Nov 19

BRoP Interview: Camille Faye

  • Filed under Featured

  • November 19, 2014

  • 9 mins to read

Camille Faye

Welcome to CAMILLE FAYE, this week’s Blog Ring of Power guest! Camille lives in Missouri, loves on her family, and writes during the baby’s nap time. She grew up in a haunted house, which sparked her fascination with the paranormal. Before becoming a writer, she reported for an NBC affiliate and taught writing at universities in Missouri and Illinois. She found the muse for her debut novel, Voodoo Butterfly, during a family trip to New Orleans where she dreamt of a woman who had the power to change evil people good. The Northwest Houston RWA named her novel, Voodoo Butterfly, a 2013 Lone Star Contest finalist. Camille’s stories are inspired by her travels to 27 countries and counting! Follow her journey at www.camillefaye.com. 

Don’t miss the rest of her interview:

Sandra Ulbrich Almazan

E.M. LaBonte

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Voodoo Butterfly Book Party
November 19 from 6-9 PM (CST)
Voodoo Butterfly is officially available on Amazon, so let’s P-A-R-T-Y! Wear PJs if you want, because you can enjoy the fun from the comfort of your own home. At the party, we will have “door prizes”, a live online psychic reading, and a Q&A so that you can ask any burning questions about Camille Faye’s writing or her paranormal novel, Voodoo Butterfly. Join the party by clicking on this link and hit the JOIN button. Invite your friends for a magically fun time. See you on the Facebook event page at 6 PM.
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PART 1: ABOUT YOU
How long have you been writing? I remember typing stories on my mom’s electronic typewriter when I was 9. When I was in high school and college, I wrote for my schools’ newspapers. Then in my journalism program at the University of Missouri, I reported local news at an NBC affiliate, where we had to write all our own scripts and work with editors before the story aired. Eventually I took creative writing in grad school, but then I got a job teaching freshman Composition classes and I spent so much time grading the writing of others, that I had no time or energy to write for myself. So when I decided to quit teaching in order to be a SAHM, I decided this would be my season to write!
Tell us about your early works—what was the first thing you ever wrote? Actually, I remember publishing poetry in a couple of anthologies in middle school. Our teacher submitted poems from each student and we all “got published.” Now I realize those were vanity presses, but I felt so proud at the time. I still have those books 🙂
When did you first consider yourself a professional writer? In Journalism school at the University of Missouri, they taught us to call ourselves writers from the very start. That was weird for me. I’d half-heartedly call myself a “writer” over the next decade or so, but now that I have Voodoo Butterfly on Amazon, I accept that title.
What genre do you write? Voodoo Butterfly is a mixture of the paranormal romance and women’s fiction genres. I’ll always have aspects of paranormal and romance in my writing, but I really love discovering the woman’s journey.
If you couldn’t be an author, what would your ideal career be? Teaching would serve me well in many ways. I am absolutely in LOVE with learning plus I enjoy group discussions about “big ideas.” A huge reason why teaching still appeals to me is the schedule. Being able to do what you love combined with a schedule where you can be with your kids when they have school breaks would just be perfect.
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PART 2: THE WRITING LIFE

What is your writing process? Do you follow a regular routine? Do you use pen and paper or computer? Work at home or at the library/Starbucks, etc. I’ll write at the computer or with a pen and paper; I can work at home or sometimes I’ll go to a coffee shop. I’ve got to change things up or I get bored. A big part of my writing process is taking notes throughout the day when inspiration hits. I have notepads in my kitchen, living room, bedroom, and car. I only commit to writing 15 minutes a day, so those notes keep me focused.

How do you balance writing with other aspects of your life? As a busy mom, this is so hard! I’ve found that if I dedicate time (even if it’s just 15-20 minutes per day) to 1) yoga/exercise and 2) writing, then I feel really balanced. Every other moment of my life revolves around my home life and family, but if I don’t allow myself those two outlets, I get a little wonky.

When do you write? During the toddler’s nap time and, now that she’s in preschool and my older son is in elementary school, I make time two mornings a week to work on writing-related activities. I plan to write full time when they are both in school. I also do writing retreats a few times a year (even if it’s just to a friend’s house for the weekend).

How much time per day do you spend on your writing? My routine is to commit to 15 minutes a day of writing time, which doesn’t sound like much but I was able to, over the course of one year, write a draft of Voodoo Butterfly that was ready to submit to New York editors and agents. Normally the 15 minutes will stretch into an hour, but sometimes I could only make time for the 15 minutes.

What has been the most surprising reaction to something you’ve written? Sophie, my heroine, deals with some difficult emotional issues in Voodoo Butterfly and it must have hit home with some people, because I had some readers express that they felt angry. I don’t think they were angry at me, I think the situation in the book brought up some unresolved emotion in them. To me, good writing should evoke an emotional response, so I see that as a success.

Is your book in print, ebook or both? Ebook for now, but will be released in print in early 2015.

Please let us know where your readers can stalk you:

  • Website: www.camillefaye.com
  • Blog: www.thelitladies.com
  • Facebook page: www.facebook.com/camillefaye
  • Twitter: @CamilleFaye

VOODOO BUTTERFLY:Voodoo Butterfly MEDIUM When twenty-five-year old Sophie Nouveau inherits her grandmother’s voodoo shop she knows nothing about voodoo. Or her family’s history of Mind Changers who have the power to change evil people good. To complicate matters, someone doesn’t want Sophie in New Orleans and sends a series of death threats to scare her away from her new enchanted life.  

 
Tipped off by her grandmother’s ghost, Sophie realizes her mind-changing spell’s been missing one magic ingredient: true love. If Sophie cannot experience transformative love, she cannot make her spell work, and she will be powerless to fight back when confronted by the one who wants her dead.

 

You can find VOODOO BUTTERFLY at Amazon: Voodoo Butterfly by: Camille Faye

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T.W. Fendley

Author of historical fantasy and science fiction for adults and young adults.

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