Meet The Authors Edition #5 (Sept. 2019 to March 2020)

interview #29 @WriterAEF

1. What inspired you to write?

The need to help others. To promote awareness of the effects of Traumatic Brain Injury. To create a romance novel in which the couple overcome hardships and perseveres.

2. What is a good piece of advice for a newcomer?

I'd have to say there are at least two, both of which I've been given myself since finding Wattpad.

First, do something every day, no matter how small, to actively participate in the growth and development of your own writing career. And second, give back; you should read and cheerlead the work of others. Your fellow authors are working so hard to share their writing with you. They pour their heart and soul into their books and we need to celebrate that. The best way to repay these literary artists is to read their work. Vote for it. Comment on it. Give them encouragement and be positive. Treat others as you would like to be treated.

3. What is one Wattpad Goal?

To stay humble and let my Wattpad goals evolve as I progress.

In the beginning, reaching 100 reads for my first novel was a huge achievement. I was thrilled. Then I reached 1000 reads and my morale sky-rocketed. It didn't happen overnight, though. I worked diligently to achieve these milestones.

I joined Wattpad in 2018 and my numbers feel low compared to others on this platform. Given that my presence on-line is pretty small, however, I am happy with my accomplishments and am grateful for everyone here who has supported me. I've met wonderful friends and have thoroughly been enjoying the stories I find on this website. I want to continue to take it day-by-day, celebrating the little things in life that I've been blessed with.

4. What's your favorite holiday and why?

Thanksgiving. It's all about family and friends and being grateful for the blessings we've been given. Commercialization hasn't taken it over so it still feels sacred.

5. What's your schedule regarding writing?

I write as ideas pop into my head, whether during the day on lunch breaks, at night after work, or at 2AM when I wake up and can't get back to sleep.

6. How would you celebrate a publishing deal?

With a really big smile and surrounded by family.

7. If you could gain advice from your favorite author, who would you choose and what would you ask?

Diana Gabaldon. She shares so much with her writers on her own webpage and has already helped me immensely with what I've found there. I've never interacted with her, but what she posts helped me find my writing voice. It wasn't until I read about how she composes her stories that I began to realize I could do the same. Never able to write in a straight line myself, finding her method was a life-saver for me.

I would ask her how it feels to have her work turned into a TV series, and what advice she has for someone who might one day be approached about turning their book into a TV series and/or movie.

8. What's your favorite movie?

Anna and The King.

9. What's your dream vacation?

Visiting all of Ireland, as well as Scotland, Isle of Man, and perhaps Wales and England. Running around and doing whatever we feel like from moment to moment. Riding horses on a black-sand beach and galloping across a rainbow-covered countryside. Visiting long-lost relatives and staying in my great-grandmother's birthplace.

10. What's your favorite thing about Wattpad?

Books! Stories! The never-ending plethora of reading material, provided by authors I can interact with; laugh, cry, joke and cheerlead. The kind folk you meet on this platform. The diversity of people you meet.

11. What's your favorite snack?

Chocolate.

Request time!

If you want a book that drips with unrequited love, true romance, tragedy and war, check out my first novel, "There Are No Words." This tale takes the love cliché and puts a new spin on it, giving readers insight about a health affliction not many people understand; Aphasia. We also witness the effects of modern warfare and what our service men and women go through overseas and when they return; the sacrifices they make on our behalf.