Relica Enchanted is a novella series encompassing romance, erotica, action, adventure, fantasy and horror, still in the works. Volumes 1, 2 & 3 are available on Amazon. Volume 4 will premier this year, 2019, with Volume 5 soon to follow.
Author Maryanne Johnson is also a poet, blogger, and playwright. She has written 3 books of poetry, 20 plus cook books, a non-fiction book entitled Food for the Soul, and over 60 children’s books.
Relica Enchanted is for mature audiences only due to language, sex and violence.
Website: https://maryannesbookshelf.com
Click on a book below to preview…
What sets your novella series apart from all others?
It’s not your typical, run of the mill story and in no way is it written according to the rules of writing. It encompasses poetry, literary devices, dialogue and it skips around as a TV series or movie would, cutting from scene to scene. The only genre I could think to fit it in, is fantasy, if I had to choose one, but it also encompasses romance, erotica, action, adventure and horror, -all the genres that I love.
What can we expect to gain or enjoy or understand from reading your literary creation? How and/or why is your work important?
I wrote it to entertain audiences, but on a deeper, more subliminal level, I wrote it to magnify all the wisdom I’d like to impart to my daughter and to bury or put to rest my secrets or personal dealings. I suppose it’s really about healing, as the central theme is “Embrace Your Inner Darkness,” which to me means to take all those things you dislike or are ashamed of about yourself, and make them a positive.
Relica Enchanted, the title, came from the concept of one of the main character’s renaming herself after her transformation (Nia was turned into a vampire against her will):
What was left of me was a relic of what I was. To Tau, I felt like a doll, something to be collected and kept for whatever his selfish desires of me were, what he called loving me, to prevent his lifetime of loneliness and friends and associates that he outlived and could not transform… nothing more than a relic… I thought to myself, and thus the name Relica came to mind. That would be my new name.
Relic can be defined as something leftover or a remnant. Enchanted can be defined as something charmed or bewitched or placed under a spell. Thus, Relica Enchanted, is synonymous with taking what is left, no matter how dark, and making it better; making the most of a bad situation.
Who is your target market, who should be reading your books or who would be interested in reading your books?
That’s a hard question to answer. I feel I’d be putting possible fans in a box if I defined them by age, gender, or any other demographic or psychographic. If I defined my fans according to myself, I’d have to say Generation Xers, who love literature, poetry, craziness and sexual, psycho, action drama, but I feel anyone with an open mind, love of humor and wit, who have gone through the trials and tribulations life brings, can relate. If you are easily offended or homophobic, or squeamish, then this probably isn’t the book for you. I incorporate everything from sex, homosexuality, alcoholism, murder, gore, curse words, bigotry, spirituality, mental illness, and a plethora of other somewhat taboo topics I can’t think of, off the top of my head. Witches, werewolves and vampires are also major players in my book series, besides unicorns, pegasus’ and fairies to name a few. I just seek to be universal and all inclusive, but definitely, as mentioned above: mature audiences only due to language, sex and violence.
What authors inspired you most and how so? What do you admire about each one?
I love Zora Neale Hurston’s “Their Eyes Were Watching God”. I love William Shakespeare’s works and Amari Baraka (LeRoi Jones) and James Baldwin, C.S. Lewis’ “The Lion, The Witch & The Wardrobe” and “King Arthur and His Knights of the Round Table” by Roger Lancelyn Green. I just love the way they used language, and the stories they told, but more so, how they wrote it, their way with words, their writer’s/poetic voice.
What advice do you have to offer in support of other authors?
I’m still learning from other authors and the whole writing process myself. The process is always evolving. But the advice I have to give, as with any art, you have to always keep producing to be effective, -keep writing, don’t stop. Not only do you get better with time, but the more you produce and share, the more lives you touch, influence or expose to your writing, which brings about more success.
What is your genre of choice and why? How did you come to write in that particular genre or niche?
Quite honestly, I consider myself a poet first and foremost, I believe that is where my talent lies, and it’s my number 1 love. But I don’t and never will subscribe myself to one particular genre or niche, because I enjoy them all, so I’ve written nonfiction, and even children’s books and poetry books. Relica Enchanted is my first attempt at fiction writing and I love it. I’d never put myself in a box. I like to try it all. Writing is writing. I think if you are good at it in general, you can transcend and write in any genre or niche. I think every writer may have their favorite and may feel more talented at one over another, but why restrict yourself? I’m all about exploration and experimentation when it comes to writing.
How’d you come about discovery of your writing talent, gift or ability?
My 7th grade English teacher Mr. Evans recognized my talent and sent me to a “Young Writer’s Conference.” After that, I started submitting poetry to school publications and decided I wanted to be a writer/poet. It was the Harlem Renaissance Poets that inspired me. I came across the book of poetry entitled “The Harlem Renaissance Poets” on my parents’ bookshelf and I was blown away. I knew that was what I wanted to do.
What are your future writing endeavors? What’s next on your authorship agenda?
After I finish the Relica Enchanted novella series, I already have my next book of fiction outlined, based around the concept of prison reform. I can hardly wait to begin, but feel I need to finish Relica Enchanted first, since I like to focus 100%.
Is writing for you synonymous with living and breathing, or just something you do as a hobby, and how so and why?
I’d say both. In all honesty I still have a day job. Writing isn’t my bread and butter, but I do live for it. I love writing. Of course, like most writing hobbyists, if and when and once we cross the threshold to writing for a living, opposed to a hobby, it would be synonymous with living and breathing, but I always wondered if I crossed that line, would I feel under pressure, and would it no longer feel like fun, when you have deadlines and publishers and agents breathing down your neck…
What changes in the literary world would you most like to see?
- I’d like to see more literature and poetry in books, opposed to words that just tell a story. I miss the artistry of writing, -those who have a way with words.
- I’d like to see more authors build rapport with one another. I think a lot of authors see other authors as competition which to me is ludicrous since readers read more than one genre, more than one author and have more than one book gracing their bookshelf. We should be endorsing and helping each other, as well as readers to find that next great book. It’s not a competition.
- I’d like to see more authors go solo, and self-publish opposed to being pimped by the industry.
Indie/Self-Published Author and/or Published? What do you favor more and why?
I love Indie/Self-Published authorship for the creative control and to gain more money, but perhaps I’ll give a Publishing Company an opportunity in the future. Never say never, right? Don’t knock it, till you try it…
Why is your book worth the read?
Relica Enchanted is still in the works, being written as we speak. At this point in the writing process I’d project there will be seven books, not only because 7 is a holy number, but because I’m on book five, still introducing new characters. Book 6 should be the climax, and Book 7 the resolution, so I’m close to finishing. It started out as an urban romance gone wrong, and evolved into a horror-fantasy abyss with two feuding kingdoms. It has interesting and colorful characters with intricate story-lines that you can become completely enraptured with. I’d say it’s worth a read to escape one’s mundane existence and find common ground with another’s. I find in this writing process, I feel more often than not, as if the story is being told to me, as if I were a spectator, because there is plenty of action I didn’t see coming or even plan for. I had an outline in the beginning, but the story has taken over, -I feel like I’m simply the typist for this book, and crazy enough, everyday I can’t wait to get back to it, to see what happens next…
