Writing Niches in Time: Author Interview with Anne Perreault

You’ve now published several books, but what inspired you to write that first one? How long did it take you to write your first book that was published? You write both historical and contemporary romance? Which is easier or more enjoyable to write?
My first book was a story that had been part of my life for about 30 years, give or take. I had used it to escape reality when things were tough. Since I'm a Christian, I thoroughly believe in the power of God and hearing His voice in our heart. I was sitting in the library, finishing a book I had written for my daughter. That had taken 12 years to write and it won't be published. It was practice. I recall thinking how much fun it was to write this story and I asked, kind of in a prayer, Now what, God? 

I certainly didn't expect to hear back. And when the response came, it was to my heart. The response was, Write the story. Since I knew exactly which story was implicated I pretended I hadn't heard or that it was a mistake. But I couldn't get over it. So, over the next few months, I really made sure that I had heard correctly and that it wasn't something I was making up on my own. 

It became pretty clear that I was to write this story that had been with me for most of my life and so I finally relented. It only took me a month to write book 1. The rest of this 5 book series took another two month. Rewriting and editing and waiting for it to be published took about three years. My first book, Skating for Grace, was published in 2015.

I write anything that comes to my attention. I enjoy writing historical fiction. I love history. I find it is super hard to write. You really need to do a ton of research and things might not fit well with how you had envisioned the story going. My favorite historical fiction book to write was Defending My Father's House, a WWII fiction based on my family history.

How do you choose a time period? 
I don't chose a time period per se. The story finds me and I fit it into a setting that is appropriate for the characters and the challenges they face. I do enjoy doing the research for the historical fiction books. I am a very visual learner and have found YouTube to be a treasure trove of information.

What’s one of the most unique facts you’ve discovered in doing your research?
The most interesting story I came across while researching for Defending My Father's House was the story of Operation Cowboy. I didn't end up using it for this book because it didn't quite fit in the way the story unfolded. Operation Cowboy was basically the operation that rescued the famous Lipizzaner horses from being eradicated by the Russian army at the end of WWII, during the last days of fighting. 

Patton's army managed to help get the invaluable mares, foals, and stallions that had been sent to the country for protection during the war, out of the grasps of the Red Army as they came into the town of Hochstau where the herd had been hidden during the war. It was a daring and dangerous adventure. It was a collaboration between the defeated German forces in the area and the Americans. As a horse lover, I was completely taken in by it. I'm kind of sad it never made it into the book or didn't become part of the story.

What’s the best encouragement you’ve had in your writing?
I've been so blessed to have a group of amazing authors and readers surround me. I couldn't do this without them keeping me from dipping down into despair that comes with the territory. Being an author is probably the most difficult endeavor I have undertaken. So, I would say that the most valuable advice anyone has ever given me is to find my support group with other authors. It's incredibly important for my own mental health.

Marketing is the biggest key to making sales. What is the best marketing source you've used that has produced more sales rather than just clicks?
I struggle with marketing. I haven't found that sweet spot yet. I find that even when I think I might have found something, it isn't a sure thing. I've run paid promos that have worked beautifully. And then suddenly, out of the blue, they stop working. It's super frustrating and I have no idea what to do about it.

What do you know now about writing you wished you had known sooner?
It's not about going it alone, doing all the work myself. Yes, I have to do most of the work myself because I can't afford to pay for services. But... gather I've gathered a team around me and it works like clockwork. It's beautiful and powerful and humbling. I'm not the end-all of that team. It's all of us, working toward the goal.

What is the best writing advice you’ve received or could give?
I think the best advice I've received is to be encouraging to others. It's not about me. It's always about the reader and about the story. Yes, I write how I want the story to go, but in the end, the reader has to be willing to read it. And if I keep in mind that I'm going to bless that readers with the words I write, that I'll build them up by writing certain things, it's another humbling process.

What is the next book coming out? Can you give me a short synopsis?
Dare to Dream, book 2 in Arabian Nights, just came out May 31.

