interview

Sep 04 2016

Interview with Author Erin Rhew

Today I’m pleased to welcome author and editor Erin Rhew to the blog. I hope you enjoy getting to meet Erin and don’t forget to check out her books!

1. What made you decide to start writing?

I don’t think there was any specific thing that caused me to start writing. I think I’ve always been a writer. From the time I was small, I loved the written word. I started reading very early and wrote my first poem at four. So, I think it’s a part of my soul and what makes me who I am.

2. Do you prefer series or standalone books?

That’s tricky–LOL! I don’t like the waiting involved in a series, and I want to know how things will end up. But I’m a little sad if there’s only one book because I don’t get to spend as much time with the characters and their world.

3. What is The Dream Team? And how can a new author create their own?

The Dream Team is a group of my friend who rally around to support me as I write my books. One helps keep me on task by requiring a chapter a day, one helps spur my imagination, one proofreads, and one immerses herself fully in my world to help me stay consistent. And through every step of the process, they all encouraged and inspired me.

A new author can create one by finding a group of friends who are passionate about the written word. Tell them your ideas and see if they’re willing to help.

My books would never have been written or published without the Dream Team.

4. What was your inspiration for The Fulfillment series?

The story just came to me one day. I’d been really involved in reading and watching Game of Thrones as well as studying Arthurian legend. I believe my mind spun a story with those two main elements, which resulted in this series.

One day, I was sitting at home, and the words “Vanguard” and “Ethereal” popped into my head. After that, the names “Layla,” “Wil,” “Nash,” and “Samson” did too. The story evolved from there. I wrote up a synopsis and sent it to my friends, and the Dream Team was born. The rest is history. 😉

5. Can you give us one fact about The Fulfillment series we should know?

It’s unexpected. I think that’s the main feedback I keep getting. People say, “Wow, I thought I had things figured out, and then BAM!” LOL!

6. As an editor and an author, how do you juggle both careers?

It’s VERY tricky! Time is not on my side since both writing and editing take up a lot of it. I think the biggest problem I have is not letting the editing side of my brain interfere when the creative side is at work. I need to get the story purged from my brain and then worry about grammar, sentence structure, and sentence flow. But sometimes, that little editing side won’t stay quiet!

7. What is your favorite thing about being an author?

My favorite part is meeting amazing people–fans, other authors, people in the industry. In fact, I met my husband through a critique partner group! 😉

8. What is your favorite thing about being an editor?

I love to see someone’s work evolve. I like polishing up something that’s already beautiful by giving it that extra shine that makes it truly gleam.

9. What is the best advice you would give to young writers?

Edit, edit, edit. When you’re self-editing, have your beta and critique partners edit it, and edited it again and after that…edit again. It’s crucial to have a polished piece before submitting to agents, small presses, or self-publishing.

10. What can readers be on the lookout for from you next?

I currently have an adult historical fiction out on submission with agents (several of whom have requested fulls–SQUEE). And while I wait on pins and needles for the agents to tell me what they think, I’m working on a YA futuristic thriller. It doesn’t have a name yet, but I call it “the Molly and Ryder story.” I’ve written the whole thing out before, but I got inspiration for a whole new way to tell it.

About the Author:

Erin Rhew is an editor, operations manager for a small press, and the author of The Fulfillment Series. Since she picked up Morris the Moose Goes to School at age four, she has been infatuated with the written word. She went on to work as a grammar and writing tutor in college and is still teased by her family and friends for being a member of the “Grammar Police.”

A Southern girl by blood and birth, Erin spent years in a rainy pocket of the Pacific Northwest before returning to her roots in the land of hushpuppies, sweet tea, and pig pickin’. She’s married to fellow author, the amazingly talented (and totally handsome) Deek Rhew, and spends her time writing side-by-side with him under the watchful eye of their patient-as-a-saint writing assistant, a tabby cat named Trinity. Erin and Deek enjoy taking long walks, drinking coffee, lifting, boxing, eating pizza, staying up late into the night talking, and adventuring together.

Visit her on her website.

