Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
From early childhood, I have wanted to be a writer. The need to make a living led to me becoming a music teacher, and raising three boys took up the rest of my time. Surviving Anna is my debut novel. I started working on it in 2009 and self-published in March 2016.
What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
I was only five when I learned of the harrowing event that would later form the basis for my first book. I grew up wondering how such a tragedy could have happened and what the long term consequences would be. As an adult, the story stayed with me. I felt the need for answers but was never able to discover the facts. In the end, I decided to write my own version. Surviving Anna is the result.
Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I am working full time as a music teacher and karate instructor, so I write mostly at weekends and in the school holidays. I have also been known to squeeze in a bit of editing while waiting for a student to turn up and during orchestral rehearsals when I am not required for a particular piece. Basically, I write whenever I can find the time.
What authors, or books have influenced you?
Authors who strongly influenced me as a young reader were Charles Dickens, Thomas Hardy, Jane Austen, Charlotte Bronte and DH Lawrence. Some of the best authors I have read more recently include Khaled Hosseini, Anna Funder, Geraldine Brooks and JK Rowling. Graeme Simsion’s The Rosie Project made me laugh out loud.
What are you working on now?
My current project is called Spiralling Forces. Its central theme is a family dealing with the impact of domestic violence on their lives.
What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
So far, I have been selling my self-published ebook through Amazon and using KDP Select’s advertising to promote Surviving Anna. I am also selling the paperback on Amazon and through three local shops.
Do you have any advice for new authors?
When you have finished your first book and you are trying to get it published, make a start on the second one.
Always check with the critic within before giving credence to the judgement of others.
What is the best advice you have ever heard?
You will never get on in the world if you don’t learn to listen.
You get out of life what you put in.
What are you reading now?
The Alienist by Caleb Carr.
What’s next for you as a writer?
I am keen to publish Spiralling Forces later this year.
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 Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini
Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoyevsky
War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy
Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
Author Websites and Profiles
Hazel Buchanan Website
Hazel Buchanan Amazon Profile