I’ve been writing
since high school (way back when), but I never told a soul. It wasn’t until
2017 that I came out publicly as a writer. My joys have been poetry and fantasy
fiction (however during my younger years, when my own children were small, I
wrote a few picture books…I’ve yet to do anything with). I hope to keep writing
until the end of my days. It feels like such a privilege to do so.
Do you read
yourself and if so what is your favorite genre?
I read every day and
love to read fantasy! It’s my favorite genre. I enjoy both contemporary and
epic fantasy. And although I read other genres sometimes too, whatever I read,
must have some level of magic so that I can escape reality. That’s why I
read…to escape the world as we know it. Well, and as an author, I read to
improve my own writing.
Do you prefer to
write in silence or with noise? Why?
I write in silence and
with music, both. It depends on what stage of writing I’m in…and how distracted
I am. If there is a lot of noise going on around me, then I play wordless
background music—usually movie scores, like The Last Airbender, How to Train
Your Dragon, The Mortal Instruments, Harry Potter, and many others. If there
are no distractions coming from my outside life, then I usually write to the
tune of my own voice whispering back the lines I’m drafting or to the computer
voice in Word reading back my pages. If I’m at a critical point in my story line,
then there’s nothing but silence until I squeal in delight or slump to cry.
Again, it all depends on where I am in my writing process.
Pen or type writer
or computer?
I pen story ideas in
colorful, paper-filled journals, but always I draft on a computer. I love the
sound of my fingers pressing keys, and I like to edit as I write, so typing is
quicker. Whenever I handwrite, I usually slop my thoughts down in illegible
cursive, or doodle flowers and trees, distractedly, so typing is usually the
most efficient way for me to create.
Advice they would
give new authors?
My advice to new
authors: Read books. Write…even when you don’t want to. Take classes. Join
writing groups. Go to conferences. Read more books. Immerse yourself in the
world of writing. Call yourself a writer. Persevere through rejections and
obstacles. Accept that you have room to grow…a lot of room to grow. Keep
reading more books. Keep writing. Find a critique group. Create a writing space
for yourself. Be kind to yourself. Read even more books! And
never—ever—ever—stop writing!
What are they
currently reading?
I’ve recently finished
reading the Shadow and Bone series from Leigh Bardugo, and The Invisible Life
of Addie LaRue, by V. E. Schwab, and loved them. I am currently in the middle of
Laini Taylor’s book, Daughter of Smoke and Bone. My TBR pile is enormous but
makes me smile!
This sounds like a very intriguing read. I'm looking forward to this one!
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