Cover Reveal & Interview: Rebecca L. Frencl, author of The Shattered Prism

At the Dark’s gathering the Nine shall stand. Circle of Light, Hope of the land . . .

Robyn and Aerin have been down this road before as they hunt for the other seven Starbearers who will once more drive back the Darkness that wishes to unravel civilization and drive mankind back into howling barbarism. Silar and his silver-eyes, the soulless minions of that Darkness, dog their steps trying to hinder them and force them to doubt. Death is easy. Silar wants the star bearers broken–unable to fulfill their duties and shatter the Circle allowing the Darkness to win. Robyn and Aerin think that they’ve outsmarted the Darkness once before, but they discover that Silar’s plans have been much more complex and far-reaching than they’d ever believed.

Interview

1. If you won the lottery tomorrow, what are the first three things you think you would do or buy?

First of all, I don’t think I’d want to know just how many cousins I have J However, the first thing I would do would be to put money away for my daughter’s education. Then, after I took care of bills, I would book my dream vacation—England, Scotland and Ireland. Then I’d book my husband’s dream vacation—the Far East. The rest I’d put away.

2. If you could no longer write, what career would you choose instead?

I am a teacher and there were two things I wanted to do when I was a kid—write and teach. If I had to pick something completely different, then I’d love to be an acquisitions editor at a publishing house. I think I’d love digging down through the slush pile for a hidden gem.

3. What part of the writing process is the easiest/hardest for you?

Getting the words out of my head and on to the paper without the inner critic in my head telling me how awful they are. Turning off the critic and just losing myself in the world is harder now than it was when I was younger. I remember being able to spend days in my characters’ heads. It’s harder now. Real life intrudes a lot.

4. Do you listen to music while you write (if so, do you have a playlist I can share?), or do you prefer quiet?

When I was younger I’d blast Metallica or Aerosmith. Now, that I write with my five year old in the room, the background music has changed. I keep one earbud in my ear, the other I let dangle so I can hear her ask for things. So, in one ear I hear Emphatic Damage, Egypt Central, Offspring or NIckleback. In the other ear I hear the soundtrack to Mickey Mouse Clubhouse or Octonauts. So, it’s a little bit different.

5. What is the best piece of advice you have ever received in your life?

Don’t give up and believe what the editor says. If an editor tells you the story has some great plotting or character building—take it to the bank. They’re not going to lie to you. I’d also say that being told by my 7^th grade reading teacher to keep writing, to keep trying was excellent advice. You grow and improve. My husband too has praised my ability to stick to it. He told me once that he was prouder of my tenacity in the face of all the rejection than in the actual publication—though that’s pretty awesome too. I took that as a great compliment. I mean, it’s easy to be patted on the back for succeeding, but to get a compliment in the face of failure? Worth much more in my book.

Fun Stuff:

Coffee or tea? Why not both? If I had to choose it would have to be coffee!
Paper book or ebook? Once again both, but if I had to choose . . . hmm . . . ebook. I can carry so many of them with me than the paper books, but I have to admit that paper books are easier to read in the tub.
Summer or winter? I’m a school teacher, so definitely summer, though my favorite season is actually the fall.
Werewolves or vampires? Werewolves for certain. Always take the guy with the pulse.
Morning person or night owl? Early bird.
Pantser or plotter? Plotter. Definitely a plotter.
Pepsi or Coke? Ginger ale!
Dogs or cats? Dogs. Cats make me sneeze and I have two dogs—a beagle named Guido and a beagle German Shepherd mix named Vinny.

About the Author:

A couple of basics about me first, I suppose. I was born smack up against Halloween in 1974 and have lived my entire life in the Chicago suburbs. While I have only one brother I have a huge extended Italian/Bohemian family so I also had the large, loud family gatherings with way too much food and way too much laughter in addition to time enough alone to dream and write. It was one of the best ways to grow up. I was a gymnast in my younger years before discovering the speech team and drama in high school. I was, and still am, a pretty rotten actress, but I enjoyed myself and my students think I’m pretty funny even as they groan at my bad jokes.

If you’d have asked my when I was in 8^th grade what I wanted to do “when I grew up” I would have told you that I wanted to write and I wanted to teach. It’s wonderful that I’m not able to do that. I’m an 8^th grade reading and language arts teacher who’s tried for the last fourteen years to share my love of the written word with my students. I always tell the kids who wander the library and then come and tell me there are no books, that it isn’t that they don’t like the read, they just haven’t met the right book yet. I feel it’s my personal mission in life to find the right book for every kid!

I married my high school sweetheart thirteen years ago and we have one little girl and two very spoiled dogs. When I’m not teaching, writing or running around like any other mom, I like the read pretty much any genre but realistic fiction. I also scrapbook and when the weather permits, which is only a couple of months a year here in the Chicagoland area, I like to garden.

I’d like to look ahead and see more published books in my future and maybe a stamp or two on my passport. I haven’t been out of the continental United States yet and travel is something I’d like to add to my life.