Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I’m a little blonde, recently moved to Chicago, IL. I’m married to an amazing man who works as a Technical Director for one of the best high school fine arts departments in the nation. We live with our two cats, and are working to adopt a child!
At this point I have four novels out, but that will be changing very soon. I have one urban fantasy series and one medieval fantasy series. Soon I will be starting on a second urban fantasy series.
I love to garden, act in theater productions, read, and be with kind people, but of course my greatest passion is writing.
What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
My latest book is That Sucked, book 3 in the Series That Just Plain Sucks. (I’m kinda cheating cause it comes out in one month). The series was originally inspired by the question: “What if Stephenie Meyer got turned into a vampire and realized she didn’t know what she was writing about?” For those that don’t know, Meyer wrote the Twilight series.
Anyway, that simple question evolved into a fun series somewhat poking fun at the vampire craze.
Do you have any unusual writing habits?
One of my writing rituals is tidying up the house before I sit down to write. It is hard for me to be creative knowing the dishes need to be done. This may stem from feeling like writing is a treat or a fun thing to do. I was raised to work before we play, and those lessons are still at work in my life.
What authors, or books have influenced you?
One of my favorite authors is Anne McCaffery. Her Dragonriders series has had a major in pact on my writing in plenty of subtle ways. Patricia Briggs is another. I love her use of 3rd person narrative, especially in her Alpha and Omega series.
What are you working on now?
I am currently working on the final book in my Dothan Chronicles series. This book will wrap up the story of Princess Bethany who accidentally gets sold into slavery.
What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I try a little bit of everything when it comes to to marketing. I do a lot on twitter and facebook, and occasionally even pay for an ad (gasp!).
Do you have any advice for new authors?
Write what you want to read. If you can’t enjoy what your writing, it will show through to your reader. Once I was trying to write a short story, the whole time thinking “This is so boring.” I finally deleted it. If I’m bored, no doubt the reader will be too.
What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Write every single day! Make it a habit. If you can go weeks without writing and not feel the itch, something is wrong.
What are you reading now?
I’m finishing up The King Trilogy by Mimi Jean Pamfiloff. Excellent series (warning: explicit language and content)
What’s next for you as a writer?
I’m stoked for my next series. It will be another urban fantasy series, dealing with how we has humans might handle the mystical world it it “came out of the closet.”
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?
North and South by Elizabeth Gaskel, A Jane Austen novel, and War and Peace (just cause it’s really long and would be something to read for like five years).
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