Erin R. Howard: The Soul Searcher Interview
Hang around me long, and you will learn that I’m a huge movie and behind the scenes fan. I love learning about how movies and shows are made and everything that goes into bringing it to the screen. Writing isn’t any different, and worldbuilding is my favorite part of writing. Guest blogging has also been a ton of fun, and I thought it would be neat to share my favorite interview questions from the blog tour so far.
First, can you tell us a bit about your book and what inspired you to write this story?
The Soul Searcher is the second book in my series, The Kalila Chronicles. It picks up immediately after the first book, The Seer and doesn’t slow down. In the first book, a teenage girl named Thea is thrown into a world of ancient societies, demons, and angels. The series started out as an assignment for a writing workshop where I had to write from a villain’s or unlikely hero’s view.
In The Seer, the angel, Matthias, and the demon, Viktor, are brothers. Viktor fell from heaven when Lucifer was kicked out. Both of them are assigned to Thea. There are thousands of years of history between the two of them and lots of anger too, especially when they are forced to work together to save Thea’s life.
In book two, there are new threats and dangers for the group, and a more in-depth look at a new character, Elnora. I’m excited about Elnora’s story.
Are there any authors who’ve influenced you in your writing? Do you have any favorite authors?
I’m an avid reader, so I read a lot of books. I’m a huge Ted Dekker fan, and I also really love Suzanne Collins.
What hobbies do you like to do when you’re not writing? Anything else you’d like our readers to know about you and your work?
I love to do anything crafty. I owned a retail store that sold items made by local artisans, and I taught craft classes before my youngest son was diagnosed with Leukemia. I’m always on Pinterest looking for new projects to try. My favorite is crochet, but I’ve also decorated cakes, string art, wooden signs, and door hangers.
What made you come up with the idea of writing about a world that interacts with angels and demons? Demons aren’t something everyone wants to think about.
Thank you so much! I’m glad that you loved it. Demons aren’t something that people want to think about. I always knew that I wanted to write a supernatural book, but kept putting it off. The book actually started off as a short story that I wrote for a writing workshop. We had to write a story from the villain’s or an unlikely hero’s POV. I started asking “what if” questions, and it grew into a whole series. I’ve learned that I really like writing from an unlikely hero’s point of view, and Viktor is my absolute favorite character.
I loved the idea of the supernatural beings eating manna as their primary food. I don’t think I ever would have even considered what an angel ate if he did. Do these ideas just come to you as you read the Bible or what kind of research does it take to write something like this?
This is a question that came up in one of my plotting sessions with my husband. He loves sitting down with me and plotting, and I always discuss the story with him because he can come up with some excellent ideas. We were talking one day about their characteristics and abilities, and food came up, and we wondered if they would have to eat to keep up their strength, and I mentioned about how God feed people with manna. To me, if they did eat, why wouldn’t it be something that God made? I did a little research on what it looked like and then got a bit creative with it. I love the scene with Thea and Matthias, and he’s dipping the manna in honey.
Can you leave us with a fun fact that almost no one knows about you?
I absolutely love chocolate, but every time I eat it, I sneeze. The richer or darker the chocolate, the more I sneeze and my face itches, so I have to be careful.
The Soul Searcher:
Elnora’s parents gave her one rule:
Stay hidden away at all costs.
Elnora Scott is used to her survival depending on the decisions of others. Locked away in her safe house, it is easy to follow her parents’ dying wishes until an angel, demon, and seer show up on her doorstep. Now, waking up in a dirty cell, she wishes she would have gone with them when she had the chance, because the very ones who unknowingly ushered the kidnapper to her location may be the only ones who can save her.
When Thea learns that Elnora may be in danger, she doesn’t hesitate to go find her. Thea thought stepping through the portal would be her greatest obstacle, but it only reveals a more sinister threat.
Erin R. Howard is a developmental editor, fantasy author of The Kalila Chronicles, and has earned a Bachelor’s degree in Creative Writing/English from Southern New Hampshire University. When she’s not writing, Erin enjoys spending time with her family, fueling her craft addictions, and teaching writing workshops. Erin is a member of the American Christian Fiction Writers (ACFW) and the KenTen Writers Group. She resides in Western Kentucky with her husband and three children.
Social Media:
Website: https://erinrhoward.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/E.R.H.Fiction/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/ErinRHoward
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/erinrhoward/
Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/erinrhoward/
Blog/Wordpress: https://erinrhoward.wordpress.com/
Newsletter: http://eepurl.com/c386-H
Purchase/Pre-order link: https://www.amazon.com/Soul-Searcher-Kalila-Chronicles-Book-ebook/dp/B07MLXTYJT
