RP Channing: How Writing Comes to Be

 

It’s my pleasure today to welcome author RP Channing to Thoughts in Progress to talk about writing and his release, THIRST: BLOOD OF MY BLOOD.

This fascinating story fits under a number of genres such as young adult romance; paranormal romance; high school; vampires, demons, witches; dark fantasy; and horror.  

Here’s a synopsis of THIRST:

~ Kira Sutherland ~

       After a near fatal accident (and getting cheated on by her 'boyfriend'), and beating up the lead cheerleader (with whom the boyfriend cheated...), and being labeled as having 'issues' in her school because she, uhm, sees ghosts, Kira is left with two choices:

      1. Continue her 'therapy' (where she's told the ghost is a hallucination and also gets her legs ogled too often...)

      Or

      2. Go to Starkfield Academy, a boarding school for "Crazies and Convicts" (as the social media sites call them.)

She chooses the latter...

~ Cory Rand ~

      Cory Rand has not had an easy life. His mother died in a car accident when he was twelve, and so did his mother's best friend...sort of. You see, Janice made a promise to take care of Cory just before she died, and so she lingers. Undead. A ghost that watches out for him.

      Brought up in an abusive home, Cory quickly falls into a life of disreputable behavior. After his third offense (which was prompted by a girl, as usual - he has a weakness) he's left with two choices:

      1. Be tried as an adult and share a cell with a guy named Bubba (he thinks...)

      Or

      2. Go to Starkfield Academy, which Cory is pretty sure is run by vampires. But, hey, at least he'll get an education.

      He chooses the latter...

      It's at Starkfield that Kira meets Cory Rand, a boy with an insatiable Rage who sees ghosts, too. As well as other things, other things from his past, things that confuse him, things like fire and witches and demons.

      Things he's always ignored.

      Until now.

THIRST: BLOOD OF MY BLOOD is available at Amazon US and Amazon UK.

Please join me in giving RP a warm welcome to Thoughts as he talks about writing. Welcome, RP.

About Moi

I have written over a million words of fiction in the last three years - and not published any of it. 

Writing YA was embarked upon after a personal hiatus from writing which lasted nearly seven months. In those months I did a lot of thinking and re-evaluating about what I was writing, and why I wasn’t taking the jump to publish.

The answer was simple: I was unhappy with what I had written, and unhappy with the genre I was writing in.

After much research and thinking, I settled upon YA.

YA is a beautiful genre. It’s filled with characters that have hope and promise, characters which look at a problem and don’t fall into miserable despair, giving up and blathering on about “Oh woe is me, my life is so horrible, everything is terrible, nothing can be done about it...”

YA characters have spunk and guts and like to take the bull (or the demon) by the horns. (At least the cool ones do.)

I also adore fantasy. I like magic and the unknown and sorcery and the idea that there might be more to this world than meets the eye.

So I started writing YA. And when my fingers hit the keyboard, they wouldn’t stop. I fell in love with the genre, and I’ll be sticking with it for a very long time.

How THIRST Came About

THIRST was actually called Starkfield Academy right up to the last minute. I wanted to write a story about High School, but as it grew, it soon extended beyond the walls of Starkfield (a school for “Crazies and Convicts,” where most of the story takes place.)

I felt the name Starkfield Academy was not only too limiting based off how the story had grown, but also that it didn’t have a nice ring to it.

The concept of “thirst” is deeply embedded into the storyline, as is the phrase “Blood of my Blood.” They have deep meanings interwoven into the tale which become clearer as one goes through the book. 

The story as it exists now is quite different to what I had originally outlined. But that’s how it goes with me: I plan a story out, and then I start writing it. When I’m done, I wonder why I bothered planning it out in the first place.

My fingers seem to have a mind of their own. 

New Projects

I am currently working on a second book to THIRST: BLOOD OF MY BLOOD.

THIRST is a complete story in its own right with no cliffhanger. I hate cliffhangers.

So, book two will have a BEGINNING, a MIDDLE and an END, just as Book One does. It worked for the Golden Age of Hollywood, so why change a good thing?

I’m also working on another YA novel that gets my heart pumping hard every time I think about it. It’s a dystopian story that’s so exciting I can’t believe I haven’t written it yet. (Actually, I’ve picked it up and dropped it three or four times. I just want it to be perfect when it finally goes out.) I’m not sure when that one will come out. 

I have no date set for Thirst #2 yet, but it will be out soon.

RP, thanks for visiting with us today and sharing how THIRST came to be. I understand about cliffhangers from one book to the next, it does make it difficult for new readers to know what’s going on.

Now for those who aren’t familiar with RP, here’s a bit of background on him.

Author RP Channing

RP Channing started writing three years ago, but never published anything even after churning out over a million words of fiction. Thirst: Blood of my Blood is the first book he dared to publish. When asked why, he said, “Because it’s the first thing I wrote that my wife actually enjoyed reading.”

When not hammering away (most literally) at his keyboard, he can be found buried in a book, reading anything from romance to horror to young adult to non-fiction to comedy. If it has words in it, I’ll take it.

For more on R.P. and his writing, visit his website and connect with him on Twitter and Amazon.

SPECIAL GIVEAWAY:

If you enjoy reading books and posting reviews on Amazon, R.P. has a special giveaway for you.

At the back of his book there is a giveaway link. Once the book hits fifty reviews on Amazon, one of those reviewers will win a $20 (US Dollars) Amazon Gift Voucher! Be sure to check it out.

Thanks so much for stopping by today during R.P.’s visit. Do you enjoy books that fit under more than one genre? Had you rather read a book that is strictly labeled under only one genre?