Get ready to learn more about the book Taming of a Rebel in this discussion with sapphic author Eada Friesian.
Join us for an exclusive peek behind the scenes as we quiz Eada Friesian about Taming of a Rebel, writing, reading, and more.
This book is part of the No Strings Attached category in the 2024 IHS Reading Challenge.
Why did you write Taming of a Rebel?
I wrote this book because I wanted to explore connections made through a daycare center. There are a ton of single parents there. You can’t tell me that some of them don’t hook up in the end! This was a fun exploration on that theme.
Who is your favorite character in the book?
Miranda Hart is probably my favorite character in the book. She and I are similar in that we present to the world as if we have our shit together, but in reality, behind the scenes, we don’t. There’s crazy and annoying family dynamics that keep dragging me back to the center that I’d much rather ignore and pretend doesn’t exist anymore.
What was the biggest challenge writing this book?
I didn’t have very many challenges to writing this book. It flowed out of my fingers and brain very easily, actually. I think the biggest challenge was probably having the confidence to put the book out in the world and hoping that it went well.
What part of Taming of a Rebel was the most fun to write?
I really enjoyed writing the smutty scenes in this story. They move the characters and plot along in such a way that I think they’re key to the characters understanding where they’re grounded. I also really enjoyed writing the relationship between Miranda and her sister, Tierney. They are oil and water, but have a fierce love and loyalty that neither of they came shake.
How did you come up with the title for your book?
Rebel is the central character that really brings Tori and Miranda together, just a small little almost two-year-old who plays such a critical role. But without her, and the shenanigans she gets up to, Miranda and Tori probably never would have met. So I wanted Rebel to be in the title. And well, she’s a wild child that needs some taming, some structure, and some hope.
If you’re planning a sequel, can you share a tiny bit about your plans for it?
I’m planning an entire world from this book. Not really a sequel, but a whole world. The second book focuses on Haylee, who goes on a date with Tori in the middle of the book. Haylee is a screw up and a product of being a millennial during the Iraq War in the US. With that comes a deep pain for her that she can’t shake. She lands herself a job at an online therapists office and is just trying to make her life more consistent. Meanwhile, her coworker, Cherish, is in love with her boss and has built her entire life around her boss and her work. Haylee just wants to keep her job, and Cherish wants to make sure that her boss is never upset. A simple bet will bring them to working more fully together.
I’ve also written a series of short stories all about Tori, Miranda, and Rebel. I couldn’t leave those three alone yet. Those are available on my Ream.
What is your favorite line from your book?
“Touch me like I’m your whole world.”
What is your writing process like?
I definitely plot a book. Does that plot stand when I’m writing? Absolutely not. I often change bits and pieces as I go to make the story line better. I’ll even add in or delete whole chapters of plot.
This process is the best for me. As a parent to little kids, it’s hard to get focused sometimes, so knowing what I’m going to write is very helpful for sitting down and typing out some words. I’m not sure if there were parts that I’d like to change, except perhaps a better realization of what I can reasonably accomplish in a 24 hour period.
Where do you usually write, and what do you need in your writing space to help you stay focused?
I can and do write in a lot of different places. Whether it’s at home on the couch, in my office, in the bed, at a coffee shop or in the car during kid activities. Whether it’s in the quiet of the outdoors or simply in the shower when I can’t actually write the words down that I want to write.
It’s best for me to write in a quieter space. Some noise is okay, but having kids run around and ask a hundred questions will make it that much harder to get things done. Impossible? Nope. But slower going.
What’s your favorite writing snack or drink?
Caffeine. Anything with caffeine in it. That little kick when it hits my brain is always welcome and helps put me in the right mindset.
Is there a particular genre you would love to write but only under a pseudonym?
This one! This is a pen name, and I’ll never deny that. And it was started so that it could be only contemporary romance instead of the many other genres I also love to write. I wanted to brand it completely so that people would know what they were going to get when they picked up an Eada Friesian book.
What is the most valuable piece of advice you’ve been given about writing, and by whom?
Take what advice works for you and ditch the rest of it. This is probably the most useful advice I’ve ever been given about life, writing, parenting. I don’t remember who gave it to me, but it’s made every bit of difference. What works for me isn’t going to work for everyone else. When it comes to writing process, editing, marketing, moving forward in the business that is being an author. I have to figure out what’s best for me and my books. Which isn’t always what’s best for the next person.
What has helped or hindered you most when writing a book?
What has hindered me the most is probably my mood and just the standards of living a busy life. It’s really hard to keep going when there’s a hundred things screaming at me from every direction (and I don’t just mean my kids!). But what’s helped me the most is continuing to focus on why I’m doing this.
I enjoy writing so very much. I get an insane amount of pleasure and relaxation from sitting down with my computer and just going at it (typing, of course!). I love creating worlds and characters and whole people in books. And I really love sharing my creations with other people.
What do you do to get inside your character’s heads?
I have to understand the characters. I need to know what makes them tick, what calms them, why they are the way they are. That said, I don’t do a lot of that figuring out prior to writing a book. I typically do it in the first few chapters of a book. But I do know some of who they are when we dive into the creation of the plot together.
Have you ever cried when writing an emotional scene?
Oh absolutely!! When I was writing Taming of a Rebel and we get toward the end of the book, there’s a moment between Miranda and Tierney that had me in tears. It was a moment of such clarity. Not one that fixes the problems, but a recognition as to why they’re both there together. And it was absolutely heartwarming to see both push past their anger, frustration, hopes, challenges to finally see each other.
What books did you grow up reading?
I always read books that were beyond the age of what I should have been reading. In other words, as a preteen, I was reading adult books with sex, gore, violence, and deep love. It’s probably shaped me as a writer because I continue to love to explore those themes, the more mature and complicated themes of life and death.
What book do you wish you had written?
It’s not so much a book as it is a movie. I would love to see a sapphic retelling of White Christmas. I really would, and I have dreamed about it endlessly for years. A more modern version, of course, but there’s something so special about that move and the way everything comes together in the end. It helps that it’s a classic, that the characters are beautifully written along with the tension and the plot. And well, I may just be working on this book anyway, because really, I think it needs to happen.
Describe your favorite reading spot.
Ideally, my favorite reading spot is in my personal home library with a big fluffy chair and caffeine and quiet. But in reality, my favorite reading spot is the headphones in my ears as I do all the chores in the house from dishes to sweeping and mopping to laundry while the chaos that is kids runs tornadoes around me. I love both for different reasons.
