Author Q&A with Rachel Corsini

Author Q&A with Rachel Corsini

After declaring herself a pretty pink princess during her first ballet class, Rachel dreamt of sugarplums and began pirouetting her way through life. While studying to become a ballerina, she compulsively read books under her covers by flashlight and scribbled in spiral-bound notebooks. The urge to tell stories culminated in her graduation from Columbia College Chicago with a B.F.A. in fiction writing.

Never one to keep her feet on the ground, she traveled the world from Prague to Cape Town. Once settled back in Queens, she dabbled in journalism before working as an Editorial Assistant for a medical publisher. Seeking a more fulfilling career, she earned her MAT from Queens College and currently works as an English teacher in an alternative program in NYC.

Rachel spends her time sipping coffee, trying to cook, and caring for her judgmental geriatric cat. She currently resides in Freeport, Long Island.

 

1. Tells us about your writing/ published book(s)

My forthcoming novel, Sushi and Sea Lions, is about a former prima ballerina who’s lost everything and has to move back home to Queens, NY. She has to figure out her new life, while coming to terms with the fact that her old one might not have been as perfect as she thought. Throw her brother’s best friend, who she had a teenage crush on into the mix, and it is the perfect storm for a character driven novel about self discovery and falling in love.

2. How do you approach starting a new book?

My approach to starting a new book is pretty simple. I go with the first scene where the characters start speaking to me. That could be in the middle of the novel, the beginning, even the end. Then I take it from there. All continuity and development can be fixed in a later draft. I just need to get started.

3. Have you always wanted to write?

I didn’t! I didn’t start writing until high school when I was struggling with whether I wanted to continue with ballet or not. I also got my start in fanfiction which was great. Writing helped me to sort out a lot of the confused emotions I was dealing with, especially with my impending college admissions and things like that. College is where I really decided I wanted to write, even though it’s taken me a long time to get to where I am a debut author.

4. What do you do when you have writer’s block?

When I have writer’s block I will actually stop writing in the place where I am stuck and move on to a different scene. I’m not a linear writer. So I will return to it later when I know more about the characters or what’s happening in the novel. This usually works. If it doesn’t, then I know I need to consume material such as other books, movies, TV shows, etc or go out into the world and experience life, to gain inspiration. That usually does the trick.

5. How do you choose your book’s title(s)?

When selecting a title for my books I tend to look at the overall theme of the novel. What will encompass that theme and hook a reader into opening the cover? I also never want it to be too obvious either. I want the reader to have to finish the book to figure it out. That’s how Sushi and Sea Lions came about.

 

6. What advice would you give to someone wanting to write their first book?

My advice is to just get started. Try not to listen to the noise from everyone else and write the book you’ve always wanted to read. Chances are, someone else wants to read that book too.

7. How do you approach ‘world building’?

World Building for me is based on experience. I use a lot of the locations from my own life and I want to make sure that the reader, who might never have been there, can see it for themselves. So, although I am familiar with the sights, sounds, and smells, my reader might not be. I approach it from that directive and get as much detail in as I can without slowing down the pacing too much.

 

8. Tell me about your current work

Sushi and Sea Lions is a book about starting over. When the dream life you thought you had isn’t really the dream after all. It’s also about learning that loving who you are above all else is what truly matters in the end. I think this is an important message, especially for women, because sometimes we are told to dull our shine. Daniela learns she doesn’t have to.

 

9. Tell me about your main character

Daniela is the epitome of the sunshine trope. Even though she goes through a career-ending injury, heartbreak, a backslide in life, she is always trying to smile through it. She is joyful, spontaneous, and so vibrant. She loves life, even when life isn’t so loving to her.

 

10. Would you want your book made into a film?

That would be the dream!

 

11. How many books do you own?

Too many to count.

This or That Questions…

Short books or Long books

Middle ground. Too long and I can’t handle it unless I am invested in a series like Outlander.

Romance or Fantasy

Romance

Bright book covers or Muted book covers

Muted

Ebooks, Paperbacks or Audiobooks

Paperback all the way

Writing in the Morning or Evening

Uh…both?

Character Driven or Plot Driven

Character Driven

 

Finally, what’s the best piece of advice someone has given you about writing, marketing, or just generally about life?

Don’t compare yourself or your journey to others or you will always be disappointed. Your journey is your own and you are always on track.