About the Book:

Growing up on a small farm in the kingdom of Vanguard, seventeen-year-old Layla Givens lives a deceptively tranquil existence. But her carefully constructed life quickly falls apart when she’s abducted by a religious zealot who proclaims her The Fulfillment of an ancient peace prophecy and whisks her away to marry her greatest enemy.

Wilhelm, Prince of the Ethereals, is reluctant to meet his new bride. He’s grown up believing Vanguards are evil, an enemy to fight and fear…not love. Can he set aside his prejudices and work alongside Layla to bring lasting peace after centuries of war?

Nash, a loner who has never fit in, carries a huge secret, one big enough to destroy both kingdoms. When he accidently meets Layla, he’s no longer content to live in the shadows, but he must resist his growing attraction—for her safety and for the longevity of the two kingdoms.

When Nash’s secret is revealed, a firestorm sweeps through both realms, with Layla at the center. Now she must choose between duty and desire while the fate of two nations hangs in the balance.

Aug 14 2016

Interview with Author Intisar Khanani

Today I’m pleased to welcome fantasy author Intisar Khanani to the blog. I hope you enjoy getting to meet Intisar and don’t forget to check out her books!

1. What inspired you to start writing?

I’m one of those people who was always writing something. I stapled my first books together when I was three or four, and never stopped. Even if I wasn’t actively writing, I was still telling myself stories as I went through my days. I didn’t really get serious about writing until my final year in university when I decided to write a novel in addition to my “overload” class schedule, 20 hour a week job, and multiple clubs and groups. (I’m still not sure what I was thinking.) I chose my favorite Grimms’ fairy tale, The Goose Girl, as my basic plot line to make it easier on myself, and wrote a chapter a week. By the end of the year, I had a complete draft of what would eventually become my debut novel, Thorn. I’ve kept writing since then and have a wonderful backlog of stories awaiting revision. It isn’t so much what inspires me to write, as that I would be miserable if I weren’t writing. I love living in these worlds, watching stories unfold. Taking that away from myself would make me a pretty miserable person. Believe me, I’ve taken time away from writing, and I speak from experience when I say that!

2. How did you know you wanted to write YA fantasy?

I’ve always been drawn to speculative fiction, and fantasy in particular, in part because of the awesomeness of being able to sink into another world, and in part because of how deeply you can explore serious issues within the framework of that other world before dropping back into the comfort of your life. I read and wrote YA as a young adult, and I never really left it. While I do read books for adults, I find myself coming back again and again to the fire and hope of stories written for young adults. Books for adults are grim, depressing things half the time, with endings that could just convince you to give up all hope of happy endings. Even if YA books don’t always offer you a happy ending, they usually end with a sense of beauty or hope—this possibility that the world can still be changed, that life, even if it ends, is well worth living. I don’t think I’ll ever outgrow YA.

3. What do you love most about writing fantasy?

How do I choose? I love having the freedom that writing fantasy entails—the possibility of magic, the new worlds that follow their own rules, the questions you can raise and play with that readers will embrace in a fantasy book that might leave them uncomfortable when recast in their own world. Oh, and dragons. I really like dragons. I’m not sure why I don’t have more in my books…

4. What is the best advice you would give to writers who are just starting to write?

Pick a project and finish it—finish the first draft, and then the second, and on until you’re completely finished. Because until you take a project all the way through, you haven’t taught yourself key aspects of your craft. And once you’ve done it, it’s no longer half as intimidating as it used to be.

5. Do you have any weird writing habits?

Not really. Once my kids go down for bed, I head to my room, check e-mail and social media, and then settle down to write. I do often manage to write online with friends—we check in on Facebook, log off for a writing session, and then check back in at the end of it. This helps keep me accountable and makes writing much less of a solitary endeavor. But when we don’t have a writing session planned, I really don’t have any rituals or habits other than to sit down and start typing.

