RACHAEL STAPLETON

As I sit at my desk watching the steam roll off my coffee, I take in the dark wood paneling, old books and brick fireplace that make up my study. Something about this space reminds me of that Victorian steampunk film, The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen. You know the one, set in the late 19th century featuring an assortment of fictional literary characters appropriate to the period. Maybe I love it because it's filled with Victorian Era superheroes or maybe because it draws on the works of some of the greats: Jules Verne, H. G. Wells, Bram Stoker, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Oscar Wilde, Edgar Allan Poe, and Mark Twain—just to name a few—or maybe I just really love it because of the kick-ass library. I truly am an atmospheric person. Architecture, decor and everything old, these are the keys to my creative spark. My husband promises to build floor to ceiling library shelves complete with a rolling rack. But even just as it is, this room is too beautiful and too inspirational not to ...

Since I’m in the midst of publishing my first novel right now, I’ve found myself pondering questions that I’ve never considered before. Such as, is there a best time of year to release a book? My editor is pushing for the fall. However, personally when I think of September, I think of busy hectic traffic filled days. Getting the kids off to school, gridlock, meetings, picking the kids up from school, soccer practice, making dinner and the list goes on. When I think of reading, which I often do, I think of the beach or my pool. Lazy summer Saturdays spent in the backyard with a paperback and a beer. Am I wrong? What about all of the vacationers, teachers and summer hour people. Summertime means more free time, doesn’t it? I On the other hand I read the summer months were bad for sales, because of vacation, weddings, family reunions, and summer camp which all equate to a lack of funds. I’m hoping my reader's burning desire for the Temple of Indra will outweigh all other priorities....

Today all is right with the world. I'm sitting at my kitchen table, light reflecting off the pool enjoying a large cup of coffee and reading my Editor's Evaluation Notes. It's like ecstasy for my mind.  Here's a direct quote out of the evaluation.  "The evaluator still finds Sophia/Sapphira to be an appealing character. Here is a line that made the evaluator laugh out loud.  p. 116 Maybe I did watch too many scary shows or maybe I just needed to smoke a fatty.  Glad to see they have a sense of humour or perhaps just the munchies. :)  Apart from the usual mechanical stuff, they find it ... dare I say, perfect. Well, at least they're not pointing out any flaws and they're constantly praising my changes in every section. Which ultimately means no more edits for me. The final copy edit will lay with them. *Sigh

These were the first words I heard out of my editors mouth last night regarding my novel, The Purple Delhi Sapphire , the first book in The Temple of Indra Series . The next was Congratulations! The overwhelming joy inside me could not be contained. Commence the wine drinking! Hopefully my trainer isn't reading this but it couldn't be helped. This book has been a long time in the making and it often feels like the snails are lapping me. However, after working incessantly finalizing the finishing touches I’m so happy to share it’s been chosen for the Editor's Choice Award. Love it! I cannot wait to hold the final product in my hands and sign copies for all of you. Now it's just the final copy edit done at the Publishers - need to make sure the p’s and q’s are in place and hopefully this book will be hitting the shelves by the end of the Summer 2013 . Now I just need to stumble my way through all of the marketing. ‘Out of the pan and into the fire’ or s...

‘The Temple of Indra Jewels’ is a story that has been floating about in my head for five years. It is a working title as I haven’t quite found the real title yet. I wrote the first draft of the story when I was pregnant with my son in 2006. The 3D Animation Company that I had worked for had been bought out and so I was left with a lot of time on my hands aside from taking a night course on Canadian history at the University of Toronto. This allowed me to basically write the bones of the novel. Then in 2008 I made it more complex as I found the time after planning a wedding, buying a new home and caring for an infant. The adventures of the last four years of my life definitely played into my characters and plot. I took the break up and the painful emotions from my past engagement and translated it into the unhealthy relationships between my main character and her relationship in the beginning of the story. I played with the story line to incorporate the new and exciting feelings, tr...