Hey everyone! I’m so thrilled to be kicking of the Paranormal/Horror Blog Fest with Author Racquel Kechagias.
Born in March 1991 in Sydney, Australia, Racquel Kechagias spent most of her childhood reading adventure and fantasy books, while exploring the inner creativity of her mind through her interactions with other children and story-telling. After graduating high school, she entered university to study her Bachelor of Arts where she is majoring in English and Education. She has a deep love for books, chocolate, Supernatural, Marvel movies, anti-heros and villains. She would prefer to have Loki over Thor any day of the week.
Racquel is giving away TWO ebook sets of The Fire of the Soul series. Enter here:
http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/9106c51/
Author Questions
When did you realize you wanted to be an author?
I realized that I wanted to be an author when I was in my late years of high school around 2006-2008. It was when we were requested to do a creative piece of writing that I realized that I had the potential of turning a school project into something more.
In what genre do you write?
The majority of what I’ve written so far has been YA Fantasy as that is my preferred genre to write in. However, I have also released a collection of poetry.
Is there a genre you haven’t written in, but want to?
Yes, I would like to one day try my hand at a thriller or horror genre story. I think a major reason behind that is because I’m a huge Stephan King fan.
What is your writing process? Such as, outlining, freehand, computer vs paper and pen?
It’s a little bit of everything I guess. A lot of it is computer based but I do have a lot of resources that I use that aren’t on the computer either i.e. Character flashcards. Although this may be a little unorthodox when planning a new book or series I start by compiling a playlist. That playlist helps me to keep the same theme, style and mood throughout my process of writing. Most of my outline is done by computer, or through my phone/iPad. I like to back it all up through google drive so I can access it wherever I go. I outline in dot points, elaborating on the major or more complex plot lines. I do both well before I start writing a new book or series as it helps me to stay focused and helps avoid ‘writers block’ 90% of the time.
Who are you writing inspirations, famous or not?
That’s a hard one. There is so many people that are inspirations for me but I’ll only name two to save time. As I mentioned earlier Stephan King is a big one but I’m also inspired by Rachelle Mead as well, every time I read a new book of hers or return to one of my favorites (of hers) I’m left with that same feeling that I got the first time I read the book and that’s something I’ve always wanted to do and now aim to do.
How much research, if any, did you have to put into your novel(s)?
For this series ‘The Fire of the Soul’ there wasn’t much research that I had to do. As the story is set in a parallel world not much of what makes sense in our world relates in there but despite that fact there was still some research that had to be done, mainly it was spent on weapons and naming characters especially the ‘Immortals’ in my series as they are based off of ancient gods (greek, roman, celtic etc).
Do you listen to music while you write or edit? If so, who do you listen to?
Definitely. As I mentioned before I create playlists before I even start writing to get that style and mood that I want for the book/series. One of my favorites to listen to is ‘Two Steps from Hell’. Their music doesn’t have lyrics but it’s all instrumental and is simply amazing. Besides them my taste in music is all over the place. I go from classic rock (Foreigner, ACDC, Bob Seger, Metallica) to more modern rock (Muse, Avenged Sevenfold, The Cab, Evanescence, Linkin Park, Matchbox 20, Maroon 5, Paramore), Movie Scores (I particularly like the Transformers and Dark Knight albums) and I’ve even got some Jazz/Blues in there (I put a spell on you by Screamin’ Jay Hawkins).
When you’re not being an amazing author and writing away, what do you for fun?
Haha besides reading? There’s not much time for fun between work, school and writing but in those precious moments where I do get some free time I’m either chilling before the T.V. screen catching up on my favorite shows or at the mall, do some shopping.
What has been the most exciting experience for you since starting your writing career?
The most exciting experience for me since starting on this crazy ride is being able to meet other authors and some of the amazing readers who have read what I’ve written.
Who created your amazing cover art?
I tried to work with a few people to make my cover art but every time I just wasn’t satisfied. So I decided to learn how to do it myself lol!
Give us a brief description of your WIP (work in progress) or your newest novel.
My current WIP is ‘The Eternal Flame’ the third book in my series ‘The Fire of the Soul’. It basically picks up a week after the events of ‘Last Ashes’ where the main villain Novak has returned from his imprisonment and raises his son Christian back from the dead. The novel follows Anna and her friends during the last leg of her trials and sees her eventual rise to destroy Novak, in a battle that will obliterate the world around her.
