Pagan Writers Community

ARH – We are pleased to welcome Anthony Rella as our Featured Author for today.  Thank you for joining us!

AR – Thank you so much for the opportunity.

ARH – Please tell us a little more about yourself.

AR – I grew up in Indiana and lived in Chicago for a while, but moved to Seattle a few years ago. I’ve been a pagan and practicing witch for almost six years now. In Chicago I was involved with the local Reclaiming community, and the Brotherhood of the Phoenix. These days I study with Morningstar Mystery School and largely practice alone, though I miss community. I’m in graduate school to become a mental health counselor.

ARH – How did you get started as a writer?

AR – When I was in second grade, my family abruptly moved to a new school district midway through the school year. I discovered how shy and introverted I was, and mostly spent my time reading books on the playground during recess. At some point during the year, I decided that some day I wanted to write stories. I majored in Creative Writing in Fiction for my Bachelor’s degree, and since then have been figuring out how to live a balanced life with writing included.

ARH – Tell us more about Dreams Among The Ruins.

AR – It is a post-post-apocalyptic novel set in the land that was once the United States. The people living there are largely organized as tribes or small city-states who each have their own stories about what the United States once was, and what happened to it. One culture, the city-state of Indipol, is a solar theocracy attempting to recreate the old ways of empire and industrialism. In their expansion, they conquer a neighboring tribe of women warriors, the Sisters of Ohio, imprison the survivors, and bring them back to Indipol.

The novel is a lot about the struggle of the Sisters to grieve their enormous losses and attempt to decide what to do next. How will they preserve their culture and ways in this hostile society? Should they assimilate or resist, and how? The novel is also about the struggle of the ruling family of Indipol in their attempts to integrate the sisters into their society. How do they justify their actions? How do the stories each culture tells of the past inform their relationship to the present?

Then there are faeries, with their own agendas.

ARH – Why did you choose to self publish?  What kind of response have you received?

AR – My struggle as a writer has been to have enough confidence in my work to see it through to publication. Too often I would finish a story and decide it wasn’t perfect, but the next would be better, so I’d put it aside and start the next. I made a commitment to myself that I would finish the novel and see it through the process of publication. After finishing, I contacted agents but received little interest. My partner and friends started suggesting I consider self-publishing as an eBook, having read things about other authors having success with the process. A part of me still wants to have an actual, physical book, but I decided to try.

Mostly people have been encouraging and congratulatory. I see that the book has sold, and that feels like success, though I haven’t heard much about how people are receiving the work. The effort of marketing and promoting my work is all in my hands, and I’m still learning how I can do that successfully, particularly with so many joyful obligations in my life..

ARH – What inspired you to write this book?

AR – I took a Shakespeare class in college, and the professor pointed out that the beginning of A Midsummer Night’s Dream begins with Theseus and Hippolyta discussing their upcoming marriage, in which Theseus tells his wife-to-be how “I wooed thee with my sword.” This refers to the story of Theseus’s conquest of the Amazons, and his compelling their leader, Hippolyta, to marry him. I thought it was fascinating that this conquest frames the play but is largely in the background. I wanted to know how Hippolyta felt about it, what her motivations were.

A few years later, I was doing some spiritual work and had a vision of the faerie queen Titania, who asked me to write a story about Puck. In my research about him I reread the play, and remembered that earlier curiosity.

ARH – Are you working on a new novel? Can you tell us more?

AR – I am, though slowly. I’m writing about an alternative-history America in which Christianity has been in decline and the dominant culture is secular-pagan, but the characters are grappling with the economic recession. The novel is still telling me what it wants to be..

When graduate school classes are going, it’s harder for me to make time for writing. When I’m on break I write 500 words a day, but during the quarter it is more like 500 words a week. My general goal is that every day I do some kind of writing, whether it’s papers, blogging, poetry, or the novel. Sometimes focusing my energy is a challenge.

ARH – Are there any publishers interested in this project or are you planning on self-publishing again?

AR – At this point I don’t have a clear plan. I don’t think much about publication until the piece is done. Part of me would love to have a publisher interested, but self-promotion is an interesting challenge.

ARH – As an author, what do you think is the most important piece of advice that you would give an unpublished writer?

