✨ Lit Legend Hillary Raymer’s interview has been broken down into 4 episodes!
Part 1 – Faeven Saga
Part 2 – Starstorm Series
Part 3 – Lore of the Wicked Wood *NEW RELEASE* and Mystic Cove rewrite
Part 4 – All about Hillary Raymer
Abby: Welcome to Moodlit Lounge. I’m your host, mood reader Abby. And today I want everyone to know that while we do try to stay on topic, this is a loosely scheduled interview and side quests are probably going to happen because that’s just the way that these things work. So just be prepared. Today we cannot wait for you to meet the wonderful fantasy author Hilary Raymer. And talk about her newest book, Lore of the Wicked Wood, coming to readers just like you in September 23rd. It’s so close. So here’s a little bit about Hilary. Look at these fabulous books. She has not one, but two, not three, but four series. And we’re going to talk about all of those sorts of things in just a moment. But without further ado, let’s go ahead.
✨Welcome Hillary Raymer!✨
Hillary: Hi!
Abby: I’m so excited you’re here. We’re so excited to have you. It’s going to be great.
Hillary: Hi, I’m Hillary Raymer. I am an author of fantasy and romance. Sometimes I smash the two together. I currently live in Virginia. I have a husband. I have two daughters, 2 cats, all female, lots of estrogen. I love.
Abby: So I have a cat and a dog and they are female. And then I have two male dogs who are puppies who we like to call the menaces of society. Because if you have not trained a puppy in a hot minute, let me tell you. They’re they should be lucky. They’re cute. OK, we love them very much. But before we get started with our interview today, we’re gonna go ahead and just give a really big thank you to our sponsors. We have these fabulous cups! Look at them. Aren’t they glorious? Hillary was so great. She was doing a tell them about your. She was so excited. She sent me the whole thing.
Hillary: I was like, I did. I sent a whole video, a whole unboxing. I wasn’t expecting it to be so sparkly and I love it. Like it’s the prettiest thing.
Abby: So that comes from our sponsor, Miss Susie over at Colorado Custom Creations. And then today the coffee that you’re drinking is from Whole Fast Coffee Co. Cari over at Star Creations, who is also part of the Book Baddies of Colorado Springs. We of course have Old Town Coffee Shop by Jen and her husband. Amazing. So great. They had their September coffee flights out and ready to go. So if you’re local to the area of Colorado Springs. Go check them out. They are fantastic. And then we have Brittany and she’s just a lovely, wonderful person. If you can see in here, there’s actually, she’s got some Twilight cookies that she made in the background, one that we couldn’t get in there. It was actually like a mountain scene. It said hoa, hoa, hoa, hoa.
Hillary: I love that.
Abby: The ones that you see above that is a divorce party cookie set.
Hillary: We have to celebrate our wins.
Abby: We do, right? And if the win is like, you get your life back, like that’s what I’m talking about. So anyway, thanks to them, they’re absolutely amazing. Now we start every show off with a kickoff game because it’s lots of fun. Today’s game, we’re just going to go through some rapid fire questions. You have to give the very first answer that pops in your brain. OK, no thinking, just vibes. Try to like, think like it’s boggle. And you have the timer and it’s running and you’re like, oh, no, what was the name of that game?What was the where you put the things then and then they pop up. What was that called?
Hillary: It’s like, I know what you’re talking about. I have.
Abby: What is that?
Hillary: I can’t remember!
Abby: OK, it’s fine. So do you want to start or do you want me to start?
HR: Does it matter which one we do?
A: Nope.
HR: OK. What’s the weirdest thing you’ve ever eaten?
Abby: French fries with ketchup.
HR: If you could have any superpower, what would it be?
A: To be invisible.
HR: What’s the first app you open when you wake up?
A: TikTok! Are you ready? What’s your favorite ice cream flavor?
HR: Um, chocolate chip.
A: What’s a talent that you have that not many people know about?
HR: I can sing.
A: If you could have dinner with one celebrity, who would it be?
HR: Probably Julia Roberts.
A: Oh, she’s fantastic. I can’t believe I said ketchup! don’t even eat ketchup!
HR: I mean, like, if you had gone like the poutine route to where it was like French fries and gravy. Yeah, OK, sure. You know.
A: Yeah, I don’t even eat ketchup.
HR: I think you panicked under pressure.
A: I think that’s exactly what happened.
HR: Who’s your celebrity crush?
A: It used to be Ryan Reynolds and now I don’t know who it is. And so I need to, I need to research the the crushes.
HR: I would have said Paul Rudd. I feel like he’s aging like a fine wine.
