ANGELICA KATE
- GUEST AUTHOR -
G'day folks,
I'm pleased to present an interview I conducted with a very interesting author.
Welcome, Angelica ...
1.
TELL US A LITTLE
ABOUT YOURSELF AND YOUR WRITING JOURNEY.
I have always written in journals, for school and for my
own enjoyment since I was a small child. Until my late twenties though I never
shared this extensive collection of materials with anyone. Over time I joined
several groups and starting allowing friends to read things and had numerous
encouraging voices telling me to follow my passion. One especially loud voice
was an older friend of mine named Dixie, who herself had spent years wanting to
publish a book of poetry. Thus, the brilliant plan to help each other finally
join the published ranks of authors, we met at a local coffee shop for months
and read items as we prepared to find homes to publish them. Then one day
Dixie’s husband passed away very unexpectedly of an accident in the home and
despite fighting hard to overcome her own health issues and this latest blow
she became ill and passed herself. After her funeral, I made good on my promise
though and dedicated Loving Abby to her as the first book I took the dive and
published through Amazon for the world in 2014.
2.
WHEN AND HOW DID YOU
BECOME A WRITER?
I was born a writer. I don’t ever remember a time when I
wasn’t doodling something in a journal, or in the corner of margins in
notebooks.
3.
WHAT TYPE OF PREPARATION DO YOU DO FOR A MANUSCRIPT? DO YOU PLAN
EVERYTHING FIRST OR JUST SHOOT FROM THE HIP?
I am definitely a shoot from the hip. I am such an
organized person otherwise, but the stories I allow to flow organically and as
the characters develop and guide me throughout the process. I once had a character
die in a book I was writing and remember glancing up surprised, to which my
daughter stared back and stated, “Mom, you have the power to change that you
know?” I did though, it wouldn’t have been the same story written any other
way.
4.
WHAT DO YOU ENJOY
MOST ABOUT BEING A WRITER?
Bringing a story fully life that would never have been told
otherwise. There is a certain level of responsibility in getting it right, and
doing the absolute best you can to provide the details and level of input that
the reader cares about your characters as if they were truly alive.
5.
WHAT IS THE HARDEST
THING ABOUT BEING A WRITER?
Keeping it fresh and on tract, is the hardest thing about
being a writer for me personally. Sometimes I have a long drawn out hard story
to tell, and I almost become depressed mired in that and day to day. I find
that I normally have a couple projects going at a time. This allows me to
ensure that whatever I’m working on is my chosen work for the moment and I give
it 100%. If it feels forced it’s time to set it aside and get a new perspective
going. Forced writing or that which is do detailed as to just lengthen the work
comes across to the reader. If you as the writer are invested in telling the
best story possible, the readers will be able to tell as they turn the pages.
6.
WHAT WERE YOU IN A
PAST LIFE, BEFORE YOU BECAME A WRITER?
An Inventory Manager is what my business card said I was
previously. I happen to be an interesting study in contrasts, as I am type A
and both left and right brained. I excelled in Math with a nearly perfect
memory for numbers and patterns. Yet, I also personify that you don’t always
love that which you are good at as I tried to make a career in inventory by
extension of my Math and hated every moment.
7.
WHAT IS YOUR
GREATEST WRITING ACHIEVEMENT?
Publishing that first
manuscript was the greatest so far but I am hopeful that if I’m truly lucky it
won’t be the greatest by the time I finish.
8.
WHAT ARE YOU WORKING
ON AT THE MOMENT?
A science fiction book series that is taxing my wits and
has been in progress for quite some time, and I expect to be another year or
two before the first book come out. It is by far the most detailed and complex
story thus far, and I pepper the time writing with romance novellas and other
short stories to keep me inspired.
9.
WHAT INSPIRES YOU?
Heroes in all forms. Not the fireman, military etc only but
the victims of abuse, foster care and other slights in life that overcome to
accomplish more than anyone could have expected.
10.
WHAT GENRE DO YOU
WRITE?
Inspirational romance,
science fiction, paranormal mysteries
11.
DO YOU HAVE ANY TIPS
FOR NEW WRITERS?
