Wednesday, October 13, 2021

#Interview with Evelyn Rainey Author of Troughton Company






Synopsis: Jeremiah Troughton was an accountant and his wife Chrissy was a secret shopper before the aliens landed. Searching for a safe place to live, Troughton gathers other like-minded people: a teacher, preacher, jailbird, farmer, housewife, pizza delivery boy, and a teenager who teaches them how to survive off the land. 

Along the way, they discover a how to destroy the mechmons, bringing them to the attention of the 74th Calvary, led by Col. Peter Glynn. Glynn is trying to push, shove, drag, and juggle as many survivors as he can out of the eastern half of the US. Together, Colonel “History Channel” Glynn and Chrissy “Battle Braids” Troughton lead the fight against the aliens on a motorcycle armed with a bow and arrows, and a bic lighter.

Survival of the human race depends on the belief that “Troughton Company is here. Mechmons best be a’feared!”



Goodreads
Amazon

Welcome! Today we have a wonderful interview with author Evelyn Rainey!  We hope you enjoy getting to know this author today! 

Blog | Facebook | Goodreads | Twitter | Amazon | Email:  Friend@ShelteringTree.Earth



What is your name, where were you born and where do you live now?


My name is Evelyn Rainey. I was born in Kittery, Maine while my parents were on a picnic – 4 months earlier than expected. I was 4 pounds, 6 ounces at birth, but my mother took me home the next day anyway because she said there were ants crawling all over the delivery table! I live in central Florida now, but I have lived in New Hampshire, California, North Dakota, and England. 


Now, you may wonder why I don’t tell you WHERE I live. My first book signing event was at the Books-a-Million in Lakeland, FL. I was so proud, I handed out my business cards with home address with every book I signed. My second book signing event was at the Books-a-Million in Brandon. A man approached me and said, “I really liked your book and wanted to discuss it with you – but you weren’t home.”


I immediately tossed out those business cards and purchased a post box in a different city. I’d love to discuss my books with you, but not in my home…


Did you always want to be a writer? If not what did you want to be?


I have always loved to tell stories. I usually told terrific stories and very rarely got caught in a lie. But once I learned how to write down these wonderful stories, I was hooked – I was a writer and will be for life! 


Did it take a long time to get your first book published? 


I sold my first short story at age 16 to a magazine for blind children. In high school, I was published in the Polk County Poetry Anthology magazine for the school system and read some of my poems live on WBAR. I won an award for best Haiku in college. Then marriage, childbirth, divorce, career, single-parenting all got in the way. I always planned to become a published author, so I never stopped writing. I carried a notebook with me everywhere and would get up in the middle of the night to write. There came a time when I lost everything – I mean everything – and I realized that if I didn’t do something, I would ever and always be one of those people who hoped that one day, they may become a writer. So I started reading books about how to write. I joined a writers group. I became certified as a teacher of Journalism. I researched publishing houses and agencies. I made a spread sheet of what publishers wanted that fit in with my novels, how they expected it to be sent to them, how long it would take to hear back from them. Then I started pitching queries. As soon as I was notified that a publisher did not want my book, I sent it out to the next on my list. I kept four books flowing through emails and snailmails to four different publishers at all times. (Too bad if they wanted an exclusive from the get-go. I would have been 90 years old before going through all the publishing houses for just one novel!) AND I kept writing. I wrote the Veterans column for BellaOnline e-magazine for 5 years and later took over the Science Fiction/Fantasy Book column. I also took over as facilitator of the writing group I belonged to and began each meeting with a thirty-minute mini-lesson. Five years after I became determined that I WAS an author, Minna Pegeen was bought by Comfort Publishing,  I have published an average of one book a year since then.


Do you work another job as well as your writing work?


I was a public-school educator for 38 years and retired last year. I have degrees and certifications in Early Childhood Education, Elementary Education, ESOL, Gifted Education, Middle School Integrated Curriculum, and Journalism. I also worked part-time at Books-a-Million for six years (the basis of Perky’s Books and Gifts). Now, I am retired, but I take care of my mother 24/7, am in the process of earning my master’s degree in Biblical Studies through Baptist College of Florida and run and operate a traditional publishing house ShelteringTree.Earth, LLC


What is the name of your latest book, and if you had to summarize it in less than 20 words what would you say?


My latest book is Troughton Company. It is a story of survival in a world ripped apart by alien machines which scavenge for metals no matter where they are, spewing out what remains. 


Who is your publisher? or do you self-publish? 


I have had many publishers along my career. My first two books – Minna Pegeen and Bedina’s War were published by Comfort Publishing. They switched their focus from Science Fiction/Fantasy to Christian Fiction, so I pitched my next book Perky’s Books and Gifts to Bedlam Press. I wanted to try my hand at historical fiction, so my next book, The Island Remains, was published by Whiskey Creek Press. I loved the whole process so much, that I began studying how to become a publisher. 


My next book, Laughing Humans, was my first venture in Portals Publishing – a traditional house I ran, but I hired out all work – I had 20 fantastic editors, a wonderful artist, printer and international distributor. I expanded to two more publishing houses – one for spiritual writing and one for children’s books. Within 5 years, I had published 52 books for myself and other authors around the world. Comes the Warrior was published through my spiritual house BlissBooksOnline.


Daisy and the Three Shoes was published through my children’s house GingerSnap.Press. I also published the first in a series of Homework through the Years books for Third Grade through GingerSnap.Press. Then my world fell apart again, and I had to dissolve the publishing houses and devote myself to family responsibilities. That was 4 years ago. I retired from teaching last year, and just couldn’t ignore that yearning to help others become published. 


I started ShelteringTree.Earth Publishing in June of this year (2021) and have published five books through it (two of which are mine – Caleb’s Crop and Troughton Company), with two more to come out before November. I also have 40 more I have already contracted with the authors to be published by June of 2025. However, there is room for more authors and books! (See http://ShelteringTree.Earth/writer-guidelines for more information.) This time, I do all the work, including the covers, editing, formatting, etc. I do not consider ShelteringTree.Earth a self-publishing venture. I run this as an LLC business and abide strictly by the traditional publishing house criteria (the author pays nothing; the house pays the author royalties). 
















Did you know that comments are DELICIOUS? Well they are and if you comment on any of these posts you could win some awesome goodies! 


Don't forget to check out our Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and out other social media found on the side bar! 



 Disclaimer: "All opinions are 100% honest and my own."  Thanks to Goodreads and Amazon for the book cover, about the book, and author information. Buying via these links allows my site to get a % of the sale at no cost to you. 

FTC Guidelines: In accordance with FTC guidelines regarding endorsements and testimonials for bloggers, I would like my readers to know that many of the books I review are provided to me for free by the publisher or author of the book in exchange for an honest review. If am compensated for any reviews on this site I will state that post has been sponsored. 




0 comments:

Post a Comment

Hateful and Unrelated Comments Will Be Deleted. Anonymous comments are invalid to enter into giveaways.