Interview with Robynn Sheahan

Here's a post for all you sci-fi fans. Get comfy and read all about how Star Wars influenced a writer. We're chatting with author Robynn Sheahan about her current series.

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

Thank you for inviting me here today, Dorothy, this is an honor!

Wow, about myself? Well, I think I’m basically average. I spent most of my growing up years in the country and in the woods, surrounded by horses, dogs, and other ranch type animals. I never owned a Barbie Doll, but I did enjoy playing Barbie’s with a girlfriend who had them all.

Me, I had plastic horses, dogs, and other ranch type animals I kept in brown paper bags and played with all the time.

I had a great imagination.

I went to college. Wanted to be a nurse. Ended up being a Paramedic/Firefighter. That was a great time in my life!

I went on to run my own ranch for about eighteen years. I had horses, dogs, and other ranch type animals.
Hmmm. I’m sensing a pattern here.

Now I write and I love it. And by the way, there are horses (caporas), dogs (maejen), and other various animals ( katjaramuud, asador, kenyon, and bonthar) in my stories.

How long have you been writing?

I’ve always enjoyed writing, playing around with different ideas, but the serious stuff began about seven years ago.

I guess you would call it Fan Fiction. Star Wars Fan Fiction. I wrote an entire book. One hundred and ten thousand words.

I took my fan fiction to a “So You Want to Get Published Class” and the first thing the instructor asked me was, “Why don’t you write your own story?”

My own story?! (Grumps out of the class a tad deflated.)

But wait . . . I don’t . . . What . . . I couldn’t . . . Could I?

I did.

Tell us about Storm of Arranon. What’s the story about?

Storm of Arranon is a series about Erynn Yager and Arranon. Arranon is a wild, dangerous, but beautiful world complete with a harsh environment and hostile life forms. Erynn learns she is linked to this unforgiving planet by magic and blood. The magic comes from the living spirit of Arranon herself.

Erynn’s blood tie to Arranon is from a father she never knew, a secret she keeps with her adoptive dad on her home world of Korin. Her very birth as a child of two worlds is forbidden. This mixed heritage has given her abilities she has struggled all her life to control, making her feel like an outcast. Erynn achieves a sense of belonging when she is accepted into Interceptor pilot training and believes her life is finally going in a direction where she will succeed.

This is the part where I start messing with Erynn’s life!

Not always in a bad way, though. Erynn does find love with Jaer, the really hot leader of the Anbas Warriors of Arranon.

Okay. It’s rocky at first, but they do get together, until something else goes wrong and Erynn is again pulled away to learn more about her abilities and fight the evil threatening Arranon.
Erynn never gives up hope for Arranon—or for love.

How did the story idea come to you?

Like I said earlier, I was writing fan fiction (Star Wars) and was crushed when I was advised the story would never go anywhere. (To write Star Wars branch stories, you must be invited to do so by the Star Wars Gods.)

Okay. Get over it.

What if I changed a few names, (to protect the innocent), came up with a new location, added a different spin to the central good vs evil plot, and basically let the characters take over and tell their own story?

Sheesh.

When I allowed my characters a voice, my story, Storm of Arranon, took off all on its own. In fact it went from three books to five. Five?

I understand the second book in the series is out. Can you tell us about that?

Yes, Storm of Arranon-Fire and Ice.

Erynn’s life once again starts to smooth into a sense of order and routine. That is until disturbing visions invade Erynn’s thoughts. She discovers another realm, different from the harsh surface, but equally beautiful and magical.

Dhoran’s realm.

Dhoran, the evil ruler of the underworld of Arranon, has come back to claim what he believes to be his. All of Arranon, above and below. He possesses a human host and begins a conquest not only of Arranon, but also of Erynn.

Erynn and Jaer’s love takes a slight detour, well, maybe not so slight. Jaer, it seems has a secret or two of his own.

Erynn is thrust into this underworld, meeting the inhabitants, connecting on a deeper level with the living Arranon, and learning that things aren’t always as they seem.

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

I love my critique group! We used to meet at least once a week. Now they have become my beta readers. I would love to return to the weekly critique sessions. I believe I get more work done with a deadline for new material.

I also have and editor. She is so mean, but gets a great story out of me. I love her!
And I have a proofreader who is awesome!

Are you a plotter or a pantser?

Totally a panster!

What’s the hardest part of writing for you?

The first page. The first paragraph. That first line. They are so important!

So true! What do you absolutely have to have nearby when writing?

Coffee. Flavored coffee. Maybe tea. Occasionally a cupcake.

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

Thesauri eidetic.

I'll just pretend to know what that is and google it later. ;) What’s the weirdest thing you’ve googled?

Crystals, Rutilated Quartz to be precise.

Quick writing test! Use the following words in a sentence: stormy, misfits, and fluctuate.

Stormy days hide the misfits, the independent rays of sun that fight through the darkest clouds to fluctuate, light then dark across the distant hills.

Finish this sentence: If I’m not writing I’m probably . . .

Dancing. Woo Hoo!

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

Bob and Ruth Harris who encourage me and tell me, nicely, when I’ve messed up.
Martha Straube who helps me dream big.
Russell Turney who keeps me laughing when the going gets tough.
Karen Parker, my editor.
Jackie Jones, my proofreader.
All those awesome readers who have given me reviews on the books. Yeah!

