Tell me a bit about yourself
I never know where to start with this question for some reason. I live in Indiana (US) with my husband and two kids and a couple of cats. Oh, and fish. We have one fish per child, actually one pet per person, I just realized. I like to write books and stories and draw things. I also enjoy video games very much. I’m currently playing Deus Ex on PS3 when I can grab a few spare moments.
How did you become involved in writing?
I started writing very gradually. I loved reading as a kid. I was a total bookworm until I became a teenager and decided that getting into trouble might be more fun.
Writing didn’t interest me until I was well into my 20s. I started jotting down story ideas. My husband thought it was weird. I guess I thought it was weird, too, but I kept going back. Writing settles some restless part of my mind. It gives the creative energy somewhere to go. I feel more settled into myself when I’m working on a book, if that makes sense.
Were you influenced by any particular writing or styles?
I read different kinds of fiction, everything from early 1900s gothic weirdness to Stephen King and Dean Koontz to brain junkfood like Janet Evanovich and James Patterson.
There’s a quote I like from John Sayles. I hope I get this right, “The people who influence you aren’t necessarily who you’re going to write like, but the fact of their existence, of the existence of their characters, the spirit in them, opens up a possibility in your mind.”
Everything I read influences me in some kind of way. I take the techniques I enjoy as a reader and keep them in mind when I write.
What was your path to successfully publishing your first book?
I publish my own work at the moment. I never really tried to go the traditional route. I read a lot of writer and agent blogs and pursuing a publisher just seemed like a waste of time. Getting published by a major house would be awesome, but from here, it looks like writers waste their time writing all these queries that barely get looked at.
I would rather do my own thing. It’s more work. I have more control, which may not always be the best thing, but I’m happy with most of it.
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