Tradition will destroy her future.
The past threatens their dreams.
Until they are willing to surrender all.

Fatima Sayeed’s troubled, dark past is now firmly behind her, and new challenges are on the horizon. Soon, she and her best friend Amira will graduate from university and pursue their careers. And Zahir, the good and kind man she has come to love with all her heart, seems to be on the verge of proposing marriage. But all of these new changes are overshadowed by old doubts and fears. Is she enough to be Zahir’s wife? She’s failed once already. What if moving forward ruins everything they’ve built?

Smart, successful, and determined, Amira is one of only a handful of women to ever graduate with a degree in her field. That alone ought to be enough for her, but somehow, it isn’t. She admires the tender affection between her friend Fatima and her brother Zahir, but that sort of thing isn’t something an independent woman like her needs. Or . . . is it?

Zahir is set on proposing to Fatima and eager to start their married life together. He dreams of having children and growing old with her, but a nagging dark feeling has him on edge. When he finds himself between a rock and a hard place, he is forced to make a choice with devastating consequences.

In this time of change and upheaval, relationships will be tested, and hearts will be put on the line, hard questions will demand answers. Will bitterness keep Amira from seeing the truth about herself? Is Fatima strong enough to face her fears? Can Zahir accept that not all his dreams will come true?

Sounds intriguing! If you'd like to learn more about Anne's many books, here's a link that will give you all her details from current and upcoming books, facebook updates, newsletters, and much more. https://linktr.ee/anneperreault

And here's a bonus for my readers, leave a comment on this post and we'll pick one reader who'll receive a copy of one of  Anne's eBook, Defending My Father's House.  So do that now. It can be as simple as I want to be in the giveaway. We'll chose a winner a week from today!

Getting Cozy with Mysteries: Author Interview with Julia Koty

You’ve now published multiple cozy mysteries, but what inspired you to write that first one?
I had been in the children’s market for a number of years struggling to find my niche. I began to cowrite YA dystopian with a friend, and we were having the best time researching the genre, planning the outlines for the 3-book series. It was so much fun. We wrote 1.5 books about a dystopian future that was post pandemic…and then an actual pandemic hit, and we were living it. 

At that point it wasn’t fun anymore. We still keep in touch, but we wanted to write lighter topics. She decided to move to romance, and I chose to move to cozy mystery. Ever since I was a kid, I’ve enjoyed watching every version of a cozy mystery on TV. My absolute favorite is Psych, which helped me to keep my sanity during quarantine.

Are you active with any mystery writers critique groups. If so,  what would you tell others about joining one?
I’ve been writing for about 20 years now, so I now have editors that I work with. But when I first began writing I worked for years to find a critique group that worked for me. Finally, four of us got together, we were all in the same phase of our careers, we were all driven to complete a novel and publish within a year and so with that drive the 4 of us pushed each other, in loving ways, to get better. I would tell writers to keep looking for your people, and keep getting input on your writing and your career that you feel helps and supports you. If it doesn’t, keep moving until you find your people, they’re out there for you!

Do you think writing cozy mysteries are a harder genre to write in than others?
I think every genre has its challenges and its fun parts. I don’t think mysteries are any different. For me I love their episodic nature more than anything and I love coming up with new suspects and new villains for each book.

How do you go about plotting your mystery? 
This is a great question. Because I was switching genres, I had to learn how to create mysteries, so I sat down at the computer and scoured the internet, bought every craft book, and systematically read cozy novels. I wanted to create a plotting workbook for myself because I knew I wanted to create a series, which meant multiple books. Once I refined the workbook, it helped me put out books much faster than I thought I could, which was thrilling. I knew I had to share this with other writers, so I developed a workshop on writing novellas and novels using the workbook. My first step is to focus on the suspects and their relationships with each other and the victims (I like 2 body drops in my books). 

What makes a perfect murder mystery? 

One where there’s a twist and you don’t see the reveal coming! I think that’s why Knives Out was so popular.
 

