Wednesday, January 09, 2013

Author Thursday: Rochelle Maya Callen Author of: Ashes and Ice






This week we get to go inside the mind of author Rochelle Maya Callen Author of Ashes and Ice coming out soon!














I grew up with a book under my arm. I frequently read until dawn by flashlight so that no one could see I was up by the light under my door. I scribbled stories in the corners of notebooks and was convinced I would be a novelist one day. And then *BAM* twelve years later it happened!

Hmmm, what happened in those twelve years? I entered high school at thirteen and promptly abandoned my stories and dreams of being a novelist for a path of study that I hoped would make me suitable for political office and would eventually land me in a big white house on Pennsylvania Avenue in D.C. My fervent passion for social & political justice fueled my studies and I did not read a single fiction book (unless my study required) until two years after I graduated college. I worked up to four jobs at a time. Only one stuck: behavioral therapy. I have been a behavioral therapist for the past 8 years and have focused on cases of severe mental illness and autism.

​So, how did story telling creep back into my life? I owe it all to my daughter—then in my ever growing pregnant belly—and the fabulous nausea that she insisted on blessing me with. For a period of time, I was so sick that I could barely get out of bed. It was then that I decided to pick up a novel. I fell in love again. I tore through books and read them late into the night. I think my husband worried about me. He would wake up to see me sniffling or laughing or taut with anxiety all because of the book in my hand.

​During this time, I found a chapter and character sketch about an extraordinary girl named Jade that I had written at 12 or 13. Those few pages were the catalyst to writing Ashes and Ice. It took years to write. I was so intimidated by the process! It wasn’t until my sister said she would not speak to me if the rough draft wasn’t finished by her birthday (April 2012). That got me writing!

​Now, I am writing every spare moment and have not only the rest of the Ashes and Ice trilogy mapped out, but also three other projects in the works.

I feel incredibly blessed to have found my love of books and writing again. It truly was and is my dream—I had just forgotten about it for a time. And finally, I am living it.

If I have any advice for readers and authors alike, it is this:
You were meant to have a remarkable life. Accept nothing less. If there is a dream in your heart, it isn’t meant to stay there and get dusty like some box left in an attic. A dream is meant to be chased after, reached for… the road may be a long one—twists and turns may drag you off track, but in the end, if you keep reaching,  you may in fact find yourself among the stars.

Find Her

1 comments:

I cannot wait to read this! I am taking part in the blog tour! WOO HOO!

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