Interview with an Author featuring Nia Rose

The Literary Vixen presents…

Joining us today is Nia Rose! Her book, Horns and Halos released on March 1st 2022.

When did you realize you wanted to be a writer?

I was very young. I didn’t even know what an author was. I just wanted to tell stories and have them reach people. Later, when I was around seven, I started to make attempts at writing small tales. I would staple together pieces of paper and give them to my dad to read. My harshest critique, but I’m the most thankful for it.

What about the genre you currently write in, interests you most?

The versatility of it. I’m not bound to any real formula or expectations. Young Adult and New Adult gives me the ability to grow with the characters and the world that they live in. It feels so freeing to sit down and let the story flow out of me.

Haunted house or corn maze?

I suppose—if I had to choose—I’d go with a haunted house. It is just a nod to my youth.

Do you ever come up with anything so wild that you scare yourself, that leaves you wondering where that came from?

Yes. All the time. Mostly, from my villains. Because I had to be in their head, understand them, and write them flawlessly and not let my own moral compass guide me. So, when I write a villain and they are done well, it scares me a little bit. A great example of this is Draki from Horns and Halos. For a fleeting moment, those thoughts and words he had were mine. They came from me. That should be disturbing in every sense.

Do you have a favorite character that you have written? If so who? And what makes them so special.

Oh my, yes! Many. But my favorite character is, hands down, Botobolbillian (aka Bobo) from my Coven Chronicles series. Who doesn’t love a smart, well-dressed, sophisticated, coffee-loving, book-reading ogre that is both slow to anger, but has enough muscle to obliterate anything standing between him and those that he loves? Bobo will always be my favorite. I’m sure I have many that agree with me on that, too.

Do you ever research real events, legends, or myths to get ideas?

All the time. No matter how small the detail, I try to do enough research to make it sound believable. It might be flawed in a place or two, but I hope to do my best with every tidbit that I research. Pottery making, whether or not something existed historically during a certain time period, what farm animals can eat … I’ve done it all. I’ve researched for hours to ensure a fact that I write into a single sentence of my novel is as accurate as I can make it. I’m sure this is why I’m a fountain of knowledge that I’m not sure what to do with outside of putting it in a book.

Do you look to your own phobias to find subject matter? Are your stories the products of nightmares, childhood experiences, fantasies?

All of the above. I could write a book about it, but I’m sure that we don’t have that kind of time. But this isn’t about the things in my life that almost crushed me, fractured me, or tore me wide open … this is about how I use those experiences in my books to show that we can sew ourselves back together. Everything that I’ve been through helps my writing. That’s how I heal. That’s how I cope. We all suffer in one way or another, and I want to write books that don’t just feel real, but help people realize that they aren’t alone. Sometimes that can be the greatest light in the dark. You aren’t alone.

Do you have any fun Halloween experiences you can share with us?

Recently, my family has swapped up the way we celebrate this time of year. Now, we buy candy and hide it and have a full day filled with hiding and searching for candy, making smores, a big feast, a Halloween-ish movie, and just lots of family fun. We even play games. One of the games I created myself. It’s a large printed out picture of a headless Zombie from the game Plants vs. Zombies and we printed out a picture of its head separately. Pin the head on the zombie!

What advice would you give to other authors?

Don’t give up. Some days can be hard. Some years can be hard, but don’t stop. Shoot for a 0% day. One word, one thought, one part of your outline written down, a new thing learned … it all adds up in the end, so don’t stop. Don’t give up. I believe in you. Also, keep a notebook and pen close by. You’re going to need it.

What is the one thing you want people to know about you and your books?

Life isn’t easy. It will try to break you in more ways than you can count. That’s why I use my writing to fight my demons and help me win my battles. With every book written, I conquer another negative aspect that has plagued my heart, mind, and soul. May they aid you in your life too. May they be an escape that you need I hope that you find a lesson within its pages.

Thank you Nia Rose for chatting with me! I will include her information down below. Check out her latest release, Horns and Halos today!

~Synopsis~

My World is Built on Debts and Deals.

Beneath them all, you’ll find horrific secrets that we all hide. It’s lives. It’s souls. Scattered and countless, the dead have built towns, cities, and nations. They are forever damned in the afterlife because they wanted to live without fear. But did they really live without fear, or was it all an illusion?

A pact between devils is the only thing that keeps villages out in the desert-like land untouched by the scourge of this planet. The world we once knew is destroyed and what remains are those left behind trying to build homes to escape the reality that the end has already come. But are we any better than the creatures that loom, roam, tear, and destroy? Are we really worth saving?

At the age of nineteen, I was chosen and cast out of my village as a sacrifice. Now, I have no choice but to make a deal of my own or die out in the endless stretch of the Wastes.

Nia Rose is the author of 3 books in the Coven Chronicles serial, a dual trilogy written along with author Octavia J. Riley. Nia wrote books 1, 3, and 5 in the epic fantasy adventure while her co-author wrote books 2, 4, and 6. The original idea for the novels was birthed from excessive amounts of coffee, no sleep, and Polish accented hand puppets.

In 2021, Nia Rose started to outline 3 stories that would be published in the years to follow after the end of the beloved Coven Chronicles series. She and Octavia built an entire planet and plan to release future books within the world of Raen but on different continents of the globe. Each just as unique and mystical as the series that started it all. But there are countless stories that she still has to tell between those tales.

A mother of 4 children, Nia Rose is surrounded by endless creativity and wild imaginations that feed her craft. She is forever telling in-the-moment-spun fairy tales for her bright, beautiful babies. Almost every moment is an inspiration for a new story.

Nia Rose is fueled by her faith in God and by the love of her family. Oftentimes, she finds herself battling her demons on paper and ever constantly discovering herself through the adventures that she writes. Creating vast worlds and countless stories is her therapy and joy.

Her wish is that her work inspires people to be happy, magical beings that never lose hope and always strive for a better tomorrow.