Heather Ainsley
ECB Publishing, Inc.
For Rebekah Aman Griffin, the passion for story-telling came at a young age. Aman recalls that even when she was very little, she loved to write, finding that creating stories was a way to explore places and meet characters that existed only in her mind's-eye; people and places she would otherwise never have a chance to meet or see. It was this passion that fueled the publication of her first book in March of 2012, a Young Adults novel called Tiweln's Redeemer, Nature's Lady.
This novel, the first in the fantasy series called Keepers of the Essence, first came to conception through idle conversations that Aman and a high school friend shared, and she found so much enjoyment in writing down the stories, that it wasn't long before a single book blossomed easily into a series. Describing herself as a “happy endings” writer, Aman focuses on uplifting stories that encompass different personalities in her writing because she feels there is already enough sadness in the real world as it is.
Her novel series explores the fantasy universe, Imaemaroza, which consists of six planets. Each book takes place on one of the six planets, following a different protagonist with a connection to an essence: the first book being earth, the second being air, the third book being water, the fourth book being dark, the fifth book being fire and the sixth and final book being light. Characters from each book appear in the other books, connecting the planets and stories that belong to Imaemaroza. Ten years since the publication of Tiweln's Redeemer, Nature's Lady, Aman has just published the fifth book in the Keepers of the Essence series, titled Zilcemi's Healer, Fire's Mistress. This book follows a cat-like protagonist with the essence of fire. Throughout the book, she strives to learn more about herself and her past, meeting characters from the other worlds along the way.
Maintaining a connection to the same story for such a long time is no small feat, as many authors find themselves disconnected from prior stories and eventually lose interest as years go by. But Aman is still going strong, and a sixth book is in the works, the completion of which will finish the Keepers of the Essence series. Her progress with such a lengthy endeavor is not without struggle, however, and Aman faced many setbacks and surprises while writing; among them, a disenchantment with her main character, and where the story was going.
“I didn't like the story very much,” she admitted, “and the main character was annoying me a bit, so I had to completely re-write the first eight chapters or so.” While this may sound tedious to some, Aman reveals that it wasn't all bad. “Surprisingly, a character that I had not planned on even creating decided to pop in and make himself a nice side-kick that I had to add throughout the story. His addition helped me flesh out the main character more, and overall just better build the story. My characters often surprise me like that, which sounds odd because they are fictional, but they almost feel real to me.”
Even without having to re-write large sections of the novel, getting a story from a plan to a publication is a time-consuming process. “To write each book, it takes about a year to initially write, read back through and adjust, and then read back through to check for editing before sending it to my actual editor,” says Aman, “Then the editing, interior layout and cover design usually takes another four to five months, depending on the schedules of my editor and designer.”
While the task may be time-consuming, time isn't the only factor at play when it comes to writing a fantasy series. When asked about what the perfect setting is to tap into her writing muse, Aman mentions that a physical setting isn't nearly as important for her creative flow as her mental setting is. “I have to be in the right creative mood to effectively build characters and stories,” she says, continuing on to say that often, her long hours working as an accountant full-time can be mentally draining, leaving little to no room for creative writing. “The perfect mindset for me is after having gotten a lot of sleep and not being crushed by work-related stress. I am often pretty braindead after long hours of work.” This author uses this healthy head space to motivate herself into creating such a wonderful and fantastical universe for her readers to immerse themselves in, and says that the most challenging part of being an author is self-doubt.
“I often worry that I'll disappoint my readers because I can't quite pull the story together perfectly,” she says, although that worry gives way to deep satisfaction once the story reaches publication. “Just holding the book and realizing that, somehow, I managed to bring it to completion... It feels unreal sometimes.”
Even with one more book left in the Keepers of the Essence series, Aman has been hard at work with other writing endeavors, including a companion children's book called Silver, that she co-authored with her mother, Carol Aman. Silver was published in 2019, and was illustrated by Jinsey Amber Smith. Rebekah plans to add even more companion picture books to the Keepers of the Essence series. Although she says that the sixth book will be the final in her series, she is exploring other avenues for the Imaemaroza universe.
“I have some ideas for maybe doing one-off companion stories or short-story compilations, and I do still want to do some more children's books in the KotE Tales series,” she said, “I'm also toying with the idea of creating some games or other related paraphernalia that can go along with the series too. I have also written some short stories as an author collaboration with Legion of Dorks through Cursed Dragon Ship Publishing that helps raise money for Toys for Tots - the first book is Laundered: An Anthology of Monster Messes, and the other is Mispelled: Magic Gone Awry.”
At just 31 years old, Rebeckah Aman has been working on this series for a third of her life, and her advice to other aspiring authors is to not give up. “Just keep writing. The more you write, the more you will grow,” she says wisely. “Also, don't expect it to be perfect. Get the story down first; you can read through and adjust later if it doesn't feel right.”
When she isn't writing, Aman can be found enjoying her many other hobbies, which include singing, drawing, watching tv, reading and participating in local theatre. You may recognize her from one of her several performances in MadCo productions at the Monticello Opera House- most recently, Disaster! The Musical.
She is married to Chris Griffin, who supports her writing by dressing up and attending book signing events with her, and the pair live in Monticello with their two dogs and their cat, who are all named after Disney princesses.
For more information about Rebekah Aman Griffin and her published works, visit www.beks-books.com, or visit her Keepers of the Essence website specifically at www.keepersoftheessence. com. Her books can be purchased also on her amazon author page, amazon.com/Rebekah-Aman.
Rebekah Aman will be hosting a book signing event at the Jefferson County R.J. Bailar Public Library on Saturday, May 21, from 1 p.m. until 3 p.m. Don't miss out on your chance to buy all five of the Keepers of the Essence books, as well as a copy of Silver!
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