1. Tell us about your book/books?
I write contemporary romance, but it’s a rather clean kind
of romance, there are no alpha male heroes, no badass, tattooed rock stars or
anything of the sort. You could say mine are more the Disney type of Prince
Charming. I’m very romantic and a real daydreamer, and my stories reflect my
personality. I don’t like violence and rudeness, so I tend to leave that out of
my stories, unless of course it’s vital for the story or it’s an important
trait of a character. I’m a sucker for HEA so when you start reading one of my
books you know you’ll always get a happy ending, no matter what. Life’s tough,
so I decided to write my own happy endings. *LOL*
2. How did you get started as a writer?
I’ve been in love with books ever since I can remember.
Being an only child and a rather shy girl, I enjoyed losing myself in fictional
worlds whenever I could; the library was my favorite place to be and I always
dreamed of being a librarian one day. Writing essays was my favorite part of
school, and it always came easy. I started writing a little more seriously as a
teenager; I enjoyed writing fanfics about my favorite boybands and a character
named Roberta who’d always end up meeting them and marrying her favorite member
of the band. *LOL* It wasn’t until I discovered Nicholas Sparks and Rosamunde
Pilcher that I started thinking about writing something a little more serious,
a story that wouldn’t revolve about boybands or real people. At the time I
wrote only short stories that I never had any intention of publishing, but they
helped me understand how to put my ideas down on paper. Like I said, I’ve always been a shy girl so I never shared
my stories with anyone; it took me at least fifteen years to gather up the
courage to say “I write books” to a couple of friends, and at least another
year to decide to self-publish my book (after a few rejections from agents had
made my ego totally deflate), and that was because I just couldn’t seem to be
able to put what I call “the writing bug” to sleep. I need to write; it’s just
who I am and what I like to do. I can’t think of not writing, even if I’ll only
sell ten copies in my whole writing career. I simply have to write down the
stories that play in my head, or I’ll end up going crazy. Or maybe I already
am. *LOL*
3. What’s a typical day like for you?
My real typical day is rather boring. I get up, go to work
(for the record, I hate my day job), come home, check my social networks and FB
page, write a little (if I’m working on a new novel), read, read, read. I also try
to go to the gym a couple of hours a week if I can, but eventually I always end
up sprawled on the couch with a book or my Kindle in my hands. My ideal day? I wake up, drink a cup of tea on a rocking
chair on my back porch, staring out at the woods and fields while I’m plotting
the next scene in my novel, then I go for a walk in the woods with my dog, come
back, write a few thousand words, read a few letters from fans and reply to
them, go back to the porch and slump down on the swing while I read the draft
of a script for a movie adaptation from my latest novel, and wait for my
handsome husband to come home and have dinner. And I swear I wrote all this
without a single drop of alcohol in my system. *LOL*
4. Describe your workspace.
A messy desk with a computer, my Kindle, lots of notes I
scribbled down whenever an idea flashed into my mind and I couldn’t sit down
and develop it properly.
5. Favorite books?
Tough question! There are so many books I’ve loved, for so
many different reasons. I’ll have to say all of Nicholas Sparks’ and Rosamunde
Pilcher’s books for sure. I loved Priscilla Glenn’s books (especially
Emancipating Andie because I totally connected with the heroine), I recently
read Kate McCarthy’s Fighting Redemption and totally adored it. I also enjoyed
the Shopaholic Series by Sophie Kinsella, and Ali MacNamara’s books.
6. Tell us 3 interesting things about you.
I don’t know if I’d consider them interesting so let’s
rename the question “three facts about me”.
I’m pretty good at languages; it’s a gift (or a talent?) I’m
really happy about and grateful for because I really enjoy learning new
languages and I learn really fast, as
opposed to maths - I’m terrible at maths and I really don’t get it! I’ve watched Dirty Dancing at least 50 times, and every time
I cry at the exact same moment: when Johnny walks in and says: “Nobody puts
Baby in a corner”. I actually know almost every line by heart but I still love
watching it. I dream of working for Disney. I’ve loved Disney movies ever
since I was a child and used to watch them over and over again, until I knew
them all by heart, but it wasn’t until a few years ago when I watched
“Enchanted” that I realized what an awesome job it would be to actually create
something so beautiful and get paid for it as a bonus!
7. Favorite quote:
It’s from a song by Stephen Gately, former boyzone member
(an Irish boyband that was pretty popular when I was a teenager). “If you can’t
choose what to be, you can choose what to dream.” I also like a quote by Robert Frost’s The road not taken:
“Two roads diverged in a wood and I - I took the less traveled by and that has
made all the difference.”
They both remind me of myself.
8. Best and worst part of being a writer?
Best part is definitely being able to create a world I can
lose myself in for a few hours, and where I get to decide what happens next.
And the most amazing part I’ve only recently discovered, after self-publishing,
is when people you’ve never met before tell you how much your book touched
their hearts. It’s an amazing feeling. Worst part? It’s the stiff neck and sore eyes after writing
for hours, because you just can’t stop in the middle of a scene now that words
are flowing from your brain to the page.
9. Advice to writers?
I don’t consider myself an expert writer, and I’m not even
successful so I can’t really say ‘do this, you’ll be famous’ or stuff like
that. All I can say, and is what I keep telling myself every time I sit down to
write, is: write for yourself. Don’t write to impress other people, don’t write
what’s trendy or what sells. Write what you love to read. If other people
happen to love it, too, then you’ll get rewarded. Always stay true to yourself
and what you believe in.
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