Author Interview with Angela Christina Archer

Hello! Today I'm interviewing the lovely Angela Christina Archer...just a few fun questions to get to know her. First, here is a little about her debut novel, The Woman On The Painted Horse, which released yesterday on Amazon.

A young woman defying the laws of her country, a young man hungry with greed and power, a brave soul who falls in love with one he shouldn’t; all three caught in a country divided by war and a forbidden love torn apart by blackmail and disparity.

Alexandra Monroe is a slave smuggler, smuggling slaves north where they can live as free people. Her crime is sedition and her punishment, if caught, is death. The daughter of one of the wealthiest men in Montgomery, Alexandra lives a life not by her own accord, but a life she willingly accepts for her secret quest to save the lives of slaves. Her ultimate sacrifice is to marry the town's most eligible bachelor, Thomas Ludlow—who has deadly secrets of his own.

One afternoon, Alexandra comes face to face with handsome William Graysden. Although, forbidden for his Creek Indian heritage, he captivates her. They fascinate one another, and ultimately find in each other a bond they don't wish to ignore. After a series of events; however, William must face the choice to continue the dangerous pursuit of Alexandra's affections or forget about her.

Release Date: March 19, 2014
Pages: 200
Publisher: Soul Mate Publishing

Angela Christina Archer is a Historical Fiction/Romance writer. Living on a ranch in Oklahoma, she spends her days enjoying the outdoors with her husband and children, riding and showing horses, gardening, chasing around her many farm animals, and of course, putting her passion to pen and paper.

Born in Nevada, Angela and her husband made the bold choice to move halfway across the United States, away from all they knew. They have no regrets and have never looked back. Life on a farm can be hectic with children, horses, a dog, a cat, chickens, goats, and the summer frogs that love to take up residence in her backyard, but she wouldn't have it any other way.

Now for my questions for Angela...

IF I WASN'T A WRITER, I WOULD LIKELY BE...

A crazy zombie. Writing keeps me from going off the deep end and walking through the streets of Crazytown. I love staying home with my children, but I love having something that is just for me.

I COLLECT...

Nothing at the moment, but I would love to start collecting really old books. When my grandmother-in-law passed away, my husband brought home a lot of books from her collection. One of them was an encyclopedia from 1890, another is a copy of War and Peace from 1932, and another is a dictionary from 1927. I love them and I would love to have more.

MY FAVORITE WORD IS...

I've never thought of this, and I don't know if I could just have one. But, I asked my 7 year old what her favorite word was and she replied with. "Love!" I guess that's as good of an answer as any. If you would have gone through my novel during the editing phase you would have thought my favorite word was "though" since I used it so much.

THE SINGLE BEST PIECE OF (WRITING RELATED) ADVICE I HAVE EVER GOTTEN...

Write for you. Don't write for anyone else. Don't write for editors. Don't write for publishers. Don't write for readers. Write for you.

I HAVE ALWAYS WANTED TO...

I'm blessed to say that I've finally done the one thing I've said since I was in high school: write a novel. I had always wanted to do it, but I never thought my writing was good enough or that I could do it.

THE BEST THING I HAVE EVER READ, (BUT DID NOT WRITE) IS...

“A friend took me to the most amazing place the other day. It’s called the Auguste-um. Octavian Augustus built it to house his remains. When the barbarians came they trashed it a long with everything else. The great Augustus, Rome’s first true great emperor. How could he have imagined that Rome, the whole world as far as he was concerned, would be in ruins. It’s one of the quietest, loneliest places in Rome. The city has grown up around it over the centuries. It feels like a precious wound, a heartbreak you won’t let go of because it hurts too good. We all want things to stay the same. Settle for living in misery because we’re afraid of change, of things crumbling to ruins. Then I looked at around to this place, at the chaos it has endured – the way it has been adapted, burned, pillaged and found a way to build itself back up again. And I was reassured, maybe my life hasn’t been so chaotic, it’s just the world that is, and the real trap is getting attached to any of it. Ruin is a gift. Ruin is the road to transformation.” From Eat Pray Love by Elizabeth Gilbert

PEOPLE OFTEN TELL ME THAT I...

Am far too independent. It might seem like a good thing, but at times it can be bad.

I FIND INSPIRATION IN...

Instrumental music.

