As you guys may remember, I’m a HUGE fan of the Onyx Webb series. There are currently 5 books in the series, but today we have a fun little interview with the authors, Andrea and Richard. I’ve met them at several book events over the last couple of years and they are just the sweetest people. Every encounter with them is memorable!
Be sure to check out my review of book 2 HERE.
Interview
Is there any person or event that inspired Onyx Webb? If not, how/where did you come up with the idea?
No one person inspired Onyx Webb. We started with the story of Koda and Juniper seeing each other in a mirror. That was the very first idea. And Onyx Webb actually grew from that. It grew from a lot of brainstorming, falling in love with all the ideas and then deciding to create a world… a web… where we could bring it all in.
What made you want to become authors?
We love creating stories. We’ve both loved writing since we were young and since we’ve been married almost 18 years, we’ve written screenplays, business books that are fables, and now this fiction series.
What has been your favorite part of writing this story?
Definitely for me, coming up with the twists. Richard loves doing research. He loves taking one little fact and going deep with it. When Rocky Dredge’s bowling alley goes up in flames he researched exactly how it happened: Rocky had the lanes buffed and waxed and that’s what did it. Those little details are fun for him but they also add interest and credibility to the story.
What has been the most difficult part of writing this story?
As you might guess, it’s keeping track of what we’ve shared. Sometimes we have to ask ourselves, “do the readers know that this event has or has not happened?” Or if we shared a particular fact. We are doing a “digest” of each book with all the major facts but we still can lose track of the tiny details. And in Onyx Webb the tiny details are critical! So, yes, confession, sometimes we have to read our own book to find out something, lol.
Have you learned anything cool while doing the research for Onyx Webb?
So much! And since we have a fair amount of horror, a lot of it is not good. Accidents like the Sulphur Springs train wreck, natural disasters, serial killers, FBI, on and on. I like the paranormal stuff. So for example it was fun researching the Fox sisters who started the “spiritualist” movement in the US. They claimed they were communicating with a dead door to door salesman and they because so famous, their home was eventually relocated to Lily Dale, the oldest Spiritualist community in the US.
Do you have a favorite character and why is that your favorite?
For me, it’s Mika Flager. She is evil, beautiful, self-centered, cold and calculating. She has a giant great dane named, Tiny. I love her because she’s so ridiculous. She’s the girl you love to hate.
Richard’s is Stan Lee which is so funny because he’s also an evil character. It’s not that we are rooting for the bad guys (believe me, they will both have serious reckonings) but they are so fun to write. They are so over the top. Readers on the other hand love Koda (our fantastically good looking billionaire) and Declan, Koda’s grandfather and the backbone of the Mulvaney family.
If any of the characters could be here with us, what do you think they would want your readers to know about themselves or their story?
Many of our characters, like Ulrich for example, would say that he reacted out of having no other choice or that circumstances were such that it was he who was the victim. Of course, that is not true. We hope that readers can see how what happens in life, a lot of times bad, doesn’t have to mean we have to react badly or make bad choices. We need to take control and responsibility for our one and only life.
Is there a reason you divided it into episodes before book volumes?
Yes, originally we were going to release in Episodes. That turned out to be a big mistake, one we learned early on when readers were wildly frustrated with so many loose ends. So we decided on 3 episodes per book that way at least some things would be wrapped up in each book although we still have many unanswered questions in each book too.
The story of Onyx Webb is quite convoluted with several storylines that intersect in various places. Is it hard to decide where you want them to connect?
No actually all of that has been surprisingly easy. It’s almost odd sometimes how effortless the connections get made. But as authors, our mind is always focused on creating those connections.
How many books can we expect from this series?
10 books! 30 episodes.
Will you be at any upcoming events?
At present, we don’t have anything on the calendar – we find our series is so unique sometimes we get to events that are heavy on urban fantasy or romance so we feel a little out of place.
When is the next book expected to be released?
Book Six will be out by the end of July.
Will this series be available as a box set at some point?
We are not sure. Maybe at some point. Our goal now is to get people to try Book One.
I loved the formatting in books 1 and 2. The photography was gorgeous.
Thank you! We were going to put pictures like these in all the books it just wasn’t feasible based on the timetable we have for publishing. But we have created pinterest boards for our places and character inspirations.
What’s your favorite book in the series?
Ha, what a great question… I probably like Book Two the best because one of my favorite story lines is Onyx and Ulrich and their dysfunctional relationship. It has such a great payoff. I will say though, that Book Six is so great too so I guess like kids, they are all different and all favorite in some way! J
Do you have any projects planned for after Onyx Webb is finished?
We have ideas for sequels, prequels, and side books with a character or two. It’s endless really. I know we’ll probably take a year break and just try to continue to get the word out about the series. By the time it is done it will have been a 4+ year odyssey
Also by this author: Onyx Webb: Episodes 1, 2 & 3, Onyx Webb, Onyx Webb 3: Episodes 7, 8, 9The Onyx Webb series follows the unusual life of Onyx Webb along with a central group of characters in various locations and times. Written like a book version of a supernatural soap opera, each character’s story moves forward with most every episode. It may appear that the characters are entirely unrelated and yet episode by episode, the connections will become clearer And this is especially true in Book Two. Like being an inch away from a spider web, with each book, the web will move further and further away revealing the full story of every character and most importantly, the stunning conclusion for Onyx Webb herself.
In Book Two... It's the 30's and Declan Mulvaney and best friend Tommy Bilazzo learrn to survive at the Open Arms Orphange despite the adults who run the place. It’s 2010, and Koda Mulvaney is insane trying to see the girl in the mirror again. Onyx Webb is finds herself living all over the country married to the crazy German, Ulrich, with no way out.
Special Note: All the pictures and graphical memes can be found in our Onyx Webb Series pinterest catalog.
Find the Author: Website, Twitter, Facebook, Goodreads, Amazon
Purchase Links
About Richard Fenton and Andrea Waltz
Richard Fenton & Andrea Waltz are professional speakers and authors of the #1 Amazon Sales Best Selling book, Go for No!® Go for No! has been among the top 20 Best Selling Sales Books on Amazon for over three years. They have also written several other business fables. Onyx Webb is their first fictional book series.
As Andrea likes to joke, “We decided to begin small so this series will just have 27 episodes, 10 total books.” Adds Richard, “Like any great series we wanted to create a world – and for us – a “web” of characters that people will get to become a part of and that is going to take many books.”
Richard and Andrea are married and yes they do spend each and every day working together. They live in Central Florida with their cat, Courage.
When they are not writing, they are traveling and speaking and also love reading, going to the movies, and working out so they can enjoy a great meal and a glass of red wine, guilt free.
Pingback:Onyx Webb Book Two Andrea Waltz Richard Fenton- Paranormal