6. What are your favorite book series?

I more of a standalone kinda gal. I know, I know. I’m writing a series, how in the world can I not love them? (In my defense, this series started out as one humongous book that easily broke into novellas, and has morphed from there.) I tend to make it through the first two books in a series and almost always fall off from there. It’s rare that I’ll get through a full trilogy, and almost unheard of for me to complete a longer series. I just really love standalones, and I find that longer stories either expect me to remember too much (I may or may not be suffering from relatively permanent mommy brain) or I feel that they lose their way / focus after a certain number of books. Or I just stop being interested (and that’s a really hard one to explain further). I actually do much better reading everything by an author who happens to write standalones than I do reading a series by an equally excellent author. Weird, I know.

That said, I read and loved the full Harry Potter series, wish there were more books in McKinley’s Damar books, and was deeply impressed by the Medair duology by Andrea K. Höst. 🙂

7. On your site, I found this quote: “‘Absolutely. Justice served with a side of pineapple.’ That’s what I’m here for.” Can you let us in on the inside scoop?

That’s actually a quote from Sunbolt, when my heroine, Hitomi, has crashed a meeting of an underground resistance movement she’s a part of—she calls out the leader on not inviting her, and this little snippet is from part of their back-and-forth on why she’s there and what they both want. I also find it a wonderful little quote for offering a glimpse of both Hitomi’s sense of humor and the motivations that drive her through the story.

8. What stories can we look forward to from you next?

I’ll be working on the next book in The Sunbolt Chronicles, as well as a companion trilogy to my debut novel Thorn. The trilogy (which may just turn into one massive book because, yeah, I like standalones) follows the adventures of Rae, introduced in my free short story, The Bone Knife.

About the Author:

Intisar Khanani grew up a nomad and world traveler. She has lived in five different states as well as in Jeddah on the coast of the Red Sea. Until recently, Intisar wrote grants and developed projects to address community health with the Cincinnati Health Department, which was as close as she could get to saving the world. Now she focuses her time on her two passions: raising her family and writing fantasy. Intisar’s current projects include a companion trilogy to Thorn, featuring the heroine introduced in her free short story The Bone Knife, and The Sunbolt Chronicles.

Website | Twitter | Facebook | Goodreads

About Memories of Ash:

In the year since she cast her sunbolt, Hitomi has recovered only a handful of memories. But the truths of the past have a tendency to come calling, and an isolated mountain fastness can offer only so much shelter. When the High Council of Mages summons Brigit Stormwind to stand trial for treason, Hitomi knows her mentor won’t return—not with Arch Mage Blackflame behind the charges.

Armed only with her magic and her wits, Hitomi vows to free her mentor from unjust imprisonment. She must traverse spell-cursed lands and barren deserts, facing powerful ancient enchantments and navigating bitter enmities, as she races to reach the High Council. There, she reunites with old friends, planning a rescue equal parts magic and trickery.

If she succeeds, Hitomi will be hunted the rest of her life. If she fails, she’ll face the ultimate punishment: enslavement to the High Council, her magic slowly drained until she dies.

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Kobo

May 22 2016

Interview with Author Lindsey Lippincott

Today I’m pleased to welcome fellow Wattpadre author (Wattpadres is a group of 12 Wattpad authors) Lindsey Lippincott to the blog. I hope you enjoy getting to meet Lindsey and don’t forget to check out her book!

1. How did you find Wattpad?

I found Wattpad through my roommate. She had been writing on the site for a couple years, and she said I should try it. From that day forward, I haven’t looked back!

2. What made you decide to start writing and sharing your stories on Wattpad?

I had tried writing a couple times before starting on Wattpad, but it just never worked out for me. I would get maybe a chapter in, but then would convince myself that what I was doing was crap and that I had absolutely no idea what I was doing, so I would just stop. It wasn’t until I posted on Wattpad and people read and commented on my work that I actually wrote and completed works. Shadow’s Edge was the first work I wrote and completed.

3. What is your favorite part about being a member of the Wattpadres?

My favorite part of being a part of the Wattpadres is the sense of community we have. Vic has called it a cuddle puddle, and that truly is what the group is. We cheer one another on, celebrate successes, give pushes when someone gets down, help each other work through particularly tricky parts in our stories. It’s a writing group that supplies us with everything we need to keep going and be successful.

