If you're a fan of paranormal novels then you'll love the unique twist that author Viola Ryan writes into her book "The Mark of Abel," available from Muse It Up Publishing. Welcome, Viola!
When did you discover
you had a “sense of fiction?”
I can’t remember when I started writing. I have piles of
journals from when I was a kid, but my idea of a journal wasn’t just a diary. I
wrote plays and short stories. I even wrote a movie script for a sequel to
Indiana Jones. I was one of those kids who devoured the library. I could read
well before I started school. The teachers didn’t know what to do with me.
What was your favorite book as a child? As an adult? How did
those influence you as a writer?
As a child it was three books: The Wizard of Oz, which
introduced me to fantasy; Alice and Wonderland, which introduced me to warped
perspectives; and The Jungle Book, which introduced me to a wonderful world of
language. As an adult, it’s super hard. Kelley Armstrong’s Bitten is at the
top. I reread it when I need inspiration. So is Neil Gaiman’s American Gods. I
also loved Alice Seibold’s The Lovely Bones. There are series I adore, like
Charlaine Harris’ Southern Vampire Mystery, Rachel Caine’s Weather Warden,
Kresley Cole’s Immortals After Dark, Nalini Singh’s Guild Hunter, Gena
Showalters Lords of the Underwolrd and Rebecca Zanetti’s Dark Protectors.
What inspired you to
write this book?
Fallen angels are demons. Vampires are demons. According to
math, if A=B and C=B than A=C. It surprised me that no one had thought to make
fallen angels into vampires. There is a lot in paranormal already. There are
even fallen angels, but nothing really reimagined the Judeo-Christian stories
many of us grew up with. Mine are generic fallen angels. They are actually the
Watchers/Grigori from Genesis. Jesus appears and I often lifted his dialogue
right from the Gospels. For the heroine, I was watching a show on the Roman
extermination of the Dacians in present-day Romania. That cried to be in a
vampire novel. I wrote her past lives so I could include this.
How would you describe
your writing process? What must you always have while writing?
I loosely plot out the entire book, using a lot of mind maps
and asking myself “then what.” I create an index card for each scene. On it I list
what needs to happen in the scene. Each day I start out with an index card. I
tell my muse, as long as these things happen, you can play all you want. She
often surprises me, but as long as we stick to the general plot lines, things
aren’t too disorganized. One quirk I have is I always need to be chewing gum
when I write or I can’t concentrate. When I am in the zone, I don’t like music
on.
What has proven to be
your most successful marketing tool?
So far this tour is going great. I don’t have the sales
figures yet, but I’m doing well enough that my publisher is taking my book to
print. It will be out before the fall. I sunk the majority of my marketing
money into bookmarks and an ad at Bitten By Books. I think the most successful
tool has been the blurb and reviews. People are sharing these all over the
place.
What’s the best piece
of writing advice you’ve received?
What connects the readers to the book is character and how
s/he grows. Conflict is important, but only in that it is the vehicle that changes
the character. Characters change through action, not talking or thinking.
Please provide a
favorite excerpt from your book.
“What
will happen to Eve?” Lucifer could still help her, somehow circumvent
God’s
punishment or at least mitigate it. He would find a way to take it for her.
“They have been expelled from Eden. By the
sweat of Adam’s brow shall he
get bread to eat. In pain shall Eve bring forth
children.”
Eve
in pain? He didn’t know what was worse. Eve in pain, or having Adam’s
children.
“So
because they expect it, Eve must suffer. That is wrong.” The words were
directed
at himself as much as they were to God. If only he had left Eve alone.
“Wrong.”
Another power word, one that tasted similar to justice.
“That is not for you to determine.” God’s
eyes swirled gold, and a pulsing
white
aura surrounded him.
Lucifer
recoiled and shielded his eyes.
Not
for him to determine? That’s exactly what he’d done. He turned his back
on
God and scratched his head. Wrong. Justice. These were words that made no
sense
yesterday. Now they were power words.
Justice.
Friend. Wrong. Strong words demanding strong action, even if that
action
was against God.
He
froze. Against God. Abba. His
heavenly father. A voice inside him cried. A
louder
voice spurred him on. He was the only one who could protect Eve. His heart
beat
strong and steady. At his feet the Sword of Justice glinted in the firelight.
Justice.
Keeping
Eve in Eden was definitely an act of justice.
In
one smooth motion, he kicked up the sword, grabbed it, raised it above his
head,
and plunged it through God’s back into his heart. He twisted the sword, and
God
slid down into a crumpled heap at Lucifer’s feet.
“Now
it is.” Lucifer held the sword above his head. It didn’t ignite. Who
cared?
Justice had been served. Little did God know the sword he’d created would
be
his death.
Eve
appeared next to Lucifer. He couldn’t contain his joy. Now they would
fashion
the universe how they wanted.
She
touched the sword with one delicate finger. Blue flame consumed the hilt,
and
he dropped it. Before it hit the ground, it disappeared.
“You are not ready for this.”
Eve/God’s thoughts held a tinge of
disappointment.
Where can readers find
you and your book?
Buy Links:
Click here to enter the $50 Amazon gift card giveaway during Viola's book tour!
Thank you for sharing your fascinating journey and sense of fiction, Viola!!
--KSR Writer
