Interview With Author Zoe Marie Townley
Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
Hi!
I’m Zoe Marie and Reborn: As a Defective Drake is the first book I’ve finished and published. Currently, I’m working on Defective Drake 2 as well as a Kindle Vella series called Plummet that was actually designed to be serialized.
As for me- well. I graduated summa cum laude with a bachelor’s of science in business from Judson College in 2021. I currently work a normal office job as a business broker and office manager (I keep all the computer stuff running, basically) and write on the weekends and at night.
My identical twin, Savanah Townley, actually does all of the art for my books. She’s my sounding board, my sanity, my best friend, and my artist all in one. Later this year, she’ll hopefully be publishing her own first book called “Daughter of the King” a fantasy telling of the relationship between a daughter and father and the love within it.
What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
Reborn: As a Defective Drake is the culmination of a couple of different things, but really? My biggest motivator here would have to be spite. A friend said college students never get anything done, I said “Bet!”, and wrote the first ten thousand words for it that very night. Two years later and I’m not going to say “I told you so”, it’d be rude, but it’s done and has been published for a few weeks now.
The second factor to why Defective Drake came to be, was that I wasn’t particularly attached to the story line.
I’ve been writing for over ten years, but Defective Drake is the first story I’ve actually published. And, it’s not because I lacked the time or motivation. It’s because I wanted everything to be perfect for these perfectly crafted stories. I worked so hard in designing characters and setting up ongoing themes, that by the time it came to actually write all of my ideas out I couldn’t be satisfied with it. Nothing I wrote was ever good enough for me. So, I took a story line I wasn’t particularly invested in and told myself that I wouldn’t care if it was disliked because I didn’t care about it as much. Which, now that it’s finished and published, I can definitely say I care – but it was enough at the time to help me get through areas where I didn’t particularly like what I was writing. So yeah. Defective Drake began due to a spiteful bet and a plot line I decided not to like. Yet now, as I carefully set up the stage for the second book, I’ve found that I quite love this little story line and that it is perhaps my favorite one yet.
Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I like to go places and write. They can’t be too noisy or have too many people, but somehow going places can help me figure out what to write. I also listen to music in other languages as a kind of white noise when I’m at home, even when it’s quiet.
What authors, or books have influenced you?
When I was younger, the first iteration of Warriors by Erin Hunter really influenced the way I saw characters. Characters don’t have to be people, they can be cats, dogs, or whatever you need them to be. This came out in my writing of Defective Drake.
What are you working on now?
I’m currently working on Reborn: As a Defective Drake 2 (I’ve tentatively decided to set my goal at April), Plummet (A light novel series to be serialized on Kindle Vella), and a fantasy themed color book project I started my last year of high school and never finished.
What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
So far, Facebook has allowed a lot of my friends and family to clue in on my finished book, but I’ve not experienced a lot of luck with other social media networking.
Do you have any advice for new authors?
If you have five minutes to write then you have five minutes to write. You can’t change that. You either take the five minutes to write something freaking fantastic or you take the five minutes to laze around and never write a book. It’s your choice, but no matter what you do, there will always be a limit in what you’re doing. So, work within your limits to make the best of what you can. Best effort will give the best result. It just takes time.
What is the best advice you have ever heard?
If it’s worth doing, do it right the first time. My parents used that one to get me to do my chores correctly, but I’ve taken to applying it to whatever I do, regardless of whether or not I want to do it. There are a lot of things in life I’m never going to be able to change. Picking up extra work to get through college wasn’t at all enjoyable, but I did it with my best foot forward because it was worth doing and it was worth doing right.
What are you reading now?
The Great Cleric by Broccoli Lion. It’s a great light novel series. I love it.
What’s next for you as a writer?
I want to write my next book in the Reborn series, start my Kindle Vella series Plummet, and get this coloring book done. After that – more books and more series. I have a lot of stories to share with everyone and I have a sneaking suspicion that it’s going to take a few decades to share them all.
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?
Oh, wow, that’s hard. Probably the Inheritance Cycle. I got halfway through Brisingr in high school and set it down. I’ve been meaning to get back to it, but haven’t yet.
Author Websites and Profiles
Zoe Marie Townley Amazon Profile