Interview With Author Vanessa Finaughty
Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I was born and raised in Cape Town, South Africa, and still live here with my family. I’ve written more than 20 books, including some for schools. The school books for the lower grades might seem the easiest to write, but they were actually the hardest – and also the most rewarding!
What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
Wizard of Ends, Book 3: United Army is my latest book, due to be published on 21 October 2025. The series was inspired by the birth of my first daughter – I wanted something more light-hearted that she could read and enjoy one day.
Do you have any unusual writing habits?
Not unless you count living off coffee and fumes :p
What authors, or books have influenced you?
As a child, it was Enid Blyton and CS Lewis, and Dean Koontz was added to the list when I was older. I love the fantasy worlds in the first two authors’ work, and Koontz always has a twist that you never see coming. I love that.
What are you working on now?
I have a few projects on the go right now. The ones getting my attention first are Wizard of Ends, Book 4: Tainted Magic; a thriller novel I’m co-authoring, titled Dead Inside; and a short story anthology titled Space Wizards (for this one, I’ll be putting out calls for submissions).
What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I don’t really have one go-to place to market my books. I think it’s important to diversify and promote across different platforms. For my Wizard of Ends book tour, I contacted YouTubers, bloggers and magazines, etc. Being hosted on someone else’s blog with an interesting guest post or a book showcase seems to work pretty well.
Do you have any advice for new authors?
If you’re enjoying writing your book, keep at it! If you aren’t enjoying it, then consider writing something else – if you don’t enjoy what you write, you can’t expect readers to enjoy it either. Maybe it’s my editor’s eye, but it’s obvious to me when a writer didn’t really enjoy what they wrote.
What is the best advice you have ever heard?
This advice actually came from my doctor when I was pregnant for the first time, but it can be applied to anything in life: Listen to all the advice from everyone, and then take what will work for you in your personal circumstances and with your personal needs/preferences, and discard the rest – and don’t feel bad about not using every single piece of advice. What works for one won’t necessarily work for another.
What are you reading now?
With my book tour ongoing and work crazy busy this time of year, I haven’t really had time to read anything other than the manuscripts I’m editing.
What’s next for you as a writer?
I have seven manuscripts whose first drafts are finished or almost finished. I’ll be getting through those over the course of the next few months and polishing them off, in between working on the three I mentioned earlier. I’m eager to share them!
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?
So Long and Thanks for all the Fish by Douglas Adams
Twilight Eyes by Dean Koontz
The Gates by John Connolly
Author Websites and Profiles
Vanessa Finaughty Amazon Profile
Vanessa Finaughty’s Social Media Links
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