A: Oh man, how is he not? I know Keanu Reeves is the one who like really gets the the fantastic rap for that. I would agree though. Would you rather have a pet dinosaur or a pet dragon?
HR: Pet dragon.
A: Would you rather never have to sleep or never have to eat?
HR: Never have to sleep.
A: That’s it. That’s that’s the game. It was fantastic. I still can’t believe that I said that. You know, what’s crazy too is that the other day I went to Wendy’s and they are sponsored by like Wednesday because like Wednesday is out again and they’re like, yeah, so it was like Wednesday and they were really cute. And I go to order my food and the lady’s like, what are you doing? And I was like, oh, can I just have a a large Frosty and a large fry? And she was like, that’s it. And I was like, that’s it. That’s the meal That’s what I eat with my French fries. So I know that I think that you’re amazing, but there is a whole community of people who also think that you’re amazing. So now we’re going to head into our community fan zone. Look at these great people. They are fantastic. It’s like you had somebody literally make a necklace and send it to you. Had somebody do a book rebinding. You have people on Instagram who have your OG’s who bought the perfumes. Look at them. Look at those OG copies, signed copies. I have all of these things cause I also got that promo box tattoos that you had made with people. I mean, that’s just incredible to me. Like, how does that make you feel
HR: popular *sings popular from Wicked* Yeah, it’s kind of surreal sometimes. And I feel like, I feel like sometimes I get like so in my head and you know, like imposter syndrome and stuff like that. And then I’m like, wait, you know, I have, there are people out there who follow me, right? Who care about what I’m writing, who can’t wait for the next book. So to have those kind of interactions, it’s always like a like a snap back into reality, like, hey, this is your life now. Enjoy it.
A: Yeah. The most hilarious review of you today. “If you know me, you know I’m an absolute slut for anything Hillary Raymer puts out yet. I have not read a book that was not five stars for me, and I read that and I cackled. So you have a true fan.
HR: I’ve never had anyone be like a slut for me before, but you know. Oh, for one second. I thought you were going to tell me like the one review that I accidentally saw where like the girl, she like hates Maeve, but she loves my writing so much that she keeps reading books. And I was like, well, I guess that’s a compliment.
A: Oh my God, that’s great. Our interviews here on Moodlit Lounge is we are lounging. We have the opportunity to ask the author questions that you actually want to know. So we are diving into the books and into scenes and situations that I love and that also fans like you went ahead and submitted to me in my inbox. Thank you again so much for that. So those are the things that we’re going to be covering today. Are you ready?
HR: I’m ready.
A: We are going to start in Faven. The Faven Saga is finished. It has four books. It’s complete. I know it’s kind of described as Rapunzel, but with stabby vibes. And we are a fan. So these are the covers that you actually had redone. But you know, for the stans out there, let’s just talk about the OGS, because they will always have a special place in my heart.
HR: I made them all myself.
A: Did you really?
HR: Yeah.
A: What? That’s insane! And they’re hard to buy. You can’t go on like Pango Books or like eBay. I looked like to just. I was curious. You can’t really find them on there. Like if you go anywhere, they’re all sold out. And then this artwork that you have, I really like that some of the artwork that you pick out kind of has this like anime fashion too. I actually noticed that about a lot of your artwork. Like, do you like anime?
HR: I’ve actually never like read or followed any anime. I think the only thing I’ve maybe kind of ever been into was like Sailor Moon. Oh, I just, I really like the style. A lot. I feel like it works really well in fantasy.
A: I think so too. So the print that we’re looking at for all the reviewers, whether you’re listening and you’re watching, is done by @Saltease. She is on Instagram. That is her handle. And this is just a really wonderful photo of Tiernan.
📢Um, spoiler alert. Spoiler alert. Spoiler alert.📢
A: I OK, I did my due diligence. I forgot to start it off this way. All the spoilers are coming. Tiernan, who is her fated mate, and then Maeve covered in there. They were kind of like pink, dreamy sunset scape. And it’s great. And if you’re like, OK, well, I know that that’s a spoiler and I love faded mates, so that doesn’t really bother me. What am I getting myself into? Don’t you worry, because Hillary has fantastic marketing that she puts on Instagram. Just like. Do you like pierced peens? Skilled with a dagger, if you know what I mean. OK. Loves fiercely. Well versed in sarcasm. Dislikes tea. I don’t remember that. I don’t know why I don’t remember him disliking tea. It’s her that dislikes.
HR: Are we still doing spoilers?
A: Doesn’t matter. Yeah, no. We’re all the spoilers.
HR: OK, Well, that was because her mom would make her drink tea, forget and like stuff like that.
