On to the fourth interview of many more to come of some really great Echelon authors.
This week's interviewee is romance author, Anne Carter, who also writes young adult fiction as Pam Ripling.
Point Surrender is Anne's latest paranormal romance from Echelon Press and is available at ( http://www.amazon.com/Point-Surrende... )in paperback or via e-book from ( http://www.fictionwise.com/eBooks/eB... ).
Anne is also the author of StarCrossed Lovers, and A Hero's Promise, and coming soon, the third installment of the Starcrossed series, The Gypsy in Me. Check out as well, Anne's e-book novellas Starfire and When Harry met Soli.
As Pam Ripling, coming soon is her new young adult novel, Locker Shocker, from Echelon Press.
Check out Anne/Pam's website at ( http://www.beaconstreetbooks.com/ ) for more information about all her novels!
I am very excited to welcome Anne/Pam to my blog!
Check out our interview below!
1. Tell us a bit about yourself and the genre you write.
Answer:
I am a wife, a mother, a sister, an aunt; I'm a bookkeeper, a photographer, an ordained celebrant; a Virgo, a procrastinator, a lover of Mexican food and chocolate. I am a PTA Treasurer, a driver, a movie nut. Oh, yeah, and I am a published author.
I started writing in what they now call middle school, and got serious about it as an adult. My first publishing credit was for a poem in a magazine, then a short story in Thema. I wrote a lot of short, literary stories, then started on a romance which ultimately became a novel and then a qualified tome. I was published electronically at first, then in print-on-demand, and eventually, small press trade paperback.
2. Did you choose your present genre; or did the genre choose you?
Answer:
I was chosen, I suppose. I have never given it much thought, which means I probably didn't do any choosing.
3. Have you always wanted to write?
Answer:
In a word, yes. More like, needed to write.
4. What would be a typical day for you, as a day in the life of a writer?
Answer:
There are no typical days in my life. In an ideal world, I would be like Nora Roberts, I'd get up, grab a cuppa joe, sit down and write until mid day, get up, stretch, take a walk in the garden or play with my lovey-dovey Golden Sandie. Then I'd sit back down and write until dinner time.
As it is, I sit down late at night after all the chores are done, and "steal" a precious hour or so; I sneak away from accounting long enough to pen a chapter midday; I clear the calendar for a hookie day when I am hot on a story. It is, sadly, hit-and-miss.
5. Where do you get your ideas for your stories?
Answer:
Don't know. They just arrive fully formed in my head. But I will say that I have always been the observant type; I am always watching people, imagining what they are about. I am always looking at the details of the setting I am in. I just returned from 6 days in London, and my brain was hurting from all the input I had to store away. I started thinking right away about how I could steer my WIP into Great Britain for a scene or two...
6. Are any of your characters based on real people?
Answer:
Yes-ish. Like many authors, I often pick a public figure or celebrity to be the base model for my character, then alter them as I go along. In the end they may not really resemble the model figure, but something entirely different as they seem to "grow" their own personality.
In STARCROSSED HEARTS, one of my heroes was based on a young Paul Newman. My heroine started off as my favorite actress, Jane Seymour. I find when I don't start with a known, I have more trouble developing the character. Whom I choose might depend on who I've recently become familiar with. In POINT SURRENDER, my hero, Case McKenna, would have been played by Lord of the Rings medieval hunk, Viggo Mortenson.
7. If you could be any one of your characters, which one would you be, and why?
Answer:
Amy Winslow in POINT SURRENDER, because I am already in love with Case McKenna. (see above!) LOL. Plus the fact that she gets to live in a lighthouse. What could be more fun?
8. Do you do research for your novels? What was the most interesting person, place or thing you have researched?
Answer:
Speaking of lighthouses... I was privileged to stay in a lighthouse while penning the last few chapters of POINT SURRENDER. Talk about inspiration! And yes, I do lots of research. It's part of the fun. I learn a lot, I want my readers to learn, too, without knowing they are being taught. My WIP, CAPE SEDUCTION, takes place in both 2008 and 1948. The research for this book is really involving and very interesting. 1948 was a fascinating time in California.
9. Have you ever had writer’s block? If yes, what have you done to overcome it?
Answer:
Writer's Block? What's that? Okay, once or twice I've been stymied (is that the word?) But I've come to realize that if it happens, to me, it's usually because my story has taken the wrong turn. I try to go back to where that happened and go in a different direction.
10. Do you have any advice for the young writer just starting out?
Answer:
As a matter of fact, yes. Aside from the usual advice, such as Read! Read! Read! and Write! Write! Write!, I have to also say, start working on promotion early. Name recognition. Even if you are unpublished, start building a readership in advance. This is something I wish I'd done. There are so many places on-line to get your name out there, for free, it's a shame to not utilize them. Blogs, reviews, articles, comments, websites, etc. I've been preaching this to new Echelon teen author Alyssa Montgomery.
11. And just for fun, if you could be a Transformer, which would you be? An Autobot (the good bots) or a Decepticon (the evil bots)? =D
Answer:
I would be an Autobot. I would be a Mazda Miata that turns into a giant photographer taking pictures of all the action... while writing down notes at the same time...
Thanks, K.C., for a terrific interview!
Thank you so much, Anne, and Pam too ! =D
Stay tuned!
And check back each week for a new interview! |
