Author of the Month~April

Hello everyone! It's another new month and with that comes a new Author of the Month. This will consist of a post that includes an interview with the chosen author, along with featuring them in my sidebar for that entire month.  New feature I started on my blog in September (Refer HERE if you would like to see the original post & if you would like to be apart of this as an author).

April's Author is: Tricia Levenseller

Tricia Levenseller is from a small town in Oregon, but she now lives in Utah with her bossy dog, Rosy. She received her degree in English Language and editing, and she is thrilled that she never has to read another textbook again. When she's not writing or reading, Tricia enjoys putting together jigsaw puzzles, playing volleyball, and watching her favorite TV shows while eating extra-buttered popcorn.

Connect with Tricia here:

~Interview Time~

Sabrina: Welcome aboard Tricia! I am so glad to have you here on my blog today.

Tricia: Thanks so much for having me! I’m excited to be here.

Sabrina: Who are 2 authors you look up too?

Tricia: Leigh Bardugo and Rae Carson

Sabrina: How did you know you wanted to be a writer and when did you start writing?

Tricia: Originally, I thought I was going to be an editor. I actually discovered I enjoyed writing on accident. All the seniors in my high school were required to do a 20-hour senior project in which we performed the duties of a job we were considering when we grew up. I couldn’t find text that wasn’t edited to use for my project, so I had to write my own words to edit. I didn’t expect it to be so fun.

Sabrina: Did you spend a lot of time mapping out Daughter of the Pirate King or did it all just come to you?

Tricia: I do a chapter by chapter outline before I start writing any of my books. Before that though, I spend a lot of time just thinking about the project. I let the plot and characters simmer until I feel that I have a good handle on them. DOTPK was the fastest and easiest project I’ve ever written. A lot of it just came to me while I was writing it. I very loosely followed the outline for that book.

Sabrina: Between Alosa and Riden who was the harder one to write?

Tricia: I would have to say Riden. His attachment to his brother annoyed me as much as it did Alosa.

Sabrina: Where did you come up with your character’s names? Did they just come to you, or did you have to think of a way to create them?

Tricia: Alosa is actually a play on my sister’s name: Alisa. I use this technique a lot when coming up with names: I’ll take a conventional name and try switching out or adding letters to make it sound more fantastical. The pirate king’s name is Byronnic, which is a play on Byron. Other times, a name just comes to me, like Niridia’s (Alosa’s first mate). Sometimes I use fantasy name generators and tweak the results with my “swapping letters” trick to get what I want.

Sabrina: What was your favourite element about writing a book about pirates?

Tricia: The aesthetics. There’s just something about sails flapping in the breeze and the spray of the sea misting in your face. The boots and leggings and corsets! Cutlasses and compasses and telescopes. I just think it’s all cool, and I love that I could put all of it in one story.

Sabrina: Which two quotes from Daughter of the Pirate King, are you proud to say that you wrote and came up with?

Tricia: “Some people say you have to find yourself. Not I. I believe we create ourselves to be what we want. Any aspect of ourselves that we do not like can be altered if we make an effort.”

“Do you have any idea how hard it was to find a girl my size to steal those from?”

Sabrina: While writing do you require anything to keep you focused?

Tricia: I prefer absolute quiet. Or white noise.

Sabrina: Who are two YA authors you would want to collab with?

Tricia: Sarah J. Maas and Leigh Bardugo

Sabrina: Can you say anything about book 2 yet? I am dying to know how Riden and Alosa’s story continues.

Tricia: You will get to meet Alosa’s nearly-all female pirate crew!

Sabrina: Thank you so much, Tricia, for allowing me to interview you today. I am by far absolutely in love with Daughter of the Pirate King. This story was absolutely beautiful and filled my soul with happiness for a good pirate read. I can’t wait to talk to you in the future!!

Tricia: Thank you so much for saying so! Thank you again for having me!