Emma Right is a happy wife and homeschool mother of five living in the Pacific West Coast. Besides running a busy home, and looking after too many pets, she also enjoys reading aloud to her children and often has her nose in a book. Emma was a copywriter for a major advertising agency during her BC years. BC meaning “Before Children,” which may as well have been in the BC era, as she always says.
What was the hardest part about writing
Keeper of Reign?
As a homeschool mother of five, with kids with me the entire day, and a husband who travels a lot, the greatest challenge was trying to get at least a ten-minute block of time without being interrupted by some comment, or “Help! Mommy! The cat's scaring the dog!" or "Where is…" or a loud crash coming from somewhere, or a fight between the cat and the bunny…the list continues.
In all this, I had to remind myself that much as I enjoy writing, my kids always come before my book. But some days I struggled to remember that. I share this because I know there are many moms out there who might have this struggle and because the work of a mom seems endless (and sometimes mundane,) but our real gems are the children. We need to remind ourselves and each other of this. They are truly God's gift to us.
I wanted to write an allegorical fantasy about the fall of man and the redemption story set in a fantasy setting that's filled with danger and adventure. Something young readers can enjoy but still have a Christian message.
What do you hope Keeper of Reign accomplishes?
I hope my readers can see that with the power of the gospel, we can overcome our problems and difficulties. I want to empower young readers with this message, that if they seek the truth (the Ancient Books, in Keeper of Reign) they will find wisdom and answers to life's problems. It doesn't mean the answers are going to come easy, but persistence will pay off, and the Bible has the answers.
Emma's list of things she didn’t know about becoming a published author when she first started writing.
It took me five years from start to finish to get Keeper of Reign published. And I thought the writing was hard. Well, the publishing was equally as hard, and the marketing … almost a nightmare. So new writers, gear up, and save some of your energy toward the two arms of becoming a published author—the publishing side, and the marketing side.
I also learned that when I put my book out there, in the wide world of Amazon and beyond, I will get praises, but I will also get criticisms, and these are from total strangers who may not have anything constructive to add.
To realize that the book I write is not for everyone. Some people may be offended, some may be confused, some may just not get it. It’s just a fact of life, and once I get published and my book’s out there I must accept this, and take arrows with a pinch of grace. If I look at some of the bestselling authors and their books on Amazon, I see that they, too, get one star reviews, and they have been doing this for decades, made millions, and even won awards. Not everyone can eat jalapeno, without hiccupping.
That the thrill that someone appreciates and gets the message of the book I have written far outweigh any monetary gain. Sure, money is important to sustain life, but truly, a book is an expression of a purpose. And with Keeper of Reign I set out to show readers 11 and up, (some say that’s Middle Grade, some say that’s Young Adult,) that no matter how small they feel they can still make a difference. And instead of being overwhelmed, they can be overcomers.
That there is such a thing as a blog tour! And a blog hop! And rafflecopter—what sort of a flying machine is that?
Trying to market Keeper of Reign opened up a whole world of internet sites I never even thought to venture into before.
of the authors I so admire is Lucy Maud Montgomery who wrote Ann of Green Gables, and I always imagined the life of an author would so mirror hers, someone sitting in a remote place somewhere and spending hours pounding on a typewriter. Guess what? Now with Keeper of Reign published I realize that the authors of today don’t lead that sort of life at all. Authors today have to be out there, interacting with the world, going on tours, chatting on forums. Especially for us who are self-published. My only concern is, when would I have time to write? Keeper of Reign Book 2 is in my head, trying to bust out of me.
I was shocked to learn that bookstores destroy thousands of physical books each year. What a waste. And it so went against my recycling grain. I can’t help but think there must be a less wasteful way than this. How about donating the books to some third world place where books are so lacking?
To contact Emma --
webpage: www.emmaright.comIf you sign up for her newsletter on emmaright.com page, she will give you a book and contest updates.
Facebook emma.right.author, and Twitter.
Click here to purchase a Kindle version of Keeper of Reign.
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