AR – I constantly check in with myself about what role writing plays in my life, what value it has. When I worry about what people will think of it, will it be published, who’s going to care, then I feel paralyzed and hate the whole process. But when I include writing in my life, I realize it’s part of who I am, how I express myself. I feel healthier and more whole when I do it. For me, writing has to come from the inside, from my values and passion, because then the process of writing feeds me, whether the results are published or not.

Of course, once the piece is finished, the next desire is for publication. Definitely still figuring that one out. I see a lot of change happening in society, and definitely in the publishing industry. There are a lot of possibilities for people who have the time and the passion to take risks and try new things.

ARH – Where can we go to learn more about you and purchase your books?

AR – I have a website, tonyrella.com, though I publish under the name “Anthony Rella.” My book is available on Amazon.com, Barnesandnoble.com, or Smashwords.com.

ARH – We appreciate you spending some time with us today Tony!  We wish you continued luck with, and with your other future writing endeavors.

ARH – We are pleased to welcome Laura DeLuca as our Featured Author.

LD – Thank you so much for the invitation. It is an honor to be a part of the Pagan Writers Community.

ARH – Please tell us a little more about yourself.

LD – I am 35 years old, happily married to my soul mate, and a mother of four wonderful children between the ages of 11 years and 3 months. We live at the Jersey Shore and own a seasonal family restaurant in a little tourist town called Wildwood Crest. Since we are only open in the summer, it gives me lots of time to work on writing in the winter months. I am also the sole editor of a review blog called New Age Mama. I have been practicing Wicca for almost nine years, both solitary and in groups. In my free time I enjoy Yoga, meditation, Reiki, and continuing my study of Wicca and other Pagan religions.

ARH – How did you get started as a writer?

LD – I have been writing for as long as I can remember. I worked on different books on and off since high school, but didn’t start actively trying to get published until just a few years ago.

ARH – Tell us more about Destiny.

LD – I started Destiny when I was a senior high school (back in 1994). Many of the characters in the story are based off old classmates. Darron even has the same last name as my first love. I was more than half way done when I got stuck. I had no idea how to end it. It wasn’t until I started to practice Wicca, and understood the faith behind witchcraft, that the ending became clear. So after ten years, I picked it back up and had it finished it in just a few months.

ARH – Why did you choose to go with Free Focus Publishing?  What was that experience like?

LD – I stumbled upon Free Focus Publishing by accident.  I reviewed one of their children’s books on my blog. On a whim, I asked them if they might be interested in reading my novel. They liked my review, so they said yes. I sent them the manuscript and the next day that told me they definitely wanted to publish it. A few months later, I was holding the book in my hands. It was an amazing experience. Elke Weiss, the owner of Free Focus Publishing, is a pleasure to work with. In the last year we have become more than business partners. I am proud to call her a friend.

ARH – What inspired you to write this book?

LD – The original idea came from a dream, but it was my love of magick that helped to make it the story that it is today.  The Goddess is a constant source of inspiration both in writing and in my everyday life.  Destiny is fiction and exaggerated for the sake of entertainment, but there are many aspects of the story that are based on real Wiccan practices.

ARH – Do you have more writing ideas for the future?

LD – Destiny will definitely have a sequel and possibly two or three more books in the series, depending on how well things go.  I have several other novels in progress and dozens of ideas, so I plan to be writing for a very long time.

ARH – Are you planning to use Free Focus Publishing again, or has another publisher shown interest?

LD – The sequel to Destiny, Destiny Unveiled, is currently being edited and will be out with Free Focus Publishing by June at the latest.  I also recently signed a contract with Pagan Writers Press for another YA novel called, Phantom.

ARH – As an author, what do you think is the most important piece of advice that you would give an unpublished writer?

LD – Never give up on your dreams! The industry is hard to get into and rejection can often seem harsh and discouraging.  But if you believe in yourself and your work, you will find your way to the right people. It just takes time and determination.

ARH – Where can we go to learn more about you and purchase your books?

LD – My book is available on Amazon, Barnes & Noble and the publisher’s website in both hard copy and e-book formats. To keep up with new releases and fun giveaways, you can check out my blog – http://authorlauradeluca.blogspot.com

ARH – We appreciate you spending some time with us today Laura!  We wish you continued luck with your future writing endeavors.