Who’s That Indie Author? Kimberly Wenzler

Kimberly Wenzler

Name: Kimberly Wenzler

Books: Both Sides of Love, Letting Go, The Fabric of Us, Seasons Out of Time

Genre: Women’s Fiction / Contemporary Fiction

Background: I live on Long Island with my husband and rambunctious, needy puppy, Archie. When not working or writing, I dabble in gardening (is there anything better tasting than a homegrown cucumber?) or I’m reading on a beach under an umbrella, by the fire, with wine or spending time with friends and family. 

When did you first decide you wanted to be a writer? I’d kept journals for years, so I’ve always been writing. When my younger son stepped onto a school bus giving me a few hours to myself, I thought I’d try to write a full novel.

Do you write full-time? If not, do you have an outside job or other responsibilities? I wrote full-time for a few years and then returned to work. Now, I work full-time in a high school and write in the evenings and on weekends.

If you write fiction, where do you get your ideas for characters and plots? I get ideas from my own life and experiences, from friends and family, the news, dreams, conversations I may overhear in a diner…  Everywhere, really. I keep my ears open. You never know when you might overhear a juicy tidbit that might be worth exploring.

Have you ever written yourself into a story? I think some part of me finds its way into every book, not necessarily the characters’ choices, but maybe a personality trait here and there. How could it not?

What kind of research and preparation do you do before you write? My stories are very emotional so it’s hard to research that. However, if a character has a career or job that I’m not familiar with, I’ll research what it’s like to perform that job. I spend a lot of time searching on Google.

What is your editing process? Do you hire an outside editor? I write the first draft and step away from it for as long as I can. When I’m ready, I’ll make a few more passes before asking my beta readers to read it. I’ll edit further based on their critiques and then hire a developmental editor, followed by a line editor, and if I can afford it, a proofreader. If not, I look to my writer friend for help.

How do you decide on your book covers? Do you outsource? I work with a wonderful graphic designer, Suzanne Parrott. We come up with the covers together, but she designs them.

How did you come up with the title of your latest book? My last book is about a woman in her forties who falls in love with a much younger man. I wanted a play on words about where they each are in their lives, so “seasons” seemed descriptive. Of course, nothing is as it seems, so we came up with the title, Seasons Out of Time.

What route did you take to get published? Describe your experience. I self-published all four books. I sought advice from other authors I’d met, read countless blogs and websites and ultimately, found my graphic designer, Suzanne, who is knowledgeable in indie publishing and helped me. She does all my uploading, formatting and cover designs. It took a long time to put my first book out because I had so much to learn and wanted to make a good first impression.

Have you ever tried to get an agent? If so, what steps did you take? Yes. I queried my first book to 80 agents. I had no idea what I was doing and though I received a lot of positive feedback and full requests, I was told I needed to get my manuscript edited first. When I did that, I figured, let me go the rest of the way on my own and see what happens.

What kinds of things do you do to promote your book? I use social media (Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and recently joined TikTok), enter contests, do giveaways and participate in interviews on wonderful blogs like this.

Have you ever had a book-signing event? Tell us about your experience. I haven’t done a book signing, but I’ve been invited to over two dozen book clubs on Long Island which is always an amazing experience. To meet readers in person and hear how they respond to my writing is everything.

Have you taken writing courses? Not really. One adult ed course in the beginning of my writing journey and one with Gotham Writer’s Group in Manhattan. I learn a lot by reading.

Do you belong to a writer’s group? If so, is it in-person or online? Tell us about your experience. I joined a writer’s group before I put my first book out, and met some great people, but it has since disbanded. Now, I have two critique partners who are an integral part of my process.

Are you in a book club? If so, tell us about it. Is it in-person or online? Friends or acquaintances? Yes. In fact, I was in two for eight years, but had to leave one due to scheduling conflicts. I’ve always been an avid reader and love to talk books. We’re a close group of neighborhood friends and have so many lively discussions…with wine, of course.

Do you ask friends/family to read your WIP? Yes. My mom, my husband and my reader friends are my first readers. They’re not afraid to hurt my feelings and that’s exactly what I need.

Name three unread books on your bookshelf. Ready Player One by Ernest Kline, Well Behaved Wives by Amy Sue Nathan, Never Meant to Meet You by Alli Frank & Asha Youmans

What is the last book you read? The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid.  I really enjoyed it. I’m currently reading The Winners by Fredrik Backman.

