Do the characters all come to
you at the same time or do some of them come to you as you
write?
Most of
them come to me as I write. I always have at least two of the main
characters before I start writing, but the rest fill in as I go.
What
kind of research do you do before you begin writing a book?
None.
I start writing and figure everything out as I go. If that means
stopping to research how bears show affection for half an hour, then
so be it. (I actually did that while writing this book.)
Do
you see writing as a career?
First
and foremost, it’s something I love. Whether it eventually pays the
bills or not, the joy of writing is enough to continue. But in the
future, I’d like to make enough money from my books to be able to
quit my day job and write even more books.
Do
you read yourself and if so what is your favorite genre?
Of
course. I’ve actually turned one of the spare bedrooms at my house
into my own personal library. I read fantasy and sci-fi, always with
romance. The darker, the better, and I prefer character driven books.
Do
you prefer to write in silence or with noise? Why?
I
can write regardless of what’s going on around me, but I prefer
music. I make playlists for every book, adding to them every time I
hear a song that reminds me of one of the characters, a scene, or
just the book as a whole. That’s my preferred soundtrack while
writing, but I’ll write regardless.
Do
you write one book at a time or do you have several going at a
time?
I usually
have multiple projects going at a time, but only one in the writing
stage. At the moment, I’m writing a sci-fi series, editing a dark
romantic fantasy and a thriller romance, and releasing Allmother
Rising.
I just can’t write two books side by side. I get too
excited about the characters and worlds, too consumed. And
inevitably, one sucks me in, leaving the other project on the
backburner until the first is done.
Pen
or type writer or computer?
Honestly,
whatever I have on hand. I’ll type on my phone or my laptop. I’ll
write in a notebook or on loose scraps of paper.
Sometimes, I
come home from work with my entire forearm covered in scenes and
conversations that I thought up throughout the day. I work in a
factory, and my machine tracks my progress to the tenth of a second,
so I don’t have time to dig out paper and write out every detail in
my head. Instead, I just jot down the barest bones of what I come up
with on my arm, just enough to make sure I remember everything when I
get home to type it up.
Any
advice for new authors?
I
have a few pieces of advice that I will always, always, always tell
any new writer that asks for advice.
1. As long as the first
draft is written, it’s a perfect first draft. Don’t stress over
what others will think or whether it’s good enough or whether it’s
original or too long or too short. A first draft is perfect as long
as it’s written.
2. Writer for yourself. Edit for your
readers.
3. NEVER PUBLISH WITH A VANITY PRESS. They’re legal
scams. Please, save yourself millions of headaches, infinite
heartache, bullying, and thousands of dollars. If a publisher
approaches you, unless you’re famous, it’s probably a vanity
press. If they call themselves a subsidy press, they’re a vanity
press. If a publisher expects you to pay them, it’s a vanity press.
(Ingramspark is the exception in that they charge $25-$49 to list
your book in their massive wholesale database.)
Please, research
every publisher you consider. Ask other authors and check out Writer
Beware to see if they list a publisher that seems even the slightest
bit suspicious. I was taken in by a vanity press when I first
published nearly a decade ago, and it very nearly destroyed my faith
in publishing altogether. Spare yourself that trouble.
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