About H S Rivney:
Holly Rivney was born in southern California at the tail end of the Baby Boom era. Beginning her writing before high school, she considered teaching English as a career. An extroverted introvert, however, she pursued another avenue to avoid human interaction, animal sciences, but kept drifting back to the pen and paper.
Led astray into the corporate world by the desire to buy groceries, she kept her foot in the door by writing technical manuals, dabbling in copy writing, freelancing, and editing newsletters. After launching a blog aimed to educate the everyday Jane about animal care, the compulsion to put words on paper returned and hasn’t left since.
She makes her home in Las Vegas, Nevada on a rare and cherished acre oasis. Besides a husband of eighteen years, Mike, and a teenage son, Mitchell, she shares her life with dozens of domesticated creatures including horses, dogs, cats, fish, farm birds, and a neurotic feather plucking parrot. Many find their ways into novels by inspiring original characters or by portraying themselves, under fictitious names of course, to protect their identity.
Holly has two college degrees, her first in English with a Creative Writing Emphasis, and the second in Applied Veterinary Medical Technology. She holds a state license as a veterinary technician and puts that knowledge to use daily.
Holly’s interests are varied but usually boil down to science – most any science will do. Biology and Astronomy usually float to the top supported by Zoology, Astrophysics, Genetic Engineering, Marine Life, Chemistry, and Geology. You will find her at Star Trek Conventions, Writer’s Conferences, Veterinary Seminars, or on the back of one of her horses when she takes a break from the keyboard to come up for air.
What inspires you to write?
Reality inspires fiction, and fiction stirs my imagination.
Tell us about your writing process.
In earlier days I put more effort into planning a novel, but these years I find that I start with the idea and the end in mind. From there, the story almost writes itself. If it seems lean, I don’t worry because I know I’m going back to fill in the details and add the emotions and settings. Sometimes the characters themselves “tell me” what to write as they grow and change. I sometimes open a sheet of paper to jot down notes I don’t want to forget, or things I want to research or add in.
For Fiction Writers: Do you listen (or talk to) to your characters?
I live with them. They are in my life, I see them in shops, in lines, driving or walking nearby or across the street. I see clothes and think “that would fit my antagonist”, or a photo in a magazine and think I should have my protagonist wear his hair like that. They are more than imaginary friends because they are emotional, mortal, vulnerable, courageous, quirky, and I love to tell their unique story.
What advice would you give other writers?
Just start writing and see what comes out and lands on the page. Everyone has at least one story, one person they want to murder, one person they loved, one fantasy they want to live, a dark secret waiting to escape. Write about the history of shoes or the history of the world, or the history of your family, a neighbor, a famous person. The limit is only your own mind.
How did you decide how to publish your books?
A famous, successful singer dropped out of medical school because music insisted, and when he got some fame, he stayed true to his own style, not listening to the “experts” who told him what was popular, what he SHOULD do, and how to make money. Neil Diamond inspired me to write the story that I can tell, popular or profitable or not. Tired of hearing that my work was good but not what would make those big publishing houses money, I would rather write for the discerning reader, an audience that enjoys the journey, not just the consumption.
What do you think about the future of book publishing?
Self publishing is no longer the bastard of the book world. As more people discover their own talents, or lack thereof, books will improve for the sake of the read. Book publishing will always have a niche for the big guys and is a growing segment for the independents as well.
What do you use?: Beta Readers
What genres do you write?: Science Fiction, Romance, History
What formats are your books in?: Both eBook and Print
Website(s)
H S Rivney Home Page Link
Link To H S Rivney Page On Amazon
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All information in this post is presented “as is” supplied by the author. We don’t edit to allow you the reader to hear the author in their own voice.
