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1. If you could work with any other author, who would it be and why? Karen Marie Moning because she hangs the moon as far as I'm concerned. I fell so madly in love with her Fever series because, for once, I felt like the author thought how I think. I found myself on numerous occasions saying, "YES!!! That's EXACTLY what I would have said!" Karen is a HUGE part of why I ever ventured into writing in the first place. Writing with her would be the most amazing experience.
2. What would be a typical working day for you? When and where do you write?
Since I still work at my practice with my husband, my daily routine doesn't revolve around the writing world at all. My after hours have become an adventure of trying to edit while making dinner for my son and husband, or locking myself into the bathroom to try and type out a scene before anyone locates me. I've learned to write whenever and wherever I can. For the working mother who wants to be an author, this is a necessary adaptive ability.
3. What is the hardest part of the writing for you?
Finding time.
4. When and why did you first start writing?
Just over three years ago, a friend of mine threw out a challenge to me. I don't back down from those. Ever. I had been complaining about books that I wanted to love and the reasons that kept me from doing so. She said, "Well why don't you just write one then?" That was the beginning of a two year, four novel writing binge, during which I got the crazy idea to actually PUBLISH them. Who would have known it would lead to all of this?
5. How did you come up with the idea for the book ‘Caged’?
That's easy: pregnancy brain. Apparently, all you need for a great story line is an overactive imagination and some increased hormones. I woke up one morning after an insane dream about this nearly albino pale blonde with crazy hair who was blind. Over the next few nights, I somehow managed to iron out the details about
what she was, who the other characters were,
and how the story needed to start off. The rest just seemed to take
care of itself and quickly spiraled into a series.6. Are you a big reader? If so, what are you reading now?
I'm not a big reader anymore because of time constraints (*sighs and hangs head in shame). Most recently, I read the first two Valerie Dearborn novels by Caroline Hanson.
7. Do you have any advice for other aspiring writers?
I want to say so many sarcastic things right now that they're all crowding my brain, rendering me unable to narrow down the field to one clever response. So...I guess I'll take a more serious approach. The one thing that I've found to be essential is an amazing team. You can write a novel on your own, but it's impossible to be objective. You need others (betas, friends, editors, etc.), to be your sounding board. I have two amazing friends who I brainstorm with to create my stories. Then there are my friends who read the finished product to give criticisms about the rough draft. I do use a professional editor because I think quality matters and I have a couple of friends who read the polished version to see if they can spot any errors that were missed by everyone else. Believe me, there's ALWAYS
something. I've read a lot of Indie novels
and found that it's really apparent when there wasn't a team behind the
effort. Good stories could have been amazing, and I find that
frustrating to see when it's clear that the author is talented. In the
Indie market, there seems to be a lot of pressure to produce and do so
quickly. Sacrificing quality for quantity will never serve you OR your
fans. I think it's imperative to put forth the best work you possibly
can, and a team is a hugely integral part of that process. Choose them
wisely. Having team of "yes" men isn't going to benefit you. You need
people who aren't afraid to challenge you in a respectful manner. If you
can find the right people, your work will flourish as a result. :)Best wishes
Debs :-)
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