Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Rosalie Thorne. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Alright, Rosalie Thorne thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. How did you learn to do what you do? Knowing what you know now, what could you have done to speed up your learning process? What skills do you think were most essential? What obstacles stood in the way of learning more?

Though my family instilled upon me a love for storytelling at a very young age, I actually struggled with learning how to read and “hated” reading when I was six years old. It wasn’t until my grandma sent us Harry Potter And The Sorcerer’s Stone from South Carolina to Hawaii in 1999 that I learned how to read, fell in love with reading, and found out how magical storytelling was for myself.

From there I started writing short stories in elementary school, sometimes as assignments. It wasn’t until middle school, the end of eight grade in fact, that I decided to write my first novel. My first novel took three years and was published shortly after my seventeenth birthday in 2000.

I learned from studying in school, of course. But I mostly learned from reading and doing. especially in discovering my genre, my own voice, and even further, how each novel is artistically different. I have a very wide range – I write anything from realistic to complete fantasy worlds, from teenagers in high school to gods who are immortal, as long as it’s a story about love.

The biggest thing that could have sped up the process for me was getting over my imposter syndrome. Even though I had a book published, a passion for storytelling, the talent to write, and the ability to complete more novels, I didn’t feel like a “real” writer/author. But then, finally after a few years, I let go of all this societal pressure, got back to the point of storytelling, and created art for art’s sake.

Now I have over a dozen short stories, two novellas, and ten novels published, will plenty more on the way. My computer is filled with about a dozen completed works, two dozen work-in-progresses, and over fifty blueprints. I’m also working on getting audio books recorded.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

Rosalie Thorne – The Mousy Girl Author, student, cat mom.

I like to use the Howl’s Moving Castle quote “A heart’s a heavy burden.” and the description ‘Choosing to look at the world with rose-colored glasses.’ in my social media bios. Both because I am a romance author and because I am a romantic. Love is ineffable and every inch of my life is filled with it and to me, that means I have and will lead the greatest life I can lead, with no regrets, and that will always be enough.

Right now all of my work, whether it is hardcover, paperback, or ebooks, can be purchased through Amazon.com and anything else is through my website TheMousyGirl.com.

Not only do I have novels, novellas, short stories, and collabs published to read, I also write freelance and am available for hire. I have worked with both Society19 and Gamer Journalist with pitching, researching, and writing multiple articles a week for short-term contracts. Though I am focusing on earning my Associate’s Degree this semester, I’m always open to new opportunities.

Best way to reach me is either [email protected] or through my Instagram @TheMousyGirl.

What’s a lesson you had to unlearn and what’s the backstory?

Do not worry about fame, do not try to be the next big thing. Don’t even worry about page count.

Worry about the story and the story alone. Create art for art’s sake.

I had imposter syndrome for a few years. It was because of this that I actually stopped writing all together. Only when I realized that this – that the absence of writing, made me feel incomplete, made me feel wrong, made me feel not like myself, that I got back into it. Then, when I started again I fought with this idea of not being a “real” writer/author (even though I had a completed novel published).

When I fell back in love with writing, and storytelling in this sense, I realized that that’s all that mattered. Telling a story, creating art. And, in my case, expressing love. Now I write and it is one of the things in my life that brings me the most amount of joy, no matter what, and I know that I will continue to do it forever.

What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?

The double-sided coin of finishing a project which means you get to start a new one.

I believe my record is 8 Days to complete 1 novel. It was an absolute complete passion project that came out of nowhere. In 3 weeks, I wrote that 1 novel, 1/2 of the sequel, notes for the third, and started the spin-off novel – and it was over 85,000 words for all of that. To go from one little spark into this Walt Disney World, muli-park firework display was fantastical and mindblowing, and it filled me with such great pride and validation that I not only have the talent but the skill, the heart and drive to be doing what I do.

I’ve also had projects, though, that took a lot of time and effort and research. Sometimes research into historical figures, sometimes research into religion, or into mythical creatures, plus I’ve been trying to incorporate non-English languages into my novels. My first novel, that I wrote in high school, took 3 years (probably the most amount of time I’ve spent writing one piece). But my longest novel – which when it comes to publishing may have to be broken into a trilogy strictly because of page count – is over 175,000 words. So, completely that was rewarding in a completely different way because of the dedication and resilience and resourcefulness that goes into doing something that was a completely solo adventure.

And then, of course, that means I get to start something new. Not just start something new – which, technically I can do at any time – but actually give my full dedication to. It means I can pick a new project and make that my new focus and give my heart and soul to make it shine.

I love everything that I’ve done. Whether it’s a cute, little rom-com, or an epic, fantastical romance, I have given my all to my characters and their stories and I am proud of how they are told.

Contact Info:

• Website: TheMousyGirl.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/themousygirl/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MousyGirl
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/mousygirlauthor
• Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@themousygirl

Image Credits
Rosalie Thorne