4. What is the best advice you would give to writers looking to start on Wattpad?

The best piece of advice I would give to people looking to start on Wattpad is to take your time. I jumped right into the writing and posting. You’re not going to get many followers that way. It’s hard to get discovered on Wattpad, so you need to wait until you’ve built yourself up a bit. Read some stories that are like yours, leave some comments, get to know other authors and readers, join the clubs and introduce yourself there.

You also want to wait until you have some of your story done. People like reading finished works rather than ones that are still ongoing. I find that many people put my incomplete stories in reading lists that say something like “To Read When Finished” or something along those lines. So write out a good portion of your story so you can update regularly to keep the interest, and so people know you’re not just going to stop on them.

5. Your Wattpad bio tells me you are a major fangirl. What fandoms are you a part of?

5. I am a huge fangirl! My top favorite fandoms are Doctor Who, Torchwood, and Sherlock. I’m really a fan of that British television. I sure love me some accents. Haha.

6. Do you have any weird writing habits?

My writing habits change regularly, just like my interests. I just can’t make up my mind. Sometimes I have to listen to some super epic music in order to get into the writing mood, sometimes I have to listen to that indie music, and other times, I need complete silence.

I’m also completely disorganized with where I write. The majority of my writing is on the computer, but I often put it down in notebooks…notebooks that are supposed to be for class notes. Haha. That being said, it’s often difficult to remember what is in what notebook.

7. What are your favorite genres to write in? Are they the same you read in?

My favorite genres to write in are fantasy/paranormal. I really enjoy reading in these genres as well. I’ve recently been working on expanding my horizons both for reading and writing. I’m mainly a YA girl, but I’m trying to write some new adult (NA). I’m also working on writing some general fiction, I’ve dabbled in horror, and I’m looking to keep expanding.

8. What stories can we look forward to from you next?

I have a ton of story ideas written down that I will hopefully be writing and posting. I have a YA Paranormal in the beginning stages called Bridge of Souls, which is a twist on the Grim Reaper. I also have a new adult (NA) fiction about a girl with a promising future who falls into some trouble with drugs, and her journey down that deep, dark path.

9. What is the latest book or story you have read and loved? Please tell us a bit about the book and what you loved about it.

I’ve been reading the Throne of Glass series by Sarah J. Maas recently, and I absolutely LOVE it! It’s about a teenage girl who we first meet as she’s in the salt mines prison for hefty crimes. She’s Adarlan’s Assassin. It follows her story as she’s brought out by the Prince to compete in a contest to be the King’s Champion.

It’s a YA fantasy that keeps you on the edge of your seat. It’s packed with action, romance, betrayal, danger, more romance, and massive discoveries. It’s a book I would recommend to anyone.

10. If you could live anywhere in the world where would you live and why?

If I could live anywhere, I would choose either Canada or London. I really loved London when I was over there. The people seemed nice, and the area was awesome, but it’s rather expensive to live anywhere near the city. Canada is pretty chill. I haven’t been there, but from what I’ve heard from people who have, it’s a nice place. It’s also home to Wattpad, so that’s a plus. Haha.

About the Author:

Lindsey Lippincott is a journalism and public relations major creeping her way through college, and a lover of all things unnatural and inhuman. Surviving on caffeine and sugar, she’ll stay up to the wee hours of the morning alongside her roommate if it means finishing one more chapter.

When not in class, working, or writing, you can find her binge watching Lost Girl and Haven on Netflix.

Facebook | Twitter | Wattpad | Wattpad2

About the Book:

Mara, a young, new witch, must learn to control her powers while facing boys, Nightshades, and a secret organization that has been following her for years.

With the help of a fae princess, a werewolf prince and his best friend, there’s nothing they can’t face.

Or does something more sinister lurk within Mara’s own mind?

Read on Wattpad

May 01 2016

Interview with Author Debbie Goelz

Today I’m pleased to welcome fellow Wattpadre author (Wattpadres is a group of 12 Wattpad authors) Debbie Goelz to the blog. I hope you enjoy getting to meet Debbie and don’t forget to check out her book!

