An Interview with Rochelle Smolinski

A lot of Rochelle’s time is up in the air. She flies planes for a living and if she can’t put skegs in the water, then she’s out surfing clouds from her home base in Denver. Firmly grounded while flying, but head in the clouds while grounded, Rochelle loves fantasy and science fiction.

Her work shines light on dark themes, thrives on action and surprise to enthral readers, and champions humor as mankind’s superpower.

Rochelle has clips published through The Metropolitan, Honolulu Star-Advertiser, Hawaii Marine Newspaper, Hawaii Army Weekly, and The Denver Post. She also has short stories and poetry published in The Metrosphere.

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Who/what made you want to write? Was there a particular person, or particular writers/works/art forms that influenced you?

My mom read to me a lot growing up, so I was a voracious reader, highly motivated by shiny star stickers for ‘books read’ over the school year. It exposed me to a lot of different genres and underscored that I enjoyed a good yarn, which went hand in hand with weaving my own. I was one of those kids that would hear about a writing contest, slap something together last minute, and chuck it into the submission pile expecting nothing to come of it, then be genuinely surprised the work was selected for shuttle camp, a fire truck parade, a writer’s retreat. My sophomore English teacher told me to make writing my life and that stuck with me. I love Garth Nix, Kristen Britain, the immortal Tolkien; they wrote riveting tales and I wanted to tell stories like them too. I still make yearly reading goals and use shiny stickers.

What inspired you to start writing this book?

Believe it or not, I watched a French pop music video and the story just exploded out of it. The artist, Mylene Farmer, plays both the role of a caged woman who meets a dark fate as well as one who vows to avenge her. Ravens dominated the visuals. Farmer is compelling, charismatic, and gorgeous, and I made her my de facto Raven twins. Ahh, explicit warning if you are curious … F*** Them All by Mylene Farmer. Beyond that, it was a perfect storm of interest in ravens, Nordic mythology, Roman history, animal documentaries that just wrapped into this wild ride.

Tell us the story of your book’s title. Was it easy to find, or did it take forever?

Ravens often show up at carcasses ahead of other scavengers; they even lead wolves to them if some prying is needed. They were believed to be Valkyries by the Norse. It wasn’t a stretch to pretend these birds could ‘predict’ death. Tag that up with a human to interpret the vision and you get Ravensight.

If your book had a soundtrack, what are some songs that would be on it?

It’s eclectic, you’ve been warned:

Ave Maria by Philippe Sarde—Overall setting

The Mandragora by Marcin Przybylowicz—Fanorona game at Scotia Port

Born to Die (Dan Terminus Remix) by Lana Del Rey—Juliette’s temperament

Venice Rooftops by Jesper Kyd—The tireless Wolves, the Emperor, and his brothers

Herr Mannelig by Garmarna—The mystery of the Deer people

Monster in Paradise by Gunship—If the Hunter had a modern theme song…

What other professions have you worked in? What’s something about you that your readers wouldn’t know?

I started out in journalism, so a lot of freelance. I worked for the major newspaper and military papers out in Hawaii, which was a blast. I also supplemented that income with substitute teaching, ESL classes, some tutoring. Surfing got me the job at The Denver Post. I continued to teach at the local universities, working on graduate studies. I was on a rocket ship to the stars. And, as life happens with anything going too well, I got laid off by budget cuts, lost my house, paused graduate work. To no one’s surprise but my own, journalism had been a struggle—even after I’d made it to the big time. I did a complete one-eighty and picked up flying as a career. I now fly for a major commercial airline and continue to write on my overnights.

What books did you read (for research or comfort) throughout your writing process?

Mind of the Raven by Bernd Heinrich was an informative study on raven behavior.

Encyclopedia of Birds by Per Christiansen and Paula Hammond.

Fire Bringer by David Clement-Davies—what I lovingly refer to as hardcore Bambi; a prophesied red deer’s journey through Scotland.

What advice would you give your past self at the start of your writing journey?

Yes, you can write by the seat of your pants, but you might save yourself a lot of headaches if you outlined. Have some faith and have some fun. Draw the map. Create the language. Deep dive into the characters. The more real they are in your mind, the more alive they become, and if the author is having fun, so will the readers.

What’s one thing you hope sticks with readers after they finish your book?

I sincerely hope I get cursed out because people sacrificed sleep to finish reading the book. There would be no greater compliment. The lasting impression I hope Ravensight leaves readers with is that no one gets out of life alive, so chase what matters to you and embrace the journey.

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Are you a writer, too? Submit your manuscript to Atmosphere Press.