NEWS

 


Photo by Dave Anton
Tavius E. on the left.  Rai Aren on the right.


RAI AREN

Rai loves the stories of Lord of the Rings, Star Wars, Star Trek, Indiana Jones (her first kitty cat is named Indiana, Indy for short), and The Matrix (take the red pill!), to name a few. She loves getting lost in these enchanting worlds and studying their underlying philosophies. Ancient Egypt has held a particular fascination for her since childhood. She feels right at home surrounded by Egyptian art and books.

Rai feels that novels have the ability to take us on magic carpet rides, allowing us to escape into fascinating and engaging worlds, where the stories become real to us. Storytelling is an ancient, timeless practice and is an integral part of who we are. For Rai, writing a novel is a similar, but far more intense experience and she is thrilled to be a part of such an honored tradition. She believes that these stories are out there, waiting and wanting to be told - that they travel the universe in search of the door, the conduit, to the soul who is meant to tell their tale. She hopes you enjoy the worlds she & Tavius have opened the doors to…
 

TAVIUS E.

Tavius E. (pen name) grew up and currently resides in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. He attended Mount Royal College and Athabasca University, majoring in Business and Accounting. Movies such as The Lord of the Rings and The Star Wars trilogies have ignited his imagination. Authors such as David Eddings and Dan Brown have inspired him to write.

He enjoys learning about ancient Egypt and archaeology. He sometimes looks up at the stars in the skies and wonder about all the amazing stories that have never been told. As a result, he and his college friend, Rai Aren, are pursuing their shared interests of being successful storytellers.
 

They can be reached via e-mail, here: rai-tavius@secretofthesands.com

 

 


Visit our Amazon.com profile! - See lots more Secret of the Sands activity on Amazon! Secret of the Sands profile on Amazon.com


Secret of the Sands is also available as an eBook! - Amazon.com kindle edition, multiple formats on Mobipocket.com, as well as on Books on Board.com, courtesy of our publisher Bristlecone Pine Press, www.bcpinepress.com. Secret of the Sands eBook offered by Bristlecone Pine Press


Secret of the Sands on MySpace! - There are frequent updates of all kinds on our MySpace page. Check out our variety of hip, fun features & ultra-cool friends! Secret of the Sands on MySpace

YouTube - Here's the link to our very cool book trailer on YouTube. Created by Rai Aren, with help from her friend Tommy Taylor, author of The Second Virgin Birth. Pass the video onto your friends, too! Secret of the Sands Official Video Trailer on YouTube

Check out Rai's profile on Goodreads.com - Share what books you are reading, have read, or want to read!
Secret of the Sands profile on Goodreads.com

SHOPPING FROM THE UK? Welcome! - The Search Inside the Book Feature is active on all of Amazon's international sites, including the UK! Here's the link to our Amazon.co.uk storefront: Secret of the Sands on Amazon UK

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

   
   

Who is RFS Publications and what does RFS stand for?

 

Rai & Tav.E.

It’s us! We are self-publishing our first novel and this is the publishing name we invented. We are, of course, hoping to attract a traditional publishing deal.

 

RFS stands for Recipe For Success. It was the name of the file when we first brainstormed ideas to write about. At that time, we did not have a fully developed story line or name for the novel, but it has become symbolic of our efforts and our goals.

 

 

Why do you use pen names?

 

Rai Aren

Writing this story was such a magic carpet ride, such an endlessly fascinating and captivating experience, so different from anything I had experienced before, that it really changed me, or rather enhanced who I was.  I associate my real name with my life before this, all the jobs I’ve had, the education, all of that. This was unique, and felt like a new beginning, and it seemed right to associate a new name with this path.

 

Tavius E.

We are new to the writing world and for the time being we like to be anonymous.

 

 

Tell us a bit about Secret of the Sands and how it evolved…

 

Rai Aren

When we started writing the story, we knew at a very high level, a conceptual level, what we wanted to do. We put those ideas down on paper, and the story started to come to life before our eyes. Characters once created & named, seemed to come to life with personalities of their own. As I think is quite common for authors, we wrote tons more than actually made it into the final story. Maybe we’ll publish the extended version one day!

