Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I have self-published four poetry books, and one self-help book based on my quotes on Twitter. Two novels will soon be re-released by The Wild Rose Press; The Wanting will be released on Sept. 27, 2021, and Crush will be released on Oct. 13, 2021.
What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
My latest book, The Wanting, is coming out on Sept. 27, 2021. It was inspired by a poem I wrote in 2010. The prologue at the beginning of the book is the poem turned into prose with some editing. I wanted to write about two people who fall in love and their own perspectives on each other. The book is written in the first-person narrative, each chapter going from Serena, the main character, to Teddy, the other main character, and their sexual awakening. It is a different twist and not your typical erotic tale. I don’t want to give any spoilers away, but it’s a bit of a roller coaster ride of two erotic journeys.
Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I need a coffee when I start writing and a drink when I finish.
What authors, or books have influenced you?
Anne Sexton, Sylvia Plath, Pablo Neruda, Virginia Woolf, Victor Hugo, James Joyce, Charles Bukowski, Margaret Atwood, Margaret Laurence, Leonard Cohen, Maya Angelou, Mary Oliver, Adrienne Rich, and so many others are writers who are my all-time favourites. They have influenced me in my style of writing since I first started writing.
The book from my English Literature days that I always go back to is The Norton Anthology of Modern Poetry. If I’m in the mood for some Hart Crane or Marianne Moore or H.D or Walt Whitman, I just go to the edges of the pages I have turned and read my favourite passages over and over. I think I have read The Bell Jar at least four times. Handmaid’s Tale is one of my favourite books as well. Margaret Atwood has a way with words and emotions that are unique and poetic. Her latest poetry book I read in one day.
What are you working on now?
I am working on a 30K word count book for a series for The Wild Rose Press.
What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I use my own social media to promote my books and my website. Recently, with my latest book The Wanting, I am reaching out more to websites to find book reviewers, to get interviews, and to do podcasts. I am in the process of doing that. There are a ton of promotional websites. In the past, I never paid anyone to review my books. I submitted my book to be featured, but not reviewed. I am a newbie when it comes to this part of the promotion. I am used to promoting my books on my own pages, but not used to paying for ads. It seems that lately, I get many messages to pay to be featured on certain pages on social media. I like to be organic, but it’s hard in this social media age. My method is not a stern, strict one. I am learning as I go. Also, marketing keeps changing as social media controls more and more the promotional aspect of bookselling.
Do you have any advice for new authors?
As a first-time author, you need to set up a Goodreads account. Submit your book for features on a variety of book promotional sites. You also need to have a professional-looking website and not a free WordPress or blogger account. If you don’t know how to set that up, you can hire someone to create a clean and crisp-looking account that will attract people to your brand and style of writing.
Writers need to keep writing and creating. Take time for yourself. Take breaks. Keep writing even when no one is reading. Perfect your craft. Read lots of books. Poetry especially.
What is the best advice you have ever heard?
When I was doing my teaching internship as a student-teacher, one of the teachers at the photocopy machine turned to me and said, “15% of your students won’t like you. You can’t change that.” I think about that sometimes. I apply it to life all the time, and specifically to my writing life. Not everyone will like your writing, and that’s fine. We’re not here to write books to please everyone. Sometimes, we have to listen to our own voice first.
What are you reading now?
At this particular moment, I just finished reading Girl, Woman, Other by Bernardine Evaristo. It was a phenomenal book, the writing style was completely unique in its prose and no use of punctuation throughout the book. It took me a while to read it and focus on it, but once I became accustomed to the chapters and the style, I was hooked. I enjoyed the prose tremendously.
What’s next for you as a writer?
I am presently writing and editing an erotic romance book that I am writing for The Wild Rose Press. It will be a first of a series of books based on friends and colleagues that work together for a fashion designer. Each book will be a 30K word count. It’s challenging for me because I have never written novellas before. They will be ebooks for a new line “Passport to Pleasure.” I will be submitting the final draft in a couple of weeks.
Simultaneously, my new poetry collection, for all the lonely hearts being pulled out of the ground, was recently accepted by Fine Lines Press to be published in Spring 2022.
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?
Les Miserables
To The Lighthouse
Ulysses
Selected Poems of Anne Sexton
I only read these books one time, but I have always wanted to read them again, and never had the time or chance. Except for Anne Sexton, of course, I can read her every day.
Ulysses, I had to read for an English Lit class when I was twenty. I would love to read it near the ocean and take my time with the language. No other book has ever impressed me as much as this one.
Les Miserables, I must have cried a thousand times reading it. If I’m alone on a desert island, I need to cry.
To The Lighthouse because Woolf gets to my very soul. If I’m alone, this book would be great company. I could dream.
Selected Poems of Anne Sexton is my favourite poetry book. It’s pretty much next to my bed so I could get a dose of Anne anytime I want. I could never get enough of her words. I bought this book when I was nineteen at a used book store near my university. My entire world opened up when I read this book. I wanted to be a poet.
Author Websites and Profiles
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