Q & A with Rae Rivers by Lindsay J. Pryor

I am so excited to welcome the wonderful Rae Rivers onto The Hot Pink Typewriter today.

Rae and I met some time ago on Twitter when we discovered a mutual love for The Vampire Diaries and all such related topics. Recently she signed her first paranormal romance, part of The Keepers trilogy, with Harper Impulse. I’ve been itching to get her into the hot seat ever since. So without further ado…

Q) You have been published by Harper Impulse. What made you decide they were the right home for your books?

A) The editors are so friendly and open and this immediately came across in the way they interacted with their readers.  It was also wonderful to be able to see their photographs and put faces to their names before I submitted to them.  Once they were in contact with me, I fell in love with their enthusiasm and passion.  Between my wonderful editors and the other fabulous authors they’ve signed, I am truly blessed with an amazing team who have taught me so much.  I don’t think they realize how much I treasure them!

Q) We all love a call story. Can you tell us something about yours?

A) I will remember this day for as long as I live!  My editor emailed early one morning asking if she could phone me to discuss my submission.  Of course!  I immediately sent off my contact details and waited the entire day before she called.  Longest wait ever!  My full call story can be found here.

Q) How long have you been writing?

A) I wrote my first romance novel by hand at the age of twelve.  My mother upgraded me to a typewriter and eventually a computer which felt as though I’d struck gold! 

Q) You write paranormal romance. Why that sub-genre?

A) I didn’t pick the genre, it picked me!  I’ve always written romantic suspense novels but Sienna and her Keepers came to mind out of nowhere and insisted I write their story.  Once I started writing, I fell in love with them.  This has been a big genre switch for me but it’s been such a fun journey!

Q) The Keepers is a series. What’s the premise?

A) Three sexy brothers, Keepers, are duty bound to protect the same witch. A Keeper is a guardian destined to protect his witch and they work together to maintain the balance of nature.  Each Keeper is magically connected to his witch and possesses a unique power depending on which element of nature his witch is able to channel.  They are her fierce protectors, friends, and allies in maintaining the balance of nature. When an evil warlock threatens to upset this balance, they have to rely on this connection more than ever in order to protect each other and everything they stand for.

Q) What inspired the concept?

A) I always love an independent, feisty heroine but a handsome man who loves passionately and will fiercely protect his woman is so sexy.  Sienna came to mind first but as her duties involve a lot of shady creatures, I added a handsome alpha male, Archer, to help her.  And he came with two equally gorgeous brothers.  Three Keepers?  Why not?  After all, she’s an all time powerful witch.  The relationship between Sienna and her three Keepers is so special and unique and developing their magical connection and bond was really fun to work with.

Q) You've very carefully integrated the supernatural with the real world. What were the challenges with this?

A) I decided to opt for a real world where supernatural people live amongst ordinary people.  The challenge here was deciding the rules that go along with that as well as developing the mythology.  When I realized that their world was essentially my world and I could create my own mythology and rules real to my characters, everything fell into place.

Q) Sienna Beckham is the heroine of the series. What’s special about her?

A) In their world, there are three kinds of witches and Sienna is one of the more rare, powerful ones as she is able to channel all four elements of nature simultaneously.  Witches with this ability are treasured and protected, hence the reason she has three Keepers whereas other elemental witches only have one each. 

Q) Sienna has the characteristic red hair associated with witches. Has mythological research played a part when writing your books?

A) None at all.  Sienna’s central elemental power is fire so it felt so natural that the colour of her hair is red. Also, red hair is so sexy!

Q) From the outset, Archer is clearly besotted with Sienna. Why? 

A) He’s hardwired to guard her and they share so much history together so he feels very protective of her.  They are childhood friends that share a magical connection and a mutual destiny and over time, they’ve developed a strong attraction for each other.  A relationship between a witch and her Keeper is forbidden, cursed, and when they start to cross this line, a tragic event has Sienna fleeing Rapid Falls and her Keepers.  Book 1, Archer, picks up from here where he’s desperately searching for her. 

Q) So, Archer is one of three brothers who protect her. Is there going to be a love triangle or am I getting ahead of myself?

A) No love triangle at all!  All three brothers are duty bound to protect Sienna and they all love her but only one of the brothers, Archer, is in love with her.  As for the other two brothers ... there are two very sexy and feisty women just itching to knock their socks off!

Q) How many books are you planning for the series and what’s coming next?

 

A) Archer is the first in the series, followed by Declan, and the final book in the series will be Ethan.  Three Keepers, three stories and lots of drama, action, humour, and hot romance as each brother meets his match!

Q) Do you have any tips for writers seeking publication?

A) Keep writing, keep submitting, and enjoy the journey.  Also, social media is a wonderful way to interact with readers and authors so it’s wise to develop this platform as soon as possible.  I’ve learnt so much through all the wonderful online friends I’ve made – and had loads of fun and laughter too!

Thanks so much for having me, Lindsay!

My absolute pleasure, Rae. Thanks so much for joining us – and here’s wishing you oodles of success!

About Rae: 

I’m an avid reader and writer with a passion for writing romance novels. I live in Cape Town, South Africa, with my gorgeous husband, two beautiful children and a zoo of house pets. Besides writing, I love family time, the outdoors, travelling, watching TV series, reading and chocolate. For more information about my books, or me, please visit www.raerivers.com

You can find Rae here:

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And all links to her book here: 

Amazon UK  Amazon US  Kobo  Nook