Interview with Faith A. Rice Mills

Sliding in reeeally late today, We-Do-Writers. I apologize. But, while you contemplate methods of punishment for my tardiness (I'd prefer death by chocolate, if that can be arranged), here is a lovely interview with Faith A. Rice Mills, author of IDENTIFIED.

Welcome to We Do Write, Faith. Tell us a bit about yourself.

Writer. Spanish teacher.  I teach my students, but they also teach me.  Married to my best friend from high school.  Mommy to the most cutie patootie I’ve ever seen (AB, we call her.  Though the husband likes to say  “little monkey”).  Owner of Simon and Fitzgerald (Not Paul and F. Scott, my dogs).   My parents’ daughter, in every sense of the word. Siblings-Yes!  They are some of my best friends.   Understand exactly what Hank means when he says “country folk can survive.”  Afraid of snakes, elevators and cotton balls.  Love having coffee with my best friend.  Yoga=yes please!  Developing a sense of style.   Interested in playing with verb tenses.   Oh!  And point of view!   Would love a delicious chicken fried steak followed by a chocolate chip cookie.  The 90s are my favorite decade.  Love my red pants, my pearl necklace and my sparkly gold shoes.  Wish I  was fluent in Buffyspeak and  that Harry Potter was my friend.   And so that’s me…

Harry would be the best friend, wouldn't he? How long have you been writing?

Since I was eight-years-old. However, I only seriously started writing with the hopes of publishing about five years ago. 

Tell us about IDENTIFIED. What’s the story about?

 

IDENTIFIED tells the story of Maya Price, an eighteen-year-old girl from a small town in Texas.  She finds out that she is a shifter, a half-human, half-onyx that can travel between dimensions.  As a shifter, Maya has the ability to manipulate the five senses and control the four elements. Supposedly, there is a prophecy that mentions Maya by name. The prophecy says that Maya will choose a side and will either help Leonas, a shifter turned evil, maintain the power he holds or to bring him down.  

Shifters? Special abilities? Prophesies? Count me in.

How did the idea of the story come to you?

I had the idea for the story on a four hour drive to my boyfriend’s (now husband) apartment in 2004. I had this idea for a girl who could travel between dimensions.  The story has evolved quite a bit since then, but that is where it started. 

Do you have a critique group/partner or beta readers, or do you self-edit?

I have a group of beta-readers that consist of a few friends and family members. Also, both my sister and Melissa Barton at editorch.com edited Identified and did an amazing job!

Are you a plotter or a pantser?

I’m both!  I typically make an outline, but it flies out the window as I start to write. 

What’s the hardest part of writing for you?

Writer’s block! I just spent a month suffering from writer’s block.  No matter what I did, I could not think of a way to end the chapter I was working on in the second book in the The Maya Price Story series. Also, weirdly enough, coming up with character names is really hard for me. 

That's not so weird. Some of my characters have descriptive names, like Mrs. Perfume or Bald-guy, probably longer than I care to admit. But, maybe that makes me weird, too...

What do you absolutely have to have nearby when writing?

A bottle of water, a cup of coffee, and some way to listen to music. 

If you could have any super power, what would it be?

The power to telepathically change the music playing in any restaurant or store I may be visiting, party I may be attending, or friend’s car I may be in. 

Yes! It can be called DeeJaykenisis. What's the weirdest thing you've googled?

“Jonah Hill Weight Loss”  See what happens when you procrastinate?  

Quick writing test! Use the following words in a sentence: identity, dentures, and traced.

The forensics team easily discovered the identity of the corpse because his diamond traced initials were inscribed into his golden dentures. 

Finish this sentence: If I'm not writing, I'm probably ... reading books to my daughter. I have learned to do quite a few different voices. 

Here’s the part where you thank the people who are supporting you. Let's hear your shout outs.

. 

Wow! There are too many to thank!  Of course a special shout-out to my parents, J. And Susan Rice, my husband, Sonny Mills, my siblings Joy Rice, Jakie Rice, and Luke Rice, and my daugther Annabeth Mills, for being awesome. Another to  my in-laws and all of my aunts, uncles and cousins. I couldn’t do this without you.You have been nothing but encouraging and supportive. 

Also, a super special shout out to my sister, Joy Rice. She designed the cover for Identified and did a round of edits for me. She is also my ultimate supreme-o best friend.   

I’d also like to send one to Rebekah Sills Lamm, who was my very first beta reader and a wonderful friend, and her husband Ben Lamm, who is my future manager. 

And, to my best friend Tara Amaya, for being my best friend and fellow delincuente.

A shout out to Melissa Barton at editorch.com. You basically saved my life!

Another to Denis Cowan at Denise Cowan Photography for shooting my author photos. You are a beuatiful photographer!

I’d also like to thank the following people for being some of my first readers, for offering wonderful critiques and helpful suggestions, and for being wonderful friends:  Bryant Ennis, Rachel McMillian, Heather Young, Chrissy Schneider, J. Rice, Susan Rice, Mary-Martha Barnett, Kay McLin, Nancy Davis, Ann Patterson, Alicia Reyes- Barrientez, Adriana Saavedra de Palomares, Sabrina Torres, Jessica Ibarra, Kayleigh Berger, Stephanie Redwine, Mary-Beth Hardin, Isbael Giannone,  Karla Winter, Randy Little, Bethany Lauersdorf, Jakie Rice, Luke Rice, Charli Rice, Sunny Lagrone,  Alex Balbuena, and Gina Ortiz (and her fourth period class!)

Finally, I’d like to thank my fellow authors, Belle Whittington and Mari Mancusi for all of their help and advice. I'd also like to thank the amazing book bloggers Ivana Maric, Megan McDade, Stephanie Redwine and Alex Balbuena for agreeing to be some of the first to review my book. 

And finally, where can people find you and your books online?

You can find me at these places:

Facebook: Faith A. Rice-Mills (author page)

Twitter: @RMills514

Blog: writesofwoman.wordpress.com

You can buy the ebook on Amazon and on Smashwords. 

The paperback is available on CreateSpace and on Amazon.

Thanks for joining us today, Faith!