Laura was so sweet an se gaved me an interview. Check it out:
1. I know that this is the question that every writer hates, but everyone always asks: How do you get inspired? From where do you get your ideas?
I always have a lot of fun writing fantasy. I love asking those 'what if' questions and building worlds around the answers.
For THE HALLOWED ONES,
I was wondering who would be best-equipped to survive a large-scale disaster. It occurred to me that the Amish would be uniquely equipped to survive. They are incredibly self-sufficient and are not dependent upon things we take for granted in our world, things like electricity and cars.
I live not too far from a large Amish settlement. When I was a child, my parents would take me to visit, and I was fascinated by a world very different than the one I lived in. I'd see Amish girls my age over the fence and wonder what their lives were like.
2. What did you always want to be? How do you decided to be a writer? At what age do you decided you want to be a writer?
I've always been scribbling, since I was old enough to hold a crayon. I didn't believe, until recently, that other people would want to read what I wrote. It's incredibly exciting to hear from folks who've enjoyed the stories I tell.
I work at a library now. I have, at various times, worked in criminal justice, in information technology, and in government. Dreams change, but writing has always been with me.
3. How do you keep on staying motivated? I know that to write a book it`s a really hard work,so how could you continue this work?
I do my best to keep a writing calendar and to commit to writing a certain number of words a day. Otherwise, I tend to procrastinate. If I don't set deadlines for myself, I would never finish a book.
4. I know that THE HALLOWED ONES is a great story, so how do you decided you want to write fantasy? When did you begun to write this book? In what year did you begun and how long this book take to be write?
It took me a few months. I started on it during National Novel Writing month in 2010, which always serves as a kick in the pants to get moving on a project!
5. THE HALLOWED ONES have extraordinary characters. Where do you start a book, with plot, characters or dialogue?
I'm a plotter. I like to have the skeleton of a story mapped out before I begin - the blank page scares me! If I have the bones of the story created, then the writing is just a matter of adding flesh to the skeleton.
6. Where do you write? Do you write with music, or do you have something that help you to have imagination?
My favorite place to write is out on the patio, where I can hear the frogs and the crickets. I can't write very fast or well in front of the television.I have to really shut the door on distractions to get focus. I can't write very well in coffee shops or around other people.
7. How was your life 13 years? Did you keep a diary? It was a special notebook or just an ordinary notebook? You decorated it, or you have draws in it? How was the cover?
I did keep lots of notebooks and diaries. They were just ordinary spiral-bound notebooks, like the kind I had in school. But I kept them hidden in the bottom of a drawer and did decorate them with stickers.
8. What books did you read between 12-18 years? What was your favorite?
I read all the fantasy books I could get my hands on. My all-time favorite is Robin McKinley's THE HERO AND THE CROWN. I read it when I was a pre-teen, and fell in love with fantasy ever after. It was the first book I'd read that had a female protagonist who slew her own dragons. I was hooked. I've read it at least a dozen times, and always see something new and brilliant in it.
9. Do you like your new writer life? Is it beautiful, or how much did your life changed from the moment you published THE HALLOWED ONES?
Life is pretty much the same for me as it was before - I still have the same job, working at the library, and live in the same place. But I'm very proud and happy to see the book in print - that made all the difference.
10. What advice do you have for teen writers?
Stick with it. I really suggest that writers try National Novel Writing Month at least once - it really develops the habit of writing every day.
11. When is your birthday? And how old are you?
I am older than most pixies, but younger than most dragons. ;-)
12. What is your favorite quote?
"No matter where you go, there you are." It's from an old movie called THE ADVENTURES OF BUCKAROO BANZAI.
Thank you very much, you are incredible! What message do you have for your fans from Romania?
Thank you so much for interviewing me, and I'm thrilled to have fans in Romania! It's been such a pleasure to meet you and your readers!
