Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I am a newly published 18 year old author living on Vancouver Island Canada. Ever since I could write, my life goal was to one day have my own published book and become an author. This past week I was fortunate enough to have finally published my very first poetry book available on Amazon and Kindle. My childhood dreams are slowly coming true and the gratitude I feel for the kind feedback I have received after publishing at a young age makes me want to spread the word that anyone’s wildest childhood dreams are capable of coming true with hard work.
What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
My latest book “how do i say this the right way” is a collection of poetry and prose divided into “chapters” entailing a shared emotion, and those of which we often struggle to find the right word to describe, but (I believe) are captured in the poems. My book focuses on the importance of words and how we must choose what we say with pride and with integrity.
Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I carry this one specific white notebook that is so beat up at this point with me 24/7 because the minute I have an idea I have to immediately write it down. And it’s not the same as writing it in my phone because something about pen to paper makes it that much more special.
What authors, or books have influenced you?
Shakespeare is my all time favourite thing to read. When I feel a lack of creativity or writer’s block I will take one of my copies of a Shakespeare play and translate it as I read it, making notes and circling pieces of wording that I find go together so beautifully. I also read the Four Agreements as I was beginning to write my book and the emphasis that the Four Agreements had on being conscious of your words and taking pride in how you speak really inspired me to apply that to my writing and my life as a whole because I feel the way we speak and interact with others is a domino effect on other aspects of our lives.
What are you working on now?
I don’t want to give too much away but I am currently working on my second book, a sort of self-help/autobiography/comedic piece of a period in my life where I struggled, but came out okay, (or so I like to think.)
What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I personally like to advertise over social media with my own posts as I feel it receives a more personal response as well as the ability to share directly with my loved ones.
Do you have any advice for new authors?
Write write write. Write everyday, rewrite, change your location where you write, and have faith in what you write. You are capable of the end goal!
What is the best advice you have ever heard?
The best advice I have ever heard came from a close family member, (and this actually is touched on quite a bit in my upcoming book,) and that is that “it’s okay not to know.” It is totally okay not to know what you are doing in the current moment. Life is so uncertain and changes every second. But as long as you are doing something, it’s okay not to know where you’re heading. As soon as I applied this to my writing journey is when I saw results, because I was so focused on and end goal that it was almost getting in the way of the present moment. I wanted to write and I wanted to publish but I couldn’t publish without writing. So I just wrote, and that was it. I let go of the pressures of “knowing what I wanted” and I was able to create what I wanted and get to the end when I get there, (if that makes sense.)
What are you reading now?
Right now I am reading anything in my general vicinity that I can get my hands on. I’m not picky as a reader, every book and author has something to share and something to influence. The other day I read a biology textbook because it was the closest book to me at the time, and while it wasn’t grippingly entertaining, I learned some stuff.
What’s next for you as a writer?
More writing. More writing and going with the flow of things. I am currently working on my second project of which I hope to complete in the near future but who’s to say a massive burst of creative energy doesn’t come along and put my current plans on hold?
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?
1. the Four Agreements
2. Shakespeare’s Tragedies
3. The Secret
4. a Dictionary
Author Websites and Profiles
Tara Kruyt Amazon Profile