What Happens After Sunset (Author Interview)

https://www.amazon.co.jp/-/en/dp/B0BSCKYV34/

What Happens After Sunset looks like a great book.  What can you tell us about it?

What Happens After Sunset is a book that I first came up with about four years ago. However, it is only recently, two years ago recently, that I started to really write on it. It tells of Temperance’s journey from a broken woman to that of being the woman she is destined to be. We all face hurdles in life. We all fall down. It’s important to know that it’s okay to need help. It’s important to know that you are not a failure for needing others to help you carry your burdens. If the world is crushing you beneath its weight, seek help. Never give up your fight for the life you deserve. A life filled with happiness and love.

How many books do you have planned for the series?

I have four written so far. I am currently in the editing phase of the next three. As I’ve been writing for about fifteen years now, I have over a hundred stories in various stages written about that universe as well. I hope that my experience in publishing my first book will help me get my next ones out much faster. I would like to have at least two more if not three out by the end of this year.

Can you tell us a little about Temperance?

Temperance is a woman worn down by the world. I know her story is not all that uncommon in stories but she is a woman who has all but given up on all her dreams. She is still very much her mother’s daughter though and with a little help from those who love and care for her, she will find her wings once more and fly.

What scene or section did you have the most fun writing?

One of my favorite sections is when Temperance meets Flexibility for the first time. Here, I’ll show you.

This question would be punctuated by the sound of thunderous footsteps, as a girl who was quite probably Flexi, burst onto the scene from some sort of hidden staircase along the far wall.

She took one look at me and I knew it was over.

“So this is the girl you threw away Virtue for?!” Flexi’s wild eyes demanded, looking me up and down before dismissing me and turning her attention back to Empathy. “I guess a beautiful face and a nice body is enough for anyone to want to dis the guy who has stood beside them for years. Virtue is hurting, while you are over here with a shapely pair of legs and tits. I seriously thought you were better than this.”

“Hello, Flexi. This is Temperance, daughter of Solace.” Emp offered up evenly while gesturing toward me. Thank you, Empathy, for introducing me to the world…

“I don’t really care about who your newest conquest is. She will probably last as long as all the others, including me.”

“Then we had better take this outside, because your mom isn’t going to want to watch what is to come next.”

“Going to hit me?” Flexi challenged, hair in disarray, with her make-up smeared. A psycho clown about to set off on a crusade. “Yo, Tits, is this really the beast you want to waste your time on? Someone who will throw you away, when something prettier comes along?”

“Empathy…did you really talk to anyone about me?” I asked, wondering at the insanity of the situation unfolding before me. “Anyone at all? Or did you merely send people smoke signals in the middle of a dark cave and hope they got the message?” Seriously, what exactly was Empathy doing when I wasn’t around? Was she really not talking to anyone at all?

“I talked to Vir, who is the only one this really concerns. At the time, he gave me his blessing, and despite his tears, I won’t change course. So Flexi here is out of her lane. If she’s so worried about stopping his tears, then she should go sit on his face. It’s not my job when I told him at the start that it was not a relationship, only a bit of fun between the two of us.”

“And this is how she talks about someone she has known almost her entire life.”

“Flexi, I’m warning you to stay in your lane.” Empathy growled menacingly. This was not going to end well. Emp had two settings, with me and not with me, and I had yet to see her react with any sort of self-restraint in regards to someone being shitty to me.

“Or what? Are we going to throw down? You overgrown trollish male in a woman’s body?” Flexi snapped back, all but sealing her fate.

“I’ve told you, and you know it well, I won’t be disrespected by any man or woman. I will treat you the same, no matter what you have between your legs. Now, either get your facts straight or stuff up. I’m sure Vir has something you can stick in that mouth of yours if you need some help.” Empathy’s menacing words growing louder by the second to match Flexi’s own intensity. By now, between the two of them, I’d be surprised if there was someone here who wasn’t looking at us. “You can talk your shit around me, and I might laugh it off, but you are putting down a woman I want to marry with all my heart, right in front of me and everyone else. So, I’m telling you as a friend, to consider your next words well. Or you are going to have a one-way trip to an unconscious state.”

Patience placed herself between the two, as though she was a wall, pushing her daughter firmly away from the enraged Emp. “Flexi, what has gotten into you?”

“Vir is falling to pieces, while this woman of the night throws away her friends over a chance to land a high-blooded woman. Call it love, call it fate! When one finds a beautiful witch in front of them, any excuse will do to level up your dating options! Vir gave her friendship, unwavering loyalty and love, and she repays him by pissing in his water cup and throwing it in his face! She doesn’t give a shit about anyone but herself!”

“Your daughter has some rather big balls and I’m about to cut them off and shove them down her throat.”

What inspired the idea for the book?

The current book is very different from the original concept of it. The original concept was a human girl huntress following around this beautiful elf huntress around the city as she tried to score a date with her. However, as I wrote my book, the story altered significantly. I often feel as though stories write themselves. We as writers merely give them wings.

How did you come up with the title for the book?

Temperance’s life changes after the sun sets. In some ways, I think Temperance is desperately trying to get from one sunset to the next, at least before the book opens. My next book in the series is Sunrise. My third book is called Dark Tidings and my fourth is a short story called Rambling Words. I created the fourth book to make use of all the art I had made through commissions when I was first starting out on this journey. Rambling Words has a lot of extra information not found in the other three books about Undearth and Temperance’s new world in the Great Dark. Temperance is often times trying to survive her life and rarely takes in the world around her. With this in mind, Rambling Words focuses on a different lunalf huntress by the name of Victorious. I really hope people will enjoy Temperance’s world with me.

Did anything stick out as particularly challenging when writing What Happens After Sunset?

I still have a lot of growing to do as a writer. This being the case, finding a good editor I enjoyed working with was a hurdle that I stumbled through for many months. Sometimes I need a second set of eyes to help me improve upon my stories and I’m still somewhat searching for an editor to help me bring my stories to life. My sister-in-law is amazing, but she has three kids and it’s not fair to expect her to always have the time to edit for me. I do hope though that if my sister-in-law does read this interview…I hope she knows that I feel very blessed to her in my life. She is an amazing woman and she deserves all the happiness in the world. Besides, she is married to my little brother and I adore him. A happy wife helps to make for a happy man. I wish them both the best in all their endeavors.

What do you like to do when not writing?

Editing. I really hate editing. I can spend hours on a single sentence. Does this work? How about this? Something about the sentence doesn’t sound right, what is it? Nothing is sadder than losing an entire day to a single paragraph.

Where can readers find out more about your work?

I have a twitter account @rei_fujishima. It’s still pretty new and quiet but if you want updates, it’s perhaps the best place to find them. I will definitely post information on when a new book is coming out. I also have a website reifujishima.com. My website is still in its early stages but I definitely have plans to update it will images from my books, cover art and more. I may even restart my blog on it again. I definitely want to let people know what’s going on.

Why did you start writing?

I started writing because I wanted to read books that didn’t yet exist. I wanted more stories about girls falling in love with girls. I also love gender-bender stories for some reason and wanted more to read. So instead of waiting for someone to write them for me, I decided to write my own. I spend about as about much time rereading my stories as I do writing them. After all, I wrote them for myself. I’m publishing my stories because I want my characters to have a chance to outlive me. I hope they can continue to have many adventures long after I am gone.