Author Interview with Lisa Shearin (Raine Benares series)

I'm pleased to present Lisa Shearin! (Note: I nabbed the photo off her site...and her hair is now short)

Lisa's latest book, The Trouble With Demons (my first review!), is the third in the snarky elf Raine Benares series, which started with Magic Lost, Trouble Found and continued with Armed and Magical. (Yes, I know I haven't reviewed these books yet. Bad me. Lack of reviews is not an indication of the books themselves. I adore them. However, my stack of books for reviewing is growing (I'm not complaining, you can never have too many books), so re-reads are lower down on the list. I'll try and review them before the fourth in the series, Bewitched and Betrayed is released April 2010).

Lisa has answered numerous questions regarding her books - check out her site for more info, plus links to some of these reviews. And her wonderful blog which I read every day. So, for my 5 questions, I aimed for those which hopefully haven't been asked before. Enjoy! Raine will be around, publisher depending, for a good while yet!

What's been the biggest, pleasant surprise about being a published author which you hadn't known about prior to publication? My fans. There is absolutely nothing better than getting fan emails when I’m having a tough day at the keyboard. I love hearing how much they love my characters, whether they’re “Team Mychael” or “Team Tam”, that they “devoured” the books, that the books helped them get through a rough time in their lives, that they read the books multiple times, that can’t wait for the next one, and urge me to write faster. One of the main reasons why I stuck it out for over 20 years and was so determined to get published was that I had these stories to share and I just knew if I could get them out there that readers would love them and my characters just as much as I do.

In relation to the last question, is there anything, not necessarily negative, but something you didn't expect to do/happen when you got published? Before being published, it’s all about the writing, the joy of creating, the dream of being published and sharing your work with the world. After being published, it’s still about those things, but now it’s also about the books (which are now products), increasing your sales, promotion, having your work out there to be embraced & adored, or kicked to the curb. I’ve found out that my skin isn’t as thick as I thought it was, but I’m working on growing a couple of armored layers. ; ) You have to. Otherwise all of these things can distract you from what’s really important—your writing and creating something that you and your fans will love.

Obviously I wish Raine's adventures to continue for a good while yet. However, have you thought about life after Raine? Do you expect to remain in the same world/genre or are you looking to branch into something new? Can we expect the same first person pov? Will there be explosions? Pirates? I’ve thought about life with some of Raine’s friends and family—from their POV. So, yes, still first person. I have characters jostling to have their stories told. I can’t say anything definite yet, but I’d like to play in Raine’s world for a long time.

Whenever you pop into a bookshop, do you check to see if they have Raine's adventures in stock? LOL. Absolutely. In fact, it’s the first place I go. And if there are any on the shelves, I gather them up, take them to the customer service desk, introduce myself, and offer to sign them. It’s always great to meet and talk to the booksellers. They know me now in my local Barnes & Noble. ; ) After the books are back on the shelves, then I do my shopping.

You work hard on maintaining a good author-fan relationship. Is this something you'd intended to do, or did it evolve naturally? I completely intended to do it. I write not only for myself, but in hopes that people will enjoy my books and characters as much as I do. Writing Raine’s adventures (while holding down a full-time day job) is hard work, so there’s nothing like fan email to brighten my day. And my blog has grown beyond what I ever imagined it could be. I told my husband that he’d have to help me blog because I didn’t have that much to say. (He laughed, knowing that once I get started talking about books and writing that you can’t shut me up.) So over 600 blog posts later, my blog has turned into kind of a writing/book industry quasi-education site: things I know, stuff I discovered, and crap I found out the hard way. I just love hearing that my advice is helping some of you who are “pre-published.” And as a really cool side note, the folks at The Writer magazine read my blog and asked if I would like to write a column for them. It’s been a dream of mine to write for this magazine, and the exposure I get from appearing in The Writer is boosting my sales. A win-win.

Lisa's website
Lisa's blog