Author Interview: Rebecca Crunden

Posted byreadandreviewit1Posted inDISCUSSIONS, INTERVIEWSTags:, , , , , , ,
This picture of Rebecca was kindly provided by her with permission to use it for this post.

Hi everyone! I’m back to my regular posting schedule after going on vacation for two weeks and today’s post is going to be a little different to usual. A few of you might remember that before I went away I reviewed These Violent Nights by Rebecca Crunden, who kindly sent me a digital copy of her book in exchange for an honest review. I was also lucky enough to interview her recently, and her answers can be found below!

Before I get into the interview, I would like to quickly take the chance to include the synopsis as some useful background information for the book:

Once upon a time, inhabitants of another world tore a hole through the universe and came to Earth. They called themselves Suriias, and rivalled humans in knowledge and skill with one great exception: they had magic.

War followed. Humanity lost. And three hundred years later, humans are on the brink of extinction.

Orphans Thorn and Thistle live in hiding. They are the last of their families, the last of their friends. They scrape by, stealing to survive and living on the streets or hiding in sheds. But even under the brutal regime of the Suriias, there are places where humans can mingle in secret with magical sympathisers, and one night Thistle gets an unexpected offer of marriage from a Suriia with high standing and friends in all the right places. For Thistle, it’s a chance at safety and comfort; for Thorn, it’s a chance to find the ones who killed her parents.

And so the pair move into the capital city of Courtenz. An urban monstrosity of magic and might, false friends and flying cars, drones and death tolls, the new city promises a fresh start – and new love – for both.

But if there’s one thing Thorn knows for certain, it’s that dreams can swiftly turn into nightmares.

When did you first realise that you wanted to become an author? 

I’ve always wanted to, I reckon. I have a very early memory of trying to write a mystery. It was like seven pages long and had a few words per page, but I loved it. A few years later, I wrote another short story. I just kept trying until I managed to write a full novel. 

What inspired the idea of the Suriias in These Violent Nights? What about the idea of multiple planets?

We have a lot of alien invasion stories, but fewer stories where there’s an arrival and the beings are magical. I thought it would be a fun twist! And I like the ongoing debate amongst the characters about the location of the Suriias’ homeworld. Is it a planet? Is it another universe? Is it another plane of existence? Those scenes were fun to write.

If you could meet the characters from These Violent Nights, what would you say to them?

I’d probably have to apologise, haha. 

What advice do you have for aspiring authors?

Don’t give up. It’s so, so hard, but so worth it to see your finished story and hear what people think. 

What was the hardest scene to write in These Violent Nights? 

The scene that appears twice. I had to write it from two perspectives and it was difficult to make sure it wasn’t repetitive! 

Which character could you relate to most in These Violent Nights?

I tried to make them all relatable and empathetic! 

Do you have any plans for future books? If so, can you tell us a bit about them?

I have an urban fantasy close to completion that’ll hopefully be out in the next year or two. I’m also working on a novel set in outer space. And a fantasy series that’s far, far away from being done. 

What key message do you want readers to take away from These Violent Nights?

There’s always hope. 

Finally, in a sentence, how would you describe These Violent Nights?

Hapless disasters trying their best!

I hope you enjoyed reading this interview and it inspired you to pick up These Violent Nights! If you would like to find out more about it I’d definitely recommend checking out my review, which can be found here.

Ceri

49 thoughts on “Author Interview: Rebecca Crunden”

  1. Pingback: These Violent Nights Review – Read And Review It

  4. I hope you had a lovely vacation! This is so exciting, I remember reading your review on These Violent Nights and absolutely loving it because you mentioned how Crunden was able to create a fantasy story without overwhelming the reader. You asked such wonderful questions! It’s the perfect balance between getting to know the author and the story without giving away too much. I also really loved how she answered with never giving up your dreams because the process can be difficult. Thank you for sharing!

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    1. Thank you, it was definitely nice to get away for a while! I’m so glad to hear that you enjoyed the review, it’s genuinely such a great read. I’m so glad to hear that I struck the right balance, this was my first time doing an interview so I’m glad I got it right! I agree, it’s a really great piece of advice and something we all have to remember sometimes. Thanks so much for taking the time to read and leave such a lovely comment!

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  7. Nice interview! The stories twists sparked an interest with me and its lovely hearing more from the author.
    I have fond memories of writing poetry especially limericks and writing short stories, recently started thinking about writing my own

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    1. Thank you so much, I’m really glad you enjoyed! So have I, I’ve wanted to ever since I can remember so it was lovely speaking to Rebecca a bit about her experiences. Thank you so much for reading and commenting x

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    1. It was definitely a great experience! I’m so glad you enjoyed it despite that, I would really recommend checking her out. I definitely found her answers really interesting! The book is definitely a really great and unique read, I hadn’t read anything like it before either. Thank you so much for taking the time to read and comment x

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  15. I have never heard of this author or books before, but I am always open to new stories so will check out! Also I always find it interesting to hear what writers have to say about what they have wrote because sometimes a reader can interpret a book in a completely different way to how an author thought about it when they wrote it xx

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    1. I really hope you enjoy, I really enjoyed reading it and will probably end up checking out some more of her books soon too! I definitely agree, her answers were so interesting and insightful to the thought process behind the story. Thank you so much for taking the time to read and comment x

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    1. Thank you, I’m so glad you like the sound of it! I’ve never heard of them before but I’ll be sure to check out their work! I really hope you enjoy, thank you so much for reading and commenting.

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    1. You’re very welcome, your blog is great! This is my first interview so far but I’m definitely looking to do more in the future, they’re really interesting! Urban fantasy is great, thank you so much for taking the time to read and comment 🙂

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    1. Thank you, it was definitely nice to get away and relax for a while! So did I, it seems like a really difficult path to take but it must be so rewarding! Thanks for reading and commenting.

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