Does your brain try to sabotage your sleep time and keep you awake thinking about all the things that need to get done the next day? (Or that you should have done today? Or that you wish you’d done differently today?)

Rebecca Chastain – 16 November 2014

The Back Flap

Madison Fox just learned that her ability to see souls is more than a sight: It’s a weapon for fighting evil. The only problem is she doesn’t have a clue what she’s doing.

On the positive side, her money problems are over, she’s possibly discovered her purpose in life, and her coworker is smoking hot. On the negative side, evil creatures now actively hunt her, and deadly experiences are becoming the norm.

When she thinks it couldn’t get worse, a powerful evil sets up shop at a local hotel’s video game convention, and it’s got its eye on more than the gaming geeks: it is hungry for Madison’s soul. Madison needs to become an expert illuminant enforcer overnight to save her job, her region . . . and her life.

If Stephanie Plum fought evil with magic, it’d look a lot like this.

About the book

What is the book about?

A Fistful of Evil kicks off at the beginning of Madison Fox’s career as an illuminant enforcer, a job she’s not even aware exists, at first. Then she learns that her ability to see souls is more than a sight: It’s a weapon for fighting evil, and she’s in charge of protecting the ordinary people living in her suburban area from invisible-to-them evil creatures. The only problem is she doesn’t have a clue what she’s doing. When a powerful evil settles in at a local video game convention to take advantage of Madison’s incompetence, Madison scrambles to become an expert enforcer overnight to save her region and her life.

When did you start writing the book?

I started writing FoE in 2007 as my very first NaNo WriMo challenge.

How long did it take you to write it?

It took a little over a month to finish the novel. Or so I thought. My first draft was rough, and required extensive edits, but having that solid first draft (and the energy and excitement of having finished a novel in a month) was enough to keep me enthusiastic through the five long years of off-and-on edits. Realistically, the book probably took me two years to finish. It was the second novel I’d written, and while I understood how to put sentences together, and I had some clue about characters and setting and tension, it was a steep learning curve to put it all together into a workable, fun book.

Where did you get the idea from?

Does your brain try to sabotage your sleep time and keep you awake thinking about all the things that need to get done the next day? (Or that you should have done today? Or that you wish you’d done differently today?) If so, you’ve probably got your own arsenal of distraction techniques. One of mine is to picture something. It’s hard to itemize the grocery list while visualizing dolphins swimming. One night in particular, my cat was lying next to my pillow (asleep! yes, I was jealous), so I tried picturing her as if I could see her heat signature. That morphed to picturing her soul, all pure and white and beautiful. Then thinking about a character who could see souls. But, of course, just seeing souls is rather bland, at least for a story, so there needed to be a conflict . . . As you can see, my distraction techniques can backfire and keep me awake, but sometimes that’s wonderful!

Were there any parts of the book where you struggled?

The third act! I completely left that out of the early drafts. Yes, that’s a plural drafts. The rewrites were heinous but so worth it.

What came easily?

In many ways, Madison was the easiest part of the story. I’d just finished writing a huge epic fantasy (which will NEVER see the light of day) in which my main character was very introspective. I wanted the opposite with Madison. She’s bright, proactive, and optimistic but she doesn’t spend a lot of time dwelling on the deeper issues. She’d much rather be doing something. Which makes her a lot of fun to hang out with and write.

Are your characters entirely fictitious or have you borrowed from real world people you know?

I think it’s impossible to create entirely fictitious characters: All characters are an amalgam of people you know or ways you’ve seen people (including yourself) react to situations. That said, I did not base Madison or any other character on anyone I knew. It’s too much fun to create brand-new characters with flaws and goals and loves that are unique to them. I have a great template to fill out for each character that helps me get to know them, and I reference each template throughout the writing process to make sure my characters stay true to themselves.

We all know how important it is for writers to read. Are there any particular authors that have influenced how you write and, if so, how have they influenced you?

There was a time when I first started writing when you could tell what book I had been reading when I wrote a scene, because that author’s influence reshaped my voice. Fortunately, that’s no longer the case. I love authors who can write quick-read stories that are engrossing and ultimately uplifting—and this is what I strive to create in my own writing. In that respect, Ilona Andrews, Katie MacAlister, Jayne Castle, and Janet Evanovich have all influenced how I write. I would love for people to see A Fistful of Evil as a can’t-put-down fun read.

Do you have a target reader?

My target reader is someone looking for a reality escape, who wants to be entertained, and who treasures a happy ending. If you’re looking for a tear-jerker, family drama, or ambiguous ending, my book is not right for you. As for the right age demographic, I’ve been told that A Fistful of Evil is good for a mature YA reader, and I’ve had grandmas who have loved the book, too.

About Writing

Do you have a writing process? If so can you please describe it?