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

http://www.RESheahan.com
http://www.ruleofthreepress.com
http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5780410.R_E_Sheahan
https://www.facebook.com/?q=#/AuthorRobynn
https://twitter.com/RESheahan
http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/13553378-storm-of-arranon
http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/13569242-fire-and-ice
https://www.createspace.com/3672591
https://www.createspace.com/4006903
http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Dstripbooks&field-keywords=Storm+of+Arranon&x=0&y=0
http://www.smashwords.com/books/search?query=Storm+of+Arranon+Fire+and+Ice
http://www.barnesandnoble.com/s/Storm-of-Arranon?keyword=Storm+of+Arranon&store=book

Interview with Travis McDougald

I hope everyone had a great Easter. We Do Write is back to spotlight another aspiring author for your reading pleasure. Today we're talking to Travis McDougald.

Welcome, Travis. Tell us a little bit about yourself.

I am 40 and I am your Galactic Emperor, I mean you no harm. Sorry couldn’t resist. I am a retired DJ after 15 years, actually I retired 3 years ago when I decided to help my mother raise horses. You will find a lot of musical references in my stories because of that. For my “Day Job” it is absolutely amazing. I get to raise and train such beautiful creatures and spring is here so it is time for new foals (babies).

I love horses. And foals, how sweet! So, what is the name and genre of your manuscript?

Science Fiction (wait…there are other genre’s?) Formally it was published and called “Eternity’s End?” now it is re-titled as “4012-The Eternity Razor”

Here’s the part where you pitch it. What’s your story about?

In the year 4012 peace has reigned and science has grown to become that of a god,casting off unnecessary fictions such as religion and love to pursue the purity of scientific knowledge. while children are created in test tubes to be free of all defects. It has been years since the revolutionary scientist Darren Kathudrin disappeared into space after committing the forbidden act of illegal cyberization to revive his son. Now, strange ships have appeared in deep space and Earth is under attack. Only a star ship being decommissioned and a 100 years old stands to defend Earth beginning a chain of events heralding the destruction of not only Earth, but the entire universe.


Salvation lies in the most unlikely place: a reclusive warrior with solid gold hair. Exiled because she was born and out casted because she was born to be perfect with the power of gods. Born with solid gold hair and a living metallic skeleton the genetic structure known as Michelle was forced to live alone and be raised by robots and computers never seeing another human. The lessons of an android instructor that taught her nothing but war and death, the ways of the warriors of Earth’s ancient past. Unknown to her that she is destined to fight the perfect war and fight for her very existence as well as the existence of everything and everyone in our universe. Her path to discovery will lead her down a road of peril, misfortune, love, and a battle she has been fated for since before she was born. However, with so many hidden forces arrayed against her, will she live long enough to discover the truth of her past?

How did the idea of the story come to you?

A dream I had when I was 6 years old, about a girl with golden hair, and then when I saw Star-Wars in 1977 I knew It was meant to be a story and have actually been working on it that long.

That's a long time indeed! Is your manuscript complete or still a work in progress?

A WiP at the moment because I am changing several key elements throughout the book.

Sci-Fi novels are usually lengthy due to world building. Tell us about your word count.

The Original word count was 102,526 for “Eternity’s End?” and I am projecting 115,000 for the Razor because I am adding a new scenario into it. The refinished plot is done and the first chapter is almost done, since I type 65 wpm I am expecting to have it re-written and ready to submit by the end of April.

That's soon. What is your next step?

Self-Publishing is not my goal, I prefer traditional just like all of my heroes were published. I would really like to find an agent but if not many traditional publisher now take unsolicited manuscripts, lots of folks will tell you that they don’t but Penguin has it on their website that they will now. Agents get kind of big headed about the fact that they are an agent so it makes me leery of them.

I think that depends on the agent, so good luck in your search for the right one. Do you have a critique group/partner or beta readers, or do you self-edit?

I don’t have a critique group but I do have a twitter friend that is reading for me.

What’s the hardest part of writing for you?

Clearing my head and sitting down to write, after that the stories flow. Just getting to that point first.

Any tips you’ve learned about writing you’d like to share?

Actually a lot but the main thing I would suggest is research, obviously if people can read this then they are connected to the greatest information resource in the world, it’s amazing how much stuff there is on writing. So research and research and then have coffee and research some more.

Who are your inspirations?

Author C. Clark, Douglass Adams, Isaac Asimov, Robert A. Heinlein, Homer. That is just a small list and I have read all of the works by them, it’s because I have a low IQ that I am not a better writer after having read so many by the masters.

Let’s get to know you on a deeper level. Tell us three things about yourself.

1. First of all I have messed with computers since 1984 (my first was a Texas Instruments TI994A) and all my computer names begin with NEA. I was around when the internet came on-line.
2. I love Science Fiction which is why I write it. Really it was all Darth Vader’s fault. I remember coming home and being excited about Vader after I saw Star Wars for the very first time.
3. I love animation, older stuff like Thundarr the Barbarin, Herculiods and Space Ghost. I love some Anime, again older stuff like Super Sonic Soldier’s :Borgman and Dangio (Inter Galactic Black Market is just too cool.)

Here’s the part where you thank the people who are supporting you. Who would you like to give a shout out to?

First of all would have to be the editor that was assigned to “Eternity’s End?” Angela Sasser http://angelicshades.com for her patients and understanding as well as her ability to suggest things. I have a spot on my blog that talks about her editing skills.


Second to my friends and family who have always supported my writing and especially to my mother Janice N. Chapman who inspires me with her poetry. http://janicenchapman.com

And finally, where can people find you online?

My personal website is http://keivamp.com (pronounced “kay-vamp”)

My writing blog is http://eternityauthor.blogspot.com/

Tweet me here: http://twitter.com/EternitysAuthor

Thank you so much for chatting with us, Travis, and good luck on the road to publication.