Ask the Author: Marion Rhines
Answered Questions (8)
Marion Rhines
Wow, that is a tough question. I don't consider myself mysterious. As a matter of fact, my husband frequently tells me I'm very predictable...I guess after 31 years, he just knows me so well. In the novel I'm currently writing, Then I Found You, I took some pieces of my childhood, namely the fact my dad was a mechanic in the Navy, and made the story about two friends, a boy and a girl, who lost touch after she moved away when they were 10 years old. Thirteen years later, they reunite in the town their families were originally from. I had a girl in my fourth grade class in Hawaii turn up in my 6th grade gym class in Pensacola. I'm presently on chapter 8. I hope to have it and two other novels, A Crossville Christmas and Finding Love in Cedar Falls uploaded to Amazon by the end of December.
Marion Rhines
For the book about to be released, When Feelings Get Too Big, I got the idea from a child who has sensory issues. It tells the story of what he experiences in daily life dealing with things that cause him to be overwhelmed. I must have captured things accurately because when the child read my draft, he said, "How did you know?" I must have understood his feelings pretty well. I think other children and their families will be able to relate with it.
Marion Rhines
In addition to writing children's stories, I also LOVE to write poems. I get inspiration literally from just about anywhere. I have written poems about power lines, plants, dogs, cats, being a foster and an adoptive parent, and the coronavirus. Yep, that is what I said. I wrote about the coronavirus just to prove I could. In the last two years, through my affiliation with the National Foster Parent Association, I wrote two articles for the Fostering Families Today magazine. One was on the topic of Back to School preparation. The other one was about using the situations that make you laugh as a parent to carry you through the times you want to sit down and cry.
Marion Rhines
I am awaiting the release of my new children's book, When Feelings Get Too Big. I am just waiting for the book to go live. I think I will be focusing on getting the new book some exposure and also getting Tips from the FLIP Side to a new level. I hope to increase my followers.
Marion Rhines
My advice for aspiring writers is IF YOU DREAM IT, YOU CAN DO IT! I have to say that this last 18 month period has been a dream come true. I have published one book, started a Facebook blog called Tips from the FLIP Side, and written and about to release another book very soon. I had my 50th birthday earlier this year and NEVER thought I would be here. Don't be afraid to fail. It may take you several attempts before you succeed.
Marion Rhines
I am still in the beginning stages of my writing, but so far the best thing about being a writer is knowing that someone has read my work and had a reaction to it. With my first book, Two Ways Home: A Foster Care Journey, foster parents who have read the book tell me that the children in their care understood what Levi was experiencing. To know that foster children can relate to Levi means I did my job as a writer correctly.
Marion Rhines
Whenever I am dealing with a spell of writer's block, I try and think of the end game...what is the story I am trying to get across to my readers? Is it just a matter of rethinking my plot or broadening it? Am I making things too complicated? Once I know what I want my readers to take away from reading the story, I can focus on the final details.
Marion Rhines
As a HUGE Lord of the Rings fan, I would probably want to go to Middle Earth and see the Shire, Rohan, and Gondor. I would love to see Rivendell and all the other places the Fellowship traveled.
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