CHARACTER INTERVIEW- Arienne Alexandra Marcos

A CHARACTER INTERVIEW FROM GODDESS BY CHANCE

 

 

ME: Today I have the pleasure of sitting down with the beautiful and immensely smart Arienne Alexandra Marcos. How are you today Arienne?

 

A: I'm doing even better after that wonderful introduction. My head might have swelled just a bit.

 

ME: Me nor anyone else will hold that against you. Trust me.

 

A: I hope not.

 

ME: Don't worry. Now let's get into it. What would you say is your greatest fear?

 

A: Wow. You're making me have to hit the ground running on that one. Hmm. Honestly I'd probably say looking back over my life and feeling that I spent so much time basking in past regrets that I hadn't actually lived.

 

ME: That's very profound. Why do you think that happens to people?

 

A: Things go wrong and you get stuck in a cycle and instead of looking forward to what's ahead you stay stuck in the past.

 

ME: You're taking it to school on that one. No speaking of the future, what are you looking forward to?

 

A: A lifetime of love, passion, family and exploring the different facets of myself that I'd never really explored before.

 

ME: Such as?

 

A: My burgeoning sexual prowess. I never know I was such a wanton until Triton came into my life so I'm really exploring that side of myself.

 

ME: There's no doubt in my mind that Triton is enjoying that.

 

A: He is. Probably more than he should.

 

ME: Well speaking of Triton, what would you say is the quality you like most about him?

 

A: Another hard question. There are so many but if I had to only pick one I would say his heart. He doesn't show it to everyone and it's hard to get to, but when you're finally there the only thing you want in this entire world is to feel the entire depths of his love and give it back to him tenfold.

 

ME: Truly spoken like a woman in love.

 

A: I am. Very much so.

 

ME: Now anyone who knows your story, knows that your path to love and a happily ever after has not been easy. How did you find the strength to forgive?

 

A: It was the hardest thing I ever had to do. I held so much hurt and resentment inside. So much anger. When someone betrays you, all you want is their blood. To feel their pain. But when they come to you with true sincerity, ready to do whatever it takes to earn your trust and love again and they show you with their actions that they are serious, you have to forgive them. The greatest act of love or strength is to forgive.

 

ME: Indeed it is. We hear so many times, in so many ways how powerful love and forgiveness is.

 

A: It is. True strength is in opening yourself up.

 

ME: I can tell just from speaking with you that you have been through a lot and as a result you've blossomed into such a self assured woman. Looking back now, what would you say is your biggest regret?

 

A: Taking so long to open myself up to love. If I could do it all over again, I would've taken the leap of faith a lot sooner.

 

ME: You live and you learn.

 

A: Indeed.

 

ME: Well Arienne thank you so much for taking the time to speak with me today. I wish you and Triton nothing but the absolute best.

 

A: Thank you so much. I really appreciate that.

 

ME: You're very welcome.

 

If you haven't checked out Arienne's journey through love, betrayal and finding the strength to forgive, check out Goddess by Chance today: http://www.amazon.com/Goddess-Chance-Demi-God-Daughters-Book-ebook/dp/B00PI792E0/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1418492052&sr=1-1&keywords=goddess+by+chance+by+erin+ashley+tanner&pebp=1418492060968



SETBACKS, DELAYS AND CONTINUING TO MOVE FORWARD

SETBACKS, DELAYS AND CONTINUING TO MOVE FORWARD

 

 



 

 

 

         It's been a while I know. I'm still alive and kicking. Life has just really gotten in the way of my artistic pursuits. I'm currently in school pursuing the completion of a Licensed Practical Nurse program and let me tell you requires massive testing everyday, which requires me to devote all of my little free time to studying. As a result I have not written anything since completing my 5th book back in August. So now that I've caught you up on the life that is no longer my own, let me get to the real reason for this post.

 

       On the way to my dream of having my novel in print, in a store, I have experienced a major setback. My agent has been beyond impressive with the list of places she has sent my first novel in another paranormal romance series. I mean, majorly impressive. Unfortunately, everyone has passed on it. To say I'm disappointed would be an understatement. I thought (maybe naively) that having an agent would allow me to cross the final hurdle to my dream a lot faster. Apparently I was wrong. I was wrong about a lot of things and as I go on I learn.

 

      So for now it seems my other paranormal series is back at the orphanage and out of prospects of finding a forever home. But maybe a miracle will happen. You never know what the future will bring. Either way I've learned that waiting is a very large part of life. A fact that I am also facing is that stories featuring people of color are an enormously hard sell to "the powers that be."

 

      No, I'm not just blowing smoke out of my ass. Lately there has been a lot of pressure for my diverse books and while "some" have claimed that they rarely received novels featuring people of color, that is a flat out lie. I have met many fellow authors of color who have taken the plunge and submitted the traditional route with the same outcome as me: thanks but no thanks or no response. The truth is sadly that traditional publishing does not seem ready to open the doors up for more of us to come through anytime soon. But again, miracles do happen and maybe the second novel my agent has will have better luck. I can hope, but right now it is not the worry and source of constant stress it has been for me.

 

     I find myself at peace. Just as there are people in the world who will never like and accept you for who you are, publishing is pretty much the same. You are blessed if you find your niche, but if you don't it is not the end of the world. If your dream is to write, then there are other avenues open out there to make that happen. I'm done spending all of my time trying to write to please "the powers that be." Instead I am returning to what worked for me when I first picked up a pen...writing for myself. That's right. I'm going to write the stories that I want. I'm going to submit to smaller publishers like I initially started out doing and I'm going to self publish. Enough of allowing others to dictate what I write. I have a gift and no one is going to tell me how to use it. So while I've had setbacks and some long delays, I'm going to continue moving forward and putting the stories I want to write out to the world, one way or another.

LIFE IS ALL ABOUT WAITING

    It's been a while since I blogged. I thought the next time I typed up a post I would have exciting news to share, but that hasn't happened yet. Instead I'm trying to allow myself to learn a valuable lesson...Life is all about waiting.

   We have to wait to grow up. We have to wait to find the perfect job, to find the perfect mate. (I am still waiting on both.) You'd think with all the waiting that we have to do, that something would come quickly for us. When I first started writing I naively thought that becoming a successful writer might fit that bill. Boy was I wrong. Everything requires a wait.

   I had to wait until I found the first publisher willing to publish my debut novel. I had to wait for said novel to then be edited and given a release date before it made its way into the world. I had to wait a long time until I found my agent. You see where I'm going with this?

   So now, I find myself waiting again. Waiting for my hard working agent to give me the news that every author waits to hear: A publisher wants to buy your novel and give you lots of exposure. Yes, I'm waiting on this news with bated breath, on pins and needles, all those fantastic clichés.

  In the meantime I am trying desperately not to drive myself stir crazy. I'm trying hard to keep my focus on writing the next novel in my series and not giving in to all the other characters demanding that I finally give them their own story.

    But for now, all I can do is write. After all I'm still going to have to wait so I might as well make the most of it.