NEVER allow anyone to tell you, you aren’t good enough.
Whatever your dream go after it and realize life is way too short to worry
about what everyone else thinks.
12.
DO YOU SUFFER FROM
WRITER’S BLOCK?
Not often. I have a system of having several different
projects in the hopper that allows me to always be able to write, just not
always on a single given project.
13.
DO YOU HAVE A
PREFERRED WRITING SCHEDULE?
Nope. My computer is always with me and I make a goal of
3,000 words a day that I try to fit in when inspiration hits.
14.
DO YOU HAVE A
FAVOURITE WRITING PLACE?
I moved to sunny Florida for the beaches and would have to
say there is no place I would rather be with a large umbrella and my laptop
writing.
15.
WHAT IS YOUR
GREATEST JOY IN WRITING?
Giving the underdog a voice.
16.
WHO IS YOUR
FAVOURITE AUTHOR AND WHY?
Erma Bombeck is still my favourite author. I loved her sass
and ability to tell a story you could relate to and laugh along with in a
manner that was as if your best friend wrote the story.
17.
WHAT’S THE GREATEST
COMPLIMENT YOU EVER RECEIVED FROM A READER?
One reader said she was so mad when she read the ending to
Discord that she felt she needed to write me an email and tell me. She didn’t
like the ending I had written for the main character. I was thrilled. Something
I wrote had angered her (gotten such a reaction) she had taken time out of her
day to chastise me in an email. I was giddy happy and wrote her a thank you
email back.
18.
WHAT WAS THE WORST
COMMENT FROM A READER?
Hmmmm…it’s hard when you read a bad review about books not
grabbing their attention, spelling issues or the like. For me though I truly
have improved on how I format, edit and write my books directly from reader
comments so I would never say any of them are “bad?”
19.
WRITERS ARE
SOMETIMES INFLUENCED BY THINGS THAT HAPPEN IN THEIR OWN LIVES. ARE YOU?
Yes. Unfortunately, I did not have an ideal childhood or
young adult situation so many of my books are based on actual events that I
wrote in early journals about. Even now all my friends have a joke about
situations that occur, that I’m going to put them in a book.
20.
OTHER THAN WRITING,
WHAT ELSE DO YOU LOVE?
I am a passionate child advocate. My family is a foster
family and have worked with numerous children and family. Boys and Girl club
volunteers, coaches for teams and involved in a host of other volunteer
endeavours geared toward children. I feel like helping advocate for children
helps ensure our future generations success, and if I can at the end of the day
have influenced one child’s life I will be the greatest success.
21.
DID YOU HAVE YOUR
BOOK / BOOKS PROFESSIONALLY EDITED BEFORE PUBLICATION?
Yes. My first few I
didn’t and felt that the quality was not what I needed. I do now have them
professionally edited, and then even have a second proofing done for extra
assurances.
22.
DESCRIBE YOUR
PERFECT DAY.
Getting up to breakfast
with my daughters and husband, kayaking with them in one of the Natural Parks
around Florida, picnic on a shoreline somewhere and just in general soaking up
family and nature.
23.
IF YOU WERE STUCK ON
A DESERT ISLAND WITH ONE PERSON, WHO WOULD IT BE? WHY?
My daughter Victoria.
She is by far the smartest person I know and is likes to experiment (she is in
school to be a marine biology researcher). I feel her skills would come in
handy. In addition, she is able to find humour in ANY situation.
24.
WHAT WOULD YOU SAY
IF YOU HAD THE CHANCE TO SPEAK TO WORLD LEADERS?
Quit fighting and find
solutions rather than just puffing out your chests. So many situations could be
resolved if we all put the best interests of people, and not big business at
the heart of all negotiations. I think there is a solution out there but the
egos of those in charge of brokering those compromises appear to get in the way
of truly positive outcomes.
25.
WHAT ARE YOUR PLANS
FOR THE FUTURE?
Write as much as I can
and travel to all the areas on my bucket list.
26.
WHAT ARE YOUR VIEWS ON BOOK TRAILERS? DO THEY
SELL BOOKS?
