Wattpad Block Party: Insiders Guide

DelSheree Gladden

BLOCK PARTY FEATURED AUTHOR: DELSHEREE GLADDEN

ABOUT: DelSheree was one of those shy, quiet kids who spent more time reading than talking. She didn’t speak a single word for the first three months of preschool, but had already taught herself to read. Her fascination with reading led to many hours spent in the library and eventually to writing. She wrote her  first novel at sixteen, but spent ten years rewriting and perfecting it before having it published. Native to New Mexico, DelSheree spent several years in Colorado before moving back home to be near family. When not writing, she can be found reading, painting, sewing and trying not to get bitten by small children in her work as a dental hygienist. She has several bestselling young adult urban fantasy series. Her first contemporary romance, Date Shark, will be released with Limitless Publishing in 2014 

WATTPAD BLOCK PARTY STORY: Invisible Bonus Chapter

SHORT SYNOPSIS: Want to know more about how Mason and Olivia met? Here's your chance to read it firsthand

STORY LINK: http://www.wattpad.com/101355007-the-wattpad-block-party-bonus-chapter-from

AUTHOR INTERVIEW:

Who are your favorite authors?  

My list of favorite authors is incredibly long, but I'll give you the short version.

My favorite author from childhood is Patricia C. Wrede, who wrote "The

Enchanted Forest Chronicles," the first book I really connected with and made

me want to write. My two more current favorites are Jim Butcher and Brandon

Sanderson. Both have a very unique way of creating worlds and characters that

suck you in and let you lose yourself in the depth of their creativity. 

What advice do you have for aspiring authors?   

Read a lot. I hear writers say that they don't read much, and that astounds me.

Reading teaches about writing in so many ways. It teaches you the basics

 like grammar and structure and proper dialog formatting. It teaches you about

character development and plot arcs and the difference between a story that

grabs you and a book that's just okay. Reading helps you discover what you

want to write about and what makes you love a story. 

Congrats! You're a USA Today Best Selling author. Tell us how it happened

for you?  

I was lucky enough to be a part of the PANDORA box set last year.

The project was spearheaded by Becca Hamilton, and included

altogether 20 authors who all collaborated and worked their buns

off promoting to make the box set a big success. It was an experience that reinforced

how much I love working with other authors. So many indie authors are more than

willing to help another writer out and band together to help everyone be successful.

It's a great community to be a part of. 

What are your writing habits, or routine?

Right now I do the majority of my writing in the morning before I head off to go clean

teeth at my part time dental hygiene job. My husband is amazing and his income

supports us and allows me to have that time to write during the mornings right now. I

still do some writing in the evening, but I've been trying harder to leave my evenings

free for family time and not work time. It's something I struggle with, but my husband

is very supportive and helps me stay grounded so I don't let writing consume me too much.  

How did you discover Wattpad? 

I had heard about Wattpad through several writing friends, joined a few

years ago, but didn't really know what I was doing and didn't accomplish

much. It wasn't until Apryl Baker urged me to start working on Wattpad more

seriously and sharing Invisible with all the watty readers that I got serious

about using Wattpad and learned how to build and audience and connect

with readers. I owe Apryl big time! 

When I'm not writing I'm :

Right now...I'm cleaning my house for another showing! Selling a house is

super time consuming and stressful, but hopefully that won't be an issue too

much longer. When we're not trying to sell our house, I'm usually reading,

cleaning teeth, or watching Dr. Who or a movie with my family. When it's

not cold and snowy here in New Mexico, we also love to hike and camp,

and we're hoping to get out to the mountains a lot this summer.  

How did your Wattpad Block Party story come to you?  

I've gotten so many requests to keep writing in the Aerling series since the

last book finished, that I couldn't resist putting up a bonus chapter. It was

tough to choose which section of the story to expound on, since I've gotten

requests for a continuation with Molly, backstory on the Sentinels, Evie's

shenanigans, and many others, but since the whole series starts off with a

five year old little boy standing in a little girl's front yard, crying and covered

in blood and dirt, I thought readers might want a firsthand look at what that meeting

was like for Mason and Olivia.  

What's you favorite thing about Wattpad? 

Reading the unfiltered reactions from readers after each chapter! It's so fun to see

what they're thinking as they're reading and right after big plot twists or answers

are revealed. They're so enthusiastic and excited about everything. It's awesome

to get those reactions step by step through the story.  

What can we expect from you next?   

I've always got a couple of projects in the works at the same time, but I'm trying to

stay a little more focused this year. I plan to finish off my Someone Wicked Series

this year with the fourth and final book, "Wicked Revenge." I also am working on the

third book in my Date Shark series, which still doesn't have a title. I'm also about 2/3

of the way done with my first New Adult project called "The Ghost Host." Hopefully

once our real estate dealings wrap up, I'll get back to these  projects and have some

news for readers on release dates.