What’s the best encouragement you’ve had in your writing?
The best encouragement I’ve received in writing is from my friend Heather Kelly who, rightfully so, is a book coach. She talked me down from all the fears I had about publishing and got me to commit to being an indie author. The second-best encouragement came from my first readers and reviewers. Nothing is as thrilling as when someone you don’t know buys your books…and enjoys them.
 
Marketing is the biggest key to getting sales. What is the best marketing source you've used that has produces more sales rather than just clicks?
I would stress building your newsletter list. I use Bookfunnel’s group promotions to do this and have been very successful in building my list. Every book launch I can easily email my list and get the word out which leads to sales. The only cost is the time I spend nurturing my list by emailing them weekly to keep them up to date and sharing free novellas from time to time (before I put the novella for sale).
 
What do you know now about writing you wished you had known sooner?
 Being an author is a long road with many pit-stops. But you are always a writer, always. You’ll eventually come back to it again, maybe in another iteration like I did when I moved from children’s fiction to mystery. Just keep working forward and do things that make you happy and joyful.

What is the best writing advice you’ve received or could give?
 Make your primary job to be HAPPY doing what you do. Have joy in what you are doing, everything else in the business is secondary. The ups and downs of sales and reviews won’t affect you in the same way if you are working to be happy in your life and with your writing.

Are there any other points about writing you would like to add?
The one thing I’ve learned about being a writer is that you really need to know yourself and how your brain processes and creates information. Every single writer is different, it’s your job to find out what works the best for you. No other writer can do that for you, although they can give you tools to try. 

Try writing sprints to discover if you work best early in the morning or late afternoon, that you enjoy binge writing as opposed to daily writing, or you need to hyper focus instead of working multiple projects or tasks. I’ve been doing this a long time and I’m still fine-tuning my process and trying new things to see if they help me work better and enjoy my process more. 

Tell me about your latest book.
My latest book is actually my first nonfiction book: How to Write a Cozy Mystery Step-by-Step: A proven system to create reader-favorite cozies FAST.

Ready to write a cozy mystery but aren’t sure where to start? Are you already writing cozy mysteries but need to streamline your process? This book will walk you step-by-step through writing a cozy mystery, including developing your sleuth, building a cast of supporting characters and identifying a solid suspect list that will keep your readers guessing until the very end.

There’s no guesswork for you, the writer. Inside you’ll discover a solid four-act structure and how it applies to cozies. Natasha breaks down the story into chapters and scenes that will keep the pace and tension high enough to keep readers turning the page.

That's all for today's interview. I've thought about writing a cozy mystery (it's one of my favorite genres to read) and have put together a cast of characters, but that's as far as I've gotten. So that might be a book for me. If you want to learn more about Julia's writing or learn more about writing cozy mysteries, here are some links to get you started.

Author Website: https://www.juliakoty.com/  
Amazon Author Page: https://www.amazon.com/Julia-Koty/e/B08XZX9WMS
Writing workshops: https://www.natashacsass.com/
How to Write Cozy Mysteries book: https://amazon.com/dp/B0BLQF3PK3
Facebook Group for Cozy Mystery Authors:  https://www.facebook.com/groups/cozymysteryclubhouse

And here's a bonus for my readers, leave a comment on this post and we'll pick one reader who'll receive an eBook copy of either How to Write Cozies or her first book in the Mira Michaels Mysteries series, Cats and Catnapping. So do that now. It can be as simple as I want to be in the giveaway. We'll chose a winner next Friday!

From the Joy of Reading to a Joy of Writing: Author Interview with Christine L. Henderson

My joy of reading started when I was a child, and my mom took me to the library where I was given the choice to get as many books as I wanted. Once home, I voraciously read them feeling like I had treasures untold. Today, two of my happy places are still libraries and bookstores.

I didn't start writing until my final year of high school when I was tasked to create a few skits for a senior program. That's when my love of writing began. In college, I looked forward to my classes that were about creative writing whether it was screenplays, short stories, or poems. My first writing job out of college was creating ad copy for radio stations.