THE BEST THING ABOUT BEING A PROFESSIONAL WRITER IS...

I think one of the best things that I've been recently experiencing is the broad range of emotions that come with writing. I don't know if it's the best thing, but it's pretty up there on the list. From the emotions of writing, the highs and lows, the excitement of finishing scenes, drafts, revisions, edits, the frustration of writers block and then the relief of getting unstuck. As great as all those emotions are, I've recently been going through the highs and lows of publishing. The excitement of signing my contract, the nail biting waiting time, and finally, the thrilling countdown to my release date. And, with all that excitement, came the fear. My writing is going to be out there for everyone to see. I've felt a lot of emotions in my life, but very little moments even compare to everything I've gone through these last four years.

I SPEND WAY TOO MUCH TIME...

On unimportant games, like for instance…playing with my make-believe restaurant and bakery on my iPad. A genus invention the iPad is, and perhaps my biggest adversary. I just make pretend food and serve it to the pretend people, and then I feed the pretend animals – so simple, so addicting, and unfortunately most likely a waste of my time. Will I stop? Doubtful. Did I mention it was addicting? Another adversary is social media. Every time I hit a wall or my brain hiccups and I lose my train of thought, I click on that letter “e” down at the bottom of my sidebar, and immediately go to Facebook. Nine times out of ten nothing is new - no new updates, no new pictures, and no new stories that my wonderful friends and family have shared. But do I log off? Nope. I start to stalk. 506 pictures…don’t mind if I do!

ONE MISTAKE THAT MOST ASPIRING WRITERS MAKE IS...

I don't really like to point out others mistakes, because in reality, I'm still new at this. But, I can tell you what my mistake was in the beginning. I think my biggest was believing the novel was done before it really was. Writing is a skill that is learned and developed over time, and going to conferences, seminars, joining critique groups and writing groups helped me learn the right and wrong ways. It took me four long years to finally finish, but I'm so glad that I listened to all the advice and revised, revised, revised until I had the draft I knew in my gut was the final draft.

HOW MUCH OF YOUR NOVEL IS REALISTIC?

I actually have a lot of real elements to the story. The Burkel estate that Clive and Peter take the slaves to was an actual slave haven house in the Underground railroad. Opothleyahola, the tribal leader mentioned in a chapter was also a real person.

HOW'D YOU COME UP WITH THE TITLE?

The funny part about that process was the novel actually had three different titles during the whole process. My first title was Power of the Moon and the second title was The Man on the Painted Horse. A friend suggested that, though my reason for having 'the man' was valid, since the book was Alexandra's story I should change it. I'm glad I listened. I love the title.

DID YOU TRAVEL MUCH TO RESEARCH THIS BOOK?

I did take a trip down to Montgomery, Alabama for research. It was an amazing trip and I learned so much. I toured the first White House of the Confederacy, the Alabama Department of History and Archives, and Old Town, Alabama--an outdoor museum of authentically restored 19th and early 20th century structures: one-room schoolhouses, grist mills and cotton gins. There is also lavish antebellum mansions, humble log cabins, and slave quarters. I would love to go back just to see it all again.


WILL ANY OF YOUR SUPPORTING CHARACTERS(LIKE ALEXANDRA'S ENIGMATIC BROTHER) BE GETTING THEIR OWN STORY IN THE FUTURE?

I don't really know yet. I loved John, and would love to write him again, but I'm not quite sure he has a story that needs to be told outside of the one he had in The Woman on the Painted Horse. Maybe one day I will change my mind.

WHAT CURRENT PROJECTS ARE YOU WORKING ON?

My second novel, In the Land of Gold was just contracted with Soul Mate Publishing. It should be released either the end 2014 or the beginning of 2015, and I'm really excited about it. Currently, though, I'm in the first draft process of my third novel, When the Black Roses Grow. It is set in 1692 during the Salem witch trials. I'm stepping out of the Historical Romance box with it and stepping into Historical Paranormal Romance, which is new and has been a lot of fun.

This is it folks. If you enjoyed getting to know Angela and like the sound of her debut novel, Please do not hesitate to go check it out. Thanks for the interview, Angela!

Want to keep up with Angela? You can find her on Twitter, Facebook, Wordpress, and on her website.

And don't forget my debut novella, Lost Haven is available on Amazon!