How many pages do you think a book of fiction/nonfiction should be? This is a tough one. I tend to write an entire manuscript and then go back and tighten the prose as best I can to keep it within the suggested guidelines for my genre. However, I’ve read amazing books that were eight hundred pages and equally wonderful books that were one hundred. So, I don’t really have an answer.

What is the riskiest or wildest thing you’ve ever done? I wrote four books and put them out for public consumption. It never gets easier.

What is the hardest thing you’ve ever done? Being a mom is hands down the hardest job in the world. I have two wonderful sons who are grown. But the mothering never ends.

What advice can you give to new writers entering the writing and publishing arena? Do your research. Believe in yourself. Don’t give up. And read!

Website and social media links:
Blog: kimberlywenzler.wordpress.com
Twitter: @kimberlywenzler
Facebook: facebook.com/kimberlywenzler
Instagram: kimberlywenzler

Thank you very much for allowing me to participate in Who’s Your Indie Author and be a part of your amazing site!

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Are you an indie or self-published author?  Do you want to build your author network? Get your name out on Who’s That Indie Author!

Email bvitelli2009@gmail.com for a bio template and other details.

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Who’s That Indie Author? Heather J. Bennett

Author Name: Heather J. Bennett

Genre: Women’s Fiction/Historical (1970s)/Romance

Books: Letting Go, Expecting to Fly

Bio: As a music fan, Heather focuses her writing on the undisclosed lives of musicians. She is the author of Letting Go and Expecting to Fly and the award-winning short story “Amsterdam” published through Southwest Writers. A native of Long Island, NY, she has been transplanted to Dallas, TX (y’all), where she works as a Marketing Coordinator.

What got you started as a writer? My 1st-grade teacher gave us an assignment and I’ve been a writer ever since.

What is your writing routine? I belong to a writing critique group that meets every Tuesday. A Zoom writing session every Thursday, another writing guild that has an ongoing café to use, plus a full-day writing retreat on the 2^nd Saturday of each month, and in between, I try to write/edit at least 1-2 hours after work and on the weekends.

What route did you take to get your book(s) published? I am a self-published author learning more and more each day!

What things do you do to promote your books? I have a Facebook page, and an Instagram page, and am currently working on getting out now that the world is open again. I’d like to do some tabling events and readings. I just moved to the Dallas area and am still learning what it has to offer to authors.

What is your favorite genre to read and why? I like reading a variety of genres from YA to paranormal/supernatural to romance. I think I tend to read mostly YA because of the storytelling and they feel the most relevant to the world today.

Do you prefer to write dialogue or description? Oh, I much prefer dialogue!

Have any of your characters ever surprised you? Did this change the plot of your book? My characters surprise me with every book! In Letting Go, my main character did something completely unexpected and I ended up crying at my desk – in the office because I was writing on my lunch break!

What is the most difficult thing you have accomplished in your life? Getting a job offer here in Texas, finding someplace to live in Texas, flying home, packing up my house and storage unit, finding a mover, loading it all up and moving from New York – in FIVE DAYS. My new employer had no idea I was in New York – but I made it happen and it’s the best thing I’ve done.

What three events or people have most influenced how you live your life?  1. Moving to the Netherlands for 4 years. 2. Moving to Philadelphia for 18 years. 3. Moving to Dallas. With each move, I discovered more independence, and more places to explore, and learned that most people want the same things in life no matter where they’re from.

What would you tell your younger self? You don’t have to be the next greatest American author – you just have to keep writing. It will still bring you joy and the most interesting, amazing people will come into your life through your efforts.

Have you ever met up with a bear on a hike? If so, what did you do? If not, are you looking up what to do right now? I’ve never met a bear on a hike – but there is that meme… if you see me running, you’d better run, too!

You’re locked in your local library for the night with no dinner. Thank goodness you have water, but you only have enough change to buy one item from the vending machine. Choices are limited to: Fudge Pop Tarts, Snickers or Doritos. Which would you choose and why? Oh, I always go for the Pop Tarts! They’ve got vitamins and nutrients, right? Almost healthy, even! (Doritos are a second choice, in case the vending machine gets stuck, but then I’d have Dorito breath….)

What’s the largest number of people you’ve had in your kitchen at one time? My kitchen only holds about 3. My friend’s kitchen, however? We had about 20 for Friends Thanksgiving each year.

