Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I started writing as a hobby just like most published authors I read about today. Then one day I woke up and my children had grown. I had more time on my hands and definitely more time to think about what I wanted out of life for me.
The day my youngest son left for the Air Force, the empty nest syndrome hit me hard. After crying for hours, I locked myself up in my bedroom and went through my hope chest filled with the children’s memorabilia. At the bottom of the chest, I found an old manuscript and decided to give the writing thing a shot. It took me four years to revise and (eh hum) edit it while working long, crazy hours at a retail job. I didn’t have a clue of what I was doing, but I enjoyed the challenge.
Last year, I finally self published my first book, “Attached” as an experiment. I wanted to see if readers liked it and most of them who reviewed the book, did. Of course, other readers did not. I also wanted to see if I still had the ambition to become a practicing writer and an author, and if I could keep the inspiration for new ideas to write.
In June of this year, my sister and I went on a day trip to an old abandoned town and that’s when the ideas for my new release, “The Butterfly Curtain” filled me with yet another yearning to write.
What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
My latest book, “The Butterfly Curtain” was released December 2, 2013.
Last Spring, my oldest son talked me and my sister into attending a fundraising ghost hunt by The Peninsula Ghost Hunters Society at a 19th century abandoned furnace town. It was extremely fun as well as scary and the group was able to catch loads of evidence. I actually had a church pew shake with me in it and nobody was around to do that. Come to find out, I was sitting in the men’s section of the church so I assume the specter that shook the pew was a male.
A month later, my sister and I packed a picnic and decided to pay the same town a visit during the day. The first dwelling I went into was the infamous haunted church. I walked onto the pulpit, looked around, and that’s when the inspiration of a new story came to me. We toured the rest of the town and I took pictures of all the dwellings, the furnace stack, and the area so that I could have the images for the story.
A few days later, I uploaded the pictures from my camera to my computer and was shocked at what I had caught on film. You can see those images on my blog, “The Writing Closet”.
I was truly inspired to write about this old town, although I really didn’t want another ghost story. I didn’t feel a paranormal romance even after discovering the ghostly images. There was a love story somewhere within that town and I opted for a time travel romance.
When I visited the town a third time with my husband, we took a dirt road behind it. At the end of that road were hundreds of butterflies flitting through the air and around our vehicle. It was magical and that is how, “The Butterfly Curtain” came to be.
Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I have many quirky writing habits, but I’ll keep it short and simple.
~ My coffee cup has to be placed exactly at my right arm’s length.
~ Since my desk is in my walk-in closet, (hence the name of my blog, The Writing Closet) I can’t write unless my bed is made up and the floors are vacuumed.
~ I have to be dressed and hair done before I write – as if I was going to any other job.
~ My oldest son gave me a mug with a picture of all four children on it for Mother’s Day and that mug has to be facing me while I write. It gives me special purpose.
What authors, or books have influenced you?
There are many authors who have influenced me throughout the years. I have to say Nora Roberts is the main one since we live in the same state and she started writing when her children were young. I love ALL of her books! Then there’s Karen Moning, Barbara Michaels, Amanda Ashley, Lynn Kurland, and so many more. I also fell in love with “The Outlander” series by Diana Gabaldon.
What are you working on now?
Right now, I’m wearing the marketing hat and trying to get “The Butterfly Curtain” out there in the reader’s world. There are a few ideas for another novel rolling around inside my head, but I’m not quite sure where it’s taking me just yet. I’m also working with my daughter on co-writing some fan fiction and revamping “Attached” with everything I’ve learned so far about the craft of writing.
What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
With my first book, I didn’t do much marketing. I used social media and my blog as the main marketing channels and within a month, managed over 300 eBook downloads and print purchases. This time, I’m utilizing every avenue to market, but I can’t really say what works best.
The only advice I can give on promoting is to keep learning and plugging, and don’t be afraid to think outside the box.
Do you have any advice for new authors?
Just write from your heart and soul. Don’t take any advice from other writers until you finish the second draft. After that second draft, find a few critique partners by joining some writing communities that offer it. Then start on your third draft. During this time you should be studying the writing craft by people who have the credentials such as, Donald Maas and James Scott Bell, etc.
What is the best advice you have ever heard?
The more you write, read, and study the craft of writing, the better you become at writing.
What are you reading now?
I like reading books from debut authors and right now I’m reading, “A Clandestine Affair” by Ashlee Hart and “Still Life” by Jodi LaPalm.
What’s next for you as a writer?
That’s a good question.
To begin with, I’d like to be able to hire an editor for the next story and put the petal to the metal in order to make it longer. I’d also like to challenge my brain with a non-fiction piece sometime in the future even if it’s not published.
Other than that, I will keep studying everything I can on writing.
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?
Well, it would be wise to pick out books that would help me survive on the island, but I assume that isn’t what this question is for. So, I would have to go with something I’d be happy to read over and over again.
1) The Bible, for many reasons.
2) An Encyclopedia, to keep my brain working. (You lose what you don’t use)
3) The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis because it’s my all time favorite since I was a child.
4) Robinson Crusoe by Daniel Defoe in order to make the best of the situation.
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