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BLOG TOUR
Yesterday, Kathryn Elizabeth Jones tagged me for
this blog tour. You can see her blog at http://idea-creations.blogspot.com/2013/05/what-are-you-writing-now-blog-hop.htmlI answered all of the questions that I had an answer for, but as you will noticed I did skip some of the questions.
1) What is the working title of your next book? My next book is already at the printers and it is called, The Crusaders From Warwick Castle, but the book that I am actually working on right now is, Friends For A Season.
2) Where did the idea come from
for the book?
My idea for The Crusaders From Warwick Castle came when I traveled to the
Warwick Castle in England. One of my great grandfather’s was one of the Earl’s
of that castle. I also visited the Tower of London where he was a prisoner. The
idea for my next book, Friends For A Season came to me while I was attending a
family reunion in Virginia celebrating the life of our ancestors who came from
France so they could practice their Huguenot religion. I love history and find
myself writing about the things that happened to people related to me.
3) What genre does your book fall under? Historic Fiction for Young Adults
6) Will your book be self-published or represented by an agency? I have my books published by Idea Creations Press
7) How long did it take you to write the first draft of the manuscript? It took me most of the month of November (NaNoWriMo) several years ago for me to write my first draft. It was then a long process to do the edits.
9) Who or what inspired you to write this book? I was inspired by the stories of my ancestors.
10) What else about the book might pique the reader’s interest? I love studying about other cultures and have included some of those cultures in my next book – Gypsies, Jews, and Native Americans.
11) When you find yourself feeling lazy or ‘blocked’, how do you force yourself to get past it? Nothing can make me get past the feeling lazy phase. Sometimes it lasts only a short while and other times it can go on forever. I don’t usually have a problem with what to write. Instead, my problem is the time to write. I many times let life get in the way of my writing. I have no answer for that problem.
12) Where do you find your inspiration? How do you overcome writer’s block? Inspiration comes from all around me. I love history and enjoy reading about someone, or some place. I always want to know more of the story. That’s why I write. I don’t get writer’s block. My computer is full of ideas and so is my head. Sometimes I have trouble trying to express myself in a clear manner and that can take me hours to make the sentence flow correct.
13) What’s the one piece of advice you would give a new writer? Take classes and go to workshops, or conferences to learn the craft. Listen to others, but also go with your own instincts. Everyone out there has a different idea about how to write. Not all of those ideas work for everyone.
14) 1. Which author inspired you to become a writer? I cannot pinpoint one particular author that inspired me. I have several books that I love, but a different person wrote each of them. 2. How do you choose the subjects of your books? I write about what I love and that is history.
15) What is your daily writing schedule? I wish I could say I have a daily writing schedule. I’m big on time management, but writing is not my life. Writing is something I do for pleasure. On my time management schedule, writing is not at the top of the list. The necessary things of life – family and church are at the top. Next is my job, and duties at home. I don’t have to earn a living with my writing. To me, writing should be fun.
16) How did you find the courage to let people see your personal inner thoughts? I still don’t let people see most of my personal inner thoughts. My writing is about things I love, but not my personal thoughts.
17) How frequently do you write (hours per day or whatever)? When my computer is working, I do write most days. However, since I work out of the home and I am active in my church sometimes there are no spare minutes to write. I don’t freak out over that. I don’t hate myself when I don’t write. How many drafts do you work through before you are satisfied? I have never counted my drafts. I work on the story until it sounds good. Next, I send it on for someone else to read. When they send it back to me, I work on corrections and answering questions about the story. I stop working on it when I am satisfied with the way it sounds. Then I send it off to the publisher. What is most difficult to write about, and why? I have never had a difficult time writing. Usually if someone gives me, a topic to write about I can think of something to write. Do women writers face any different challenges than men? In our day, I don’t think they have challenges any different from men. Both women and men are accepted in the writing world.
Thanks Kathy for encouraging me to do
this. It's not always easy for me to talk about myself.3) What genre does your book fall under? Historic Fiction for Young Adults
6) Will your book be self-published or represented by an agency? I have my books published by Idea Creations Press
7) How long did it take you to write the first draft of the manuscript? It took me most of the month of November (NaNoWriMo) several years ago for me to write my first draft. It was then a long process to do the edits.
9) Who or what inspired you to write this book? I was inspired by the stories of my ancestors.
10) What else about the book might pique the reader’s interest? I love studying about other cultures and have included some of those cultures in my next book – Gypsies, Jews, and Native Americans.
11) When you find yourself feeling lazy or ‘blocked’, how do you force yourself to get past it? Nothing can make me get past the feeling lazy phase. Sometimes it lasts only a short while and other times it can go on forever. I don’t usually have a problem with what to write. Instead, my problem is the time to write. I many times let life get in the way of my writing. I have no answer for that problem.
12) Where do you find your inspiration? How do you overcome writer’s block? Inspiration comes from all around me. I love history and enjoy reading about someone, or some place. I always want to know more of the story. That’s why I write. I don’t get writer’s block. My computer is full of ideas and so is my head. Sometimes I have trouble trying to express myself in a clear manner and that can take me hours to make the sentence flow correct.
13) What’s the one piece of advice you would give a new writer? Take classes and go to workshops, or conferences to learn the craft. Listen to others, but also go with your own instincts. Everyone out there has a different idea about how to write. Not all of those ideas work for everyone.
14) 1. Which author inspired you to become a writer? I cannot pinpoint one particular author that inspired me. I have several books that I love, but a different person wrote each of them. 2. How do you choose the subjects of your books? I write about what I love and that is history.
15) What is your daily writing schedule? I wish I could say I have a daily writing schedule. I’m big on time management, but writing is not my life. Writing is something I do for pleasure. On my time management schedule, writing is not at the top of the list. The necessary things of life – family and church are at the top. Next is my job, and duties at home. I don’t have to earn a living with my writing. To me, writing should be fun.
16) How did you find the courage to let people see your personal inner thoughts? I still don’t let people see most of my personal inner thoughts. My writing is about things I love, but not my personal thoughts.
17) How frequently do you write (hours per day or whatever)? When my computer is working, I do write most days. However, since I work out of the home and I am active in my church sometimes there are no spare minutes to write. I don’t freak out over that. I don’t hate myself when I don’t write. How many drafts do you work through before you are satisfied? I have never counted my drafts. I work on the story until it sounds good. Next, I send it on for someone else to read. When they send it back to me, I work on corrections and answering questions about the story. I stop working on it when I am satisfied with the way it sounds. Then I send it off to the publisher. What is most difficult to write about, and why? I have never had a difficult time writing. Usually if someone gives me, a topic to write about I can think of something to write. Do women writers face any different challenges than men? In our day, I don’t think they have challenges any different from men. Both women and men are accepted in the writing world.
