AuthorWorld: Author Profile

Hello and welcome!

I am so happy you could join us today.

G.H – How are you today?

Great. My new book has finally just been released and I am really excited about it because not only is it my tenth book but it is also a brand new book in a brand new series.

G.H - When did you first start writing?

I have been writing for as long as I can remember but I didn’t officially become a published author until 2012

G.H - Did you always want to be a writer? If not what did you want to be?

I have always wanted to be an author but I did not think my dreams would come true. After numerous rejections, as a teenager, I gave up. After that I decided I would become an Athlete or a Lawyer

G.H - Are you a full-time or part-time writer? How does that affect your writing?

I am a full-time writer as well as a full-time mum. It works out great. I write when I want and when my life outside of writing lets me.

G.H - How did you become involved with the subject or theme of your book?

As most people are aware, I mainly write my Erin the Fire Goddess series, which is named after my eldest daughter. My youngest daughter felt a bit left out and asked if I would write her a story. Of course I said yes and I asked her if she had any ideas. Her response was simple: she said she didn’t care what it was about as long as there was lots of snow and huskies.

G.H - Why did you choose to write in your particular field or genre? If you write more than one, how do you balance them?

I always prefer to write YA because I have children and I like the idea of them being able to read them. My Erin the Fire Goddess series has a message, within the series, that bullying is wrong and that you should never judge someone from what’s on the outside.

I do like writing Paranormal and Fantasy because I can let my imagination go wild.

G.H - Where does your inspiration for these stories come from?

Mainly my children. They are both a huge inspiration in themselves. I watch the different things they do and think ‘that will be great in my books.’

G.H - What was your favourite chapter to write and why?

For Frozen in Time it was the first chapter. It was emotionally heart breaking and my youngest daughter was in flood of tears when she read it which caused me to start crying as I tried to reassure her that it isn’t true.

G.H - Where is your favourite place to write?

I like to write on my favourite seat on the sofa J

G.H - Do you have a certain routine you have for writing? i.e. You listen to music, sit in a certain chair?

I do like to put movies on in the background. Sometimes I put music on. I also like to make a huge mug of mocha.

G.H - Do you use a computer/laptop for your first draft or are you a pen and paper writer?

For my Erin the Fire Goddess series I mainly write with pen and paper then type it up, making double the work for me. With Frozen in Time I did the majority of it with just the laptop.

G.H - How do you come up with characters names and place names in your books?

For Erin the Fire Goddess I did the main character after my eldest daughter Erin and I named her sister after my youngest daughter Kasey-Ray. Other characters in the series are either random or of friends, family and competition winners.

For Frozen in Time I named the main character after my youngest daughter Kasey-Ray. I named her grandmother after one of my street team members, Doris, and the rest are all random J

G.H - Did you learn anything from writing your book? What was it?

I have learned that the more I write the better I get.

G.H - How long does it usually take you to write a book, from the original idea to finishing writing it?

Anything up to six months. Frozen in Time I wrote 20k words and kind of sat on it as I thought about what to write. Then two weeks before its release I wrote 45k words in one week. Now imagine what I could do if I wrote that many every week? lol

G.H - Can you describe the feeling you had when you saw your published book for the first time?

Sick with nerves, but extremely excited. It was a dream come true.

G.H - Who are some of your favourite authors?

I love A.J Lape, K.S Haigwood, Cameo Renae and Alexia Purdy, to name a few.

G.H - Have you ever suffered from a "writer's block"? What did you do to get past the "block"?

It isn’t exactly writers block I suffer from but more of I get distracted easily.

G.H - Time for a few crazy questions!

G.H - Do you write naked?

LOL no

G.H - What is your biggest failure?

I don’t have any.

G.H - What is the biggest lie you've ever told?

Erm I can’t think of any.

G.H - Have you ever been in trouble with the police?

Yes

G.H - Do you drink? Smoke?

I vape and drink when I am celebrating. When I finish writing a book I normally drink a pint of Baileys lol.

G.H - What is your biggest fear?

Death. I also don’t like mirrors in the dark or bedrooms. I hate heights, rats, snakes and large spiders.

G.H - What do you want your tombstone to say?

She came, she saw, she conquered. But I am going to get cremated so no tombstone for me J

G.H - If you had a superpower, what would it be?

Telekinesis

G.H - What secret talents do you have?

According to my youngest daughter my secret talent is my mummy powers ;)

I can remember most things from being a baby until I had my children. After that my memory kind of went fuzzy lol.

G.H - What is something you want to accomplish before you die?

My books becoming a tv series or movie. My children growing up to be happy and successful.

G.H - Do you have any scars? What are they from?

Lots. From falling over, burns and I nice huge one across my stomach which I am proud of because without that I would be dead ;)

G.H - Do you dream? Do you have any recurring dreams/nightmares?

I have lots of nightmares about death. Yes totally morbid. I have one recurring nightmare about something that happened. One day my children and I were getting a train. It was running late and it was packed. My eldest and I managed to get on and the doors started to close as my youngest ran to the door. I had to wedge my suitcase and myself in the doors to keep them open.

G.H – Back to normal questions!

G.H - What piece of advice would you give to a new writer?

Edit and network. Don’t be rude and respect and support all authors. We are a team and it shouldn’t be a competition.

G.H - Would you share a deep dark secret about you with us?

No lol