Author Interview: Hayley Fisher

 

Rising Calm

by Haley Fisher

About The Author:

 I'm Haley Fisher, a college student in Kansas, and I've just signed a contract with a company called Silver Tongue Press to publish my first book!

For as long as I can remember I've been an avid reader and an aspiring writer, but the step toward actually getting a book published is an enormous one for me. This is a big deal. And, as I've been told, the next step to being successful is getting the word out that my book exists.

So, though it's not in print yet—it's coming out February 14th—I'd love for people to keep an eye out for Rising Calm. It'll be the first in a series of books about a young girl who finds out her life and her fate are far bigger than  she ever realized. At the risk of giving too much away, the most I can tell you for now is that there is magic, prophecy, new worlds, and a cast of characters who I love to write.

 I'll keep this updated as Rising Calmgets farther and farther along on the path to being published. Until then, I don't have much else to say but thanks for reading!

Do you plan everything or just let the story flow?

I plan the most general parts of the story: the main plot, the significant things that are going to happen in the book, what I need to build up to the end… But I found that when I tried to plan anything more specific than that, the story would change on its own. I’d be writing and trying to follow the short outline I’d created, and then I’d realize that things were going to go an entirely different (and better) way. I’ve found it’s easier for me, for the most part, to let the story flow and let the characters do what they want!

Do your characters ever want to take over the story?

All the time! They’re such real people to me that they have minds of their own. I write my books very out of order—whatever scene I feel inspired for at the moment is the one I write, whether it’s Chapter Three or Chapter Twenty-Five. And sometimes I’ll come across one of the later scenes and realize that the character has changed far more than I originally intended by that point for the scene to make sense anymore. They tell me what to write far more often than I tell them what to do.

What is your favourite food?

Oh, goodness. There are a few foods that I could see myself happily living on for the rest of my life. Mashed potatoes are always delicious. Goldfish crackers. Anything chocolate. And chocolate-chip cookie dough is my favorite writing food!

Are you a morning person or a night owl?

I’m a night owl. No question. I love nighttime, and I’m always more inspired when it’s late than I am in the middle of the day.

Where do you dream of travelling to and why?

The United Kingdom. England, Ireland, Scotland… I’ve been to quite a few places: Austria, Germany, the Czech Republic, Niagara Falls, across most of the US, but I would love to see the countryside in the UK. It seems beautiful and unique, and there would be a lot of things to see that couldn’t be duplicated anywhere else.

Do distant places feature in your books?

Haha, in a sense! My main character is in Kansas, but she definitely travels to far-away places. Just not the ones we’re familiar with!

Do you listen to music while writing?

Almost all the time. Listening to music is second only to my love for reading and writing. I’m always looking for great new bands or songs, or finding new tracks by my favorite artists. I have a playlist on my iPod dedicated to the songs I feel most inspired by to write to.

Could you tell us a bit about your latest release?

I had a whole list of story ideas that I started in middle school that I wanted to write someday. The general plot for Rising Calm came from one of those ideas, but it became so much more than that when I actually started writing it. It was my favorite idea, this thought that the fate of an entire world rests on the shoulders of a young girl who never asked for the job and sees herself as ill-equipped for it. I don’t want to give too much away, but I will say that I had a lot of fun writing it and that I love the characters and how they started to create themselves!

What have you learned about writing and publishing since you first started?

I knew next to nothing about publishing before the process for my own book started. And I know my own experience is different than most, because Silver Tongue Press is a smaller publishing company than most. I didn’t need to use an agent, and I had direct contact with my publisher and my editor the whole time. But it takes more time than I would have guessed. After editing and proofreading and setting up covers and formatting, there is still a lot to be done in the way of contact work and getting the word out about the book; more goes into it than I thought. I’ve learned to take my time, and to trust other people with my story, and that I have to keep working at things because it’s never as perfect as you hope the first time through.

Is there anything you would do differently?

I might have waited just a little longer to find a publisher. Not that I regret anything, but I probably should have waited until I was a little farther along into the sequel before contacting Silver Tongue Press about Rising Calm. Just to be sure everything was correctly put in place for the next books, and so I could continue to make changes if they were needed.