A: I forgot. But yes, there we go. OK, so let’s talk about my favorites. Are you ready? My favorite Kindle quote. So we know that Maeve has stabby vibes. And in case you’re wondering how stabby these stabby vibes are, allow me to read you a little snippet. Now listen, people, I am not an audio narrator by any means of the spectrum. So you’re gonna have to just like, hang in there with. All right, so. We are at this situation where Maeve has walked into Tiernan in a very compromising thing with the Queen of the Winter Court. OK, she’s like half naked, wrapped around him and she’s like, what the French toast. And so he like, you know, cause they’re made. So he goes into her mind and he’s like, stop those vile thoughts at once. And she’s like, if you slip into my mind one more time, I’m going to cut off your Dick and force Merrick to wear some fucking necklace. Our girl’s not done. Throne of Dreams is my all-time favorite book, like from that series. Most of these are from Throne of Dreams or in another one where he’s being pissy and they’re going back and forth. And she says we wouldn’t want the High King to be caught with Rowan’s leftovers, would we? Slay. Slay. I know that this was commissioned for the Bookaholics perfume. If you go on there, you can find them on Etsy. I had not seen this print before and I love it. Maeve is inside this autumn type forest. She’s sitting here. She’s got a nice brown like she has never looked more autumn in my personal opinion than in this photo. So again, you guys can go check out Bookholics perfume. They are officially licensed products by Hillary Raymer. And then I also found this one by Teviense. I listen, I have a speech impediment and dyslexia. OK, Tevianse. You can find them on Instagram.
And this photo of Maeve just makes her look so soft. So she’s got her, you know, blush pink hair that’s there. She has this black corset on that has this really fine diamondy detail at the top. She has her necklace on and she just looks soft and feminine. And a lot of times she doesn’t look soft and feminine as the book series continues because she’s in war. So one of my all-time favorite scenes let’s talk about. So we we already know that Maeve is fucking pissed about Tiernan and the Queen of the Winter Court, and she’s not having it. And so she has her full Cinderella moment, right? She comes to the top of the stairs and she’s like, Oh yeah, bitch you want to play? That’s fine. I’m going to show up basically naked. And so she does. She does. And she walks down the stairs like, Mm-hmm. Yep, sure am. Tiernan’s like in the corner.
And then, you know, here’s Ceridwen. And she’s like, what the fuck did you do? And he was like, I’m working on it. And she was like, fucking fix it. And he’s like, I’m trying. And I love that her response was do better. So, you know, like, honestly, that’s what he gets. And then. So they go through the ballroom, for those of you, right, who are reminiscing with me in this book. And those of you who haven’t read it, but don’t mind spoilers. Cause again, these are spoilers. I just, I cannot say that enough.
They go through here, right? And she tries to make him jealous by dancing with like the captain of the guard for the winter court queen. And he’s not trying to make anyone’s jealous. He’s just trying to be a good host. But you know, he’s like drinking and then like, who the fuck’s looking at my mate? She’s like naked. Who’s checking her out? And then finally he goes up to her and is like, that’s it. We are fucking done. We are done. And so here is one of my all time favorite lines from that scene. All right, we are going back into that ballroom and you’re going to stay by my side for the remainder of the night. No, her dismissal was clear. You are mine, he growled. I want to have you acting like a shameless flirt and throwing yourself at the feet of unworthy males just because you think it’s my jealousy that you crave and the. Those are not the actions of an archfey. It’s the behavior of a common whore.
Fuck you. That’s what she said. And then she slapped him across the face and he’s like, what the fuckI love that scene.
I love those books.
I like, I know that it’s her and Tiernan’s story and where they fall in love. OK, but like from Crown of Roses. And I it was so funny. I was going on my Kindle and I was like, where are my Crown of Roses quotes? Like, where are they? *reaches behind to bookshelf* They’re here. That’s where they are. They’re in actual book. I forgot that I read the first one, like the physical copy. I just, I forgot. But clearly I got, I got a whole tab situation going on there. But in that first one, she has this relationship with Rowan, right? So there’s this like back and forth of, you know, did she actually like Rowan? Did she not like Rowan? And we’re gonna go into that in a little bit, OK? But book two. Book two, you did us dirty with my favorite brother. Would you like to tell them? Would you like to let them know the heartache that commits? I was devastated.
HR: t was necessary.
A: Shay, who we love.
