Author Raven West describes her writing style as one of light entertainment with great, believable characters in somewhat unusual settings. She says, “My first novel ‘Red Wine for Breakfast’ is set in a Los Angeles radio station. My second novel; ‘First Class Male’ takes place in both the Catskill Mountains of upstate New York and Manhattan. My third novel ‘Undercover Reunion’ is set in a small town in Minnesota. Even though each is very different, there is a universal theme of relationships, work ethic and overcoming obstacles and challenges they never expected. My novels may be fiction, but there is enough reality in each of them that a reader believes the characters are real, and these situations are definitely plausible.”
Raven says her inspiration comes from everywhere and anywhere. “I see plots and stories and adventures as long as long as there is the question; ‘What if?’ there’s a fantastic story waiting to be told that answers the question.”
As for so many writers, Raven says finding the necessary time to write is the major challenge, and that the little time there is goes by too quickly. “There are some days when I wake up at 6 am, get my coffee and start writing and the next time I look out my window the sun has already set,” she says.
Raven doesn’t do any paid advertising, but says if she had the money, she would spend it on a good book publicist. She did use a publicist before and was booked on radio shows, on line and in studio, and cable television. “Authors just don’t have the time or the contacts to do this themselves,” Raven says.
Raven’s advice to aspiring writers? “All the classes, workshops, writing clubs or degrees won’t make you a writer. It not what you DO, it’s who you ARE, and if you’re in this for the money, don’t even start. Your Muse has to scream at you to get that story out. Your characters have to argue with you, and demand to be heard… you have to FEEL it with every keystroke, even if you’re only writing an email (or answering an interviewer’s questions).”
Her latest book is Undercover Reunion:
Trapped in a concrete room beneath the headquarters of an international crime organization, four middle-aged high school classmates find themselves caught in a web of espionage and intrigue that threatens their lives and those of everyone they know.
When the undercover agents first approached Melanie Tyler and Kathleen O’Brian the night of their 30th high school reunion, the women could never have imagined that the innocent 60’s television spy show game they had played nearly four decades ago would become a real life confrontation with one of the most insidious criminal minds of their generation.
Raven says this book will especially appeal to Baby Boomers and fans of the Man from U.N.C.L.E. television show of the 60’s. Undercover Reunion is available in print from Amazon or in all e-book formats from Smashwords. You can discover more about Raven West at her website.
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