My published writing now includes inspirational pieces for Chicken Soup for the Soul and other anthologies about family life, poems and short stories for kids’ magazines, devotionals for international magazines, and books for children and adults.

One of my books I'm especially proud of is a devotional and activity book for children. That book has been awarded a 5-star Reader's Favorite Rating. Here are the details from that rating...

Exploring the Bible: Prayers, Poems, Praises, Bible Verses, and Fun Pages is an entertaining Biblical activity book for children. Filled with an interesting combination of puzzles, word searches, coloring pages, and a collection of related Bible verses, this is a great resource for Sunday school teachers and home-school parents alike. It's also a book that would be helpful for anyone wanting something engaging for their children to work on while learning names and lessons from the Bible. Every few pages there is space for children to write about something they are thankful for on that day, in their own words. These pages provide a great opportunity for children to practice their writing skills while also learning to cultivate a mindset of gratitude. It is even a fun way for children to learn critical thinking skills and to reflect on their thoughts and feelings.

In Exploring the Bible, the author has done a wonderful job of creating an interactive learning tool for children. While including a wide variety of learning games that children can enjoy, this book also contains a good mix of Old Testament and New Testament lessons that offers children an opportunity to learn more about the books of the Bible and some of the lesser talked about characters. 

I loved the way that the layout of the activity book was easy to follow and well-considered. With a mix of mazes and coloring pages with absorbing word games, it's a great book to have on hand for group learning events. Appropriate for home-school, church, after-school programs, or just something to have on hand for children to pass the time, this Bible activity book is well suited for parents and teachers alike.

If you'd like to learn more about this book or my other books, here's the Amazon link to find them:https://www.amazon.com/stores/Christine-L.-Henderson/author/B09L2Y7XNP

 

Bonding with Role Playing Games with Your Kids: Author Interview with Mark Hanson

I was intrigued in seeing you created a board game with two other family members. Who first suggested the idea? How did you develop it? 
Yeah, while my two sons were in their mid-teens, they started bugging me about playing Dungeons and Dragons. I’d grown up playing with my friends, but I hadn’t played for years. I had some personal concerns with the game, and some issues with the actual game mechanics, so we started developing our own role-playing game system. That turned into The Hero’s Tale. We’ve been playing in our family, now, for over 10 years.

Really, I’m convinced that a regular RPG session with your kids is great parenting! Not only is it wonderful bonding as you’re creating characters and stories with your kids, but you can actually set up situations in-game where they’re learning life skills, like choice and accountability, teamwork, problem solving, etc...

Is the board game available for sale or only the books?
It’s available at Amazon as shown in the link at the end.

Your books in the Tale of Heroes series are based on that game. What made you decide to add books to the game?
I’d been blogging and writing non-fiction (outdoor cookbooks) for years, and my son said I should write fiction. He’d been doing it for a long time, and doing a pretty good job, too. I had studied creative writing when I was in college, back in the Jurassic, but I hadn’t done much fiction. I wasn’t very confident in my ability to develop characters and shape story arcs. Finally, he got to me and I decided to start a fiction blog.

I took the sample characters from the rule book of the game, set them in the fantasy world of the game (named “Wynne”) and started writing. I posted two scenes a week, and just kept going. It’s yielded three full novels so far, and a fourth on the way.

How did you go about finding an illustrator? 
Finding illustrators was tough, because I had no money, and I believe in paying people for their work. I did a lot of the interior illustrations myself (both for the rule book and the novels). The covers have all been done by my daughter-in-law. She’s an art school grad and an incredible illustrator.

Now let's jump to your series on bread baking. What made you decide to write these?
So, my first foray into the publishing world was my line of Dutch oven cookbooks. I had been blogging about it for a number of years, when a local publisher approached me and asked to do some cookbooks. That was so exciting. We ended up doing 7 books over the course of the next few years. I learned a lot!

The bread book, in particular, is one I’m quite proud of. It took me three years of research to get to the point where I was confident enough in my Dutch oven baking to write that book. I had to learn a lot about breads in general, and then to perfect baking bread in a Dutch oven on charcoal heat. It was a challenge, to be sure.

