Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I am an educator, and a mother to a 20 year old. Faith and family are very important to me; my dog is included in family! I love to read and write! I was moved around a good bit in my childhood, and started writing poems and stories as a child to provide entertainment for long trips. After a while, my family settled in the southeast, but my life was enriched by each of the different places we lived. I have self-published one book so far. My best genres include science fiction, realistic fiction, and poetry of all types. I love to write poetry about emotions, nature, my loved ones, and even my dog. I enjoy taking photographs of nature and sunsets, or watching sci-fi movies and X-Files or Fringe re-runs.
What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
My latest book is also my first published book! “Made for Me,” a scif-fi romance novella, has been self-published on Amazon for Kindle. My inspiration was an online contest that set the genre, which is one of my favorites anyway! I imagine I may have also been influenced by countless sci-fi movies since my adolescence, and possibly some of my blind date experiences.
Do you have any unusual writing habits?
Sometimes I get a random idea, sitting in a cafe, and jot it down quickly so I won’t lose it forever. It usually gets written on a page of my checkbook register if no other paper is available! I otherwise normally prefer starting at my computer keyboard.
What authors, or books have influenced you?
As a child, I was deeply influenced by Exupery’s “The Little Prince.” It held different meaning for me each time I re-read it at different phases of my growing up. Stephen King, James Patterson, Toni Morrison, Joyce Carol Oates, John Grisham, Laurie Notaro, Neil Gaiman, and Ray Bradbury have influenced me. Sci-fi is my favorite, but I also love a little humor once in a while! “Through the Looking Glass” by Lewis Carroll was an enjoyable play on words and took me to other places, something I really enjoy in a book! This is why I also enjoy many different books of historical fiction by various authors, and would love to write in this genre some day.
What are you working on now?
Currently, I am working on a sequel to “Made for Me” for Amazon Kindle. I am also editing and re-writing a manuscript for a time travel sci-fi adventure, which I hope to get published int he next year.
What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
Since I am new to this, so far I have found Facebook and Twitter quite valuable for spreading the word. I am finding new sites and methods all the time.
Do you have any advice for new authors?
Believe in yourself, and talk to other writers, whether in person or online. You will see that you really can do it! Other than that, Save it all, in more than one place. I have lost so much writing when a laptop crashed and I lost a flash drive. It really hurts.
What is the best advice you have ever heard?
A friend once told me, “If you want to stand out, stand alone.” This can be taken so many ways. I knew I wouldn’t feel like a true writer until I had published a book with my name on it, not just by being part of an anthology. Self-publishing is a very independent move. So, I also take this to mean, have faith in yourself. Share with others, heed advice, but do it yourself, and do it because you enjoy doing it!
What are you reading now?
Right now, I am reading “Cross” by James Patterson. His books just pull me in with the relentless action and suspense.
What’s next for you as a writer?
What’s next for me is to publish a full length novel in e-book AND in print. To hold book signings in local bookshops, and maybe to appear in book fairs to promote my books, to be recognized as an author! Of course, if I extend this dream, I would be traveling to my book signing at the bookstore in San Francisco that Kerouac used to frequent, then catch a plane to Italy! Ah, well, there’s always another “next!”
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 Prayer for Owen Meany,” by John Irving. It’s just so darn good and those characters were like friends to me. “Under the Dome,” by Stephen King because it takes a long time and has so many layers. “The Spell of the Sensuous” because it really makes me appreciate the world around me. Perhaps I would also take “Through the Looking Glass.” It would make me laugh, again and again!
Author Websites and Profiles
Pamela Schloesser Canepa Website
Pamela Schloesser Canepa Amazon Profile
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