Please give a warm welcome to author Rowan Thalia

First interview

Tell us a bit about yourself…

Hello again Helle! Gosh it’s been forever since my first interview! I’m Rowan Thailia – Ro. First, I’m an author, I published my first novel  on February 14, 2019. 

I discovered very early on that I loved writing. Poetry was my first love and form of expression. I’ve written poems since I was sixteen and have quite the collection by now! Some of them you can find in my poetry novella, Deep in the Ro.

I’ve always been an avid reader and writer of short stories. My favorite author of all time is Anne Rice. In fact my pen name stems from one of her characters, Rowan, from The Witching Hour.

It wasn’t until 2018 that I decided to push through and write a full-length novel. I started Binding Rayne (which went through several title changes at first) but struggled with the direction. In the middle of the first draft, I happened upon the reverse-harem book community on facebook. The complicated romances rooted in my author heart and before long my book took on a new direction.  The Keepers of the Talisman trilogy was born!

Thank you for all of the support and love that you’ve shown toward my book babies so far, Helle, I hope to keep surprising you with bigger and better projects!

What has happened work wise since our last interview?

Since our first interview, I have written and published  many more reverse-harem romance novels, most of them paranormal in genre. Never to be one to sit idle, I opened a second pen name – R. Thalia . With this name, I began the journey of writing my first (non-romance) paranormal thriller, Song of Bones which I hope to publish in March.

Covid hit, and I backslid into depression for a while, but I came out fighting. I began a rewrite of my second series, The Soldiers of Blood and Ruin. At first, I thought to work through a quick edit, but realized I wanted to do more with the series – expand it – so I began the long road to reimagining the series. I just finished book one, Renegades Exiled (formerly Rox’s Renegades) and I can’t be happier! I’ve given Rox a deeper backstory and developed the plot and characters more than the first go around, even if you’ve read the first novel – I highly suggest you pick up the twe one. Renegades Exiled drops January 15!

What was your inspiration for your current book/series?

Which one? Ha! I’m working on several projects right now. The biggest one is Soldiers of Blood and Ruin, so I’ll talk about that one. I’ve always been a fan of vampire novels – cue my Anne Rice obsession. Before writing this series, I read a dystopian novel and it got my mind spinning – what if I combined the two? This was right after finishing my first book, Binding Rayne in 2018. Anyway, I sat down and plotted/wrote the first ten chapters of this series in a weekend. The rest is history! Rox and her team were born. I mixed my love of vampires, dystopian, and zombies all together in one sexy package.

What are you working on now?

After finishing Renegades Exiled, I am working on four projects:
Renegades Mission: Book Two of Soldiers of Blood and Ruin
Juniper’s Trial: The final book of The Academy of Elite – Cowritten with Jarica James
Song of Bones – A thriller standalone under my non-romance pen, R. Thalia
Death Knell – a PNR RH Romance Co-written with Darcy Ray

Do you have any quirks while working?

Hmm. This is a good question. I think my biggest quirk is my need to see photos of everything I’ve imagined. I spend a lot of time searching pinterest and other sites finding the right images to go with what is in my head. Other than that – I’m needy. My poor alpha group can attest. Thankfully I’ve got people all around the world, so someone is always available in our chat- haha!

What are your hopes for the future?

I hope to get back on a regular schedule with my writing. In a perfect world, I’ll be publishing a book for each pen name at least bi-monthly. I’d also love to go back and get my Master’s in teaching – but that’s a long way away right now.

What have you learned about publishing since our first interview?

Gosh, I’ve learned so much. When you first interviewed me I had people helping me with the process – a small publishing house. Since then I’ve separated from the publisher and set out on my own. Both Deafening Silence and Last Chance Diner were self-published. The reason for rewriting my two first series is that I’ve gotten the rights back from the publisher and I will be putting them on my own account. The entire process is so intricate and it helps to know people. The most important advice I can give to new indie authors is – make friends with several editors and cover designers. Besides that, gather a small squad of beta/a;pha readers that will stick with you. Most of mine have been with me the entire three years and I couldn’t be more grateful. Shout out to my Shiver Squad!!

Do you have anything to say to your followers?

To my followers – Thank you so much for hanging in with me for the last three years. I came into the writing community rapid-releasing six books in a year. Since then, I’ve slowed down – but you haven’t turned away from me and I appreciate you! I love every comment, message, and recommendation I see out there. Stick with me, I promise I have more in store!!  Hugs, love and dicks – Ro  ❤