Author Background: More About Sophie Rathmann

Welcome to the blog!

If you've arrived here wanting to know more about me, then you've come to the right blog post. You might be an aspiring author wanting to know more about another author, or you might be a curious reader, wanting insight into the writer of a story you've read, or something else may have brought you here. For this blog post, I've gone shopping around the internet and found some of the most popular, generalized questions for authors, and I've decided to answer a few of my personal favorites.

1. When did you first decide you wanted to be a writer?

Back in eighth grade, I was disappointed that most of my favorite book series has come to an end. I desperately wanted them to continue - and the only way was if I took up the pen (cough, laptop), and wrote them myself. Of course, my first attempt was a dumpster fire that never made it past page ten, but that was how it all began. My second attempt, while much longer and more successful than the first, was also a mess. I can look back on it today with laughter and a lot of internal cringing, but it was through these first experiments that I began to find my own voice.

2. What do you most enjoy about writing?

I find the characters to be the best part of the writing experience. I'll start out with this very basic, minimal idea - and then suddenly I'll find myself obsessing over this fully-fleshed-out imaginary person and all of their quirks. It's always lovely when a character you've created starts to take on a life of their own, and in my opinion, this kind of strong character is essential to every good story.

In terms of the craft, I find that the dialogue is often what 'flows' for me, so while I'm writing, I let the characters bleed onto the page and find their voice.

3. Do you have a favorite genre?

My favorite genre to read is definitely fantasy, so that's where I started with my writing. However, I was challenged to start writing realistic fiction in order to build my strengths - and it was a great challenge that I really enjoyed. There are some fundamental differences in the way writers approach each genre, and I learned a lot by stepping out of my (self-enforced) box. I look forward to trying out a lot of different genres in the future (romance, sci-fi, western, etc) but I think I'll always have a great love for fantasy.

4. How did your family influence your life and writing?

Well, I learned to read very early because my mother was an English teacher (and reading specialist). However, what influenced me the most was probably my siblings. I'm a triplet, and growing up with two other kids exactly my age created a great learning environment for reading. Despite all of our many differences, my brother, sister, and I have always shared a great love for books. In the car on the way to school, we would listen to audio books almost exclusively, and we would always have to play rock-paper-scissors to figure out who would get to read the newest book we liked first. (Don't worry, there was a no-spoiler agreement in place).

It was a big moment for me when my dad started taking my writing career seriously (I crossed the 100-page mark in one of my early projects), and I still remember proudly sharing my work with everyone (although I really don't think they read all 100 pages of that crap). While I know each of them read The Palace when I originally submitted it to Story Shares, I don't think any of them has read Click or Cabin Nine, so I'm excited not only to share these stories with the world, but also with my family.

5. What can you tell us about your current projects?

I've changed my approach to my projects a lot since I began writing. I used to focus on one or two long-form pieces with one short story besides that. My focus would shift a lot between them - essentially, I'd go through 'phases' and focus on each whenever I felt like it. However, I now look back on that approach with some fond eye-rolling.

In 2022, I decided to try out a new style of project-management for my long-form works, and I decided to focus solely on that fantasy project while I tested out the method. Lo-and-behold, it's now my go-to method for writing long form, and focusing on only one project really allowed me to work towards a full first draft of a manuscript as well as other publishing goals.

While I occasionally take a break for a quick short story, I focus on one long-form project at a time. My current focus is the first book in a fantasy series - a novel which I would describe as a heroic, dying-world fantasy novel that walks the lines between grimdark, comic, and allegorical in tone. My main character, Ty, is a grey hero, and the most important things I establish about him are that he is an older sibling, a cynic, and magically gifted to know too much. I can't wait to talk more about him and the project he is a part of - which I am calling 'Meresthian,' after the world the project is built in.

Hopefully, my answers to these questions have afforded you a better idea of who I am, as both a person and a writer. I'll probably include more of my life and projects in future posts, but if you are wondering anything specific, feel free to let me know. Thanks for checking out the blog!