Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
Phyllis H. Moore started writing in her sixties and now has eight novels, an anthology, and a nonfiction book published. She has a masters degree in social work. She worked thirty years in that field. After retiring, she owned and operated a bed and breakfast with her husband, Richard. Seven years of taking in travelers and others led to a second retirement to a small ranch in south Texas where Phyllis lives with Richard and their adopted terrier, Ollie Bubba. Her varied careers and the people she met inspired her to begin writing. She enjoys getting in touch with the characters and the settings of small rural areas.
What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
My latest book, And the Day Came, will go to the editor in mid-March. The story is historical fiction based on real people and places in south Texas. It is inspired by the childhood and family secrets of my mother-in-law. Orphaned at an early age, she relied on her maternal uncles to plan for her care. She was the only female in the family with five male siblings. Both sides of her family claimed important figures in early Texas history, and the marriage of the families is documented in this novel. This was one of the most challenging books to write. I knew these characters in my childhood and I could sense everything about them as I was writing. I wanted to do them justice and tell their story in an honest and respectful way.
Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I like to write outside when the weather cooperates. When I’m editing, I prefer to sit where I can keep my arm at a lower level, so I usually do it on the sofa. All the clicking and rolling the mouse tends to make my neck hurt. So other than dealing with arthritis, I’m fairly boring. I do like to read what I have written aloud and with expression, which can make me sound weird, but I try to imagine how it will sound to the reader.
What authors, or books have influenced you?
I like southern authors partly because I have lived in the south all my life, but also because they tend to tell honest stories about believable characters with all the weaknesses exposed. There are charming aspects of southern living, but there are also dark and troubling aspects. I don’t mind telling the darkness, but I want there to be a message and perspective from all the characters, good and bad. Some of my favorite authors are: Fannie Flagg, Rebecca Wells and Kathryn Stockett. Most recently I have enjoyed Sarah Addison Allen and Alice Hoffman.
What are you working on now?
I’ll be rewriting and proofreading my latest book for a couple of months and hope to have And the Day Came released in May, 2017. In the meantime, I’m working on a novel about a woman I met in the seventies who cared for her daughters and granddaughter. The girls had Huntington’s Chorea. The grandmother, Bessie, put her Christmas tree up in September because it was an “ember month”. She was a character I will never forget and I will definitely want to do her justice. The working title of the novel is The Ember Months. I have the first draft of three chapters done, so it’s still evolving.
What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
Promotion is a challenge for me. I use my own web site to blog and send out newsletters for new releases. I have an author page on BookBub and use my author Facebook Page to send out news about my books. I also use Pinterest daily to post inspiration boards and blogs. I have had success with Awesome Book Promotions, Just Kindle Books and BookBub. I do advertising on Amazon.com and Facebook.
Do you have any advice for new authors?
Write. Read. Write. Read. Do that all again and don’t give up. I think it’s something that gets better the more a person does it.
What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Get beta readers you don’t know to read what you write and give you feedback and listen to what they say.
What are you reading now?
The Chemist by Stephanie Meyer.
What’s next for you as a writer?
It will come to me when I’m not looking for it. Someone will say something, or I will see something that makes me think it would make a good story. I have a list of things that have inspired me and I keep adding to it. However, sometimes something will hit me and I can’t let go of it until I’ve written it into a 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?
Probably classics, like East of Eden, The Thornbirds, Of Mice and Men and maybe something funny, like David Sedaris. I also would probably want something by Joyce Carol Oates. She captures the minutia better than anyone I’ve read. I would say Stephen King because I love him, but if I’m alone I might not want to read him.
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