1. How did you find Wattpad?

I had been writing seriously for about six years, but I never thought anything was good enough to publish. Then I read about a SciFi Magazine called “Lightspeed.” They were doing a contest called “Women Wreck Science Fiction.” I decided to enter. I worked really hard to make it as good as I could. I had about 30 friends read it and make comments. I went to upload it to the contest, and found I’d misread and missed the due date. I was pretty disappointed. That night I was reading on my iPad. I thought I should look at the NY Times. I never looked at the NY Times, and I have no idea why I did that night, but there was a headline that said: “The Future of Publishing.” There was an article about this website called Wattpad. I checked it out. I liked the idea that the work didn’t have to be perfect. In fact, no one expects the work to be. I decided to write something for Wattpad.

2. What made you decide to start writing and sharing your stories on Wattpad?

(see answer above)

3. What is your favorite part about being a member of the Wattpadres?

My favorite part about being a Wattpadre is the friendships I’ve made with the people in the group. They are kind and supportive and funny and intelligent. I’ve even met two of the members, Nicole in New York and Vic, in London when she invited me to her birthday party, 6,000 miles from where I live. She was so thrilled that I turned out to be exactly who I was online. And I am going to meet the others someday. Perhaps at a NY convention in October. Vic is coming over and a bunch of the Wattpadres are planning to come. Her book, Gilded Cage, comes out January 2017, and I plan to go to London for that.

4. What is the best advice you would give to writers looking to start on Wattpad?

I would suggest being a good Wattpad citizen. This means read other people’s stories, comment on them. Vote. Make friends. Don’t ask people to just read your story. The relationship should come first. What will happen if you make brilliant comments on someone else’s story? Other readers will see them and check out what you are doing.

Don’t ever diss your own work. If people click on your story and you start out telling them about how terrible it is, why should they keep reading? Believe in what you’re writing.

Try to be as grammatically accurate as possible. Ask a friend who is good in English to look at your chapters before you post. If you can write on a word processing program like Word, you will have the benefit of spell check and some punctuation checking as well.

Write a really good story summary. It’s not a description of your plot. It’s a sales tool. Make it exciting and intriguing.

Have an awesome cover. There are lots of people on Wattpad who do covers for others for free and there’s a Media club.

Take a look at the stories on the site that are successful. Ask yourself why they are and try to do whatever that is.

5. Do you have any weird writing habits?

Not really. Though I do find that there is a period of self-flagellation that happens at the beginning of every project. Finally, I recognize that my feelings of doubt, my procrastination, my endless research, are all part of my process. It made me go much easier on myself when I finally realized these were critical steps for me.

6. As a “refugee from Hollywood” do you find your time working for companies like Universal Pictures has inspired your writing?

I was a finance person … so spreadsheets … I still use them, but instead of using them for business reports, I use them to plot. And yes, my current novel, Alien Invasion: A Love Story, definitely draws on my experience working for several movie companies in Hollywood. My main character, Andie Bank, is even a Hollywood accountant.

7. Where do you find inspiration for your stories now?

I came up with the idea for Mermaids and the Vampires Who Love Them as sort of a challenge to myself. I knew I wanted something different, so I asked myself what would be the two most different supernatural beings I could throw together? I came up with mermaids and vampire out of the blue. At first, I thought it was ridiculous, but then I thought it could be very cool.

As far as how I come up with plot ideas, I pay attention to what makes me emotional. Sometimes it’s something on the news, sometimes an event or experience that happened to me or to a friend.

8. What are your favorite genres to write in? Are they the same you read in?

My favorite genres are science fiction and fantasy with some romance thrown into the mix. I think they are the most interesting genres for a couple of reasons.

It’s different from the world I live in every day. It gives me the opportunity to escape from real life.
You never know where the narrative will take you. In fantasy, the sky is the limit. Literally!
Love – you just can’t beat it! It is universal. It’s in our genetic code. We can all relate. Sometimes it’s heart-wrenching, but for me, there is always going to be a happily ever after.

