Skip to main content

Friday Interview: Author Erin R. Howard

I'm excited to bring back Friday interviews with author Erin R. Howard! I encountered this talented writer during my own publishing journey. Her newest book, the third in her trilogy, releases this Tuesday, and she was kind enough to come by the blog and answer a few questions.

Author Interview: Erin R. Howard 

First of all, I got a rejection note from Mantle Rock [your publisher], so congratulations! Cleary they narrow it down to the best. What was your journey to publishing like?

My publishing journey happened quickly once I finally decided to become serious about writing, and is not by any means the norm when it comes to publishing. At the time, I was running a retail store, and just finished my degree in Creative Writing/English. Through a series of events, I met my future publisher, who invited me to a writing meeting. Soon after, my son was diagnosed with Leukemia, and we had to close my store. The next summer, the same publisher invited me to a writing retreat. I booked a mentor appointment with her and pitched my story idea. She asked for the full manuscript (which wasn’t all the way finished!) I had just two months to finish almost half of my story plus edits. I turned it in, and it wasn’t long before I had a contract.


When did you start writing, and when did you know you had one ready to publish?

I started writing short stories in middle school. My love of reading contributed, but in the sixth grade, we were supposed to write in a daily journal. I asked my teacher if I could write a short story instead. Each day, instead of a journal entry, I would continue the story. When the assignment was finished, my teacher told me something along the lines of, “Keep writing, Erin. Don’t stop.” That was the encouragement I needed to keep going.

When this story wouldn’t leave my mind and I couldn’t think about anything else but finishing it, I knew it was one that I had to seek publication for.
Your series begins with book one, The Seer, and involves the spiritual world of angels and demons. Is there any specific reason you chose to focus on this?

I’ve always been fascinated by the spiritual realm, and knew early on that I wanted to write a book about it. But I was always intimidated to take something like that on. But this story wouldn’t leave my mind. I pushed it aside for a long time and started several chick-lit romance novels. Finally, after not finishing them, I decided that this story wouldn’t leave my mind for a reason. I’m so glad that I listened and switched to fantasy. I love it.


When you published your first book, were the other two already written? Or have you written them since then?

No, I wrote them after The Seer. They are all a year apart. So, three books in three years. The Seer (2018) The Soul Searcher (2019) and now, The Silencer, (2020).

How has being a parent changed how you write?

Writing as a parent is all that I know. Before kids, I was just writing as a hobby and mostly poems. I would sit down when the inspiration came. Now, to write a book, I have to make time. Time that I don’t always have. We have a busy life with three kids that keep us running and on our toes. Now that they are all three in school, I can write during the day (when I’m not subbing at the school) but, sometimes there are lots of late nights and little sleep.

And finally, what is your favorite fantasy book?

This is such a hard question for me! I love so many books. I love the Circle series by Ted Dekker, and The Hunger Games (while not fantasy) is one of my absolute favorite book.

The Silencer releases February 4, 2020, through Mantle Rock Publishing and will be available through major booksellers. 

Connect with the author on her website and her Instagram.  


Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Friday Interview: Author M.H. Elrich

Welcome to Friday Interviews! This is a new series I'm excited to kick off. Our very first interviewee is M.H. Elrich, whose Christian fantasy novel, Etania's Worth, I read last month.  Author Interview: M.H. Elrich Thank you Ms. Elrich for coming on the blog and providing great answers to my questions!  When you started writing Etania's Worth, did you have intentions of publishing it? Yes. From the very beginning, I wanted to publish it, I just wasn't sure how I wanted to publish it (Self or Traditional). I chose Self after seeing the success of other great Christian fantasy authors and after prayer. I also wanted more control over my work and its promotion. What has been the most surprising response from readers? I think what surprised me most was who is the favorite character of the book. Not many people chose Etania, which surprised me because she is the main character. I have had quite a few people like Jakin, who I felt wasn't my stro

Book Review: Etania's Worth by M.H. Elrich

Etania's Worth by M.H. Elrich  I don’t read Biblical fantasy or really any Biblical-based books, so this was new for me. M.H. Elrich and I did a book review trade and I always welcome the opportunity to read something new.  For starters, there are many characters, races, and places in this book. It got hard for me to keep up with. Then I got to the end of the ebook and realized there was a glossary all along. If I had read the book in print, I would have seen it earlier and wouldn’t have had a problem. So I recommend reading this book in print. The glossary is well-organized and helpful, and I wish I could have utilized it.  Many of the descriptions are well-done as is the climax. The climax is the strongest point of the book as you really feel all the events of the story connecting and reaching a peak. Etania does not drive the story as much as other characters do, but she still has some likable traits. I liked Keyel but my favorite character was Tala. I found her

Review of The Christmas Train

Last night I finally realized why I dislike Hallmark movies. It's because I've seen commercials with more artistic merit than a two-hour Hallmark film. No seriously, I have. Watch this one. Really, watch it. This is a commercial.  Or this one. This will do something to your stone-cold heart.  Or for that matter, the commercials they show during each Olympics. They tell a whole story in such a short amount of time.  But nevertheless, I am nothing if not open-minded. There is a handful of Hallmark movies I have genuinely enjoyed. So last night, I sat down to watch The Christmas Train, wondering if this would be added to the prestigious handful.  We start off with a generic white male, our main character. A moment later we see a generic white female. The two are not together yet, but it is already obvious to the viewers (in this case, me) that they will be married before the credits roll. This ain't my first Hallmark rodeo. Anyway, Main Guy is a journ