Closing thoughts: I hope to be able to speak with you all soon!

Website and social media links:
Website: HeatherJBennett.com
Facebook: Heather J Bennett Novelist
Instagram: heatherjbennett_author
LinkedIn: heather-j-bennett

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Are you an indie or self-published author?  Do you want to build your author network? Get your name out on Who’s That Indie Author!

Email bvitelli2009@gmail.com for a bio template and other details.

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Book Club Mom’s Author Update: News from Joanne Kukanza Easley

Hi Everyone, I recently caught up with Women’s Fiction author Joanne K. Easely. Today she’s sharing her book news with all of you!

Author name: Joanne Kukanza Easley

Genre: Historical Women’s Fiction (20^th Century)

Books: Sweet Jane, Just One Look, I’ll Be Seeing You

News: My imprint, Red Boots Press, will publish my third novel, I’ll Be Seeing You in October 2022. A saga spanning five decades, I’ll Be Seeing You, explores one woman’s life, with and without alcohol to numb the pain.

Young Lauren knows she doesn’t want to be a ranch wife in Palo Pinto County, Texas. After she’s discovered by a modeling scout at the 1940 Fort Worth Stock Show Parade, she moves to Manhattan to begin her glamourous career. A setback ends her dream, and she drifts into alcohol dependence and promiscuity. By twenty-four, she’s been widowed and divorced, and has developed a pattern of fleeing her problems with geographical cures. Lauren’s last escape lands her in Austin, where, after ten chaotic years, she achieves lasting sobriety and starts a successful business, but happiness eludes her.

Fast forward to 1985. With a history of burning bridges and never looking back, Lauren is stunned when Brett, her third husband, resurfaces, wanting to reconcile after thirty-three years. The losses and regrets of the past engulf her, and she seeks the counsel of Jane, a long-time friend from AA. In the end, the choice is Lauren’s. What will she decide?

I’ll also be re-releasing my first two books with better pricing.

Website/blog link: @J.Easleywrites

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Are you working on a new book? Have you won an award or a writing contest? Did you just update your website? Maybe you just want to tell readers about an experience you’ve had. Book Club Mom’s Author Update is a great way to share news and information about you and your books.

Email Book Club Mom at bvitelli2009@gmail.com for more information.

Open to all authors – self-published, indie, big-time and anything in between

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Who’s That Indie Author? Jane Elizabeth Hughes

Author Name: Jane Elizabeth Hughes         

Genre: Women’s Fiction

Book: The Long-Lost Jules (Spark Press, August 3, 2021)

Brief bio: I’m an obsessive reader with two fully-loaded Kindles and a collection of audiobooks for the car. Unfortunately, reading novels all day is not an easy career path, so I have a day job as a professor of international finance. A native New Yorker, I now live on Cape Cod, Massachusetts.

What got you started as a writer? I always wanted to write novels. I wrote my first “book” when I was seven (Lorena Lorenson, Student Nurse – I guess the title tells you everything you need to know). Somehow I morphed into a banker and finance academic instead (to pay the bills, I guess), and I published business books including the forthcoming Greed Gone Good, but I never let go of this dream. Finally, I was able to take a sabbatical from the finance world a few years ago, and started writing fiction. I haven’t stopped since.

What difficult experience has helped you as a writer? I was that little short kid who read all the time. And I mean, all the time. At the dentist, during math class, at the dinner table, even at eye doctor appointments (which was problematic). I was always the last kid picked for teams at recess, but I didn’t care because I could curl up in a corner of the courtyard and read. That need to escape into books, I think, drove me into writing because there I can not only escape – but I can create my own world.

Have you ever participated in the National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo)? If so, how many times and what was your experience? No, but I think it’s a wonderful notion and would love to participate in the future.

What advice would you give a new indie author hoping to publish a book?

1. KEEP WRITING! You get better at it as you go along. My first and second novels never got published and, with the benefit of hindsight, didn’t deserve to get published. I didn’t have that clarity of hindsight at the time though, and it was just pure slog to keep going.
2. DON’T BE ALONE! Have cheerleaders in your corner (my husband and sister were phenomenal), and don’t quit your day job.
3. REMEMBER: This can take a long time, and a lot of rejections along the way.
4. INVEST? Think about putting away a little money to invest in your writing career – writers conferences and publicists are your best friend. The latter is especially a biggie for me, since I’m super-uncomfortable promoting and marketing my books.
5. ACCEPT THAT WRITING IS A JOB, NOT A HOBBY! Hobbies are fun and relaxing; writing a book is work.

