An Exclusive Interview with Raven West
as told to Lori Soard
 www.WORDMUSEUM .com

 

WM:  Your latest release is "Red Wine for Breakfast."  Tell us a little about this book...

 Raven: Red Wine For Breakfast is a contemporary novel set in the volatile world of a Los Angeles radio station. The story centers around Jenny Reed, a strong, independent woman who has the number one morning radio show in Los Angeles. She has always been in control of her life, until the day Johnny King becomes her on-air partner. His charismatic broadcasting style threatens her career and his constant sexual advances threaten her professionalism, but she meets his every challenge using her intellect and never once compromises her integrity. Oh yes, there's plenty of sex, drugs, rock and roll, and a little murder thrown in for good measure!

WM:  Tell us a little about the ups and downs you've experienced as a writer...

Raven: I've owned my own business for over seven years, but since I started the process of getting my book published two years ago, I've met more liars, scam artists and dream killers than in all my years in retail sales. From phony literary agencies, to malpracticing book doctors to unscrupulous movie producers and deranged magazine publishers, these confidence vampires all come out their cave when they smell fresh writer's blood. Fortunately, I never fell for any of the scams, thanks to the great support groups and information available on the Internet. The ups are obvious. My articles have been published in several magazines and the book has received many excellent reviews. I'm scheduled for three book signings next January at Borders, Barnes & Nobel and Waldenbooks. The ups are certainly at lot higher and a lot more frequent than the downs!

WM:  What inspired you to start writing?

Raven: I wrote my first poem in the first grade. My ninth grade English teacher gave us an assignment to keep a journal. I now have thirty books! In my high school yearbook, under the "Ambition" title, I wrote: "To have the BOOK published". It seems that I've been writing my entire life, however the inspiration to write Red Wine For Breakfast came as a result of the death of my best friend Mary Ellen Grable in 1985. I started writing the book as a way of working through my grief. In 1993, while visiting her grave, I heard her voice as if she were standing right next to me say: "Finish the book, I want to be remembered." Six months later, the book was finished.

 WM:  Tell us what you're working on now....

 Raven: "First Class Male" A female ex-lawyer turned writer from New York City and a Postmaster from a small town in the Catskills end up playing a much more serious game of "Post Office".

 WM:  Where do you see the publishing industry headed?  It seems like there are a lot of changes in technology, tightening markets, etc.

 Raven:  What the printing press and the copier did for writers of the paper and quill age, the Internet and electronic publishing will do for aspiring authors in the new millennium. Ebooks, books that are published in CD‑Rom or 3‑1/2" floppy disk format, are growing in number, especially in the fiction market. Print‑On‑Demand is another publishing innovation that is growing at an amazing rate. But the greatest benefit of this new industry is the freedom it allows both the writer and the bibliophile. No longer will authors be at the mercy of a handful of agents and an even smaller handful of publishers for their works to be read. For the first time in the history of publishing, the writers are in control. And the literary community is now free to discover a wide variety of wonderful literature, exceptional writing, and a diverse selection of authors who have been kept silent. Best sellers will no longer be decided by an elite group of publishers. Millions of people from around the world will now have instant access to thousands of titles, in hundreds of categories, from sources that would never have been able to publish with conventional methods. It's the best time to be a writer!

 WM:  Do you outline heavily before writing?  What techniques do you use when blocked?

 Raven: I do a very loose outline. My new book actually started out as a short story, but once I started to write it, the plot became much more involved. One of the characters, who was only suppose to be a minor reference, now wants in, and another plot line has just emerged that I'm wrestling with even now! I have a general idea where a story is going, but I almost never stick to a strict outline or structure. It kills the creative process.

 There was only one time when I was really blocked, so I wrote a short story... about being blocked! I find that just putting words on the page and not paying attention to details at the beginning gets me going. Some of it is good right at the start, other parts need a lot more work, but I've never really been "blocked". I always have something to say, just ask my husband!

 WM:  Where do you see yourself ten years from now?

 Raven: Ten years? I don't know where I'm going to be tomorrow! But since you asked, Tandy, my 18 year old,  will be a commercial pilot by then, so I can fly anywhere for free, Kimberly will be 26 and probably an actor or a model. Michelle will be 24 and will most likely will be a lawyer or politician with her arguing, I mean debating, skills. My husband, Bill will be...well, still older than me, and either working on his inventions or working in Congress, and I'll be in a secluded cabin in Big Bear, California working on my tenth bestseller!

 WM:  What do you think are your greatest strengths as a writer?

 Raven: My passion for words. When I write, I lose all track of time. Some call it being in the "zone" or the "flow", I call it Dimension 9, Whether I'm writing fiction or non‑fiction, I'm on a natural high. I love words. I love creating interesting people and situations in a way no one has ever thought of before. There isn't anything I'd rather do than sit at my keyboard and make literary magic! (well, almost anything)

A few words of inspiration from Raven:

 If you love to write, do it! If you're truly passionate about your work, don't let anyone or anything stand in your way. Put up a deflector barrier between your desire and all negative forces, there are a lot of them, and learn the fine art of "spin" when it comes to reviews and rejections. And never, never give up!