Author Interview – Sandy Wolters – Soul Mates

Book Description from Amazon:

Pulled Back Through Time, Shandelle Is Caught Between An Enduring Love And A Wizard’s Magic

In the beginning of time, one soul splits into two. Lifetime after lifetime, the two souls are reborn and seek to reunite. Like a beacon of light from heaven above, their light shines for each other. Without the other, there is only darkness. A wonderful blessing that can only come from a deeply-bonded love, the sharing of one soul can also be a black curse if something disrupts the moment of their coming together.

Ireland 1323 - Donovan, chieftain of the Clan O'Brien, has unsuccessfully searched his entire adult life, to the detriment of his clan and all those around him, for that elusive possession that will bring his soul peace. He doesn't know what it is, but he will give up everything to find it. One day, he is summoned by the Wizard and told the secret of his obsession—his soul mate. She is no longer living in his time, but there is a way to bring her back to him.

Phoenix 2013 - Shandelle and Ian are embarking on their new life together. She is everything Ian ever wanted but never realized he needed before he met her. Shandelle is a generous soul who lives to make Ian and everyone around her happy. Unfortunately for them both, evil is stalking them. The blood bond duty of a close friend brings betrayal and evil into their lives. How were they to know that the death of a six-year-old girl in the early fourteenth century could have such grave consequences on their lives today?

What is your preferred genre?

My preferred genre is romance, but I write within several different sub-genres – paranormal romance, crime drama/police procedural romance, time-travel romance, contemporary romance.  Most of my books have had a touch of ghostly paranormal events in them.

How many books have you written?  If more than one, are any a series…or trilogy?

To date, I’ve written five novels.

 

Maggie Mae,  steamy contemporary romance with a ghostly paranormal twist

Justice For Emily, steamy romantic suspense/police procedural with a ghostly paranormal twist

A Brother’s Love, romantic suspense with a ghostly paranormal twist

Soul Mates, steamy time travel romance

When One Door Closes – Book 1 in the Rock Star Series, steamy contemporary romance with a ghostly paranormal twist

I am currently writing Another Door Opens, Book 2 in the Rock Star Series.  I am also in the middle of a sequel to Maggie Mae.  It will cover Carley and Marc’s story, two secondary characters that readers repeatedly ask me about.

  

Tell us a little about your book.

Soul Mates is a book that took me way out of my comfort zone.  I had wanted to write it for quite some time, but to be honest with you, the thought of doing time travel really scared me. Also, up to that point, while I had written paranormal romance dealing mostly with ghosts and intuition, moving into the fantasy genre where magic and wizards lived was a little bit terrifying.  I wanted to do it right. 

Time travel is tricky because you don’t want to confuse your reader when changing time frames.  It was also a little bit overwhelming for me as an author because not only is Soul Mates a contemporary fantasy romance, it’s also a historical fantasy romance.  That means there has to be differences in many parts of the book such as language, behavior and scenery.

Soul Mates takes place in Phoenix, Arizona, 2013, as well as Ireland, early 1300s.

Thank goodness, it’s been really well received.  I’ve had many people tell me they had no confusion whatsoever over the time changes.  I have to tell you, I breathed a huge sigh of relief.

Soul Mates took first place in the Paranormal Romance Guild’s 2013 Reviewer’s Choice Awards for Best Paranormal Romance Novella.    

Do you plot or write by the seat of your pants?

I never plot.  I’d never be able to stick to an outline.  I know a lot of authors write this way, but to me, it seems very restrictive.  I will say, though, that many times before I start a book, the characters will start to introduce themselves to me.  Pretty soon, they’ll start giving me scenes, so I do have an idea how the book will come together, but I never really know what order I’m going to put those scenes in or even how the book is going to end.

Did you have an editor edit your books?

Absolutely!  My editor is Dannye Williamsen with Your Editing Partner.  She not only edits my books, she gives me tips to become a better author.  She’s wonderful.  I know that when I give her a manuscript, not only will she edit the book, she will be completely honest with me about rewrites.  I trust her.

Dannye also does all of my book covers for me.  She’s put together banners with my book covers and created some really beautiful work that I’m proud to display.  She’s amazing.

Do you prefer ebooks, paperbacks or hardcover?

E-readers changed my life.  I’ve always read a lot.  Unfortunately, over the years, my vision has dwindled considerably.  I can no longer read paperbacks.  Before e-readers came out, I was purchasing all of my books in hard covers and even going with large print when I could find them.  The cost was very high.  Now, all I have to do is make the print larger on my Kindle and I can read anything!

I am not ready to get rid of any of my print books, though.  My husband is building me a bookshelf that is floor to ceiling and uses three walls.  I can’t wait to display all of my books.  Nothing makes a room warm and cozy like bookshelves stacked high with all the wonderful books you’ve read over the years.

Do you have any advice for other writers starting out?

