Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I am a retired United States Marine Corps Master Sergeant and I currently work as a contractor for the Department of the Navy. In my day job, I work as a project manager on cybersecurity projects. It is a continuously evolving environment, and I enjoy the changes and challenges that come with that line of work immensely. However, writing Fiction is my passion. I would love to spend all of my time writing, but the ‘starving artist’ lifestyle has never appealed to me, so I write when I have time, which isn’t nearly as often as I’d like. I published Model Marine in January of this year, and hope to release my next book by next year.
What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
I began writing Model Marine when I was working on my thesis for my Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing degree. I received my degree in 2012, but I didn’t believe my thesis was ready for publication. By that time, I had begun my second career in the Defense Industry, so for the next several years, I threw myself into my project management work, studying for and receiving industry certifications–all the while feeling my creativity being sucked dry. In the spring of 2017, I realized I needed to tap back into the literary field that I’ve loved since childhood. I dug up Model Marine and began working on the story every spare moment I could find, determined to finish it by the end of the year.
It was very important to me to get this novel right. I wanted to reveal to civilians and remind veterans of the inspirational aspects of the warrior spirit. I wanted this story to be well written and engaging. I wanted it to have literary and social significance, but still be of interest to a general audience. I wanted it to reveal through the plot and characters the environment of the Marine Corps, and give readers a sense of what America’s veterans experience in war. High ambitions, I know. Only time will tell if I have met those goals.
Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I usually write in my PJs, in bed or on my back porch. I do not like sitting at a desk!
What authors, or books have influenced you?
There are so many great authors, it is very hard to pick a few. However, Jodi Picoult and Diana Gabaldon are a couple of my favorite authors.
Tim O’Brien’s The Things They Carried was a significant influence on my decision to write and publish Model Marine first. I have several short stories that I hope to turn into novels eventually, but I was so moved by Tim O’Brien’s collection of short stories, that it made me want to write a story about my generation of warriors that would be as impactful as his.
What are you working on now?
Outside of normal working hours, marketing Model Marine is taking up the majority of my time. I hope to begin writing again by the Fall of this year.
What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I have several websites, including Awesome Gang, that I like to use during my Kindle Countdown deals. For a full listing of the sites I frequent, I recommend buying How to Make a Killing on Kindle 2018 Edition by Michael Alvear. That is where I discovered Awesome Gang and several others.
Do you have any advice for new authors?
I don’t care how well you write, get your book professionally edited. All writers have some weakness(es). (I confess that my greatest weaknesses are punctuation and capitalization; you may have already discovered that!) There are also different style guides for different industries, and it’s important that your professional editor is well-versed in the Chicago Manual of Style.
For continued improvement as a writer: Read books in your genre and books about writing. If you are self-published, also read books about Kindle and CreateSpace. For an excellent book to improve your writing skills, I highly recommend Sin and Syntax: How to Craft Wickedly Effective Prose by Constance Hale.
What is the best advice you have ever heard?
In my day job, we are constantly reminded of the need for continuous improvement. I would say that writers need to apply that rationality to themselves and their stories, as well. There is always room to improve our marketing strategies; our writing, whether through the narration, plot, or character development; and the subject of the stories themselves.
What are you reading now?
The Outlander series by Diana Gabaldon.
What’s next for you as a writer?
I will continue marketing Model Marine: A Novel until this Fall. I won’t know which story I’ll be developing next until I start writing again!
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?
If I were stranded on an island, I would have all kinds of time to read and write, wouldn’t I?
1. Outlander (Book 1). I could read it several times and learn something new each time.
2. A volume of Shakespeare works (Tragedies).
3. On Writing Well by William Zinsser, so I can continue to improve my writing skills.
4. The largest novel (Literary Fiction) that I have never read!
Author Websites and Profiles
Sondra Sykes Meek Website
Sondra Sykes Meek Amazon Profile
Sondra Sykes Meek’s Social Media Links
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