Interview with Author Fănica Rarinca
Fănica Rarinca is a Romanian author, blogger, and teacher. She teaches geography for over 20 years to children in middle school. The first book she wrote in the Romanian language was in 2011, titled Patronel and Soriela a fantasy for children.
In the last 10 years, she became passionate about reading, fiction, and self-development books. She read over 150 books of self-help and several series novels.
In 2014 she started to write on her personal blog Fanautodidact, where she writes about different personal development subjects. She writes about emotions, habits, motivation, and so on. In 2016 she wrote a Romanian book titled Eliberează-te de rănile trecutului și redecoperă fericirea! (Release the wounds of the past and rediscover the happiness!). In 2017 she has inspired again and started a novel in four volumes, titled Mica Stea Portocalie (The Little Orange Star). The first of the four volumes have been published in Romanian in August 2020. In the meantime, her first fantasy book has been translated into English and in September 2020 she published Patronel and Soriela on Amazon.
Tell me more about your latest book
Patronel and Soriela is a fantasy book for children aged 9-12 years and more (some say). It is a book born out of a nightmare the author had one night. In her dream, a young owner of a factory, very dear to her, was betrayed by three of his friends. They went to a wizard who made a potion and turned Patronel into a toad. Somehow, she tried to warn him, but he didn’t listen or believe. So he was, forced to drink the potion and became a hideous frog. Then she woke up.
All she wanted was to fall asleep again to finish the dream, and to find out how Patronel would become human again. But instead of sleeping, she was imagining. After a while, she got up and wrote the story.
It is a story of love. The force of that feeling gave Patronel the power to hope, to fight, and to overcome all the obstacles. It is a story of having the courage and being determined to fight no matter the odds. It is also a story about friendship, about being fair, honest, and having faith.
What was the most challenging aspect of writing this book?
It was the first book I wrote, and I wanted to create something original, although it has a common scene (a man being magically turned into a frog). So, I had to imagine ways of defeating the curse in a different manner. That is why the Wizard told Patronel that he would become human when he eats a pear that grew in a cherry-tree. That means an impossible situation. And Patronel had to overcome it, to have faith that if a magic potion can turn a man into a beast, a miracle can change the nature of the trees and fruits they bear.
But it is a short book. It has 98 pages and I imagined everything. When I started to write I knew what was going to happen, I almost had all the scenes in my head. I wrote the headings first, and then I let the ideas flow.
What is your normal procedure to get your books published?
Well, I published Patronel and Soriela in self-publishing, in Romania, and on Amazon. I am not sure how it works the traditional publishing in America or other countries. In Romanian, I published in the traditional way the first volume of the novel I wrote. Every procedure has advantages and disadvantages. But, I think, self-publishing is the best option if you know or are willing to learn how to market your own book. That is why I am enrolled to take a course in marketing books. I am just a beginner, but I know, one day I will master it.
Do you view writing as a kind of spiritual practice?
Well, I think it depends on what everyone understands by spiritual practice. For me, writing the book was an experience I don’t remember to felt doing other activities. All my being was so excited. I woke up very early in the morning, eager to start writing. Or, if I was tired to woke up early, I stood up late in the evening. I didn’t feel the time passing by. I felt so much alive. I imagined all the scenes like I was watching a movie and wanted to put everything down on the screen of my computer.
How many books have you written so far?
I have three books in Romanian and one of them is translated into English.
In 2011 I wrote and published in the Romanian language the book Patronel and Soriela, a fantasy for children. In 2020 I had it translated and published it on Amazon in Kindle and Paperback.
In 2016 I wrote and published a self-help book, available in Romanian language only, titled Release the Wounds of The Past and Rediscover the Happiness!
In August 2020 I published the first volume (out of four) of a fantasy novel, titled The Little Orange Star – By Himself. The novel is a combination of fantasy, adventures, and emotional education for teenagers and adults. This is also available in Romanian language only, but I intend to translate it into English in a year or two.
What’s the best way to market your books?
This is something I started to learn. Until now, I promoted my Romanian books on my email list or had them available and with discounts at different seminars or workshops, I kept.
How hard or easy is it to establish and maintain a career in writing?
To write a book you need something more than inspiration. You have to research, to read a lot of books, to watch whatever you need on the subject you are going to approach. Even a fantasy or fiction book, still need to be documented. I didn’t think of a career in writing, yet. I am still a geography teacher and writing is something that makes my heart sing.
What is your advice for aspiring writers?
I know I have a lot to learn because it as they say. „Every success is 90% perspiration and 10% talent.” If you like to write, the feeling you have is Worthing that 90% of work.
Visit Author Fănica Rarinca book links:-
- Patronel and Soriela on Amazon.com
- Patronel and Soriela on my website.
- Book’s Facebook page
Thank you for this opportunity Ramona, to write an interview about me and my books. I appreciate your initiative, your questions, and everything you are doing.