Meet Rachael Richey – author of the NightHawk series. She’s just published the third volume in the series, Cobwebs In The Dark.
Read the opening chapter of the new book here.
Pat: Cobwebs in the Dark is book three of the NightHawk series. Tell us a wee bit about the story so far…
Rachael: The NightHawk Series basically follows the lives of Abi Thomson and Gideon Hawk. They met and fell in love as teenagers and were then separated for ten years before meeting again (Storm Rising) and discovering a secret that had been kept from them all that time. In Rhythm of Deceit they are happily married, but have some problems with the former drummer of the band who is seeking revenge for his dismissal. Book two also delves into some dark secrets in the life of Abi’s mother.
P: It’s about rock stars – seemingly a rare breed these days. What were the musical influences that went into the telling of the tale?
R: Ah right. Well NightHawk is a grunge band, and I guess I was sort of basing them on Nirvana in a way. I certainly listened to a lot of Nirvana when I was writing the first one, and also Alice in Chains.
P: In the earlier NightHawk books, we read about Abi and Gideon as teenagers, their issues and problems, their joys and heartaches. How difficult – or not – did you find it to slip into a teenager’s shoes again? Did you enjoy writing these parts more than the grown-up sections?
R: I loved writing the teenage bits! It was great fun and surprisingly easy. I think because in my head I’m still nineteen that made it easier! I can relate to teenagers and their angst pretty well I think. I certainly seem to manage to slip teenage sections into most of my books. When I was writing Storm Rising I got my daughter to read it and she related really well to those parts and said it was just like she and friends would act. (Not entirely I hope!)
P: Tell us about a good writing day. Are you a creature of habit, or do you strike when you can?
R: To be honest I write wherever and whenever I can fit it in. I’ve done some of my best writing in the middle of the night and it doesn’t really matter where I am. I don’t have a desk, or even a room to write in and have even done some on my laptop in the car on occasions. Most week days I have to do my ‘proper job’ during the day so can only write in the evenings (hence the middle of the night sessions), but I try to spend as much of the weekend as I can writing. For some reason Sunday seems to be my most prolific day. When I’m on a roll I can stick at it for hours, but some days I seem to need to take numerous Candy Crush or Scrabble breaks in order to keep me going! I do procrastinate a bit, and quite often do things like bake a cake or paint my nails in order to put of actually starting. I guess from all that I’m not a creature of habit.
P. What are you working on next?
R: There’s one more book in the NightHawk Series, The Girl in the Painting which is currently with my editor. I expect it to be released later in the year. At the moment I’m working on a Christmas Chicklit book which is great fun and quite different to write. No flashbacks or teenagers in that one!