What has been the biggest challenge for you during Covid? Not seeing my grandchildren!

What are you reading right now? I’m rereading one of the Stephanie Plum mysteries by Janet Evanovich, and Sheila O’Flanagan’s The Women Who Ran Away. I’m listening to a real nail-biter about climbers on Mount Everest in my car.

Would you rather laugh or cry over a book? Laugh laugh laugh!

Have you ever climbed a tree to read a book? No, I was much too timid. Why climb a tree when I had that overstuffed armchair in the living room?

Have you ever dropped a book in the tub, in a pool or in the ocean? Oh, yes (along with my cellphone, keys, and wallet).

Could you live in a tiny house? I think so. I actually like small spaces quite a bit; they’re much cozier and more inviting than big, open spaces.

What are the small things that make you happy? Reading. Writing. Family — my long-suffering husband, my four children, my precious grandchildren. (We had eight of them in just seven years, so they’re a very exhausting joy.) Buttered popcorn and pecan pie with gobs of whipped cream on top. Dancing. Bruce Springsteen, the Beatles, and Ariana Grande. Bookstores. Beaches. Babies.

Website and social media links:
Website: janehughesauthor.com
Facebook: janehughesnannyland
LinkedIn: Jane Elizabeth Hughes

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Audiobook Review: Mrs. Everything by Jennifer Weiner, read by Ari Graynor and Beth Malone

Mrs. Everything
by
Jennifer Weiner

Read by Ari Graynor and Beth Malone

⭐⭐⭐

Rating: 3 out of 5.

I wasn’t sure what to expect when I started Mrs. Everything, Weiner’s 2019 decades-spanning family drama about two sisters who grow up in Detroit during the 1950s. I’d read All Fall Down and remembered it as a semi-light read that covered serious issues. In that sense, the two books are similar, but at 480 pages (and close to 17 hours of listening), Mrs. Everything covers a lot more ground.

Jo and Bethie Kaufman are young girls when their parents move them from a racially-diverse apartment in Detroit to a mostly Jewish, and safer residential neighborhood just outside the city. Early on, their stay-at-home mother tells them that “birds of a feather must flock together,” based on her own painful childhood experiences as the daughter of immigrant parents. When their father dies, Jo, Bethie and their mother must learn to fend for themselves.

Jo is tall, strong and athletic, the classic tomboy, and Bethie is rounder, pretty and loves everything girly. Both girls struggle to find their own way and face many obstacles. Jo knows she’s different. She only likes girls, but must decide between what was then an unacceptable lifestyle or the conventional route of marriage and children. Bethie, a promising singer and stage performer, learns early that being pretty can attract the wrong kind of attention and enters a ten-year-long period of self-destruction.

Mrs. Everything is historical in that in addition to cultural, political, and social references, it covers major national and political events, wars, civil rights protests and women’s rights movements. To add color to her story, Weiner also includes trends, fashions, music, popular foods, descriptions of homes and interior décor. Present-day problems focus on women’s struggles in the modern world and highlight the Me Too movement.

I don’t like criticizing a book that supports worthy issues, but Mrs. Everything is an exhausting read in that it covers every single bad thing that could happen to a family and is a certifiable man-hater book. Most of the men in the story are terrible people, with only two exceptions: the deceased father and Bethie’s husband, a minor character. I found this approach very one-sided and unrealistic. Although I didn’t try to verify every date and fact, other readers have been critical of the author’s inaccurate references to time and place. I will say that I think that the author is very casual with some of her descriptions and plot lines. Maybe that doesn’t matter. I found it a little annoying.

Reviews of Mrs. Everything are mostly positive (It’s a New York Times Best Seller), but I’m not alone in my opinion and best seller doesn’t always mean it’s good. In the end, I’d say that this type of book just isn’t for me. To help you make your own decision, here are three bloggers’ reviews.

Subakka Bookstuff
Read with Aimee
Becky’s Reading Journey

Have you read Mrs. Everything? What did you think? Leave a comment!

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Book Review: The Mother-in-Law by Sally Hepworth

The Mother-in-Law
by
Sally Hepworth

⭐⭐⭐⭐

Rating: 4 out of 5.