 

The story itself is a journey of discovery, of discovering our own individual power, and ability to make a difference in the world. It speaks to the power of friendship and love, and the price of betrayal and the lust for power and control. It is a story about how our character and what we do in this life matters. It matters a lot, and in ways we don’t even know yet and can’t always predict. Most importantly it is a lesson in how we are all one, and that we are not separate from one another. We should accept and build upon one another’s strengths and differences, because that is truly how we grow stronger.

 

Tavius E.

The story started as a mix of characters, plots and subplots. After much refinement and discussions, we were able to establish a central story.

 

 

Why do you want to write a novel about Ancient Egypt?

 

Rai & Tav.E.

Every since learning about Ancient Egypt in elementary school, we have held a fascination with that part of the world. Ancient Egypt is one of the oldest known civilizations. It holds so much mystery, intrigue and wonder.  

 

 

Why self-publishing? Why not wait for a traditional publishing deal first?

 

Rai & Tav.E.

We are still trying the traditional publishing route, but while we are waiting for that to happen we felt very strongly that there is a big audience for our story right now; that there are those who will really enjoy it, so we thought, why wait? We are sending it out into the world to let it take off! This theme/ genre/ style is very popular, both in movies and in books. We love it and we are very confident other readers will as well.

 

 

You both have busy, successful careers and busy home lives, why do you choose to write novels, too?

 

Rai Aren

Well, it’s certainly not because we have nothing else to do, that’s for sure! We talked for about a year about how much we loved this kind of storytelling, movies, and how we really wanted to pursue something bigger in our lives, something that will outlast us. For me, reading a really great book or watching a great movie is such a wonderful experience. It’s an escape, but I find it also elevates me out of the everyday ordinary, helps me to realize that anything is possible, that we never need to settle, and that our potential is unlimited, we can live the lives we want & imagine for ourselves. I also very much wanted to create something that would give others that experience, that escape and adventure, to give back creatively.

 

Tavius E.

We enjoy writing. It allows us to create new worlds and share them with everyone.

We work as business professions to make a living but writing is our passion.

 

 

What are you trying to accomplish with your writing careers?

 

Rai Aren

Global Domination!!! Movies! Fame! Fortune! Merchandising! But seriously, we love what we are doing. I’ve never enjoyed, been so passionate about, anything in my life. We hope to have very long – lifelong in fact, careers as authors. We have so many tales to tell, so many journeys to take & explore. There will be many more books featuring Mitch and Alex, many carrying on with what this story has begun. We have the sequel well underway, the story is going great, it’s really firing along. In addition, we always envisioned SoS as a movie – like Indiana Jones meets The Mummy – films we love and watch again & again. And ultimately we are writing stories that we love to read.

 

I also have another novel that I am writing, one set in modern, corporate society. It was very much influenced by The Matrix, on how there are so many traps that we can fall into, that anaesthetize us, control us, keep us immobile and without a will of our own. How we can even forget what it is like to have a will of our own. Before we know it, we have surrendered who we are at the core, what we had once dreamed for our own futures, to service and to fit into society as one of its well-behaving automatons. It is a story that takes common things and events in our everyday lives and illustrates how truly sinister they can be, how things can turn against you if you challenge & reject the status quo. It’s so intriguing to write. I can’t wait to finish it and read it myself. I also have another sci-fi novel I am starting. It's ultra-dark, and of course is armed with an important lesson for humanity. Can't say too much now, but it will be full-throttle action and I guarantee you won't see your life or the world the same way after reading it. Stay tuned!

 

Tavius E.

We are currently working on a sequel to Secret of the Sands. We want to make the story about Ancient Egypt a trilogy. In the future, we would like to write standalone books on the adventures of Mitch and Alex, where they would encounter danger and intrigue in other historical parts of the world.

 

When we were writing and developing our story, we always envisioned our story would make a great movie. We think our story has all the elements to be on the big screen.

We hope someday it would be made into a movie.

 

 

Which characters are your favorites to write?

 

Rai Aren

I like to write the bad guys!! And the funny ones.

 

Tavius E.

I like writing the heroic characters.

 

 
     
   

 

 
       

Website designed by Jeremy Robinson.
All content is ©2007 by Rai Aren & Tavius E. All rights reserved.