Interview with Rayne Forrest

We are talking today with Rayne Forrest. Rayne, I would first like to thank you very much
for taking time out of your busy schedule to answer a few questions for our readers.

Thanks for inviting me to do an interview.

Your book The Rea Cheveyo Chronicles: Kiana was wonderful, delightful and just plan good. How did you come up with this story line?

I’m glad you enjoyed it. I had a lot of fun writing the characters of Ian Logan and Kiana na Jamallan. Kiana was a challenge. She appears to be naïve and innocent on the surface, but that’s because she doesn’t know much about humans. The truth is she’s a smart cookie.

I enjoy series where the main characters in one novel appear in subsequent stories as supporting players. I enjoy having that glimpse into their lives and knowing they’re still happy. So I decided to create a new universe where that would happen.

THE REA CHEVEYO CHRONICLES:KIANA is the first in what I hope will be a total of six stories. The second in the series, TALYSS, is already in edits, but I don’t have any idea yet as to when it will be released.

What kind of research, if any, did you do before writing this book?

One thing I did was look at the constellations to decide what area of space I wanted to travel to. But for the most part I don’t try and reinvent the wheel. Space travel, a space ship, different worlds – it’s all just the background behind a man and a woman falling in love and working things out so they can be together. Their relationship is the heart of the story. Telling their story is why I write. I’ll leave the techno-babble to someone else.

Who is your favorite character in this book?

That would be Ian Logan. Ian meets Kiana and is immediately at a crossroads. He has to take a few risks and make a few hard decisions to help her. It becomes more and more clear to him he’s going to have to give her up if he makes a misstep. And then when she finally tells him who she really is, he thinks he’s lost it all but he keeps his head up.

Where do you look when you need inspiration for that next story line or character?

Inspiration comes from everywhere. Sometimes the ideas come to me, fully formed. THE SKIES OF MAHDIS was like that. I woke up and I knew the entire story. Sometimes I get just the seed and have to think about it for a while.

In MOUNTAIN HIGH, I looked at something I’d like to do, which is to renovate this old warehouse in my hometown, and had my heroine do that. In SKIPPING HEAVEN, I drew from the beauty of the mountains I live in and the arts and crafts my grandparents practiced as a way of life.

WHEN THE NIGHT COMES, which will be out in 2006, sprang into being while I was looking at a book about ancient mysteries. I was reading about a deserted city and that planted the seed for the story.

I was watching television one evening and the characters on the show were white water rafting. I thought it would be interesting to include a rafting adventure in a story. ACROSS TIME was that story. Babylon 5 and Star Trek: Deep Space Nine inspired THE REA CHEVEYO CHRONICLES.

Do you ever find yourself dragging your family or friends into one of your characters in your books? And, if so, do they recognize themselves?

I’ve used the first names of friends, but not their personalities. I like living too much to risk anything more than that.

Do you have any rituals that you observe when you are writing?

Not really. I may play some music, or light a votive, but that’s really about it. My office is in a separate room and coming in here and booting up the computer and settling down at the desk begins the process for me.

If you could be one of your characters for a day who would it be and why?

Trista Roberts of THE SKIES OF MAHDIS. Everyone has those days when they would just love to step outside their mundane lives and have a great adventure with a tall, handsome stranger. It happens to Trista in a way she could not have imagined.  

What do you think is your greatest achievement in writing?

I’ve only been writing for a short while, since January 2003. True achievement still lies ahead for me as my voice continues to develop and strengthen. It’s a process that I embrace.

What is the strangest thing a fan has said or done to get your attention?

I have a fan? Seriously, I’ve gotten some lovely emails from people, but nothing I’d call strange.

Is there a downside to your success?

Not anymore. It was pretty rough in the beginning. I felt guilty about spending less time with family and friends but that faded. Now everyone knows that I’m completely serious about having a second career and are supportive. We’ve all learned to spend intentional time together. And it really helps that from the very start my mom and my husband were one hundred percent behind me.  

What is your advice to people who are just beginning to write?

I say this all the time, but I really mean it. To thine own self be true.

If you want to write, decide for yourself what success is. Don’t let someone else tell you what makes you successful. Don’t try and write to someone else’s ideals. Tell your story, your way. At the end of the day, you have to live with yourself.

Are you working on anything at the moment? Can you give our readers a sneak preview of
the next book?

I’m currently about thirty-two thousand words into a contemporary. When I need to take a break from that, I’m plotting a futuristic. I also have the manuscript of book three of THE
REA CHEVEYO CHRONICLES drafted, ready to send to my editor when she gives me an opening. Maybe she’ll even approve it!

The best way to get sneak peeks into what’s coming up is to join one of my lists. I have a new chatter’s list for those who enjoy conversation. The name of the place is The Starlight Café, which is right out of THE REA CHEVEYO CHRONICLES. This list is really new. I think there are only eleven people signed up so far. Half of them are friends I pleaded with to come keep me company there! To join, send a blank email. If that’s a bit cumbersome, there’s a sign up box on my website.

If chatter is not your thing, but you still want the news and excerpts, then you might want
to join the newsletter mailing list. This is strictly the newsletter and special announcements with only two or maybe three posts a month that I generate. To join the mailing list, send a blank email. There again, you can also go to my website and use the little subscribe box.

For those who enjoy reading blogs. I update it a few times a month and I never know what the topic will be until I start typing.

Thank you again for taking time to respond to our questions.

Thanks for the opportunity to tell people a little about my books and myself. And thanks to everyone at Coffee Time Romance for the great job they do.