All about her book The Empress

Who is Val Tobin?

Val studied general arts at the University of Waterloo and earned a diploma in Computer Information Systems from DeVry Toronto, working as a software and web developer for over ten years. She became a certified Reiki Master/Teacher in 2004 and obtained ATP® certification in 2008. Val pursued a bachelor’s degree in parapsychic science from the American Institute of Holistic Theology, receiving her degree in 2010, and later earned a master’s degree in parapsychology. She has completed various advanced spiritual training courses and worked as a freelance writer for Suite101. Val is also a published author, contributing to Doreen Virtue’s “Angel Words” and releasing novels available on Smashwords, Amazon, and other retailers.

What is The Empress about?

Interview

What was your inspiration for The Empress?

The Empress: A Promise of Rain is book four in the Tales from the Unmasqued World series, and each story in the series was inspired by a different card from the tarot’s major arcana. I initially got the idea for a series of stories based around the tarot when I was eighteen and first learning about reading tarot cards. I wrote little stories using symbols from tarot cards with my friends as the main characters. I still have them somewhere. LOL. The basic premise never left me, though, and I finally went forward with it, which is how The Fool: New Beginnings came to exist.

What drew you to writing?

My love of reading drew me to writing. I loved stories and always wanted to write my own. I had too much angst about it to do anything, though, until my early fifties. Before that, I wrote articles for various online magazines. Interestingly, a psychic friend told me I’d write a novel in my early fifties. She said things would fall into line for me, and I’d just do it. It happened exactly that way. Some would call it coincidence, but it’s an interesting one.

How did you choose which character to centre the story around?

Each novel revolves around, or near, Kelsey Davis and Philip Belanger. It’s a given that both their POVs feature in every story. The other characters whose POVs I add to that story depend on what card I’m focusing on. For example, for The Empress, it had to be Dakota and Culain, just as for The Emperor (coming up next), it’ll once again have to be Dakota and Culain. While other female characters could conceivably represent an empress, Dakota is the obvious one in this story. Same with the emperor in the next novel. Culain is the obvious one, though others might share the representation at different times.

Kelsey and Philip always personify the card to a degree because the series is their story, but others come in and out of focus and importance. Everyone believes themselves to be the hero of their own story, and that’s correct: everyone is a hero in their own story, which means they’re also supporting characters in another’s story at the same time.

After I wrote The Fool, one of my editors asked me who the fool in the story was. She suggested more than one character fit the profile. I responded, “They all are.” So book one begins the fool’s journey for several characters. The rest of the series shines a spotlight on different ones at different times for different purposes.

What was your process for writing The Empress?

I follow a similar process each time. I do a few weeks of planning, which is aided by Randy Ingermanson’s Snowflake Pro software and the Scrivener app. Then I write a first draft, which takes about three or four months. I let the first draft sit for four to six weeks and then read the whole thing through while making notes on things I want to add, change, or delete. After I do those revisions, I pass it on to beta readers. Then I do more revisions, send it out to my developmental editor, revise again based on her feedback, and then send it out for line editing. After that’s done, it gets more proofreading, and when I’m satisfied, I get the files ready for publishing. I do my own formatting of the internal files, but I outsource cover design and all the editing. 

What is your approach to world and character building?

I incorporate that into the planning stage, though the world and characters also evolve as I write. I have to keep copious notes on everything. The Snowflake Pro software has a good chart for keeping track of characters and their traits. Scrivener also allows me to track characters and setting/world-building information. It’s helpful to have it all in one spot because it’s easy to forget little details.

How would you describe The Empress?

It’s an urban fantasy with romance. Meg Kelly, my PA, created a helpful list of tropes:

• Star-Crossed Lovers
• Redemption Arc
• Political Intrigue
• Urban Fantasy

Did you have a favourite moment in the book to write?

I can’t answer that without revealing spoilers, so I’ll have to plead the fifth on that question.

What was your favourite book growing up?

Before high school, I’d have to say my favourite book was—okay, I can’t name just one, so here’s a list of what I read over and over: Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, The Wizard of Oz, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, The Happy Hollisters series, and the Nancy Drew books. I should mention I read The Exorcist and Jaws in grade eight, so by that point, I was reading adult books.

Once I reached high school, I discovered The Lord of the Rings, and that became my favourite book of all time, and it remains so. I also loved Watership Down, Gone with the Wind, and Rebecca. I read Stephen King’s Salem’s Lot in grade nine, which hooked me on King and horror. More recently, I’ve thoroughly enjoyed Jay Kristoff’s books, Charlaine Harris’s Sookie Stackhouse series, and Tanya Huff’s books.

So many books to love. I can’t even list them all.

Do you have a favourite genre to read?

I’d say fantasy tops my list of favourite genres, which includes all the subcategories such as urban fantasy and romantasy in addition to high fantasy. But I also love sci-fi, thrillers, romantic suspense, horror, mystery, and even non-fiction. I read everything. I also love discovering new indie authors. I get a lot of my books from events I attend with other authors. My ebook collection of indie authors is even more extensive.