What was the hardest part of putting together your books ?
In the fiction series, A Tale of Heroes, the hardest thing has been keeping up the diligence and the focus to just GET IT DONE. That was one thing that having the rigid schedule of the blog posts did for me. It kept me writing... That, and marketing. I’m really bad at that. At least on a large scale.

Did you design the full book, or did you have assistance with formatting, cover design, etc? 
Yeah, I pretty much did it all. Not by choice, though.

With the cookbooks, the publisher did it all. But for the game and my fiction, I’ve had to do everything. Having a professional illustrator in the family helps. She does the cover images, but I’ve done the text layouts of the covers. I’ve done the interior layout and all that.

I don’t think that’s a good thing. I wish I could afford to pay someone to do all of that. It would be so much better. I only pretend to know what I’m doing. That’s one of the difficulties of self-publishing, really. It’s all on your shoulders. You have to either pay someone to do it or do it yourself, and you can’t be professional at EVERYTHING, right?

What’s the best encouragement you’ve had from readers?
There are a few fans  whom I’ve been able to really talk to about the characters and the stories. We’ve gotten into some deep conversations about Thissraelle and Granthurg and why we all hate Tonklyn. Those kinds of discussions fuel me. I get to see what I had intended is actually getting across. It’s quite a thrill. I also get a rush from reading new comments on Amazon from people that I don’t know. It’s a cool feeling. 

That, and the constant encouragement from my son. He just finished his first novel, and it’s now live on Amazon and Audible, too.

Marketing is the biggest key to getting sales. What is the best marketing source you've used that has produces more sales rather than just clicks?
I’ve found a lot of success in more face-to-face ways. I’ve been doing lots of cons and markets, like farmer’s markets and game conventions. I’m not doing very well in just pure internet sales. Actually, our audio books are doing marginally well. My reader is really good, and he’s an active promoter as well.

I just find that when someone walks by my display and we strike up a conversation that’s the best possible way to share a book.

What is the best writing advice you’ve received or could give?
There are lots of things I could say here. The obvious one is to just keep writing, and to not stop as long as you feel you have stories to tell.

Another thought: it’s easy to get caught up in the effort to make your work GREAT. That’s a good thing, usually, because it keeps you learning and growing. But it can also freeze you up. If you never share your stories because you don’t think they’re “great”, then you’re just hiding your light under a bushel, right? It’s a risk to share, but ultimately, in any art form, you’re trying to communicate, and if nobody else ever receives it, you won’t be communicating, will you?

So, my advice is to get it out there. Post scenes on a blog. Participate in a workshopping group. Do an open mic reading. Make a YouTube vid.

What is the next book coming out (or tell me about the current one)? Can you give me some details?
Book Four of A Tale of Heroes, Of Gods and Dragons is just under half finished. I’m very excited about it, and I feel like it’s some of my best writing everrrr. As I look at my plot outline and what’s coming on in the story, I just get thrilled. In books 1-3, there’s a villain named Tonklyn, and Book 4 is essentially his redemption arc.

Book Three, the one that’s currently available, Of Dragons and Kings has been out for almost a year, and I’m quite proud of it as well. That’s about a young elven wizard who has to learn to control his magic while dragons are ruining the kingdom.

That's all for today's interview. If you'd like to learn more about Mark's writing, here are some links to get you started. 

Fiction Blog: https://ataleofheroes.com/
Games and books:https://mrkhmusic.wixsite.com/windmill-crusaders
Dutch oven cooking blog: http://www.marksblackpot.com/

Amazon Author page: https://www.amazon.com/stores/Mark-Hansen/author/B006T9ZEW0

And here's a bonus for my readers...Leave a comment here with your name, saying you want to win a book. Next Tuesday, we'll choose one winner from the comments. The winner will have a choice of either a print or eBook of A Tale of Heroes, Book 1: Of Children and Dragons. So what are you waiting for, leave a comment now!