On Episode 33 of the WRITER 2.0 Podcast, I spoke with Raven Oak, author of epic fantasy and sci-fi. We discussed:
- her transition to full-time writing;
- what people misunderstand about the rain in Seattle;
- how to build a world in a fantasy novel;
- how she found her publisher, Grey Sun Press;
- her favorite new board games;
- the best writing conferences for sci-fi and fantasy writers;
- the pros and cons of NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month);
- her epic fantasy, AMASKAN’S BLOOD.
Plus, on Today in Writing: Copies of HOWL seized at the airport for obscenity.
About Our Guest:
Raven Oak is the author of the bestselling fantasy novel, Amaskan’s Blood, and the upcoming space opera, The Silent Frontier. She began her career as many authors do, trying to become the next Anne McCaffrey, Connie Willis, or Neil Gaiman. At the age of twelve, she took her first steps into novel writing by penning a 320 page novel about dragons with all the drama of a typical twelve-year-old. She studied English literature and music in college, and in 2001, she graduated with a Bachelor of Science from the University of North Texas. She later completed her Master of Science Degree in CECS from UNT in 2005. After twelve years in the classroom as a computer and English teacher, she retired from education to pursue writing full-time.
Raven is currently at work on the sequels to both Amaskan’s Blood and The Silent Frontier. She is a member of the local Seattle writing group, Magnolia Chapter One, as well as the Northwest Science Fiction Society and the Pacific Northwest Writers’ Association. Raven is married to her high school sweetheart, a software developer for Amazon Game Studios. They have three kitties who enjoy lounging across the keyboard when writing deadlines approach. They live on a cliff in Seattle, WA, less than mile from the ocean.
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