I really enjoyed The Mother-in-Law, an engaging family drama about money and secrets and a look at how adult children deal with problems. Set in Australia, the story opens with Lucy Goodwin, a stay-at-home mom with three children and her husband, Ollie. From the beginning, Lucy has never had a close relationship with her mother-in-law, Diana, who is cold and controlling, especially when it comes to the family’s vast fortune. And Diana has made it clear that Lucy doesn’t measure up. She’s also hard on Ollie and his sister, Nettie, denying them loans that would help them in their adult lives. She frequently points to the struggling women refugees she helps with her charity, her life’s passion. In contrast, Diana’s husband, Tom is friendly and generous, and has secretly loaned Ollie and Nettie money, setting up a complicated family dynamic.

When police discover Diana Goodwin’s body, the evidence suggests that she took her own life. Her family tells detectives that Diana, newly widowed, had breast cancer. But investigators think there’s more to the story.

In alternating chapters that jump between past and present, readers learn more about Lucy and Diana and begin to understand why Diana feels so strongly about withholding money from her children. After she denies Ollie a loan, Diana tells her husband, “I think Ollie could do with being a little hungry. A little hunger is good for young people.” She reminds Tom, “It was the making of you.” Readers also learn more about how the adult children regard their future inheritances and how the family relates to each other.

Despite its 340 pages, this is the type of book you can finish quickly because of its interesting storyline and characters. I especially liked seeing how the relationship between Diana and Lucy changes, offering an insight into how seemingly opposing characters are more connected than they realize.

I was less satisfied by the tie-up at the finish and how the big reveal omitted details about the investigation and its resolution. I think this book fits better in the women’s fiction and family drama genres and is less of a thriller or mystery. A couple grammar problems (the old “between he and I” mistake) detracted from its polish, which was otherwise excellent. I would definitely read another book by Sally Hepworth.

Thanks for visiting – come back soon!

Book Review: It Doesn’t Have To Be That Way by Mary Rowen

It Doesn’t Have To Be That Way
by
Mary Rowen

Molly Dolan dreams of a steady relationship. At twenty-five, she’s floundering, drinking too much and making poor decisions. The only good thing going is Molly’s job. She got in on the ground floor at FSI as senior marketing writer, but she’s just learned of a big a change.

Molly’s relationship problems began in high school. When her one close friendship ended tragically, she tried to suppress her feelings, but the burden of loss and regret led to reckless decisions and she has carried that burden into adulthood.

Molly’s neighbor Fred Flaherty is alone at seventy-two. Divorced for many years, he listens to Jim Croce records and talks to buddies on his ham radio. But his failed marriage and the recent death of his younger brother, Davey weigh heavy on him.

When Davey was born, Fred’s awkward and lonely childhood turned happy. The twelve-year difference didn’t matter because they adored each other. Now Fred looks back at how Davey’s once promising future dissolved when he returned from Vietnam.

With seemingly little in common, Molly and Fred strike up a friendship that, despite many unforeseen obstacles, may help them find happiness and direction in their lives.

Mary Rowen’s charming new book, It Doesn’t Have To Be That Way, is due out this fall. It’s a hopeful and touching story about how people make mistakes and get caught up in bad situations, even when they’re trying to do the right thing. Set outside Boston, in Arlington, Massachusetts, the story begins in 2012 and begins with Molly’s first-person narrative. Alternating third-person chapters provide details about both characters’ lives, framed by chapters named after Jim Croce’s music. Readers will like how Rowen’s flawed characters navigate modern and realistic situations. She introduces serious themes of family problems, drug and alcohol abuse, sexual assault, harassment and mental health and buffers them with everyday examples of kindness and humor.

I recommend this women’s fiction story about difficult relationships and hopeful friendships and look forward to more books by Rowen.

Thanks for visiting – come back soon!

Who’s That Indie Author? Alice Benson

Author name:  Alice Benson

Genre:  Women’s Fiction, Contemporary Fiction

Books:  A Year in Her Life (2019), Her Life is Showing (2014)

What’s your story and how did you become a writer? I’m a writer, a reader, a spouse, a mother, a grandmother, a friend, and a dog lover. I recently retired from a job in the human service field, but I have part-time work to help me make the transition. Spending time with family and friends is a constant priority. I also belong to a number of social action groups, focused on ending violence and promoting racial justice.

