Rae Hachton [pronounced H-ton] is the nom de plume of author Desirae Hennington. She is the Indie Author of the Gothic Romance series Pretty in Black. She is twenty-three years old and lives with her Muse and her Ghost. When she is not composing new novels, she is working on her cinematography studies, and devouring YA books. Her favorite band is The Raveonettes, and she is a major fan of Edgar Allan Poe and Ravens and Crows. Although she is writing Gothic Fiction at the moment, her favorite genre of all time is Contemporary YA. Favorite contemporary book: tie between Forever by Judy Blume and the Summer I turned Pretty series by Jenny Han. Favorite author: David Levithan. If Rae Hachton wasn't writing, she'd give it one last shot at being kewl, and probably start a band.
How long have you been writing?
Officially, Officially: Since April 2011
Before that, I'd written tons of poems, started and stopped a few Manuscripts, and then finally wrote Maybe, Maybe Not when I was 19, which was 4 years ago. But Now, I think it's going to be a permanent thing.
What inspired you to write your Pretty in Black?
This is my Top Asked question—LOL!
Inspiration came from a cemetery apparition of two people—a guy and a girl—laying on a stone, talking, but their embrace looked tragic and I wanted to know why they were there. Unable to think of nothing else, I began writing the story the very next day.
Did you always plan for it to be a series?
I did not. After seeing the apparition, I just began writing. I wasn't even sure it would become a book at all, just something that served to Muse me. I didn't realize it would be a book until I ended up with one. I didn't realize it would be a series until Marcus Marble appeared to me again in a dream, displeased, and told me I'd gotten certain things wrong and insisted I begin retelling the story, so I ended up removing things from the Original Pretty in Black file in order to give him a voice, and moved certain ideas to other places in the rest of the book series.
Which of your characters do you relate to most and why?
Marcus Marble, I think he and I have a lot in common, including a Birthday. He is intense, the way I am, and he is also very head strong. He wants what he wants, but at the same time he isn't demanding, rude, or mean. He's actually soft and gentle and understanding. He also knows far more than he portrays to know, but he doesn't do it to withhold information, he just doesn't want people knowing too many things at once.
What is a secret about you that nobody else knows?
Well, if I said, then everyone will know, now won't they?
If your real life as a teenager was a Young Adult book, what would you, the main character, be like?
I do not believe my teenage life would make much of an interesting read: I wanted to do several things, but never did do any of them. But I will be totally honest, although I was considered "a good student" what I really waned to do, was be bold like Ellie and just walk out of class whenever I pleased without caring about the consequences. This is why I find her such an interesting character to write about. People I know in real life thought and still very much think I Loved school.
Oh! Here's my secret: I HATED SCHOOL. People think I loved it when I really hated it. I just wanted to get out of there. If I had a YA Book it would be an internal conflict and would probably told in diary entries about things I wanted to do, but never did, and no one would care to read it.
What book have you read too many times to count?
The Perks of Being a Wallflower: Stephen Chbosky 7 times
The Blue Mirror: Kathe Koja 3 times
Forever: Judy Blume 4 times
The Summer I Turned Pretty: Jenny Han 3 times
Twilight: Stepehenie Meyer—haha. Don't Judge Me, but I've read it about 10 times since 2008. I have a Hate/Love relationship with this one book. The first time I met it, my Brother had handed it to me, it was a small mass market paperback of book number one with the movie cover and a girl he knew at school told him he should read it. He was like, yeah right, and gave it to me. I read the first 5 pages and threw it against the wall and it later got buried in my closet. I went to see the movie on my birthday that year and then I found myself buying the Hardback. Now, I've read it 10 freaking times. True Story, no fairytales.
I know how much I read a book, because I have a page stuck in each one where I put tally-marks for each time I read it. It's an odd habit, perhaps.
What is the best piece of writing advice you ever received?
There are No Rules.
What was one of the most surprising things you learned in creating your book?
That I have a grotesquely geared imagination.
What do you like to do when you're not writing?
Shopping, Reading, Daydreaming, Learning how to play drums, pretending I can sing.
Are any of the things in Pretty in Black based on real life experiences or purely all imagination?
Seriously? It's all imagination!!
Well, you did say your inspiration for writing the book came from a cemetery apparition. That's technically a real life experience. So, it couldn't hurt to ask.
To learn more about Rae Hachton and her books, visit her blog and the Pretty in Black blog.You can also find her on Facebook and Twitter.
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