About Rue:
I’m Rue! I’m a total geek. This is pretty much the most important thing to know about me. Just kidding! I may be an adult but I have the heart of a child. I know when to be serious but I’m a hard worker with serious control issues, and maybe a splash of wit and a side of sassy. I’m addicted to La Croix Lime, obsessed with potatoes, and also an ink pen hoarder.
When I’m not writing, I’m probably binge-watching something on Netflix or adventuring around town with my partner who encourages me to embrace my inner outdoors-woman (who doesn’t actually exist) by kayaking and hiking.
I’m a huge nerd, so please feel free to send me a friend requests, email, or leave a comment. I will jump for joy any time any of those things happen. I am blessed beyond belief with all the love and support I have received as an author and I thank all of you for that!
What inspires you to write?
Everything inspires me to write! The “Notes” app on my phone is overflowing with little tidbits of wisps of ideas that strike me—everywhere. I may overhear a conversation at a café, bump into someone at the grocery store, or read a funny article online. My mind is always swirling things together to create stories. My first series, The Lake Effect, is an amalgam of people and places from several decades—the names were changed to protect the guilty! My new series, The Chronicles of Hawthorn, comes from a deep place in my heart. I fell in love with New Zealand and the Maori people, so that started bubbling in my brain, and I LOVE smart girls in stories, so I knew Flynn had to be a determined little thing…and I’m off! Each book in this YA Fantasy series reveals new layers of the world and the characters. I’m having so much fun writing!
Tell us about your writing process.
I was a pantser in college and fed off the energy of pushing the limits of procrastination! Now that writing is my business I try to take a more responsible approach. I jot ideas down on 3×5 cards and I fiddle with the order of the cards (until I’m dizzy), and then I put everything into Scrivener. I LOVE Scrivener! I find this tool especially helpful for a series, because it gives me a quick easy way to check the color of a character’s eyes, the use of a particular herb, or the spelling of a spell. Sometimes a word or minor character will only appear once or twice in a book, and it is hard to recall the details in the middle of a flow. The Scrivener file becomes my series bible. I still have a ridiculous amount of notes scribbled on legal pads, but that has more to do with my office supply obsession than any real necessity.
For Fiction Writers: Do you listen (or talk to) to your characters?
Oh boy! I can’t stop listening to my characters. When I get into the meat of a book I can’t even sleep with out hearing the constant chatter of my cast. I have dreams about them, I talk out loud to them when I’m plotting, and I argue with them when they decide not to follow my outline! (I mean I worked so hard on it and I typed it into Scrivener, and everything!)
What advice would you give other writers?
I hate giving advice 🙁 Seriously, if you are a writer—write. That’s it. Don’t listen to all the naysayers, don’t read the bad reviews (or the good ones), don’t let other people ruin you passion for your craft. Sit down every day and bang out some words. Writers write.
How did you decide how to publish your books?
I formed a publishing company (LLC) and I decided to self-pub. I did a lot of research and I made a difficult decision. I’m still learning and I still make plenty of mistakes, but at the end of the day I get to control what I write and when I publish it—that makes me happy.
What do you think about the future of book publishing?
I LOVE real books, but I am very concerned that they will disappear. Why will companies want to invest in expensive printing press, etc. when they can make millions by re-purposing a single digital file? I will always vote for actual printed books, but I think there’s an expiration date on that technology.
What do you use?: Professional Editor, Professional Cover Designer, Beta Readers
What genres do you write?: YA Fantasy, Romantic Comedy, LGBTQ
What formats are your books in?: eBook, Print, Both eBook and Print
Website(s)
Rue Home Page Link
Link To Rue Page On Amazon
Your Social Media Links
Goodreads
Facebook
Twitter
Pinterest
Instagram
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.
