I’m delighted to feature Taryn Rae today on the Writing Room Inspiration series. Her debut novel, Castaway Hearts has just been released, and she’s here to tell us all about her writing process. Thanks for being on the blog and sharing with us, Taryn.
Please tell us a little about yourself. What types of things do you write?
I’m a small town Kentucky girl whose dream of being a writer started when I was probably 10 or 11 years old. I’m also a stay at home mom and wife, a Jane-of-All-Trades, really. I did put my writing on the back burner for a long time and finally started writing seriously in 2006 when I realized I’d soon have two kids in school and the house to myself all day. My first novel is a historical romance, but most of what I have written or plan to write is contemporary romance.
Do you have a schedule for writing?
I don’t really have a schedule for writing, not anything daily. For the past couple of years I’ve been in the editing phase more than writing, but I wrote and finished my first 10 manuscripts using the ‘book in a month’ method I picked up from doing National Novel Writing Month. (NaNoWriMo) When I’m ready to knock out a novel, I put myself on a 30-day self-imposed deadline and lock my internal editor in the closet for the time being, gagged and bound in duct tape
Sometimes you have to be tough on that internal editor, don’t you? Do you have any writing rituals, such as music, food, clothes, or anything else to help you?
I actually do use music when I write. I set up a playlist with songs I feel express the movement, the theme or the emotions of the story as I write it. In one of my stories, the heroine was a country singer. I used many Keith Urban songs for that playlist. Some of my favorite musicians I use most often though are James Taylor, Ben Taylor (James & Carly Simon’s son), Pink, Maroon 5, Robin Thicke, Sara Bareilles, Daughtry & the All-American Rejects. It varies from story to story. I also mock up faux book covers to make it more visually “real” as I work on the book.
The faux book cover is a great idea. Who or what is your inspiration?
My inspiration comes from many different people. One of my aunts wanted to write and always had books around. On her shelves, I discovered V.C. Andrews, who is one of my favorite authors. My grandmother on my dad’s side was a librarian at Asbury College and always had books at home and supplied me with a lot of great classics growing up like The Witch of Blackbird Pond, Little Women, The Secret Garden, and Anne of Green Gables, just to name a few. My parents and closest friends push me onward toward my goals. There is also someone special, who has been my muse for years, always inspiring me to believe that love conquers all & true love is a very real & viable thing that can be touched with the hands, felt with the heart and never dies. It lives on, existing in every fiber of our being, whether we’re together or not.
That’s so romantic. I can guess who it is. Could you tell us about your writer’s space?
Since I got my laptop, I’ve taken up residence in my bedroom. Situated in the corner next to the trunk that houses my souvenirs of childhood, the wall in front of me has a lovely seascape picture, a calendar, a wooden sign I once designed and painted that says “Love~ an irresistible desire to be irresistibly desired.” I draw inspiration from the two faux Van Gogh pictures as well- Night Stars and Starry Night.
A poster for inspiration- “We do not remember days, we remember MOMENTS.” Along with Mother’s Day cards and drawings from my kids is a printed out saying that reminds me to be humble- “Grace is when God gives us what we don’t deserve and Mercy is when God doesn’t give us what we do deserve…”
That’s so true about us remembering moments. Off the topic of writing, what is the zaniest, craziest thing you’ve ever done?
Zaniest, craziest thing I’ve ever done would probably be meeting my husband on match.com and moving to be with him after we’d known each other all of four months online. We met once in real life before I moved here, but we’ve been together since 2001.
That’s amazing! You must have known he was “The One” right away. Do you have anything else you’d like to tell us?
My first novel, a historical romance, Castaway Hearts is out now through Turquoise Morning Press.
Twice orphaned, Catherine Barrett arrives in Virginia a stranger to her closest kin and secretly engaged to the one man her family would disapprove of- her seafaring grandfather’s apprentice. Add to her troubles, the rich and intriguing older brother of her secret betrothed, Dawson Randolph, a plantation owner who is as heartless as he is handsome. Heartbroken when her intended sets sail for his maiden voyage, Catherine finds it difficult to adjust to her new life, hoping to befriend the one man who is, undoubtedly, the match her grandparents wish for her. Dawson’s distaste for her secret engagement to his brother makes it clear he has no designs for marriage to anyone. Especially her.
Ten years since the tragic loss of his young wife and infant son, Dawson Randolph is convinced love and marriage is a fool’s game and resents being pardon to his brother’s hidden engagement. Damned by his instant attraction and his own growing desire, Dawson vows to befriend her against his better judgment. Determined to bring her happiness in a time of fear and uncertainty, Dawson puts aside his animosity to become her confidant, only to realize Catherine holds the key to his heart. When tragedy strikes at sea, Catherine’s guilt pushes Dawson to the fringes of her life as madness consumes her.
Can his love save her before she drowns in her own grief? Or is he doomed to love her from a distance, always in the shadow of her love for his dead brother?
Castaway Hearts sounds fabulous. Last of all, what advice would you give to other writers?
Write, write, write. As long as inspiration strikes, and even when it doesn’t, you have to write. Put that pen to paper, those fingers to the keyboard. Breathe life into the characters that reside within you and keep following your dream.
Do you want to know more about Taryn Rae? Here are the places to find her online.
Thanks again for doing this interview, Taryn. I wish you great success with Castaway Hearts and with all your future books.
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