And yes, I read and write in the same genre. I think this is really important because an author should know what is going on in her genre from an artistic and business standpoint. When I first started writing, I thought I had to write something literary or it wouldn’t count. But I hated writing every word. When I finally realized I could write in the genres I loved, it was like a light bulb exploding in my brain. That being said, it’s good to read out of your genre too, for inspiration. There’s nothing like reading good poetry or the classics to get the creative juices flowing.

9. If you could only take three things with you to a deserted island, which three things would you take?

A satellite phone, a sunhat, and Lamb: The Gospel According to Biff, Jesus’ Childhood Pal by Christopher Moore.

10. What stories can we look forward to from you next?

As I said, I’m working on a humorous, romantic, science fiction novel. Here’s what it’s about: Accountant Andie Bank gets a job at a notorious tabloid. She falls in love with her boss, who, as it turns out, is a member of an insecure alien race planning to abduct her best friend—movie star, Sterling Champagne. The aliens, who want to be idolized, have been relocating celebrities to a far-off moon to participate in the biggest reality show in the galaxy. Back on earth, the aliens assume the identities of the abducted human celebrities and bask in the veneration. At its essence, the novel is about humanity’s obsession with celebrity culture … how we love to idolize and put people on a pedestal. And how we love to see them fall.

About the Author:
Debbie Goelz is a refugee from Hollywood. She served for ten years as a financial executive for such companies as Universal Pictures, Dino de Laurentiis and Jim Henson Productions. Her performing career began and ended with her puppeteering a chicken during the closing scene in Muppet Treasure Island. She was thrilled to write the Zayn Malik story “Redirection” in “Imagines: Celebrity Encounters Starring You.” She also wrote a YA humorous fantasy on Wattpad under the pseudonym Brittanie Charmintine called “Mermaids and the Vampires Who Love Them.” It won a Watty award in 2014. She lives in a redwood forest in rural Marin County with her husband and dog. Her two children have abandoned her to seek a college education in New York.

About the Book:

Anna Todd (#1 internationally bestselling author of the After series) headlines this unique anthology titled: Imagines: Celebrity Encounters Starring You. This is the first book of its kind—stories from Wattpad writers that immerse you in a fantasy world of fame, adventure, and flirtation with your favorite celebrities.

Imagine running around the city, dodging paparazzi with Jennifer Lawrence…

Imagine Justin Bieber setting up a romantic scavenger hunt for your anniversary, retelling the story of your love…

Imagine selfies have been outlawed, making Kim Kardashian a freedom fighter who needs your help in bringing justice and good lighting to the people…

Let your fantasies take over! That’s what the top Wattpad authors have done in this special collection of fictional scenarios that bring you up close and personal with the real celebrities you love—star alongside Zayn Malik, Cameron Dallas, Kanye West, Selena Gomez, Dylan O’Brien, Tom Hardy, Jamie Dornan, Benedict Cumberbatch, and many more!

My Imagines story, is called Redirection. It’s about a girl who writes Zayn Malik fanfiction. Her Wattpad story has gone viral, because what she writes about him ends up happening to him in real life! What will happen when Zayn meets the girl who seems to write his life before it happens?

Purchase: Amazon |Simon & Schuster

Apr 24 2016

Interview with Author Amber K. Bryant

Today I’m pleased to welcome fellow Wattpadre author (Wattpadres is a group of 12 Wattpad authors) Amber K. Bryant to the blog. I hope you enjoy getting to meet Amber and don’t forget to check out her book!

1. What is it like to be an award-winning author on Wattpad?

So many wonderful things that have happened to me since joining Wattpad in March of 2014. Before Wattpad, I had only shared my writing with a couple of people. I wrote in a bubble and I didn’t think that would ever change, but of course it has changed… completely. I write now as a member of a creative network of people. I can bounce ideas off of my fellow author friends whenever I need to. I connect with readers every day and they give me helpful feedback as well.

I’ve won several awards and contests through Wattpad, including two hosted and judged by Margaret Atwood. It’s pretty amazing to find out that one of the greatest writers of our time has read my work and knows me by name! I’m still floored by that. The best thing about contests though, is that you meet and befriend a lot of fabulous writers through them. If I’m in a competition, I like to read the other entries and leave positive comments on each of the contestants’ stories. Writers put themselves out on a limb when they enter a contest. That bravery should be acknowledged. Wattpad contests are typically friendly and if you are a writer, I would encourage you to find a contest and enter it. I’m often on the other end of competitions now, acting as a host and judge. After all that I have gained from participating as a contestant, I like being able to give back in this manner.

