*Your hostess for this clash is Raquel Byrnes.
Welcome back! Today I have the pleasure of introducing you to the authors of excerpt B: The Healer and the Pirate. So settle in and have a chat with these lovely ladies.
Maggie Phillippi and Julie Bihn started writing “The Healer and the Pirate” in 2008. They are currently working on the sequel.
You had a lot to say about this interesting take on the Almost Kiss Clash...
Raquel: Aridin is described as both devastatingly handsome and formidable. Would either of you want to take a chance interviewing him if you had the chance?
Julie: I’d really like to interview Aridin, though honestly, I get nervous in front of handsome men so it probably would not go very well. It might be better to interview Aridin’s dad or the quartermaster Renord. They would be the ones more than happy to share embarrassing stories from our pirate’s childhood!
Raquel: LOL! A pirate's childhood has to have some interesting tales. What about you, Maggie? Has a character found a special place in your heart?
Maggie: Of course I love Nessa--she’s got a strength I only wish I had. And Aridin. Who wouldn’t love a dashing pirate? But my favorite characters, aside from the leading ones, are the ones that turn up unexpectedly. There is an adorable little fairy in The Healer and the Pirate that will likely return in the sequel because she wrapped her little finger around my heart and I can’t let her go. She’s a little silly but such a caring soul. She wasn’t at all planned but I think she showed up for a reason now.
Raquel: Writing a book with a partner must have been both a blessing and a logistical challenge. How do you go about it?
Maggie: We plan our stories in advance--writing together, you have to--but being confined to an outline is so limiting, and sometimes God gives us an idea that wreaks havoc with that outline. I hate outlining but I need to know where things are headed. So together we’re more of a plotser? Pantotter? Pantter? We have an outline... doesn’t mean the middle of the story will match it by the time we’re done.
Raquel: Is there a special time of the day that you meet up to write? How do you work your schedules out together?
Julie: We collaboratively write in real time, and Maggie is on East Coast time while I’m a few hours west of her. And I feel most creative later in the evenings, when it’s about midnight on the East Coast. So finding the time to write on weekdays can be a problem. We fare better on the weekends. When someone asks me what I did over the weekend, I’ll usually tell them I wrote. Then for some reason they stare at me blankly or look slightly disappointed.
Raquel: Brainstorming sessions must be so fun with a fellow writer! Where do your best ideas come from?
Julie: We like to think the BEST ideas come from God. Sometimes one of us will just get this thought, seemingly out of nowhere. In “The Healer and the Pirate,” one of those ideas turned into Nessa thinking of the silver platters in Chapter 14.
Maggie: More recently, we completed our outline for book two. What a sense of accomplishment! We started writing and everything was going well... and then I felt God laying it on my heart to make a slight detour.
Julie: I’m always wanting to try new things and go off on tangents, so when Maggie suggested we take one, I figured it must be God’s guidance!
Raquel: This story encompasses my favorite aspects of a few genres. How would you describe it to your readers?
Maggie and Julie: This is really a unique kind of story; we haven’t seen much like it on the market. It’s a romance with fantasy and adventure--more like a fairy tale than Lord of the Rings. We hope everyone will enjoy it.
Thank you so much for sharing your unique writing journey. Sounds like we have more to look forward to from you two creative ladies. I'm so glad you stopped by to chat with us at Clash of the Titles!
Welcome back! Today I have the pleasure of introducing you to the authors of excerpt B: The Healer and the Pirate. So settle in and have a chat with these lovely ladies.
You had a lot to say about this interesting take on the Almost Kiss Clash...
Raquel: Aridin is described as both devastatingly handsome and formidable. Would either of you want to take a chance interviewing him if you had the chance?
Julie: I’d really like to interview Aridin, though honestly, I get nervous in front of handsome men so it probably would not go very well. It might be better to interview Aridin’s dad or the quartermaster Renord. They would be the ones more than happy to share embarrassing stories from our pirate’s childhood!
Raquel: LOL! A pirate's childhood has to have some interesting tales. What about you, Maggie? Has a character found a special place in your heart?
Maggie: Of course I love Nessa--she’s got a strength I only wish I had. And Aridin. Who wouldn’t love a dashing pirate? But my favorite characters, aside from the leading ones, are the ones that turn up unexpectedly. There is an adorable little fairy in The Healer and the Pirate that will likely return in the sequel because she wrapped her little finger around my heart and I can’t let her go. She’s a little silly but such a caring soul. She wasn’t at all planned but I think she showed up for a reason now.
Raquel: Writing a book with a partner must have been both a blessing and a logistical challenge. How do you go about it?
Maggie: We plan our stories in advance--writing together, you have to--but being confined to an outline is so limiting, and sometimes God gives us an idea that wreaks havoc with that outline. I hate outlining but I need to know where things are headed. So together we’re more of a plotser? Pantotter? Pantter? We have an outline... doesn’t mean the middle of the story will match it by the time we’re done.
Raquel: Is there a special time of the day that you meet up to write? How do you work your schedules out together?
Julie: We collaboratively write in real time, and Maggie is on East Coast time while I’m a few hours west of her. And I feel most creative later in the evenings, when it’s about midnight on the East Coast. So finding the time to write on weekdays can be a problem. We fare better on the weekends. When someone asks me what I did over the weekend, I’ll usually tell them I wrote. Then for some reason they stare at me blankly or look slightly disappointed.
Raquel: Brainstorming sessions must be so fun with a fellow writer! Where do your best ideas come from?
Julie: We like to think the BEST ideas come from God. Sometimes one of us will just get this thought, seemingly out of nowhere. In “The Healer and the Pirate,” one of those ideas turned into Nessa thinking of the silver platters in Chapter 14.
Maggie: More recently, we completed our outline for book two. What a sense of accomplishment! We started writing and everything was going well... and then I felt God laying it on my heart to make a slight detour.
Julie: I’m always wanting to try new things and go off on tangents, so when Maggie suggested we take one, I figured it must be God’s guidance!
Raquel: This story encompasses my favorite aspects of a few genres. How would you describe it to your readers?
Maggie and Julie: This is really a unique kind of story; we haven’t seen much like it on the market. It’s a romance with fantasy and adventure--more like a fairy tale than Lord of the Rings. We hope everyone will enjoy it.
Thank you so much for sharing your unique writing journey. Sounds like we have more to look forward to from you two creative ladies. I'm so glad you stopped by to chat with us at Clash of the Titles!