We love him at the ball. We love him in general. He loves his sister. He loves her so much, and he’s trying to make amends for whatever’s happening. And there’s a situation where he dies. How dare you?😆
HR: He does it. He’s killed. But you have to remember that, like in the beginning, he didn’t necessarily know that, you know, Maeve was his sister. So there’s all that. And then I feel like what makes it even worse is it’s the other brother that does it. There’s a necessary death. It wasn’t just for like the shock effect. I felt like it really helped Maeve grow as a character. Like she needed to be broken to the point of like almost no repair. That way she could put herself back together and someone else could help her to do that.
A: And that makes sense. And as we’re sitting here, right, cause Garvin is the name of the other brother who’s fucking evil as shit. And comes in. He gives no fucks that he’s attacking his siblings. Like he does not care. And Shay, he kills us with this last line.
“If things would have been different, I would have loved you from the moment you took your first breath and died a little inside”
HR: I made myself cry writing that scene.
A: Me too, ma’am.
HR: It was intense.
A: I was devastated. So in Realm of Nightmares, you know, at the end of Throne of Dreams, Maeve is kidnapped by Aed, the God of Death, because Tiernan broke his deal with him, right? So Aed comes in for his comeuppance, takes her instead, cause he was supposed to take him, takes her instead. He’s got ulterior motives though, cause that Aed, he is one smart cookie. And lo and behold, she arrives.And who is there? Rowan. Look at him. He’s over here, right there. My man Rowan is waiting. Now, this is where it gets complicated and messy, right? So do you want to kind of walk our readers through the dagger situation and the the predestined whatever, and how fate was awful to all of us? 😆
HR: So there’s, you know, 2 daggers. And one belongs to the Nightweaver and the other one belongs to the Dawnbringer, which are, you know, Rowan and Maeve respectively. Once upon a time, you know, they were life and death, like light and darkness. They were like the first Fae to like walk the realm. But that was like thousands of years ago, like in their, in Faeven lore. Rowan, like way back in the day, like gave her up so like more Fae could live. It’s kind of like, you know, if I had known like what was going to happen that I was going to be punished. Like I never would have. I never would have like let you go. But here they are back together in the Ether. The other world, so to speak, for the Fae. And for all of Realm of Nightmares, Maven and Tiernan are separated. Tiernan is dealing with all kinds of like hate and discontent. Faven is basically dying while Maeve’s gone because she needs to be there. And Maeve is stuck in the ether, not realizing that, like, there’s like one very simple way to get out.
A: I’ve heard some people say like, uh, I don’t know, I think that this could have been a trilogy. I don’t think that we needed Realm of Nightmares. And to those people, I say, you are not Rowan fans. Do you know who needed Realm of Nightmares? I did. I needed Realm of Nightmares so I could have some sense of closure. They’re not necessarily wrong.
HR: I mean, originally it was going to be a trilogy, but I didn’t want to put Realm of Nightmares and Void of Endings into one book because it would have been like this thick and that’s not for a lot of people, that’s not manageable. So that’s like the only reason I split it. Otherwise it would have been like like a little piece because the paperbacks together. Like, yeah, it would have been like incredibly large.
A: I love that you did not do that because I needed a sense of closure. I don’t know that we get the closure because, right, like, it’s just complicated and it’s messy and we feel for Rowan. So if you go into there, right, you know, she ends up going to the theater with Aed and you know, they’re there and Rowan is there. They go through this story, right, of their history. He ends up leaving early because he becomes very emotional. Now, for the most part, he is very respectful of the fact that she is with someone else. He doesn’t like it. And he doesn’t have to, right? Considering his history, how could he? Considering that in book one, he literally sacrificed himself again for her, right? Hoping, waiting in the ether that she was gonna come. And then they could finally be reunited, only to discover that the world was so cruel to them. It was so cruel.
And well, to him specifically, but even to Maeve, look, she really struggles with this decision. She feels. Awful. And what’s also crazy is because she is kind, she is a reincarnation. She feels both. That kind of brings us to the scene where it says, you know, where here’s Rowan. And he’s like, well, maybe it wouldn’t feel like a piece of my soul is carved out every time you’re destined for someone else. And she’s like, you can’t mean that. And and she is just trying so hard. Like, I care about you. I need you to stay in this lane and, you know, equally. Like respecting that he’s not there and why he’s not there, right? It’s not like he’s not accepting it because he’s an asshole right? He’s just not accepting it because he doesn’t know how to, right? He thought his whole life something was gonna be different.
HR: Yeah, it’s a lot. He he’s a complicated character.
A: He is.