I am perpetually perfecting my process, but the current version looks a lot like this: After the initial idea, I do a lot of world-building and character-creation brainstorming. This involves pages and pages of freeform notes and minimal to extreme amounts of research. All specific ideas, no matter how small (ex: a character with a Mohawk) or large (ex: use the theme of being in control of your own destiny) gets added to a bulleted list. This continues until I have a general feeling that I have a story (a process that can take anywhere from a few weeks to a few years), and usually generates about 20 pages of bulleted text. Then I rearrange the bullets I’m keeping into an outline, fill in the gaps, and start writing. When I’m writing, I try to write six days a week until the book is done. Then editing commences, followed by rewrites, editing, beta reader feedback, more editing and rewrites, etc., until the novel is polished.

Do you outline? If so, do you do so extensively or just chapter headings and a couple of sentences?

I wrote two books without an outline. The first was 1,000+ pages long and most of it a rambling mess. The second was the first draft of FoE, and it lacked a third act. I now outline a teensy bit obsessively, and before I begin writing, I run my outline through a series of checks to make sure I have a complete story, complete external and internal character arc, and no plot holes. Making changes to the outline before writing saves a ton of time later on.

Do you edit as you go or wait until you’ve finished?

Editing as I go turns the text to quicksand and I make no progress. I especially never edit the first chapter before I’ve finished the book. The beginning always changes. A lot. If I’ve done my job with the outline, I should be able to start writing and not stop until I type “The End.” There are exceptions, of course. If a new idea (one not vetted in the outline process, but that seemed worthy of pursuing) steered the novel into a quagmire of manure, I will stop everything, return to the outline and update it as needed, cut text (I’ve cut upwards of 50 pages from a work-in-progress before), and then get back on track.

Did you hire a professional editor?

I am a professional copyeditor and proofreader in my day job, and I’m pretty good. Which means my final drafts look sharp. That said, I still suffer the same blindness to my own errors as the next author, so I like to get my work looked at by other professionals and readers.

Do you listen to music while you write? If yes, what gets the fingers tapping?

If the writing’s going well, it doesn’t matter what I listen to. I’m partial to female vocalists, and to songs I’m already familiar with (songs I’ve listened to while working on my day job). New lyrics are too distracting; after all, songs are each miniature stories, and when I’m writing, it’s so much easier to think about someone else’s tale. If the writing isn’t going well, and I’m stuttering through a scene, I turn to classical music, Enya, and mellow musicals. Having some sound prevents me from listening to the pauses between typing without distracting me from the words on the screen.

About Publishing

Did you submit your work to Agents?

I did. For many years, I got a lot of rejections, but I started to think about self-publishing when the rejections became positive. “I really like your writing, but this story isn’t for me,” became a familiar refrain. I decided to see if readers felt the same way. So far, the reviews have been delightfully positive.

What made you decide to go Indie, whether self-publishing or with an indie publisher? Was it a particular event or a gradual process?

Self-publishing was a gradual awakening for me. At first I resisted because I didn’t want to publish subpar work. Once I knew my writing was good enough, then I was daunted by the process, especially being completely in charge of the entirety of the marketing behind my books. Again, that was a gradual perspective shift. Now, I love that I created my own publishing house, Mind Your Muse Books, am in charge of all the details and decisions on my books, and get to be the enthusiastic voice of my product.

Did you get your book cover professionally done or did you do it yourself?

There was never a question of not going with a pro. I have yet to master Microsoft Paint. Photoshop is a program designed to induce a migraine. There was no way I was going to put together a quality cover myself.

Do you have a marketing plan for the book or are you just winging it?

I have a six-page marketing plan that includes everything from contacting my hometown paper to maintaining a social media presence, including a regularly updated blog. The one thing I promised myself was that I wouldn’t attempt to do it all at once. I look at marketing as an ongoing, long-term process, one that I’ll hopefully get better at with each new release.

Any advice that you would like to give to other newbies considering becoming Indie authors?

Join a writing group. There are plenty online, and you can get feedback on your writing. It’s easy to miss the flaws in your own works, such as the fact that you book is missing the third act or that you never specified the gender of your gender-neutral-named character (both things I’ve done). You also get the opportunity to give feedback, and in doing so, you train yourself to look for and be able to explain flaws in a story, or what is working. You’re never going to learn it all, but the more you immerse yourself in the writing world, the faster you’ll learn.

About You

Where did you grow up?

I grew up in northern California with a brief layover in Tucson, Arizona. Living in the middle of a forest with my horses, dog, cats, and family fueled my imagination and fed my spirit.

Where do you live now?

I still live in northern California, though now I’m in a much more suburban setting. I’m not complaining, though. Having a Thai restaurant five minutes away is heavenly.

What would you like readers to know about you?

I love hearing from readers! You can contact me on my website or chat with me on Facebook. I’m always open to talks about books, writing, reading, and…well, is there anything else to talk about?

What are you working on now?

Next up is a stand-alone fantasy novella, Magic of the Gargoyles, in which the main character must rescue kidnapped baby gargoyles before they’re sold on the black market. It’s millimeters away from being ready to publish, needing only a cover and a final proofread. I can’t wait to introduce it to the world!

End of Interview:

For more, visit Rebecca’s website or like her page on Facebook.

Get your copy of A Fistful of Evil from Amazon US, Amazon UK, Barnes & Noble, or Smashwords.