Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I am a twenty year old student attending Concordia University in Montreal, Quebec. Usually, I am a shy person, but publishing a book and moving to the city has helped me to get out there a little more. I love being around people who share my passion of reading, writing, and video games. So far, I have written two incomplete manuscripts and published one book.
What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
My first and latest book, Abiding Heart, is set in the mid twenty-first century after the third World War. The Hunger Games and Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door were important inspirations for this story. I enjoyed the dystopian theme in The Hunger Games and used a similar theme for Abiding Heart. The psychological issues that my main character Selena often deals with are also inspired by the panic attacks that I used to frequently get in high school.
Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I don’t think any of my habits are unusual. To write something good, I usually have to put myself in a bubble by wearing headphones with music that fit the mood of the passage I am writing. Even little distractions will result in a writer’s block.
I try to write every day (unless I am too busy with school or other things) for a minimum of a thousand words. This is usually how I gage a successful writing day; over 1,500 words is a good writing day, whereas less than a thousand is a poor day.
What authors, or books have influenced you?
Terry Goodkind’s writing style as well as the dark themes in his books is often on my mind when I try to weave a good story. I also enjoy the inspiration that heavily psychological horror stories, such as books from Patrick Senecal, bring to my creativity. Contemporary teen books such as The Hunger Games and the Divergent series are a great influence on the way to build a strong feminine protagonist.
What are you working on now?
I am working on the first book of a trilogy called Shark Academy. So far, the title of this first book will be “Demons Below Us”. In this story, readers will discover the dark magical universe in which gifted kids learn to control their bodily energy in order to fight demons and defend the Earth. When fourteen year old Elyssa Stone and her best friend Theo learn that they hold these magical abilities, she is thrilled to be able to break the mold and make a difference in the world. But her strong powers and enthusiasm may get the best of her.
What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
So far Goodreads has reached the biggest number of people, but I have not been doing this for a long time. I have a WordPress blog and try to gain a bigger audience by engaging with my other interests and go beyond reading and writing. My blog is at charleneboutin.wordpress.com.
Do you have any advice for new authors?
Write every day. I am a newly published author, so I do not have a lot of experience on that side of things, but I have been writing fiction ever since I learned to write. The more you write, the better it will get. I wrote my first manuscript at the age of eleven, and that book was far from publishable, but by writing for several years I have evolved from that state.
Also, write what you know. I usually like to stick with universes that I have made up myself (or a modified version of our own world) because I have a lot of imagination, and also because I have never travelled that much. I know of the world, but I feel like I don’t know enough to write about it.
What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Review, edit, revise. That is the thing I have the most trouble with, and so it is the advice I have to keep repeating to myself all the time. Any author will tell you that a book isn’t written; it is re-written. Several times.
What are you reading now?
I have just finished The Third Kingdom by Terry Goodkind, and I am about to read Insurgent, the third book in the Divergent series by Veronica Roth.
What’s next for you as a writer?
I want to write the Shark Academy trilogy while completing my Bachelor’s degree at Concordia. I hope to have Demons Below Us (Shark Academy Book 1) published by the end of 2014.
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?
That is a difficult question. I would have to say Faith of the Fallen by Terry Goodkind for sure, then Inkheart for nostalgia. I think I would also take Aliss by Patrick Senecal. But for the fourth one, I just can’t seem to make up my mind…
Author Websites and Profiles
Charlene Boutin Website
Charlene Boutin’s Social Media Links
Goodreads Profile
Sounds good, keep writing. I like it when you talk about distractions, i have two small kids jumping around, imagine trying to write with that going on!! Mind you, i can question them for ideas!