I’ve always loved to read. Some of my happiest childhood memories are days spent lying in the shade of a walnut tree with a bag of cherries and a book. I love words and I dreamed of writing something that other people would find meaningful.  I’ve written for the majority of my life, but mostly I wrote pieces of things: rough drafts of stories, half an essay, one act of a play, and small pieces of a novel. When my children grew to adults and moved away from home, I decided to get serious. I found a class and a teacher, and I took pieces I’d written and strung them together into the cohesive story I wanted to tell for my first novel. After that, I just kept writing.

How do you balance your work with other demands?  I’m not as disciplined as I could be. I do my best writing in the morning, so I try to get up early and write for an hour or two every morning before I jump into the day.

Name one of the happiest moments in your life:  Not to be a cliché, but giving birth to my three children was amazing. Receiving that first book contract from my publisher was a close second.

What’s your approach to writing? Are you a “pantser” or a planner?  I’m definitely a “pantser.” I don’t outline or plan ahead. I just start writing and see where it takes me. Often, I start with one idea in mind and end up in a completely different place, because the writing takes on a life of its own.  I once wrote a story about a stripper who gets bitten by a monkey. I started it as a light, humorous piece, but it changed into a darker, more intense story about sexual abuse and lost dreams.

Could you write in a café with people around?  I write in cafés fairly often. I have a writing group I get together with in a coffee shop twice a month. It’s great motivation to just write for two hours.

Have you ever written dialogue in a second language? If so, how did you do it?  I wish I knew another language well enough to write dialogue in it, but I don’t.

What’s your favorite book and what are you reading now?  I don’t have a favorite book, but I’ve been touched by the writing of Roxane Gay, Therese Mailhot, Celeste Ng, Barbara Kingsolver, Louise Erdrich, and Kathie Giorgio, among many others. I recently read Such a Fun Age by Kiley Reid and loved it. I enjoy a variety of genres, and reading great writers inspires my writing to be better. At least, I hope so.

What’s your favorite way to read a book: hardcover, paperback, eReader?  Paperbacks are my favorite.

Do you think print books will always be around?  I believe we will always have print books. There’s nothing to take the place of the feeling of the pages.

Would you ever read a book on your phone?  I read on my phone now and then. It’s nice to have a book always available.

What’s your go-to device? iPhone, Android or something else?  I have an iPhone.

How long could you go without checking your phone?  I love movies and always turn off my phone, so I can go at least 2 hours.

Do you listen to audiobooks? If you do, what do you do while you’re listening?  I listen to audiobooks while walking my dogs. I’ve been able to increase the number of books I read in a year by listening to audiobooks.

Do you like using social media to promote yourself and your book? If so, what’s your favorite platform?  As many writers do, I find marketing and self-promotion challenging. I think Twitter is my favorite platform, because I’ve found so many supportive writers in the Twitter community.

Website and social media links:
Website: alicebensonauthor.com
Twitter: @Alice19Benson
Facebook: Author Alice Benson
Instagram: abenson59

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Are you an indie or self-published author?  Do you want to build your author network? Get your name out on Who’s That Indie Author!

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Who’s That Indie Author? Stevie Turner

Author name:  Stevie Turner

Genres:  Romantic Suspense, Memoir, Dark Humor, Women’s Fiction, Family Dramas, and Paranormal

Books:  A House Without Windows; The Pilates Class; For the Sake of a Child; The Daughter-in-law Syndrome; Repent at Leisure; The Donor; and many more titles available here.

What’s your story and how did you become a writer?  I can’t remember a time when I wasn’t writing.  Since childhood I’ve always made up stories and poems, and won an inter-schools’ writing competition at the age of eleven.

How do you balance your work with other demands?  I work as a medical secretary three days per week, and write as a hobby in my spare time.  Until I earn more royalties than working as a medical secretary then my work will always have to come first.

Name one of the happiest moments in your life:  My wedding day. Also the births of my two sons.

What’s your approach to writing? Are you a “pantser” or a planner?  I’m definitely a ‘pantster.’  I make it all up as I go along.

Could you write in a café with people around?  Absolutely not. I need to be on my own and in a totally silent room so that I can think.

Have you ever written dialogue in a second language? If so, how did you do it?  Yes, in Examining Kitchen Cupboards, I needed one of my characters to speak Portuguese.  I looked up the words on Google Translate.   

What’s your favorite book and what are you reading now?  The one I could read over and over again is L.P Hartley’s The Go-Between.  It was written in a different age, without computers and iPhones etc.  Sometimes I wish we could go back to that foreign country, the past. What am I reading now?  I’m just about to start I Am Watching You by Teresa Driscoll.