Who, or what, if anything has influenced your writing?

Reading. More than anything, I think my love of reading has influenced my writing. If I didn’t love stories and books and reading as much as I do, I don’t think it would have ever been a dream of mine to become a writer. Other people’s stories, all of them, are what made me want to write my own.

Anything you would say to those just starting out in the craft?

Take your time! The hardest thing for me was and still is being patient with my own story. It takes a long time to write a book, to put together a plot, to develop characters, and to turn your idea into something other people will want to read, and trying to rush it is going to do more to hurt you than it is going to help.

What are three words that describe you?

Being asked to describe myself is always hard, but I would say that ‘creative’, ‘hard-working’, and ‘loyal’ are all pretty good words to describe me.

What's your favourite book or who is your favourite writer?

My favorite book for as long as I can remember has been Ender’s Game by Orson Scot Card. My mom bought it for me when I was in fifth grade, and it has been my absolute favorite ever since then. I’ve probably read it just under a dozen times, and every time I get something new out of it and love it just as much!

Blurb of your latest release or coming soon book

On Cara Weaver’s first day at her new high school—merely the next in a long line of new schools—she meets two senior boys: James Sable and Crispin Calaway. They’re new too; they’ve been at the school just longer than she has, and they’ve never made an effort to reach out to anyone. Until she comes. When her friends find out, they’re awed. But Cara can't shake the feeling that there’s more to James and Crispin than the two are telling.

As the days go on, everything at her new home seems to be going better than it has in any of the previous cities she’s lived in. She loves her friends, gets a job at a bookstore, and even starts to spend more time with Crispin and James. She’s happy. But all that begins to change when she comes to realize that the two boys she’s becoming close to are hiding something. It’s then that she knows her unexplainable wariness of them has been justified all along. But she keeps it a secret.

Days later, when a stranger accosts her outside a small shopping center, Crispin and James arrive just in time to help her. But they seem know the attacker. And instead of running him off, Crispin and James take Cara away, for her own protection.

With little explanation, Cara is told that she’s important and that she can’t go home until the boys have sorted some things out. In the meantime, Cara’s world is being turned upside down as she finds out that there is more to her life than she possibly imagined.

List of previous books if any

Rising Calm is my first book, though I hope there will be plenty more to come!

Any websites/places readers can find you on the web.

I have a website: http://www.haleyfisherbooks.com/  and all my contact information including my Twitter page, my Goodreads account, my Pinterest, and Rising Calm’s Facebook page can be found under the “Contact Me” tab.

Website    

Genre: Young Adult Fantasy

Publisher: Silver Tongue Press

Release Date: February 14, 2013

Book Description:

On Cara Weaver’s first day at her new high school—merely the next in a long line of new schools—she meets two senior boys: James Sable and Crispin Calaway. They’re new too; they’ve been at the school just longer than she has, and they’ve never made an effort to reach out to anyone. Until she comes. When her friends find out, they’re awed. But Cara can't shake the feeling that there’s more to James and Crispin than the two are telling.

As the days go on, everything at her new home seems to be going better than it has in any of the previous cities she’s lived in. She loves her friends, gets a job at a bookstore, and even starts to spend more time with Crispin and James. She’s happy. But all that begins to change when she comes to realize that the two boys she’s becoming close to are hiding something. It’s then that she knows her unexplainable wariness of them has been justified all along. But she keeps it a secret.

Days later, when a stranger accosts her outside a small shopping center, Crispin and James arrive just in time to help her. But they seem know the attacker. And instead of running him off, Crispin and James take Cara away, for her own protection.

With little explanation, Cara is told that she’s important and that she can’t go home until the boys have sorted some things out. In the meantime, Cara’s world is being turned upside down as she finds out that there is more to her life than she possibly imagined.

Giveaway:

5 Copies of Rising Calm – US/Canada have choice of ebook or paperback, International Winners will receive an ebook.

Follow The Tour Here

a Rafflecopter giveaway