An Interview with Robyn Bachar

Today, The Write Way Café would like to welcome Samhain author Robyn Bachar.

How long have you been writing?
According to my mother I wrote my first book when I was four years old, so I think it’s safe to say that I’ve always wanted to be an author. I started writing my first novel when I was in 8th grade. It was awful (there are unicorns, don’t ask), but I still have it stashed in my closet. Every so often I glance at it and wince at the writing. Still, finishing that novel gave me the confidence to write more, and even then I knew I wanted to write romance. It’s important to me to tell stories where the good guys win and love conquers all.

Do all of your books have magic in the storyline? What is your interest in magic?
To an extent, yes. I enjoy writing stories with swords and sorcery—I even have swords in my space opera. I like taking the mundane and giving it a dose of the extraordinary. In Fire in the Blood, Patience owns her own small business, All on Red Consulting. She has an office with an empty fish tank and a computer cluttered with spreadsheets and expense reports. And she has an invisible demon minion who enjoys playing Angry Birds on his iPad while she’s at her desk.

Do the books follow well known information about magic, so to speak, or do you completely create the worlds?
I draw heavily from the magic system in the first edition of Dungeons and Dragons. No, not really, but one day I am determined to have a character attack the darkness with magic missile. One of the nice things about building your own paranormal world is that you don’t have to do heavy amounts of research. (Unless you want to try your hand at summoning demons, though I don’t recommend it. The stains are just murder to get out of your carpet.)

What is different about your latest release?
In a word, demons. Fire in the Blood was a story that flowed for me from beginning to end. It was born out of a single line that came to me while in the shower (most of my random inspiration happens in the shower, apparently my muse enjoys washing her hair). It was a play on a line from the movie “Army of Darkness,” in which my heroine announced, “Good. Bad. I’m the girl with the demon.” And thus Patience Roberts was born, the newest addition to the Bad Witch books. Patience is a summoner, and demons are her business. Patience started stealing scenes in the second Bad Witch book, Bewitched, Blooded and Bewildered, so I knew I wanted to give her her own story. I love writing her, and I love writing her hero, Faust. He started stealing scenes in the very first book. And they’ll both continue to do for the foreseeable future.

Are your main characters completely imaginary or do they have some basis in real people? Do they reflect aspects of yourself?
I think each of my heroines has my voice to an extent. My girlfriend beta reads for me, and she once expressed a suspicion that I have multiple personalities. (I don’t. I only write what the voices tell me to. That’s normal, right?) I do have characters who are inspired by friends of mine. In the Bad Witch books the character Mac was inspired by my buddy Scott. He often asks me how Mac is doing.

Do you face any blocks while writing, particularly your latest book, and if so, how did you handle them? If not, what's your secret?
This was a story that I was very excited to tell, and the only block I had while writing Fire in the Blood was that I started it just before NaNoWriMo last year and had to put it on hold during November. I stopped, wrote the second Emily book, Poison in the Blood, for NaNo, and then picked up again during December. It helped that despite the difference in time periods both books have characters in common (it’s so useful to have immortal characters sometimes).

What have been surprises you've encountered while writing the book and after?
Actually there weren’t a lot of surprises with this book. It went rather smoothly, despite the shenanigans that went on in my personal life while I was working on it.

What did you learn? For instance, what did you learn about yourself, your process, the writing world, your characters?
I learned to never fight a land war in Asia. Just kidding. ;) I learn something new with each book I write, because each experience is different. This is the book where I became enamored with Tom Hiddleston, who is my dream actor for Faust.

What are some of your favorite books and why?
I become obsessed with new books on a regular basis. I’m always updating what I’m reading on Goodreads, so that’s a good place to see what my latest favorite is. Currently I’m in love with Tiffany Reisz’s Original Sinners series, especially The Siren. I’m also addicted to Sylvia Day’s Crossfire series. And Sheryl Nantus’ Blaze of Glory series. And Keith Melton’s Nightfall Syndicate series. Beyond Shame by Kit Rocha is also very good. (Seriously, I could do this all day.)

What are you working on now?
At the moment I’m working on the next Bad Witch book, Blood, Book and Candle, and the next book in my Cy’ren Rising series.

About Robyn Bachar: Robyn Bachar was born and raised in Berwyn, Illinois, and loves all things related to Chicago, from the Cubs to the pizza. It seemed only natural to combine it with her love of fantasy, and tell stories of witches and vampires in the Chicagoland area. As a gamer, Robyn has spent many hours rolling dice, playing rock-paper-scissors, and slaying creatures in MMPORGs.

You can buy Fire in the Blood from Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and Samhain Publishing.
Website: http:// robynbachar.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AuthorRobynBachar
Twitter: https://twitter.com/RobynBachar
Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/iamtherobyn