R.T Wolfe with Rionna Morgan

R.T. Wolfe is a fellow Crimson Romance writer. She and I are sisters in crime so to speak; we both write romantic suspense. I am sure excited to spend the day with her. So please, come on in and stay awhile. We love these books!

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Can you tell us a little bit about yourself?
Yes, Rionna! Thank you for having me! I grew up in the midst of five crazy older brothers and sisters who I can’t help but love. I married young, had my three sons young and have been full speed ahead ever since. I’ve flipped houses, designed and planted landscaping projects and teach Pilates at our local Y. My new car already has more miles on it than I’d like to admit as I drive all over the Midwest cheering on my sons at their events. My trusty laptop is never far and it’s not uncommon to see me sitting in bleachers typing away.

How did you choose the genre you write in?
I didn’t. It absolutely chose me. I love mystery, sauce and a little crime mixed in with a growing relationship that develops along with the rest.

Do you work with an outline, or just write?
I work with an outline, yes, but an ever-changing one. The characters seem to have their own ideas where they’d like my books to go, and I often find myself adjusting the outline.

Can you tell us about your upcoming book?
Black Creek Burning is a romantic suspense about Brianna Chapman, the only witness to the murder of her parents…an arson that was meant for her. After several years, Brianna learns to cope by burying herself in her beloved teaching job by day and landscaping business by night. What she doesn’t count on is nationally renowned woodworking artist, Nathan Reed. He and his two adorable young nephews move into the run-down historical farmhouse behind her. Nathan pushes his way through Brianna’s hard shell and is determined to both win her heart and solve the murder.

Is anything in your book based on real life experiences or is it purely all imagination?
Black Creek Burning is completely fictional. However, I expect every author twines pieces of what they know or what interests them into their novels.

What was your favorite chapter (or part) to write and why?
Brianna has a dream that re-occurs a handful of times throughout the story. Not only does the dream give the reader the scene and emotion behind the night she watched her parents die, but it evolves… just enough to see how Brianna’s view changes and the case develops and as she learns to open her heart and to trust.

What project are you working on now?
Black Creek Burning is the first of a series, although it also stands alone—no cliffhangers at the end of this novel. Book two, Shadowed Flight, is finished and set to be released in July, 2013…which brings me to my current work in progress. Dark Vengeance is book three and right now I am heavy into the character’s secrets and twists, attractions and hopes.

Do you have any advice to give to aspiring writers?
The common answer to that question is to keep writing. I agree with that advice wholeheartedly, but I also tell aspiring writers to keep researching, learning and growing their talent. Resources are not always easy to find, but they are out there and invaluable!

RT's Website

Now for the clever-silly question, if you were a t-shirt, what would you say?
“You have the right to remain silent, because what you say and do may be used in one of my books.”

Is there anything that you would like to say to your readers and fans?
I would definitely like to say that they are amazing and are my driving force. Nothing compares to the feeling of opening my website in the morning over a cup of coffee and finding a message left on my contact form from a reader who doesn’t want my book to end. Or they look forward to the time in their day when they can get back to Black Creek Burning. My favorite is the reader who made her frozen pizza for dinner because she couldn’t put it down long enough to fix anything better.

R.T. Wolfe

Author of the Romantic Suspense, Black Creek Burning which debuts September 24^th in eBook form and in print later in the fall.

www.rtwolfe.com

www.facebook.com/RTWolfe2012

Twitter @ RT_Wolfe

Pinterest @ RTWolfe

R.T. Thank you so much for being here with me today!  Congratulations on your book!! It sounds amazing. 

What is Symbolism?

...and how can it be used to strengthen a novel’s mood?

I could spend several paragraphs singing the praises of M.H. Abrams and his famed Glossary of Literary Terms, but I won’t. Simply put, a symbol is a word or object that represents the idea of something else.

For all the years I spent teaching English, I found that using poetry to illustrate a point or element within literature is most effective.


To illustrate the use of symbolism, I’d like to focus on “The Raven” by Edgar Allan Poe. I have been thinking of this fabulous writer of suspense and horror lately because of the new movie, The Raven. I have not yet seen it--too busy writing!

The stanza I think of most when I envision how powerful symbolism can be is after the persona of the poem is awakened, opens the door, and lets in a bird.


Open here I flung the shutter, when, with many a flirt and flutter,
In there stepped a stately raven of the saintly days of yore.
Not the least obeisance made he; not a minute stopped or stayed he;
But, with mien of lord or lady, perched above my chamber door -
Perched upon a bust of Pallas just above my chamber door -
Perched, and sat, and nothing more.
Poe, E. A. (2012). Poets.org. Retrieved from http://www.poets.org/viewmedia.php/prmMID/15638

There are two specific elements of symbolism that are particularly powerful within this stanza.

• The bird, The Raven is black which in itself symbolizes or represents evil, the underworld, death, mystery and secrecy.
• The “bust of Pallas” upon which the bird perches. Pallas is truly Pallas Athena the Goddess of Wisdom in Greek mythology. This bust represents or symbolizes truth and knowledge.

The bird Poe chose to use instills a sense of dread and death in the reader. The location Poe placed the bird within the poem--on the bust of a statue that represents wisdom--solidifies to the reader that whatever the dark, evil bird says will be true because it has a knowledge others do not.

In the span of six short lines Poe uses many literary devices: rhythm, rhyme, repetition, alliteration, allusion, but it is the power of his symbolism that creates a mood of dreary, hopelessness.

To fellow writers: so when we return to our writing, and we’re trying to convey a certain sense of mood for our readers, perhaps we can take a page or rather a line from Poe’s poetry.

To fellow readers: when we again open the pages of our favorite novel or even click open the new book on our e-readers, we can look for the subtle, yet powerful ways the writer conveys a mood for us to appreciate and thrill in.

We, The Chanting of Muses, are always interested in what you’ve found as readers and writers that has been powerful to you. Please share your findings on symbolism.





Rionna Morgan holds a bachelors in English Literature as well as a masters. She spent a decade teaching English and theatre in the public schools of Colorado, Oregon and Montana. She also briefly taught English at the university level. Rionna writes romantic suspense and her book, The Wanting Heart, is set to be released July 9, 2012.