One of the most promising outcomes of winning contests and awards is that I have recently been accepted into the Wattpad Stars Program. This program aims to help its participants become successful writers. Being admitted to the Stars is an exciting development in my writing career!

2. Have you always written for fun or was there a certain time in your life when you started?

I didn’t start writing until the summer of 2012. I had thrown some ideas around in my head for a while, so during a vacation from work, I started writing. I finished a 100K novel in about six months and haven’t looked back since.

3. What are your favorite parts of being a librarian and a writer? Does one help the other?

My work as a librarian inspired me to become a writer. I deal with juvenile literature—everything from picture books to young adult novels. My job exposes me to what kids and teens are interested in reading right now and it was this exposure that made me want to write my own stories. My librarian gig compliments my writing life perfectly. Library work keeps me up to date on YA trends, and my writing life keeps me engaged with teen readers. I’m fortunate to have found two compatible careers.

4. If you do achieve your goal of becoming a farmer by day and writer by night, what would you plant and what would you write?

Fruit trees, berries, all sorts of squashes. I grew quinoa once. It wasn’t a huge success but I’d like to try my hand at it again. As for writing, even though I am busy with my job and family, I still manage to put pen to paper. In that regard, I’ve already achieved that particular goal. Truth be told, though, I don’t do my best writing at night. I get up early for work, so my brain shuts off around eight or nine pm. If my farm job could allow me to sleep in an hour or two later, I might be more productive at night! I wouldn’t be writing anything differently from what I already write, but hopefully, I’d be writing more of it!

5. What is your favorite part of being a member of the Wattpadres?

Friendship! It’s been invaluable to have a group of writers that I can bounce ideas off of, converse with, celebrate achievements and commiserate with when disappointments occur. My life as a writer would be so much lonelier without them all. Through them, I’ve become a braver, more confident person. Last fall, we started up weekly Twitter chats (every Tuesday at 8 pm EST!) and these chats have widened my circle of writer friends. Having this network is so very important and rewarding. I love my fellow Wattpadres dearly!

6. What are your favorite stories to write?

I enjoy writing speculative fiction, especially science fiction and paranormal. I love reimagined fairytales as well. But I also consider it a challenge to take on a genre outside of my comfort zone and trying my hand at it. This is what I did when I entered a horror writing contest hosted by R. L. Stine. I’d never written that genre before, but I ended up winning the contest and, as a result, co-writing a short story with Stine. I had so much fun and now I’ve written several more short horror pieces. More recently, I wrote a contemporary romance story for a Valentine’s Day anthology curated by Michelle Jo Quinn. Again, I wasn’t sure how writing this genre would work for me, but I loved doing it and I’m now working on my first romance novel. Speculative fiction will always be my first love, however, and although I am doing work that is geared towards an adult audience at the moment, I enjoy writing for teens.

7. What are your least favorite parts of a story to write?

I tend to drag myself through the last five percent of the book. Actually, the ending itself I can do, but if I get stuck anywhere, it will be on the chapter or two before the ending. It’s like I know what I need to do, but I have to push myself to do it. I’m not sure why that is. Perhaps there’s a part of me that has gotten so used to living in the story, I don’t want it to end. Usually having a deadline, even a self-imposed one, will help me push through to the finish.

8. Do you have any weird writing habits?

My son made me a tinfoil hat with antennas that I wear when I write so that the government can’t steal my ideas.

Just kidding. He really did make that hat, but it’s to protect us from aliens, not the government.