HR: Yeah. And I know like a lot of people are like, oh, it’s a love triangle. But it’s really not because in book one, Maeve has no feelings for Tiernan. And then. Things start to change and it’s kind of where she realizes that her feelings for Rowan were more like superficial. I’ve like made the mistake of like seeing some of the like questioning like how she act. And I have to remind them, like remind people like, hey, I’m like, she’s never had any kind of love. She’s never had any kind of affection, you know, of course she’s going to like jump at the first guy. That’s like, “I think you’re really pretty”, you know, because she’s been so closed and shut off from emotional affection and physical affection the majority of her entire life. Go ahead and put yourself in her shoes.
How would you react?
A: You know, we know Tiernan is keeping something and he kind of pieces it together. But I don’t think, at least for me, I didn’t fully understand that until we saw the play, right? Until he’s telling her the story, like I have a fairy tale for you. And then they see the play and then she’s like. Oh my God, that’s me. So would it be fair to say that there was a part of her that recognized his soul that goes with hers? Or do we think, again, it maybe is just that superficial?
HR: You know, Tiernan is very much like, if you don’t choose me, I can’t do anything to stop you. He tells her, like, it has to be your choice. But I think for her and Rowan, I think the part of her that recognizes him especially when it comes down to void of endings and they have to fight together for her it’s more of like I would say it’s kind of like a soul connection yes but it’s not necessarily love it’s not like a like a relationship connection it’s like understanding or like that they’re like two parts of like one whole but for her at least it’s not a romantic involvement whereas for him you know he’s like loved her, you know, forever, basically. Forever, right?
A: I mean, and again, back in Realm of Nightmares, like he says, your very presence here torments me. Looking at you is agony. I wake up every day wanting you, and each night I go to sleep knowing you can never be mine. And then he equally at the same time says. But I would do it again.
No, I am not the only one who very much is Team Rowan because I get it. Tiernan and Maeve are mates like I understand. So let’s talk about people who are Team Rowan. Here are real life quotes from people that we find, right?
This one just made me laugh so hard.
“Her and Tiernan’s love is everything. Although as a one choose girly, I was really hoping against all hope that Rowan would be their throuple.I loved Rowan so much and I hope he gets his own happy ever after because my heart ached for him and he didn’t get any closure.”
And then another fan says.
“You know, Tiernan will always be one of my favorites, but Rowan really warmed his way into my heart with his selfless love, and it’s quite heartbreaking.”
I agree, random Internet strangers.
The last one.
“Above all, I really hope the author gives Rowan a happy ending because I felt more for him than any other character. Like, please do that for him.”
I agree with that. And just for the sake of fairness, I did team Tiernan, OK?
“I am forever in love with Tiernan, even if he makes me want to smack him sometimes. I mean, he literally called her a whore and she was like, bitch I will fuck you up. And it is my favorite.”
HR: She’s like hold my earrings.
A: Yeah, I know, right? She’s like taking out her hoops, you know, another one.
” I’m obsessed with these two. They’re definitely end game and calling him “estora” swoon was it for me.”
The last one, which I actually think you’ll really appreciate.
” So Maeve doesn’t need Tiernan, but she wants Tiernan. He picked up all her broken pieces, still found her perfect mortal and Faye took all of the moments from her heart and took her as she is. Literally as she is. The high king of summer is what I needed for a perfect distraction of my crazy life. But I’m comparing my husband to Tiernan right now.“
Like you are literally convincing women of like I need. You know, Summer King fame vibes in my life. And if I don’t have one, right, Husband, you suck. Here I am going through my favorite quotes. And what did we find? Easter eggs. Easter eggs.
Here’s one for you.
” She intends to visit us tonight to discuss the possibility of forming an alliance with Aeramere.” Who is Aeramere Hillary?
HR: Aeramere is Starstorm. 😏
A: “The route is divided into houses with one reigning fairy queen and the Prince who owes Ciara or Ciara, Ciara, Ciara, you know, pick one a favor for being her only son. The Prince of Backaroth owes me a favor.”
Who’s the Prince of Backaroth?
HR: Drake. 😏
A: Drake, Shadow Daddy Extraordinaire. We love him. We’re gonna go into that. Also also what did I find for Prava? I highlighted this two years ago.
HR: It’s like magic if you want like a like early access, like sneak peek. Also mentioned at the end of Void of Endings, they talk about the Druid Queen, I think from like Windfire that will come around in Star Storm before. So that will tie in as well.
A: Now I’m not a like Easter egg person. I do not go looking for these and I was just astounded.
HR: So my toxic trait, I will try to drop Easter eggs like how Taylor Swift does, like thinking people are gonna notice. And then no one ever does. They’re there. No one finds them. It’s fine.
A: I did. 😆 But I did find them by pure accident. Again, I was just going through my Kindle highlights and I was like, she did not, but she did.🤯
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