When a bitter evil threatens to destroy her, the prince, her new friends, and the rest of the kingdom, Elaina finds a remarkable power within herself. Along with this power, she discovers who she truly is, the incredible truth about her parents, and how she came to live on the farm.
Where will these truths lead Elaina? To find out, RJ Francis, author of the ‘The Orphan’s Secret’ has returned to ItsWriteNow.com to chat about secrets and the joy of writing. RJ, it’s wonderful to see you again. What’s been happening since we last chatted in February?
Working on Books 2 and 3 in the Principality series! I’m happy to announce that Book 2, “The Captive Twin” is available now. To celebrate, and so as many readers as possible can get caught up on the story before diving into Book 2, I’m dropping the price on Book 1 to zero for two days only – November 4 and 5.
New and discounted books are always so exciting! So, book 2 is out there awaiting readers, for those readers who’ve already blasted their way through ‘The Captive Twin’, can you tempt us a little with book 3?
I am working on Principality Book 3, “The Fallen Mender.” It’s almost done actually, but I am quite a perfectionist and it will be 2018 before my readers get to know what happens next.
2018 will be here before we know it, and it’s great to know there’s at least one new read we can all anticipate. However, anticipation does imply a little knowledge about the book at hand. For those readers who haven’t been run across ‘The Orphan’s Secret’ before, can you share a taste of what a reader can expect?
“The Orphan’s Secret” is where the Principality story begins: on that stormy night when Prince Jaimin literally fell into Elaina’s life (he fell from his horse outside her barn). She went to fetch some water, and when she returned, he was gone. Intensely curious by nature, Elaina had to follow him, and within days she was wrapped up in his tumultuous world. Elaina didn’t know back in those early days how important she herself would be in saving Jaimin and the entire kingdom from disaster.
Without giving too much away can you share what you hope readers take from these important moments in Elaina and Jaimin’s journey? What did you want to say through this relationship and the course of the novel?
We may think we know who we are, and our place in this world, but most of us can only see a small fraction of our true potential. Let’s open our eyes wide and become what we were meant to be.
I love the challenge of becoming who you really are, or at least are meant to be. Was posing the possibility of greater things where you felt the most satisfaction in the course of getting this book to the readership?
I find being able to draw readers into scenes and situations to be the most rewarding. I make sure they smell the sweet smells of a place, feel the cold, and see everything happening around them. I know when I have written a good scene when I feel like I’m there myself, even after reading it for the hundredth time. And I particularly enjoy writing dialogue. I create characters with unique personalities and motivations, put them together, and they practically write their own dialogue for me.
I love it when characters write their own dialogue. Is gaining these connections with characters what keeps drawing you back to writing?
I write to entertain, engage, and inform readers, and to leave a legacy of who I am, what I love, and what I believe.
If you’re writing you should always write what you believe. So, let’s find out a little about what you believe outside of the wonderful world of writing. What do you think about the world of cat food? Why isn’t there mouse-flavoured cat food?
Who says there isn’t? You think they keep cat food factories clean and rodent-free? I bet hundreds of mice fall into those grinders.
Oh man, that is so gross. I’m not sure I ever want to eat something pre-packaged again! I’m not sure I’ll ever get that image of out my head! Let’s try moving to your head instead of mine with what happens when you get scared half to death twice?
You are 3/4 dead.
Well, if they’ve eaten that cat food 3/4 dead might be a positive thing. Let’s get creative now; if you could breed two animals together to defy the laws of nature what new animal would you create?
I would breed a Democrat and a Republican together and create a more peaceful world.
*Laughs* I like that proposition. It sounds quite easy, but I have a feeling it could get thorny quickly! What is your favourite word?
Sensual
Hmmm, I wonder if the sensual word pops up in the Principality series. I’ll guess I’ll have to read them all to find out. After they’ve injected the word sensual into their work, what do you feel is the best things writers should do to be the best writers they can?
Be original. Don’t try to copy the style of other writers.
Creation is much more fun than copying. And since I have to let you return to the world of creation, can you share your favourite line of creation from ‘The Orphan’s Secret’ to tempt those new readers out there to take up your discount?
“We must strive to look our best at all times. It’s a gift we give to others.”
RJ, thanks for giving us the gift of the Principality series, and I hope to see more of the gift again soon!
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Excited to read the book we discussed today? Find it here on Amazon: ‘The Orphan’s Secret ( ASIN: B01LOWET7W )‘.
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