I personally have seen
authors do an exceptional job using that medium to market their books, but I
personally find that they take away from the intent of a book. Making the book
into a mini-movie situation for me does nothing and tends to have the feeling
of blockbuster commercials rather than book marketing.
27.
DO YOU SEE YOURSELF
IN ANY OF YOUR CHARACTERS?
Absolutely – sometimes the character as a representation of
how I would like to but maybe didn’t react to various situations.
28.
DOES THE PUBLISHING
INDUSTRY FRUSTRATE YOU?
Nope. I love the
freedom of self-publishing and have not submitted any manuscripts for main
stream publication thus I am in control and able to get my books into the hands
of readers.
29.
DID YOU EVER THINK
OF QUITTING?
Absolutely not. This is
who I am and nothing an industry does can stop me from finding a method of
publishing what I wish to put out for the world to enjoy.
30.
WHAT WAS YOUR
FAVOURITE MANUSCRIPT TO WRITE? WHY?
Discord. It was the
biggest challenge, largest in size and scope and covered a host of
controversial topics that were tough to write from afterlife, abuse, murder and
a sadistic main character that I had to get inside of in order to breathe life
into the pure evil of his mind.
31.
HOW WOULD YOU DEFINE ‘SUCCESS’ AS A WRITER.
If you are able to
convey your thoughts and emotions through a character so as to cause and
emotional response in even one reader.
32.
WHAT SHOULD READERS WALK AWAY FROM YOUR BOOKS KNOWING? HOW SHOULD
THEY FEEL?
True heros and success stories can be as simple as a foster
family helping a child, an abuse victim never letting her abuser win, a
military man keeping a promise to a buddy. You don’t have to be rich or famous
to be the main character in one of my books, as I love to find the inspiration
in the everyday triumphs all around each of us.
33.
WOULD YOU LIKE TO HAVE YOUR BOOKS MADE INTO MOVIES? EVER WRITTEN A
SCREENPLAY?
Maybe?
And yes I actually have a project in the early stages for a group of my books
that may down the road become a small independent style film.
34.
HOW MUCH THOUGHT GOES INTO DESIGNING A BOOK COVER?
My
older graphic design educated daughter does all my covers. This is one of the
control items I love with indie publishing, that she does them all for me and
helps personalize my writing with her vision of each of my books. As I write a
book I talk through the elements with her and over time she comes up with a
great visual representation for the book. None of my covers look like standard
covers out there I know but I love this aspect of my books being published with
her artwork.
35.
WHAT’S YOUR ULTIMATE DREAM?
Happiness and success
for my children.
36.
WRITING IS ONE
THING. WHAT ABOUT MARKETING YOU, YOUR BOOKS AND YOUR BRAND? ANY THOUGHTS?
Persevere and market every day. There are so many options
from blog tours, shows, tumblr, twitter, Facebook, Instagram and on and on.
Find what works best for you and stick with you. You need to remain in front of
people and this is where the real work of the publishing comes into play.
37.
ARE YOUR BOOKS
SELF-PUBLISHED?
Absolutely. I don’t see any reason to change that method
and have no plans to submit to mainstream.
38.
DESCRIBE YOURSELF IN FIVE WORDS.
Driven, complicated,
focused, mother, crazy
39.
WHAT PISSES YOU OFF MOST?
People who try to force their opinion on the masses in violent
or inappropriate ways.
40.
WHAT IS THE TITLE OF THE LAST BOOK YOU READ? GOOD ONE?
Wow – hard to call out just one – I love reading as much as
writing!
41. WHAT WOULD BE THE VERY LAST
SENTENCE YOU’D WRITE?
See you on the other
side! 😊
42.
WHAT WOULD MAKE YOU
HAPPIER THAN YOU ARE NOW? CARE TO SHARE?
Being able to travel
and write 100% of the time – combining those two as my full-time job would be
awesome.
43. ANYTHING YOU’D LIKE
TO ADD?
No
– this was extremely thorough! 😊
Clancy's comment: Many thanks, Angelica. I like your style. Keep going.
I'm ...
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