Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
Hmm, where to begin? I’m a fun-loving wife and mother. Often in conversation, I’ll reply to questions /comments with either a song or random movie quote. I love learning new languages though saying that I actually “learn” them is probably a stretch! I’ve written a dozen or so books but so far, have only published one!
What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
ooooh! The name of my latest book is The Irony of Vengeance! It’s about a girl who, while avenging the murder of her parents, ends up committing a murder that changes the direction of her life. It was initially inspired by the fact that like so many others, I’m a 3rd degree black-belt! Unfortunately, that’s only in my dreams so…I decided to create a kick-butt character! By the way, here’s the blurb:
Flowers by day, murders by night.
To those who know her, Mia Ozu is a nice, yet often distant flower shop owner whose greatest flaw might be the fact that she’d rather prune her precious bonsai than participate in a conversation.
What they don’t know, is that Mia is harboring a deadly secret.
Haunted by the vicious murder of her parents, Mia spent a lifetime hunting down anyone involved. But revenge is never as sweet as it seems and when one murder reveals a shocking betrayal and threatens to expose her true nature, she must decide if finding the truth is worth the risk.
Do you have any unusual writing habits?
If by unusual you mean writing 2 sentences, chasing my child, feeding said child, writing 5 sentences, cooking lunch/dinner, pulling my hair out after writing 1 sentence, put baby to sleep, clean up, write 3 sentences…then yes, I have unusual writing habits, haha!
What authors, or books have influenced you?
I love great stories! They don’t all have to be A+ writing, though it helps, but I really love finding great characters that I can either root for or dream of strangling. The Book Thief was one of the best books of I’ve read. I also loved Catch 22 and the Parasol Protectorate series.
What are you working on now?
I’m working on book 2 of The Irony of Vengeance and trying to decide which of the 5 novels I’ve started should be finished!
What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I’ve just started the promotional phase so I’ll let you know when I have answer.
Do you have any advice for new authors?
Yes! WRITE WRITE WRITE. That’s obvious though, right? I gets annoying to hear that all the time but it’s really some of the best advice I’ve received. Sometimes its really hard to make the words on the page as awesome as the pictures in your head. The best thing to do is to keep writing. It may not sound great at first, but get everything out so that you complete your first draft. Completing that will definitely boost your confidence and motivate to press on through the writing road-blocks.
What is the best advice you have ever heard?
umm, see the above, haha!
What are you reading now?
I’m ATTEMPTING to read Life After Life but my baby has other plans!
What’s next for you as a writer?
Next for me is to continue to write. Continue to push myself to finish what I start and to get all these stories out of my head. I chose to self-publish and so far, it’s been a very tough yet rewarding experience. Maybe for my next book, I’ll try the traditional publishing model to see which works best.
What is your favorite book of all time?
Wow, great question. I really don’t think I have an answer for this yet. There are so many books that I’ve read and forgotten…which must mean they weren’t that great? Not true, 🙂
Hmm, how about I tell you my favorite book of the moment, yes? I’m going to go with The Book Thief.
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