Ask the Author: Emory R. Ivie
Answered Questions (12)
Emory R. Ivie
Thanks for reaching out! Ara is my main unicorn character, and she actually began as a blue mare named River. A friend from middle school asked me to write a short story for her sister's birthday, and the end result was a tale about a princess and her new friend River defeating an underwater cavern monster. In the first draft of The Drought, I rewrote her background and changed her design, but kept her name. An editor suggested a name change, so my unicorn character became Ara (which means "brings rain").
Emory R. Ivie
Hello, Becca! Thank you so much for reaching out to me! I really appreciate your kind words. To answer your questions, I started my pet rescue back in 2018 when a stray cat I named Luna showed up at our house. After finding her a loving home, I started fostering and coordinating adoptions for a local rescue farm, and since then I've continued to find homes for pets abandoned in our area. I just really love animals - and I love to write about them, too!
I published the first book in my fantasy series, Legends of Saphirra, when I was twelve. If you took a look at the dashboard of my computer, you'd find a BUNCH of Chapter 1s, which is how The Drought began. My main fictional writing subjects has always been ... well, horses, and I've really had a lot of fun working on my fantasy series. The cool thing about writing fantasy is that you can create anything you want to in them ... for example, a talking, lake-green unicorn named Ara that can walk on water (you can read more about her if you ever decide to check out my series). I've been working on the series for four years and am currently working on Book 4, The Siren. I love writing so much that I hope to get a writing career in the future.
It's really cool to hear from another young storyteller! What do you like to write about? I'd love to hear more! Thank you again for reaching out to me and have a blessed day! - Emory Raine Ivie
I published the first book in my fantasy series, Legends of Saphirra, when I was twelve. If you took a look at the dashboard of my computer, you'd find a BUNCH of Chapter 1s, which is how The Drought began. My main fictional writing subjects has always been ... well, horses, and I've really had a lot of fun working on my fantasy series. The cool thing about writing fantasy is that you can create anything you want to in them ... for example, a talking, lake-green unicorn named Ara that can walk on water (you can read more about her if you ever decide to check out my series). I've been working on the series for four years and am currently working on Book 4, The Siren. I love writing so much that I hope to get a writing career in the future.
It's really cool to hear from another young storyteller! What do you like to write about? I'd love to hear more! Thank you again for reaching out to me and have a blessed day! - Emory Raine Ivie
Emory R. Ivie
I often wonder about my future and how the decisions I make regarding my career could change my later days entirely.
Emory R. Ivie
I typed for hours before I clicked exit. Then I realized I forgot to save.
Emory R. Ivie
I recently finished the Harry Potter series and am currently rereading it. I read A Dog's Journey several months ago and really liked it, but I would be very interested in reading The Giver (I've heard good things about it). I am still searching for a good book that piques my interest and I hope that I can find a new favorite!
Emory R. Ivie
The idea for my most recently published book, The Stowaways, wasn't inspired by any single event or idea, but slowly knitted together after months of deep thought. It has come a LONG way since I first thought about adding a sequel to The Drought (Trust me, Version 1 was not pretty)! It took a long time to work out the details, but after several rewrites, revisions, and revisits, I finally had a manuscript I was happy with!
Emory R. Ivie
I write because I love it. I like to put use to my ability to create vivid imagery and produce a captivating storyline. I become really attached to my characters when I’m working on my books, and sometimes it is hard to let them go and allow bad things to happen to them in the storyline. My characters all start on different levels of social skills, and as the characters grow emotionally I hope to help other people with similar problems learn how to overcome them. When hard times come, my characters push through even when it seems impossible. I write to escape into a new world because sometimes real life is not enough. I structure myself a new universe with words. The best thing about becoming a writer is seeing my book in other people's hands. When I get a new review on Amazon, it makes me so happy to see what my readers thought of my works! I hope you like them, too!
Emory R. Ivie
I began to view myself as a writer as soon as I was physically able to write. I started with little short stories that only consisted of a few sentences and illustrations when I was very little. I wrote in every composition book I could get my hands on. I wrote in the margins of schoolwork. I stapled pages together and made my own “books.” It was about four years ago when I received my first computer. All I ever did on it was type. I have written hundreds of stories and ideas, which eventually led to the publication of my first novel. All my life I have been writing about a vast majority of subjects - my pets, my future, my dreams, and my ideas. Writing has become as much a part of me as living itself.
Inspiration for The Drought came from God's most beautiful creation - the horse. I love these majestic creatures and would love to show my readers how amazing they are. If you saw my computer, it has a thousand Chapter 1's on it, and that's basically how The Drought started. I think I originally wanted it to be a part of my personal collections of short stories but once I wrote the first chapter I was interested in seeing where the storyline would go. So, I wrote the second chapter. Then the third. You can probably guess where it went from there.
Inspiration for The Drought came from God's most beautiful creation - the horse. I love these majestic creatures and would love to show my readers how amazing they are. If you saw my computer, it has a thousand Chapter 1's on it, and that's basically how The Drought started. I think I originally wanted it to be a part of my personal collections of short stories but once I wrote the first chapter I was interested in seeing where the storyline would go. So, I wrote the second chapter. Then the third. You can probably guess where it went from there.
Emory R. Ivie
Never give up! Writing can be a grueling process for the mind, but the more you write, the sharper your skills become. Even if your book idea is just that - an idea - you shouldn't turn away a story that has the potential to become something greater! Sometimes, the only barrier between an aspiring author and accomplishment is confidence and determination. It may be years before your first book comes hot off the presses, but it's all worth it in the end!
Emory R. Ivie
Writer's block - my mortal enemy. Writer's block particularly enjoys haunting me during writing the first chapters of my book, when the storyline is still tentative and not entirely developed. Writer's block doesn't always appear as complete, mental emptiness, but sometimes my writing becomes sloppier and events start happening too quickly. Other times, I'm staring at the screen, watching the cursor blink on and off without ever typing words. When this happens, I shut the computer and take a break from the screen for several days - or several weeks, even - to replenish my mind and return to the screen with renewed ideas. I reread over my previously written work, and sometimes I can preserve it with tweaks and revisions, but other times I must make the difficult decision to delete it all and start over. Even though the writing process is long, it is worth it in the end!
Emory R. Ivie
Hmm. Let me think about that one.
I would love to visit Saphirra, the magical land in my book series, because it's a beautiful place with vast forests, mythical creatures, and diverse people.
I am also fascinated with the idea of traveling to the wizarding world of Harry Potter (after Voldemort is defeated, of course). It would be so cool to see how wizarding people use magic in their everyday lives!
I would love to visit Saphirra, the magical land in my book series, because it's a beautiful place with vast forests, mythical creatures, and diverse people.
I am also fascinated with the idea of traveling to the wizarding world of Harry Potter (after Voldemort is defeated, of course). It would be so cool to see how wizarding people use magic in their everyday lives!
Emory R. Ivie
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