Author Interview: Sunshine Rodgers
Thank you to the Guild Master Blog for interviewing me on your site.
Interview with Sunshine
What was one of the most surprising things you learned in creating your book?
The Characters Within is my first book with theatrical scenes and musical numbers. The story is part-Musical but the problem is…I know nothing about the terminology and how to properly describe notes and rhythms. I learned a lot from my Musical Consultant, Quinn Rhyne who decorated the text with musical numbers that truly came to life! I would give Quinn lyrics to a song, like when The Jokesters performed the song, ♫ I Dare You! ♫ and my Consultant would read the text and give me advice like, “this is how the music should be written and these are the instruments that should be used to create this particular sound.” I certainly learned a lot!
Do you hear from your readers much? What kinds of things do they say?
I do hear from my readers (thank you ALL!)!
I have a large social media following, and I receive messages from fans and readers. Some virtual letters in my inbox are marriage proposals (not kidding!) and others are aspiring writers who want my advice on how to succeed as an Author. Then there are those who ask me questions about God and my faith.
I also love reading reviews that are written about my books!! You can read just some of the reviews on my website (http://www.sunshinerodgers.com/review...).
I love when I read reviews written about how my books remind readers of specific movies. That gets me excited because maybe that particular book can be sold for movie rights one day.
For example, here are some reviews written about my Christian Romance novel, The Ring Does Not Fit :
“I would love to see this as a Hallmark Movie” – Deb’s Book Reviews
“This story reminded me of It’s a Wonderful Life with a twist.” – Deana D
“This book kind of reminds me a little bit of the movies 13 Going on 30 and Isn’t it Romantic?” – Caitlyn S.
“Similar to Scrooge, Sunshine Rodgers takes the main character on a journey to understand the power of prayer and faith.” – Poetess April J, host of Your Oral Diktion Academy on Black Love Poetry Series Network
How did you come up with the title for your book?
The Characters Within features 35 real-life people as characters (the individual names can be found on my website (http://www.sunshinerodgers.com/home.html).
The story is about Brittany Myers who works in a theme park as a Cheese Crusader and this book honors the theme park family I worked with for more than 5 years. I used my friends as characters in this novel.
The main character, Brittany, is also writing a novel, “The Carnival Ride” where she uses her co-workers as characters.
It’s a story within a story and it takes on a double meaning…we live here but we are also characters in another reality…
What’s your favorite writing snack, drink, and/or music?
I am guilty of playing the same songs on the same CD’s over and over again as I write. If I am writing the first draft of any novel, I will pull out one of three CD’s:
Pure Moods (contemporary, released 1994)
The Holiday Movie Soundtrack (music by Hans Zimmer)
The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe Movie Soundtrack (composed by Harry Gregson-Williams and released in 2005)
I need to write with music that contain no vocals because any lyrics will just interrupt my flow. These three CD’s offer romantic melodies, adventurous tunes and out-of-this-world music that make me think, make me feel, offers nostalgia and truly inspires my creativity.
Is your writing space pristine or organized chaos?
My writing space is pristine! I need to have everything organized! I am often working on several novels at one time and collaborating with talented professionals (i.e. artists, literary contributors or audio book producers)… so, I need to keep everything together…every page, every edit, every draft… in their own folders, in their own files with the newest dates attached so I am fully aware of where I stopped, what I need to do next and which deadline I need to focus on for submissions.
To read the entire interview: https://guildmaster97.wordpress.com/2...
Sunshine Rodgers
Interview with Sunshine
What was one of the most surprising things you learned in creating your book?
The Characters Within is my first book with theatrical scenes and musical numbers. The story is part-Musical but the problem is…I know nothing about the terminology and how to properly describe notes and rhythms. I learned a lot from my Musical Consultant, Quinn Rhyne who decorated the text with musical numbers that truly came to life! I would give Quinn lyrics to a song, like when The Jokesters performed the song, ♫ I Dare You! ♫ and my Consultant would read the text and give me advice like, “this is how the music should be written and these are the instruments that should be used to create this particular sound.” I certainly learned a lot!
Do you hear from your readers much? What kinds of things do they say?
I do hear from my readers (thank you ALL!)!
I have a large social media following, and I receive messages from fans and readers. Some virtual letters in my inbox are marriage proposals (not kidding!) and others are aspiring writers who want my advice on how to succeed as an Author. Then there are those who ask me questions about God and my faith.
I also love reading reviews that are written about my books!! You can read just some of the reviews on my website (http://www.sunshinerodgers.com/review...).
I love when I read reviews written about how my books remind readers of specific movies. That gets me excited because maybe that particular book can be sold for movie rights one day.
For example, here are some reviews written about my Christian Romance novel, The Ring Does Not Fit :
“I would love to see this as a Hallmark Movie” – Deb’s Book Reviews
“This story reminded me of It’s a Wonderful Life with a twist.” – Deana D
“This book kind of reminds me a little bit of the movies 13 Going on 30 and Isn’t it Romantic?” – Caitlyn S.
“Similar to Scrooge, Sunshine Rodgers takes the main character on a journey to understand the power of prayer and faith.” – Poetess April J, host of Your Oral Diktion Academy on Black Love Poetry Series Network
How did you come up with the title for your book?
The Characters Within features 35 real-life people as characters (the individual names can be found on my website (http://www.sunshinerodgers.com/home.html).
The story is about Brittany Myers who works in a theme park as a Cheese Crusader and this book honors the theme park family I worked with for more than 5 years. I used my friends as characters in this novel.
The main character, Brittany, is also writing a novel, “The Carnival Ride” where she uses her co-workers as characters.
It’s a story within a story and it takes on a double meaning…we live here but we are also characters in another reality…
What’s your favorite writing snack, drink, and/or music?
I am guilty of playing the same songs on the same CD’s over and over again as I write. If I am writing the first draft of any novel, I will pull out one of three CD’s:
Pure Moods (contemporary, released 1994)
The Holiday Movie Soundtrack (music by Hans Zimmer)
The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe Movie Soundtrack (composed by Harry Gregson-Williams and released in 2005)
I need to write with music that contain no vocals because any lyrics will just interrupt my flow. These three CD’s offer romantic melodies, adventurous tunes and out-of-this-world music that make me think, make me feel, offers nostalgia and truly inspires my creativity.
Is your writing space pristine or organized chaos?
My writing space is pristine! I need to have everything organized! I am often working on several novels at one time and collaborating with talented professionals (i.e. artists, literary contributors or audio book producers)… so, I need to keep everything together…every page, every edit, every draft… in their own folders, in their own files with the newest dates attached so I am fully aware of where I stopped, what I need to do next and which deadline I need to focus on for submissions.
To read the entire interview: https://guildmaster97.wordpress.com/2...
Sunshine Rodgers
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