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Author Interview a.j when did you consider yourself a writer? You know what I mean—the time when you realized that you crossed the line from "want to be a writer" to "I am a writer". Honestly, I was watching a very well known movie about a young wizard I had just purchased for my son, but I was mesmerized by the story. At the end, it just hit me. I had always wanted to be a writer but never had I actually written anything. That same evening I sat down at the computer and started typing. Three months later, Nola was born. Of course, it took me four years to actually learn all the rules of writing, but it was that fantasy movie that got me started. Tell us about your infatuation with fantasy. I know you write YA fantasy chock full of faeries, goblins, witches, warlocks, and magic. I love magic, and always have: witches, faeries, goddesses and their villains. I also love historical fiction, medieval times, Saxons vs. Normans, Scots/Irish vs. England. Greek Mythology is a passion, but to me, it all ties together. I guess a book that included Greek gods, set in medieval times with plenty of magic would be a book I couldn't resist. Give us a taste of your new release, Nola and the Goblin Mountain? Nola is an awkward girl brought up in the human world with magic locked inside of her. She feels different from the other children and is therefore treated differently. Her best friends are her anti-social parents. Of course, she finds out, in a rather dramatic way that she is different, a royal half-elf, half-witch princess. Nola is the epitome of what most girls fantasize about. I added a lot of my own childhood fantasies in this book. What little girl didn't fantasize about being a magical princess and setting off on a heroic adventure with a cute elf boy? What is the main inspiration for your writings and why do you feel you choose some ideas over others? Inspiration is all around us, and some things had to be cut or the book would never end. I chose some of my more frequent fantasies for this particular book, consoling myself with the thought that other creatures and scenes could be used for the next story. A lot of inspiration came from other stories I've heard of and read. My idea of elves was changed dramatically by one particular story. In the beginning of my novel, Ryan, the elf cousin was an older elf that was still considered young by elvin standards. All elves were adolescent-looking with short curly brown hair. Now I see elves as tall, thin, luminous people with long silvery-blonde hair. In Nola, I use plenty of my own interests. The people of Winchbourne Castle dress as in medieval times, the faeries are servants of the Greek goddess, Demeter, and I used Scottish/Irish names for the characters, Nola, Ryan, Bryant, Lucinda, Roland, Moira, Fara--even the last name Goddard. Who would you say you admire in the craft? What authors have influenced your work? JK Rowling, Shakespeare, Tolkien, Homer. Do you feel you have more than one voice in your writing? Many people would probably wish to answer, yes, to this question. But I'm not so sure I could. I tried to write a story once, in the late twenties, but I kept wanting to put magic in it. Finally, I did, just a little, a communion with a tree. I left it to the readers to decide whether the boy was actually communing with his dead mother's spirit or just a coincidence with the wind blowing the leaves around at just the right time. Magic is a part of my writing, anything else would be a struggle, and not something that would easily flow out of me. What kept you writing while getting rejection letters or struggling with writer’s block? Writer's block has never been a problem. The editing sometimes was, but in the creation of this novel, I couldn't type fast enough. If I ever did get stuck, due to personal worries or illness, I'd just shut down the computer and return the next day. I have to admit, the rejection letters weren't devastating to me. Nola and the Goblin Mountain is my first book, and receiving anything from the publishers and agents meant I was really doing it. I was making contact. Do you use certain tricks that help prevent you from straying from your goal? No, no tricks. I love to write and find any excuse to do it. Cleaning the house, and other mundane chores is a different story. I have to schedule that stuff. I know you are an avid NaNoMonth participant. How do you manage to accomplish writing under daily goal pressure? Something I admit I am not good at. Actually, I found it quite stimulating. It is perfect for me, a real purging, no editing, just writing in its purest form. I love it. Get it down and edit it later. I find I do my best work under pressure and with a time limit. Even in other aspects of my life, when it comes to a crisis, I really emerge. I can handle pressure a lot better than schedules. Do you belong to a writer’s group or society? How long have you belonged? Where do you meet? How often? And what do you do there? When I first wrote Nola, I thought it was the best writing I could do. I found a critique group, submitted my first chapter, and sat back awaiting the praise. It didn't happen. I was actually told I knew nothing about writing and was forced out of the group. One of the ladies, however, wouldn't let me give up. She encouraged me to find somewhere I could learn Writing 101. I looked everywhere on-line, but funds being what they were, I couldn't afford it. Then I found Writers' Village University. I was amazed and wondered what the catch was. $5.99 a month instead of $599.00 a course! There really wasn't a catch! I signed up. I belong to a writing group there at WVU. I've been a member for almost five years now and try to check in at least once a week. WVU is probably the best thing that ever happened to me. How much time will you devote to marketing your book? And what kind of marketing do you recommend? Ahhh, the marketing. Guess I'm still going to need WVU, even after all these years. I have absolutely no concept of marketing, but I think they have a class on that, too. LOL What are your current projects? Currently I am working on a NATGM sequel. Nola will be going to school. I also have The Purple Tree, a historical fiction, The True story of Rapunzel, and The Crystal Faery. Then after all those, I think I'm going to start on my Greek Mythology series. Where do you hope to take your writing in the future? To the movies! What dreams have been realized as a result of your writing? Any special memories that you would like to share? What dreams? I'm getting published and I'm going to hold my book in my hands. It’s like giving birth, only much harder. I was in labor with my son for seven hours, I was in labor with Nola for four years. How do your friends and family feel about your writing venture in general? My family is very supportive for being all "right brainers." They deal more with--uck!--math and ledgers. I'm the creative one. My mother can do endless paperwork and read endless documents and forms and all that stuff. My sister-in-law can tally numbers in her head faster than I can using a calculator. They both amaze me with their strong skills, and I like to think I can amaze them with my grasp on creating new worlds and making them credible. What do you do to unwind and relax? I read, crochet, knit, and relax in a hot steamy tub filled with my own homemade scented oils and my homemade candles flickering, Writing isn't the only craft I excel at. If you had to do it over again, would you do anything different? Yep, I'd stop looking for the easy way out. I spent way too much time in the beginning thinking that just because writing came easily to me I would become a star in no time flat. I wasted a lot of time. I know now that the process of creating a story might be easy, but I need to polish, polish, polish the story before it is any good, and that takes time and, though it may be boring and frustrating going over the same story again and again, it’s just something that must be done. What advice would you give to writers just starting out? Writing isn't easy. It’s way more than just making up a story. You won't be an instant bestseller, signing autographs, and making movie deals, a month after you decide to become a writer. You can dream about that, but you still need to put the time in and work. Don't show your story to a few friends and family, accept their praise and think you're the best thing to happen since JK Rowling. She didn't have it easy, either. None of us do. It takes time, tears, perspiration (if the AC goes out) and dedication. Do the work, create the stories, and keep on writing.
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