Yes.  This goes back to the editor question.  When I first started as an indie author, I thought going over my manuscript hundreds if not thousands of times would insure that there would be no grammatical mistakes.  I’m not great with commas or punctuation, but I really thought I had caught all of the words that were spelled wrong.  That was not the case.  My mind knew what word was supposed to be in that particular spot, so when I got to a misspelled word, my mind didn’t recognize it as being wrong.  I just read it as it was supposed to be.

A friend that proofreads for a living contacted me and told me about several mistakes she had found in one of my books.  I was horrified.  She offered to edit them for me and I took her up on it.  While this was a very generous offer, I didn’t realize that this was still the wrong path to go down.

Every author needs to find an editor that has experience with editing novels, preferably novels in your own genre.  It’s a totally different animal than simply proofreading legal documents and papers written by students.  It’s a special talent that takes a certain kind of expertise and it is probably the most important thing an author can do to prepare your books for publication.

Tell us about someone or something that just made your day –

Just yesterday, I was having a particularly bad day.  I started going through my e-mails and found one from someone I didn’t recognize.  I opened it and found this (spoiler alert):

“I have read each of your books four times.  I finished A Brother’s Love last night.  I cry as hard as Pilar when she lost Little Man and his family.  Your writing is great.”

It’s moments like that, when you find out your writing has touched someone that means the world to me.

Where can your readers stalk you?

Website:  http://sandywolters.weebly.com/

Blog – Sandy’s Spotlight:  http://sandywolters.weebly.com/sandys-spotlight

Goodreads:  https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/4772120.Sandy_Wolters

Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/sandy.wolters.5

Twitter:  https://twitter.com/SandyWolters

Amazon Author Page:  http://www.amazon.com/Sandy-Wolters/e/B00569J3UI/ref=ntt_athr_dp_pel_pop_1

Is your book in Print, ebook or both?

All of my books are available in print at Amazon and digital at all retailers.

Do you give free ebooks away in exchange for honest reviews?

I do give free books out occasionally, but I never expect a review in exchange unless I have approached a reviewer or a blogger.

Book links:

Amazon GEO:  http://ow.ly/Ajynr

B&N:  http://ow.ly/puzEa
iTunes:  http://ow.ly/puzMY
Kobo:  http://ow.ly/qKqvZ

ARE:  http://ow.ly/wSWNG

SMASHWORDS:  https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/303516

What people are saying about Soul Mates, an award winning time travel romance by Sandy Wolters:

“I was curious to see how switching from the past to the future and back again and again would turn out but I have to say it really works well.” – monica.

“I loved reading about 14th century Ireland and I loved how easily she transitioned from that time period to present day Arizona. I won’t give any spoilers, but I will say if you like time travel romance, and wizardly magic, you will love Soul Mates. Sandy’s writing is, as always, smooth and seemingly effortless. She switches from past to present with ease, and I found myself looking forward to each new passage in time. If you’ve never read a Sandy Wolter’s novel, this is a great place to start. And once you finish Soul Mates, you’ll be looking for more stories by Sandy. She never disappoints.” – Journey.

“This novel shifts back to the 1300′s Ireland and back to the present day frequently. But one has no problem following the story line in either timeframe. This book is magical, literally, with sorcery, magic, and time travel. It is very captivating, the writing is smooth and moves right along. It’s what every romantic wants to read: how true love never dies. Highly recommend.” – Nancy of Utah.

“If you are looking for a romantic escape that is tinged with time travel, drama, excitement and paranormal, then I highly recommend this book!” – Ashley Fontainne.

“Sandy Wolters has become one of my favorite authors in the past couple of years. It’s all been very good and very different but I would have never seen this one coming. Ranging in a time frame from 1323 to 2013 her main characters fall in love through the ages. It’s a beautiful idea and masterfully written and it gives a new meaning to true love forever.” – Abouchard.

“Sandy Wolters is a master wordsmith that weaves beautifully crafted tales of romance that make you a firm believer in happily ever after.” – TeenBlurb.

“I really enjoyed this book. Sandy writes a captivating love story through time travel. I have read 3 time travel books and I must say this one really worked for me. Normally I’m not a huge fan of time travel but this one is good and well written. I’m not one for spoilers but … if you love a true love story … read this book.” – Vikki.

“Shandelle and Ian have known each other through the ages. A plot that began in the 1300s unfolds in the present day. Time travel, secret heros, a Irish chieftain, an evil wizard are woven into a story that is gripping and extremely hard to put down!” – kph.

“Soul Mates by Sandy Wolters offered a completely different take on the typical “soul mates” story. I was afraid the future and past parts of this story would become too tangled and steal from the actual story. Boy, was I wrong. Ms. Wolters did a great job at juggling so much that could be confusing, instead making it not only understandable, but fun and exciting.” – Tina Marie “Tina Reiter”.

Excerpt: 

The first two chapters of Soul Mates can be read here:  http://sandywolters.weebly.com/soul-mates-excerpt.html

Thank you so much for taking the time to do this interview and allowing us a glimpse into your writing world.  I hope you share this interview with your friends so we can all get to know you a little better. 

Patti Roberts

Author/Book cover designer and book formatter - ebook and print.