Seriously, though, my writing habits are fairly mundane, and I’m not sure that any of them would be considered weird. Writers tend to be quirky, so I have a feeling anything I may do is within the realm of what writers would consider normal. I do have my rituals: I sit on the same corner of the couch when I write. I make myself a pot of tea, I make sure the room is picked up because I can’t write if there’s too much clutter around me. I’ve also noticed that a lot of writers hate editing. I was surprised to find out that I’m in the minority of people who really enjoy doing this. I love reworking each sentence until it’s exactly the way I want it to be. This isn’t weird maybe, but it turns out that it’s somewhat unusual.

9. What is the best advice you would give to writers looking to start on Wattpad?

Give yourself time and do not expect miracles. Most stories don’t go viral, so it’s best not to expect this of your own work. Be grateful for every read you get. Most importantly, remember that Wattpad is a social media platform. If you want to succeed on Wattpad, you need to be social. Read stories in a similar genre to your own and leave meaningful comments on them. Interact. You will gain a readership that way as well as a reputation for being a generous Wattpadian. Reads and rankings, though nice, aren’t as important as the connections you make with other people.

There are many talented writers on Wattpad. It’s important to note that some of the most amazing of them don’t have thousands of followers or millions of reads. If I could wave my magic wand and make them all Wattpad famous overnight, I would, but that’s not the way it works. Stick with what you are doing and write. Write, write, write. Don’t get wrapped up in the numbers game.

10. What can readers be looking forward to from you next?

Right now, I’ve got several months of posts remaining for my current paranormal thriller, Blood King. As I mentioned before, I am also writing a contemporary romance. That work is being submitted to a publisher, but it’s possible it will make its way onto Wattpad. I’m working on a magical realism adaptation of Hansel and Gretel for a fairytale anthology. I’m also planning a romantic suspense short which will be published in a summer romance collection this June/July.

As I mentioned before, I was recently accepted into the Wattpad Stars Program. I don’t know where exactly this program will take me, but I’m eager to find out!

Thanks for stopping by Amber!

About the Author:

Amber K Bryant is a writer and a librarian living amongst the Sasquatch in the Northwest corner of the United States. A proud member of both the Wattpad Stars Program and the Wattpadres writing group, her novelette UNSEEN won the Collector’s Dream Watty Award for being one of Wattpad’s most want-to-read stories of 2014. As winner of the Fill in the Fear Contest, she collaborated on a short story with R. L. Stine called LET’S MAKE A TRADE. She has won several other writing competitions including two hosted and judged by Margaret Atwood. Warner Brothers commissioned her to write a short horror story called STAR STUDENTS in order to help promote their movie The Gallows. Her flash fiction has been published by Every Day Fiction and 365 Tomorrows and she is a featured author on Wattpad. She hopes to achieve her childhood goal of being a farmer by day and a writer by night sometime before the apocalypse renders all of her formal education useless, and on the upside, eliminates the need to pay off her student loans.

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About Blood King:

A psychic, a slayer, a spirit, and a vampire walk into a bar…

Bad idea! The psychic would lose her mind if she drank, the spirit doesn’t have a mouth, and the vampire’s tastes don’t include what’s on tap (the slayer though… he’s all in!).

Let’s try this again.

Sybille is a hierophant, a powerful psychic with the ability to talk to the dead and glimpse the future. Her family specializes in aiding the souls of bloodthirsters (read: vampires), hunting and killing them so that their spirits can move on. Devin is a stake-wielding field agent for Sybille’s family. He’s willing to do the dirty work because it means he can A) keep close to Sybille, and B) forget the darkest parts of his past.

Elis isn’t your typical bloodthirster. He’s spent the last one-hundred years being haunted by his vengeful ex-love Juliana. Then there’s the little matter of the soul that was unceremoniously thrust back into him… Juliana is determined to destroy Elis, but Elis has different plans—plans which include forgetting about her once and for all.

Elis meets Sybille, literally, in a dream. Sybille thinks he might be her next client. Elis thinks she might be his next love. Neither of them think that there’s something bigger than their own peculiar relationship in need of attention until the night a psychic possession goes horribly wrong and an invincible thirster enters the picture. Before they know it, the psychic, the slayer, the spirit, and the vampire are wrapped up in a world of drugs and desire run by a thirster who’s taking immortality to a new and dangerous extreme.

Meet: the BLOOD KING.

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