Ok, the first are questions in every interview :)
Q1) When did you find out that you wanted to be an author? I have thought about the idea for many years and started a children’s book about 15 years ago. But when writers block set in I figured I was on the wrong path.
Q2) What excites you most about this career? Telling stories. The whole creative process that allows you to get swept up in the story. You get to know all your characters so well and then before you know it they have become such a huge (and demanding) part of your life. I love that. My fantasy family.
Q3) What was the process like for you? As in, preparation, writing the draft, editing, publishing, etc. I do a lot of research as I go. For example I like the names I use for my characters to have a meaning when possible.
I like to know what weather conditions, language, landscape etc would have been like.
I like to use as much fact as possible. Even when I’m reading a fictional story, I like to think that I have learned something factual from the experience.
I find faces for my characters and create a personality for them, give them birthdates for example. Know what movies, music, colours they like etc, even if I never use details like that in the book. I feel it gives my characters more depth.
I edit as much as possible while I go using text aloud or I use my kindle to read the story back to me. Like they say, it is almost impossible to edit/proofread your own work.
Publishing I chose Smashwords and Amazon. Soon I hope to use Create Space to have the book in print via Amazon.
Q4) What were some obstacles, if any, did you face and how did you overcome them? My only obstacle is time, not enough of it. I so badly need to do some dusting around here!
Q5) What kind of education did you have in writing beforehand? Just high school grammar classes, college courses, etc.? Absolutely none, just your usual run of the mill school education.
Book questions
Q1) Where/ how did you come up with the idea of Paradox? Firstly, I knew I had a story in me waiting to be told. I chose Paradox because I liked the meaning of the word. And I love mythology, past lives, reincarnation and such.
I was never going to start the series with book 1 and the young Grace, but I decided I wanted the readers to know her as a child first, what shaped her into being who she becomes in the following books.
Q2) How did you come up with the characters? Oh that was easy, they just came into being as the story developed in my head. The biggest surprise to me has been how people have taken so strongly to the Abaddon character. They just cant get enough of him…. Which just proves that just about everyone likes a little bit of evil n their lives from time to time. People grave to overcome diversity and evil.
Q3) Explain in your own words how Grace has grown in this story, if she has. Grace continues to grow as her life continues to spiral out of her control. Inwardly she is confused and in a very dark place. Outwardly she tries to mask her feelings of sadness and just tries to just fit in, to be like everybody else. And more than anything, she wants to love and be loved back.
Q4) As you were developing the story, did you think you would write any sequels? I knew there was going to be more than 1 book. And I wanted each book to be a little different but still to be part of the whole Paradox theme. Book 1 for example is very much about a little girl and her struggle with loss. Book 2 is about the same girl, a teenager now, desiring to fall in love. Book 3, well you will just have to wait and see, but it is very much a back story on the Angels, and how they fit into Grace’s world.
Q5) How did you come up with the particular plot? Did it just come to you or not? The plot has always been about, love, loss, betrayal and how Grace copes with all of these things. Emotions…past and present, good versus evil. All the things that shape a life, make us who we are. And then I added the realm of fantasy - everything naughty and nice.
Future
Q1) What's in store for Grace and her family? Grace grows up and discovers that things, and people are not always as they appear… Including her mother.
Q2) What's in store for you? Do you have any ideas for other series, how many books do you want to write, etc.? I actually have a comedy and a mystery book on the back burner. But Paradox is my heart book and once I really got into it, it has been hard to tear myself away from it. I would miss the characters way too much.
Q3) How much would you say you've grown throughout this process? Has your writing gotten better? Have you found anything about yourself that you hadn't realized before? I have grown a HEAP. When I go back and read some of my early manuscripts I cringe…. I can see how much better my writing has become. My friends and family tell me how much better my writing has become. But at the end of the day, it is what the reader thinks.
Every time I read a review on Paradox I am gobsmacked at how well the book has been received. And that absolutely astounds me. Most of all, it tells me I am on the right path. Better late than never...
Q4)How far do you see yourself going? Where would you want to be in 1 or 5 years? Sitting behind my laptop, banging away at the keyboard! Working on book 4, 5 and six of the Paradox series…. Well that would be great!
Q5) Anything you would like to add before we wrap this up? Most certainly, I would like to say…. I envy you! Having found writing at such a young age, in my opinion is a blessing and I hope you go on to be a very success Author with lots of best sellers. I really, really do!
Thank you Nellee for the interview. Patti
Oh, and please check out my book Paradox - the Angels Are Here at Amazon or Smashwords. Many thanks, Patti
Book Trailer for Paradox
Book 2 Paradox - Progeny Of Innocence is out in November.
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