Interview With Author April White
Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I’ve been a film producer, private investigator, bouncer, teacher and screenwriter. I climbed in the Himalayas, survived a shipwreck, and lived on a gold mine in the Yukon. My husband and I share our home in Southern California with two extraordinary kids and a lifetime collection of books.
My first novel, Marking Time was the 2016 winner of the Library Journal Indie E-Book Award for YA Literature, and all six books in the Immortal Descendants series have been on the Amazon Top 100 lists in Time Travel Romance and Historical Fantasy. I’ve written twelve books, including Code of Conduct, an RWA Vivian Award finalist for romantic suspense, a Next Generation Award finalist for romance, and RONE Award finalist for suspense, and Death’s Door, a Grand Prize winner of the Next Generation Award, an Edgar Allen Poe Saturday Visiter Award winner, and a Foreword Reviews Award finalist. More information and my blog can be found at www.aprilwhitebooks.com.
What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
I’ve just updated my Immortal Descendants series for the 10th anniversary editions, including new epilogues and a sixth book. It bridges the gap between the end of Cheating Death, and the beginning of An Urchin of Means – a historical mystery series starring a 19th century street urchin who became the unintentional inspiration for Sherlock Holmes.
Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I can’t write without access to the internet because of the sheer quantity of research I do for every book. I love historical mysteries, and I’m a fantatic about getting the details right. The browser tabs open on my computer right now include a University of Edinburgh maps department overlay of Victorian London, a Google book about the Lord Leighton artwork displayed at the Winter Exhibition, floorplans of both Cragside House and Whitehall Palace, and a New Yorker article about the Peacock Room.
What authors, or books have influenced you?
Author Penny Reid writes wonderful romantic comedy, is a marketing genius, and an amazing friend and mentor. Amy Harmon can’t write a bad book (and she writes in ALL the genres), Laini Taylor’s creative instincts are as fascinating as her stories, and Patrick Rothfuss’s insistence that “it’ll only be late once, but it’ll suck forever,” is a cautionary tale for the ages.
What are you working on now?
I’m finishing A Lady in Waiting, book two of the Baker Street Mysteries. It’s why all the tabs are open, and will jump between Victorian and Elizabethan London. Ringo, my 19th century former street urchin who time-traveled to both future and past in the Immortal Descendants series, is my absolute favorite character to write, and being in his head is like playing chess with a master, inventing electricity, and channeling Sherlock Holmes with every person he meets.
What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I have a wonderful, private Facebook reader group called Kick-Ass Heroines, where we recommend books, tell dad jokes, and post things about extraordinary women doing fascinating things. But I’ve come to realize that my best promotion happens in person – in conversation with readers – so big book events are actually a marketing investment for me, as well as a chance to travel and spend time with other authors.
Do you have any advice for new authors?
Write what you want to read, because I promise, you’ll read it 1,682 times. If you find yourself skipping over a sentence, a paragraph, or a part, cut it. If your eyes are glazing, you can be very sure your reader’s eyes will too. And be generous with your book recommendations – when readers like the books you like, they find common ground with you and might take a chance on your book too.
What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Again, from Patrick Rothfuss: “It’ll only be late once, but it’ll suck forever.” And from Neil Gaiman: “I hope in this year to come you make mistakes. Because if you are making mistakes, then you are making new things, trying new things, learning, living, pushing yourself, changing yourself, changing your world. You’re doing things you’ve never done before, and more importantly, you’re Doing Something.”
What are you reading now?
I’m listening to book three of Naomi Novik’s Scholomance series – The Golden Enclaves. I’m reading book two in T.L. Huch’s Edinburgh Nights series – Our Lady of Mysterious Ailments, and I’m writing book two of the Baker Street Mysteries – A Lady in Waiting.
What’s next for you as a writer?
After A Lady in Waiting, I have a short story / novella due to an LGBTQ+ anthology called Pride Not Prejudice, publishing in June 2023, book three in the Baker Street Mysteries, and a paranormal romantic suspense series for Smartypants Romance.
If you were going to be stranded on a desert island and allowed to take 3 or 4 books with you what books would you bring?
A Sherlock Holmes anthology, because it’s long enough to keep me entertained and supply me with toilet paper, The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss, because I could spend years figuring out how he’ll end it, anything by Penny Reid, because laughter really is the best medicine, and an encyclopedia / recipe book for edible and medicinal herbs just in case the desert island has any.
Author Websites and Profiles
April White Author Profile on Smashwords
April White’s Social Media Links