What’s your favorite way to read a book: hardcover, paperback, eReader?  My Kindle is my preferred choice, but I do read quite a few paperbacks too.

Do you think print books will always be around?  Yes, I think so.  Not everybody prefers eReaders.

Would you ever read a book on your phone?  No. My phone is for making phone calls or reading text messages.

What’s your go-to device? iPhone, Android or something else?  I have an iPhone, but I’m not always going to it!

How long could you go without checking your phone?  All day, and I sometimes do.  At work it lives in my rucksack, and when I get home I sometimes forget to take it out.

Do you listen to audiobooks? If you do, what do you do while you’re listening?  No, as I find them rather expensive to buy.

Do you like using social media to promote yourself and your book? If so, what’s your favorite platform?  I’ve given up Facebook and LinkedIn as I wanted to cut down a bit. My favourite social media platform is WordPress followed by Twitter.

Website and social media links:
Website: stevie-turner-author.co.uk
WordPress Blog: steviet3.wordpress.com
Twitter: @StevieTurner6
YouTube: Stevie Turner
Amazon: Amazon.uk; Amazon.com; Amazon Author Page (worldwide)
Goodreads: Stevie Turner

Awards/special recognition:  Several Indie awards, which you can find here

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Who’s That Indie Author? Pamela S. Wight

Author name:  Pamela S. Wight

Genre:  Fiction (romantic suspense, women’s fiction) and children’s picture book

Books:  The Right Wrong Man, Twin Desires, Birds of Paradise; {In process: As Lovely as a Lie (fiction); Molly Finds Her Purr (picture book)}

      

When did you begin your writing career?  Beginning my “writing career” is different than beginning my “writing” (high school friends tell me I wrote stories in class, which I don’t remember!). My first job out of graduate school was as a writer/editor for a feminist newspaper called “New Directions for Women.” From there I became a medical editor for a medical publishing company, Slack, Inc., and then the editor/writer of medical journals and books. I savored creativity, though, and finally began writing short stories in the creative writing classes I began to teach 30 years ago (and still ongoing in the Boston and San Francisco areas).

What’s your approach to writing? Are you a “pantser” or a planner?  Oh, how I’d love to plan my plots. But my characters send me in all directions, and since they’re in charge, I’m a pantser.

What’s your working style – morning or late-night writer?  I begin writing by 6 a.m., usually working on my blog or preparing lessons for the creative writing classes I teach. By 8, I’m ready to work on my next novel or children’s book. I break for exercise and household errands, then resume in the afternoon. But I always take a “reading” break during the day. William Faulkner said: “Read, read, read. Read everything — trash, classics, good and bad, and see how they do it. Just like a carpenter who works as an apprentice and studies the master. Read! You’ll absorb it. Then write. . .”

Do you work at a computer or write long-hand?  Most of the time I work at my computer; but I find that I love writing in long hand at times also. When I write in long hand I tend to not edit as quickly but to just let the writing flow. Then I edit the story or chapter when I type it into my computer file.

What gets those words flowing, coffee or tea?  Green tea first, then an Earl Gray tea latte, then iced tea. I have my “tea routine.” :–)

Favorite book:  My favorite book is generally the one I’m reading at the moment. Currently, it’s Louise Penny’s Kingdom of the Blind.  If I’m not engaged with a book within the first two chapters, I drop it back off at the library (or delete from my Kindle). Too many great choices out there to be stuck in one that doesn’t create great characters/setting/description/plot. I don’t read horror or psychological suspense – I get too involved….and scared.

Favorite movie:  Gone with the Wind

Favorite musicians:  The Beatles, Beethoven.

Links:
Blog: roughwighting.net
Facebook:  facebook.com/roughwighting
Instagram: instagram.com/pam94920
Twitter: @pamelawight

Awards/special recognition:  My illustrated children’s book Birds of Paradise was a Finalist in the International Book Awards (for children’s literature); Certificate of Merit: Writer’s Digest Zine Publishing Competition.

I receive special recognition each time a reader picks up one of my books, reads it, and writes me (or writes a review) about how much she or he has enjoyed it. Makes my day!

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Are you an indie author?  Do you want to build your indie author network? Get your name out on Who’s That Indie Author!

Email bvitelli2009@gmail.com for a bio template and other details.

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