What happens when you hold the power to change someone’s future — and still can’t save them?
This is the fate of poor Fallon Quinn in Erika Fair’s thrilling debut, The Secret Girl, the first installment of The Lonely Raven trilogy. For Fallon, “second sight” has always been more a curse than a blessing, costing her immeasurable loss. But that all starts to change the night she meets Bret, and she begins to question whether love can be a source of strength after all.
In this Q&A, we talk with author Erika Fair about her process of writing this suspenseful and thrilling adventure.
Was there a specific scene or moment that served as the creative spark for the entire book?
The Secret Girl came to me with a simple mental image of Fallon walking through a beaded curtain and into a store, picking up a candle. I discarded the beaded curtain and somehow this picture exploded into the story it is today. As I began to develop it, I wrestled with the idea of what kind of story this would be — a series or a standalone, quirky, romantic supernatural or something more serious? An afternoon in a car pick-up line and a particular Foo Fighters song placed the fully-formed ending to what would definitely be a tragic trilogy into my brain. From that moment I knew how the trilogy would begin and how it would end.
One of the strongest themes in the novel is the burden of a gift. Fallon’s abilities isolate her, even as she saves lives. What drew you to this idea of psychic responsibility and solitude?
I’m not sure, honestly. I didn’t specifically approach this theme — when I write, I don’t have a plan. The story unfolds as I go. Though I obviously don’t possess Fallon’s magical abilities, I identify fully with her aloneness. Being alone at different points in my life is something I’m familiar with, and the ability to exist solo is, I feel, a super power in its own right. I knew that at heart, Fallon is such a genuinely good person, and there was no way she would ignore the chances she gets to help people with her gift.
The raven tattoo on Fallon’s wrist becomes increasingly significant as the story unfolds. Can you elaborate on the symbolism of the raven and how it ties into Fallon’s journey?
The origin of the raven tattoo comes into play fully in Book Two. We find out who placed the tattoo on her wrist, what it’s capable of, and why it matches the tattoo on Jacob Roth’s forearm. There will also be a deeper explanation of why it is, specifically, a raven. But I can’t say anything more than that now.
The story is revealed in part through flashbacks. How did you go about pacing out the story to reveal just enough to keep readers hooked?
The flashbacks were fun to write. I truly enjoyed discovering the details of Fallon’s past and the importance of Jacob and Luca in her life, as well as the hints of her deeper magical abilities. I’ve been so happy to hear that the flashbacks are one of the favorite aspects of the story for readers as well. When I’m writing a story, every now and then I print it out. I find that it reads differently for me when it’s on paper, and I’m able to see things that I didn’t see before. Whenever I printed it, I marked the flashbacks and paid attention to where they fell physically in the story. I tried to place them evenly throughout.
Fallon is such a complex protagonist: empathetic yet emotionally guarded. What was the biggest challenge in writing her voice and perspective?
Fallon arrived in my head and revealed herself to me as I wrote. I almost can’t take credit for how incredible she is. Throughout the story she shows more of herself and begins to grow as a character, and I feel like I grew with her, as if she and I were on this journey together. She lived so fully in my head, that I knew exactly how she would respond or what she would say intuitively.
How did you navigate writing romance from two different emotional spaces: Bret, who is open and seeking connection, and Fallon, who is wary and self-protective?
Bret is such an unlikely person for Fallon to fall for. I think that he brought some lightness into her heavy life, but towards the end you can tell Fallon is slowly putting her guard back up. Their shared mental telepathy as well as her connection with his young daughter were both key to Fallon opening herself up to him.
This is Book One in The Lonely Raven Trilogy. Without giving away spoilers, can you tease what’s next for Fallon and Bret in the upcoming installments?
In Book Two Fallon learns the complex truth about all of the secrets that have plagued her life, from the mystery of Luca’s death to the true depths of her magic and who Jacob Roth truly is. Friendships are deepened and some relationships are lost. Towards the end of Book One, Fallon is becoming singularly focused on gaining control of her life and figuring out the truth of things. Not everyone can accompany her on this journey. A couple of side characters have a deeper arc in Book Two, and we learn so much more about Jacob and his connection to Fallon.
Erika Fair was born and raised in Texas, where she lives with her husband and son. She graduated from The University of Texas at Austin and stayed in Austin as long as she could. When she is not forcing her favorite music upon her family or writing, she can usually be found hiking or planning future travels. The Secret Girl is her first novel.
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