Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I’ve currently published 6 short stories through Amazon, but if you ask my computer hard drive it’s a lot more! Writing has been a constant in my life since I was eight years old and enrolled in my mother’s creative writing class for kids, and I’m so unbelievably grateful for all the wonderful experiences it has given me.
What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
My most recent short story is titled “Her Private Show”, the romantic tale of an uptight journalist forced to cover a story on a male strip show, and what comes of it. A dear friend and I attended a show of the like over the summer, and it was an absolute blast – I knew something had to come from it!
Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I’ve done enough National Novel Writing Months to have tried all the writing tricks – WrittenKitten.Com, Write or Die, ect. I tend to try and break my writing up – I’m a total sucker for To Do lists, so I’ll put it on in sections. If the goal for the day is 5,000 words I’ll put “write 2,500 words,” on there twice to make it feel like I’m doing more work than I actually am, since I get to cross it off my list more than once. It’s silly, but it helps.
What authors, or books have influenced you?
Where to begin! I’m positively obsessed with Juliet Marillier – a wonderful fantasy novelist, and I’ll preach her books until my last dying breath. I was the pretentious kid in high school who read all the classics, so I’ve got Austen, Tolstoy, Wilde, Stoker, Shelley, ect. under my belt, and obviously I’m grateful for it now, as a more advanced writer. I’ve also recently gotten fairly obsessed with 17th Century French Court, which I blame Alexander Dumas for, since I covered his Musketeers this summer.
It’s really a case by case, I just love reading. And I’ll swear by Eloisa James as my all time regency romance novelist, and Linda Lael Miller for contemporary or classic American West.
What are you working on now?
I’m currently knee deep in my next short story “Going Pro”, with the goal to have it up by the end of January. I have the third story in my Motorcycle Series to look forward to, and then I might actually finish the story of Santiago and Isabel – the Island Duchess and the King’s Solider, but that’s going to be much longer and I keep putting it off.
Funnily enough, I’m the editor for an Automotive News department, so I’m always writing for them, and I’m currently working on a travel anthology as well. I love writing, and I tend to work on a lot of projects at once.
What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I’m still fairly new to this game, and I’ve by no means perfected my self-promotion. I have a lot of experience with social media for other jobs, and I’ve been able to do a fair amount of free promotion through Twitter, Pinterest, and a budding Instagram. (@RaeRomance, Holland Rae and HollandRaeRomance, if you’re looking.) More than anything it takes time, patience, and regular updating.
Do you have any advice for new authors?
Keep writing. By all that is holy do not stop writing. My first Amazon check was for $9.92, which didn’t even cover the cost of one cover image, (coming in at $10,) and that was after seven months of writing. It’s vital not to let that keep you down, and not to feel discouraged. It’s easy to let other things get in the way of your writing, but you’re in control of how much you write, and it’s so so so important to keep at it. Success with come.
What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Writers Write. It’s the simplest thing, really. But coming from a communications school, where everyone has a blog, and everyone has an article, and everyone reads poetry at Saturday Night Open Mic, it’s a vital thing to keep in mind. Writers do not talk about writing, something I’m guilty of myself, but they do it. Obviously we all have jobs and need to promote and so many other things to think about, but writers make the 15 minutes before bed, or type out an opening line on their phone. You may go home from your job as a teacher or a doctor, but you never, ever stop being a writer.
What are you reading now?
I’m going to be the bigger woman here and admit that I am currently in the midst of a Harry Potter Re-Read, and about to embark on the final epic. That being said, I just finished the book “Before Versailles,” the tale of King Louis XVI’s court at the Louvre when he was 22 and just beginning to get a grip on power. After I finished Deathly Hallows I’m onto the Outlander Series, which should keep me occupied for a while.
What’s next for you as a writer?
Like I said, I’m always writing. Cars are a huge part of my life, and I love writing articles and editorial on them as much as I enjoy writing my romance stories. I’m spending a lot of time focusing on my news department, as well as advancing to the next steps with my travel anthology. I really enjoy having a lot of projects, and I always look forward to starting the next story.
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?
No fair! Okay, the first few that come to mind: The Sevenwaters Series by Juliet Mariller. There’s actually two trilogies involved in this series, but I’d be content with the first one for a good long time, and probably Dracula, by Brahm Stoker, because I really have him to thank for so much, and because I need to split up classic Irish quests with some good old fashioned Gothic horror. Still calling no fair – I have too many books!
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