Tale Weaver: June 2016

Hello, everyone! I recently did a book review of the prequel to Red Rain, and now I'm back with a book tour that Aubrey Hansen is doing for Red Rain. I'm here with an interview, and there are also prizes to be won. Read on to join in the fun!

About the Book

17-year-old Philadelphia has been imprisoned most of her life because of her Christian beliefs. When her father is sent to Mars against his will to work on a mysterious science project and a benevolent official allows her to accompany him, Philadelphia knows she must keep her head down or be sent back to prison on Earth. But when she stumbles into the wrong hallway and accidentally learns too much, Philadelphia is faced with a question she doesn’t want to answer: the choice between returning to Earth—or destroying it.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B005K21VU6

About the Author

Aubrey Hansen is a pink-haired, caffeine-fueled twenty-something. She's a writer (obviously), barista, dog trainer, and the co-founder of Penoaks Publishing. She shares her house in Kansas City with three cats, a pit bull, a snake, a ferret, and a husband.

What Reviewers are Saying

“ One day while I was busy mindlessly entering data into the computer at work, I put on my head phones and started listening to the book. I was hooked from the first few sentences. In fact, I stayed up late when I got home (even though I had to get up early the next morning) to finish the book.” -Amazon Reviewer

“ With solid craft and poignant world building, Aubrey Hansen has outlined a future both horrifying and realistic. I appreciated Hansen's character building skills.” -Amazon Reviewer

“ I loved this book! I didn't realize it was a short novella, and I wished it would have been longer.” -Goodreads Reviewer

“ The story was fascinating. I wasn't really sure what to expect, but everything came together in the end and it made sense.” -Goodreads Reviewer

Giveaway

Aubrey is offering three paperback copies of her book, Red Rain. This book will have the new cover on it. And the grand prize offering will also have the paperback of Faith Blum's book, Heaven's Jubilee, a Christian futuristic collection of short stories. To enter the giveaway, please fill out this Google form (you do not need a Google account to enter). The only required entries are your name and email address, but the more you do, the more chances you have to win.

Interview with Aubrey Hansen

1. Where did the idea for Red Rain come from?

I was at a park with my siblings, having taken up residence on my favorite piece of equipment—the swing set. When I swung high enough, I could see over the park fence into a “bus barn” across the street. I stared at the rows upon rows of yellow buses and, being homeschooled, thought about how terrible it would be if the government forced us to go to public school. Such things frightened my teenaged brain. <winks> But that gave birth to the first scene in the book, which has remained almost exactly as I first imagined it, despite the revisions the rest of the book went through. Don’t ask me how I went from school buses to Mars colonies, though. I honestly have no idea.

2. What books and movies inspired you while writing?

Anything sci-fi! Although I’m not extremely “techy” by nature, I have always adored the glistening sci-fi settings and the sparkling backdrop of space. My earliest known piece of writing was sci-fi, which is why sci-fi will always hold a special place in my heart.

3. Did you base anything in Red Rain off of your personal experiences?

Not intentionally—but then, it’s rarely intentional. I didn’t write Red Rain during a particularly traumatic period of my life, so I wasn’t doing any “writing therapy” at the time. The sequel, however, hits on a very difficult aspect of growing up...

4. Are any of the characters based off of or inspired by people you know?

No, although I did use the seven churches from Revelation as inspiration for their character arcs.

5. What is your favorite line (narration or dialogue) in the book?

“Curses,” Carnegie spat, and offered a few examples.

I was very proud of that line, because I proved to the world that you can have “realistic” crude characters without resorting to splicing language throughout your book. That and I thought it was very creative. But I might be biased.

6. Describe your writing process: do you like to have everything plotted out beforehand, are you a 'pantser', or something in between?

I lean more towards plotting. My books usually start with some scattered scenes written on-the-fly, just to capture the inspiration, but then I take a step back and work up an outline to fill in the blanks. Regardless of how much plotting I do, though, I almost always write the ending first and then work backwards. I usually write best when I know my climax and have to figure out how my characters got there.

7. What is the most difficult thing for you in writing?

Finding time! Cliché, I know, but with a full-time “day job” and a growing publishing business of our own, it’s hard to find quality time to put into my books! But I’m slowly getting it through my workaholic brain that my works are just as important as everything else on my plate, and it’s worth it to devote one or two evenings to my own projects.

8. If you could go anywhere for a week's vacation, and spend it writing to your heart's content, where would you go?

I’d probably be too distracted by all the new sights and sounds to write! I love travel and exploring new experiences, whether that be visiting a new store, doing an activity for the first time, or going to a new state or country. Now, if you’re going to give me a week off of work, where I didn’t feel guilty about not doing anything else but write, then sign me up!

9. When did you first start writing, and what was your first story/book about?

I started writing officially around age 14, although I’d always been “making up stories” in my brain. I just didn’t realize until then that you could write this stuff down and call it a book! My first book was actually EXO-FORCE fanfiction on the LEGO message boards. EXO-FORCE was a sci-fi line about sentient robots and piloted mechs... just the kind of fodder to inspire a lifelong love of sci-fi!

10. You're writing a sequel to Red Rain. Can you tell us a bit about that?

EVERYBODY DIES. Just kidding—but Crook Q is significantly more “serious” than Red Rain. I’ve matured, and so has Philadelphia. She gets thrown out on her own and has to start developing her own religious beliefs. It hits on a very important time from my own “coming of age”—realizing that I had to make my faith my own, and that it might not always match my parents’ beliefs perfectly. It will be a full-length novel, which should make my readers happy.