For my second April author interview, I had a chance to ask Arel B. Grant about her secrets. Arel writes classic fantasy complete with elves and dark, mysterious shadow villians. It is no secret that she is a fan of Tolkien. She lives in Florida drowning in the fav fantasy authors I share with her like Anne McCaffrey and J.K. Rowling. Secrets about her writing, her books, and tips for future fantasy writers are all revealed in the following interview.

1) Which book do you wish you had secretly written?

For Romance, I would love to have written Acheron, by Sherrilyn Kenyon. It’s a wonderful book in which the characters just jump out of the pages, and takes the reader through all the emotions in the spectrum. Truly well written.

For Fantasy, definitely Tolkien’s The Return of The King. This is my favorite fantasy book ever. I love the epicness of it all and how Tolkien weaves a marvelous conclusion to a story that was already incredibly good. I think every writer’s dream is to write something as remarkable and iconic as this.

2) What advice would you give to aspiring authors?

Never give up! There are no things in life that come easy, and for those you really want, you have to fight hard, dirty and bloody. Writing is not going to be fun, is not going to be simple once you commit yourself to it. It’s a job like any other and it’s even harder because you are the one who decides when to start and when to finish. You are not likely to make much money of it either. Still, giving up is the worst thing you could possibly do. You have a voice, you have something to say, and somewhere in this world, there are people waiting to hear it.

3) What is your biggest ambition as an author?

I would definitely like to get to best-seller someday, but more than that, I think I just want to create something people believe in. I go to festivals and look at the people dressed like Luke Skywalker or Frodo or Harry Potter… that is my dream. For my world to impact someone so much that they will want to be a part of it, they will want to share it with the world and let everyone know they are passionate about it.

4) Are you a plotter or a pantser?

A little of both, I pants (or is it pantser?) my way through a novel most of the times, but I also have detailed character sheets and background sheets. I have summaries for the books and world-building information I take guidance from, although the specifics of the story are normally pantsed. I know what is supposed to happen, but not how or how the characters are going to get to that point. What do you make of that?

5) Do you have plans for any other books after the Razvak series has ended?

I have a “To Do” file larger than the yellow brick road! I have several other fantasy sagas planned, but these are probably not going to be as long as the Razvak Series. Also, I plan to release a Romance penname sometime next year, and also have plenty of material to fuel that one up. Right now I’m learning my way around this publishing machine, but when I do, I plan to take it all up with a vengeance.

For more information on Arel B. Grant: 

Her book, The Razvak Hunter: Amazon Link http://www.amazon.com/Razvak-Hunter-1-ebook/dp/B01CC7Q54I/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1458752695&sr=1-1&keywords=razvak