a favorite author? There are three different things I like about my three
favorite authors. Cormac McCarthy- his writing style, though not too apparent in
Riley’s story (that would surely be something to read- a McCarthian adaptation of
Riley Raccoon!), is very brutal, especially his dialogue scenes. Ayn Rand- for her
philosophical themes and way of embedding them so deeply and effectively in her
fictitious stories. And Charlotte Bronte - for her classic prose, and beautifully artistic
descriptions. That’s probably the strangest mix of authors you’ve ever seen…
Has any author inspired you to write? Well early on, I was very influenced by Charlotte Bronte. I read Jane Eyre my freshman year and proceeded to write some of my
short story/scenes, which were extremely descriptive and artsy. After a few years,
though, Cormac McCarthy added his style to the mix. My senior year, I did a series
of short western scenes that were heavily influence by his writing style. It was a lot
of fun, and helped me fine tune my writing style. Once again, a strange mix- like
peanut butter and mayonnaise…
Share something about your publishing journey. You went Indie. Did you submit to a traditional publisher? No I did not submit to a traditional publisher, I decided to go all on my own this first time through. I wanted to get a first-hand taste of what
the eBook industry was all about. I began by publishing to Smashwords, Barnes &
Noble, and Amazon, but had little success. So just recently, I joined KDP Select and
am going Kindle-exclusive for 90 days. We’ll see how that goes I guess…
How did you come up with the idea for your book? My book was inspired by my
partner, as stated in the dedication. She is a wonderful person, a brilliant mind,
and a lovely woman. She has taught me so much over the years, and I. She is my
blackberry bush, my willow tree, and my view from the boulder on the hill.
Are you working on something new? Yes, if you caught my previous statement, I do
plan on making Riley a series. For those who’ve read the book already, the second
takes place immediately (literally the next sentence) after the first book. The 2nd
installment details the life of Charlotte before she arrived at Riley’s hamlet. I realize
that may not make sense to those who’ve read it, so I’ll say that it is a flashback
story.
I plan on traveling around planet Earth and not spend a fortune doing so.
More conventionally, I enjoy playing baseball, composing music, and reading
philosophically challenging books.
What is your writing process? Do you outline or wing it? I personally don’t like
outlining a story. Unless, of course, you’re writing non-fiction. I did not have an
outline in Riley, I suppose you could say I winged it. But I had a general idea of
what I wanted to happen and what themes and morals I wanted to convey. But like
I said, the story practically wrote itself. Riley and Charlotte are two personas I am
intimately familiar with, so I basically just sat them together and let them talk to
each other, myself acting merely as a scribe of their conversation.
Do you have a favorite author? There are three different things I like about my three
favorite authors. Cormac McCarthy- his writing style, though not too apparent in
Riley’s story (that would surely be something to read- a McCarthian adaptation of
Riley Raccoon!), is very brutal, especially his dialogue scenes. Ayn Rand- for her
philosophical themes and way of embedding them so deeply and effectively in her
fictitious stories. And Charlotte Bronte - for her classic prose, and beautifully artistic
descriptions. That’s probably the strangest mix of authors you’ve ever seen…
Has any author inspired you to write? Well early on, I was very influenced by Charlotte Bronte. I read Jane Eyre my freshman year and proceeded to write some of my
short story/scenes, which were extremely descriptive and artsy. After a few years,
though, Cormac McCarthy added his style to the mix. My senior year, I did a series
of short western scenes that were heavily influence by his writing style. It was a lot
of fun, and helped me fine tune my writing style. Once again, a strange mix- like
peanut butter and mayonnaise…
Share something about your publishing journey. You went Indie. Did you submit to a traditional publisher? No I did not submit to a traditional publisher, I decided to go all on my own this first time through. I wanted to get a first-hand taste of what
the eBook industry was all about. I began by publishing to Smashwords, Barnes &
Noble, and Amazon, but had little success. So just recently, I joined KDP Select and
am going Kindle-exclusive for 90 days. We’ll see how that goes I guess…
How did you come up with the idea for your book? My book was inspired by my
partner, as stated in the dedication. She is a wonderful person, a brilliant mind,
and a lovely woman. She has taught me so much over the years, and I. She is my
blackberry bush, my willow tree, and my view from the boulder on the hill.
Are you working on something new? Yes, if you caught my previous statement, I do
plan on making Riley a series. For those who’ve read the book already, the second
takes place immediately (literally the next sentence) after the first book. The 2nd
installment details the life of Charlotte before she arrived at Riley’s hamlet. I realize
that may not make sense to those who’ve read it, so I’ll say that it is a flashback
story.
Wordpress: http://rileyraccoon.wordpress.com
Amazon: http://amzn.to/wXipZf
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