I won’t say if Anna is successful in destroying Novak or not but it’ll definitely be something to see. I’m actually really looking forward to publishing this in late January/early February. I don’t know if it will have a HEA/HFN ending but if it does it will have a twist that may or may not cause a riot lol.
Reader Questions
What author would you geek out over if you met them in real life?
Hands down it would be Richelle Mead. Why? Because what girl can’t resist the charms of Adrian Ivashkov? But also because she is one of my favorite authors of all time and I kind of geek-out every time I read one of her books.
Hands down, what is your favorite book of all time and why?
Oh that’s hard. Haha there’s so many and even if I name a series there would still be too many. It’s most likely a tossup between House by Frank E. Peretti & Ted Dekker and Phantom by Susan Kay. House is one of my favorites as it’s a great supernatural thriller about the true extent of humanity’s evil. The second because I’m a fan of The Phantom of the Opera and ‘Phantom’ is about the Phantom (named Eric in the novel) and his life from birth until death. For those who have seen the movie or better yet the musical you would know that there is a lot of mystery surrounding the Phantom’s life before the Opera and this book goes into great depth and sheds some light on to what exactly the Phantom/Eric actually experienced in his life.
What book would you like to see in film or do you believe that books should be left alone?
I love film adaptions of novels, they provide a gateway for interest in the books for those less inclinded to read and for those of us who have read the book before the movie, it shows us an interpretation of the stories we love. Yes, there are some that aren’t as great as the book i.e. ‘Vampire Academy: Blood Sisters (2014)’ and ‘The Host (2013)’ but there are some that go beyond expectation such as ‘The Hunger Games’, ‘Catching Fire’ and the much-awaited ‘Mockinjay Pt 1’ as well as ‘The Maze Runner’ and ‘The Fault in our Stars’ to name a few.
The movie I’m most excited to see (that’s already in production) is the Mockinjay movies. I mean who isn’t excited to see it?! But as for what isn’t made into movies I think I would like to see Neil Gaiman’s graphic novel ‘The Sandman’ done as a TV series. I think it would be too long of a series to be done as a movie but it would definitely be interesting to see.
As a reader, what about a book turns you away?
I think what turns me away most is if it’s slow to begin or if it’s too predictable. I feel that a book should pique your interest from the first few pages.
If you find you can’t get into a book, do you put it down or be a trooper and finish it?
I’m usually a trooper and push through. I rarely find that I can’t finish a book but there are times when it happens.
Do you stick to one genre or do you like to read around?
I do like to read around but I tend to stay away from anything in the romance/erotica genres. I don’t mind if there’s some romance thrown in with a different genre but I don’t stay interested in it for too long if it’s by itself.
Are you a book-in-your-hands reader, e-booker, or both?
Both. If it’s a traditionally published book then I prefer a paperback but as I’ve begun reading indie books as well (in a sense to give back and to help out others) so I usually get them as e-books.
Random Questions
Favorite movie?
There’s far too many to name them all. I enjoy watching anything with Jim Carey in it (but especially Bruce Almighty, The Cable Guy), Easy A, The Underworld Series (But not #2) and The Hunger Game movies.
Favorite TV show?
There’s far too many to name them all. To name a few though there is Supernatural!!!, Haven, American Horror Story (That clown looks scary as hell, did I mention I have a fear of clowns?!), The Strain, Hart of Dixie, Hannibal!!!, The Big Bang Theory, Once Upon a Time, Beauty and the Beast, Game of Thrones and Grimm.
If you could eat one dish for the rest of your life, what would it be?
Haha I don’t know, maybe Shepherd’s Pie but eventually I would get sick of it.
What’s your favorite candy/dessert?
Any type of pie or tart, though I prefer apple or pecan pie and custard tarts.
What band or musician can you listen to over and over again? You can list more than one.
I think that may be Lady Antebellum, Tyrone Wells or The Cab.
What’s your hidden talent?
My hidden talent is good at hiding that even I don’t know what it is lol.
What is your dream vacation?
My dream vacation would be somewhere out in the woods in a cottage or a cabin.
Contact Information:
Author Name: Racquel Kechagias
Blog: www.rkechagias.wordpress.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/RLKechagias
Twitter: https://twitter.com/R_L_Kechagias
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/Rkechagias
Pinterest: http://www.pinterest.com/rkechagias/
Book Links: http://www.amazon.com/Racquel-Kechagias/e/B00B0OM3FU (Amazon Author Page)
A.G. Porter 