Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I started out writing genealogy books. I have three reference books under my married name. For fiction, I’ve written a few but I’m waiting to publish them until later in 2018. Right now, I’m working on woman’s lit. I have five books scheduled to come out this year in the Spirit Key Series. It’s a Native American family saga about love, heritage and above all family. It’s full of romance, paranormal spirits, and some real-life tragedies of our past.
What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
Painted Girl is a Native American’s journey to fulfill her destiny, the family troubles that surround her, and a love for a man. Ancient spirits need someone who is living to help them, but young Sara is scared of their shadows.
My work has always been inspired by one character in the series. Grandfather. He is a hodgepodge of real-life people whom I’m related to. My journey started years ago when my mother told stories about her father. He’d always wanted to know who his family had been but had no clue where to look for them. After his death, when my mother was just a young child, she was sent to an orphanage. Mom stayed until she was eighteen and looked after her younger brothers who were also there.
I also had Native American cousins who ended up in different orphanages scattered across the US in the 70’s. The didn’t find each other until the 90’s.
My question was about how these events change a person and how does it mold who they become? So, I invented Grandfather. He’s my family history rolled into one person. Loveable, lost, and wanting love so he invents his own family.
Yeah, and did I mention that Grandfather’s best friend is a ten-thousand-year-old spirit who is there to protect him from the bad that’s coming? This part of the story pays homage to that little doubt we all have when things are going well in our lives. We just know something going to come along and muck it up.
Do you have any unusual writing habits?
My humor gets the best of me. I have to pull it back about twelve feet for most people. For writing, I use Scribophile and belong to a couple of Ubergroups. We write, crit, and promote each other.
Mostly, I write in the evenings when the house quiets down and I can concentrate without interruption.
What authors, or books have influenced you?
I read everything and anything. My father is a huge history buff, so I grew up on stories from the Illiad to myths and monsters. My mother loved true crime novels. Growing up, I read Nancy Drew and anything I could get my hands on.
I even read cereal boxes and road signs.
What are you working on now?
I have a few projects in the works. Two short stories for an anthology. A freaky-Friday piece that is giving me pronoun headaches. I have a new series that I’m working on with a new paranormal world that’s very exciting.
What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
AskDavid on free days. For the most part, I’m not a marketer. I do tweet my books occasionally and book reviews help.
Do you have any advice for new authors?
Finish it. Everyone starts a book, almost everyone I know has an idea for a book. The hardest part is finishing it. If you can’t find the words or the plot, write the ending. Then you know where you have to go.
Sometimes I’ll just write scenes. Even if they aren’t published, the scenes help flesh out the characters and will pull you further into their world. I have about two books full of deleted scenes… cause I talk too much with my fingers.
What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Quit complaining and press the dang publish book button.
Don’t rewrite if you published. (Did that, doing that.)
What are you reading now?
I do book reviews. Right now it is Ruslan, a very Russian Romance.
What’s next for you as a writer?
This year it’s going to be publish, publish, publish. I have five ready to go, I’m tweaking them with beta readers. There are about four books 3/4th finished and two short stories to be published in different anthologies.
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 book on what’s edible in the tropics. A medical book. A tropical survival guide.
The fourth one would be a gigantic empty book and make sure there’s lots of pencils and markers.
I don’t need any fiction books to keep me company. I have too many characters in my head already. It’s a wee bit crowded.
Author Websites and Profiles
RA Winter Website
RA Winter Amazon Profile
RA Winter’s Social Media Links
Goodreads Profile
Twitter Account