Please help me welcome Allison Merritt to my blog today:
Tell me a bit about yourself:
I’ve always been a serious reader, so it comes as no
surprise to anyone who knows me that I wanted to be an author as well. I’m from
the Ozark Mountains in Missouri where I live with my husband and our dogs.
Hiking and photography are two of my passions besides writing.
What type of genre do you write?
Currently I'm writing historical
fantasy/steampunk romance.
What genre to you personally read?
I prefer romance, but I also enjoy western,
mainstream fiction, YA, and some horror.
Tell me about your latest book:
The Sky Pirate's Wife is the second book in
the Legends and Lovers Series.
After a tragic airship wreck, Captain Alwin
van Buren makes a drastic decision to obtain a wealthy bride in order to save
his flagging business. He meets his match in Sophie Barnes, heiress to an
airship empire. After he seduces her and ensures their marriage—igniting a
rivalry with her godfather—he learns the green-eyed beauty is as headstrong as
he is.
Sophie knows Van Buren's reputation based
on a series of dime novels written about his adventures. Determined to be more
than an end to a means, she despises him for luring her into marriage. In
fiction, he's a no-nonsense captain on the verge of piracy, but the
flesh-and-blood man wins her heart by proving she's worth more to him than her
money.
Their love is threatened when Sophie learns
Van Buren's airship accident was a result of mythical creatures. Winged
predators that appear to have a grudge against him, a fact he deliberately hid
by accusing her godfather of sabotage. If she can forgive him for that, they
still have to face the danger when they're cornered and at the mercy of beasts
and the evil that controls them.
Where is your book available?
B&N
http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-sky-pirates-wife-allison-merritt/1112878533?ean=2940015701098
Amazon
http://www.amazon.com/Pirates-steampunk-romance-Legends-ebook/dp/B008UUYNQO/ref=pd_rhf_gw_p_t_3
Where you live and one thing you love about
it
I live in southwestern Missouri. My
favorite thing about is our nature and the history of the area. We have a lot
of parks, conservation areas, and a national Civil War battlefield. The area is
really beautiful.
Website:
http://havenovelwilledit.blogspot.com
What sparked your passion for books and the
art of a good story?
My parents encouraged me by reading to me
when I was young. I learned that books were a good source of entertainment and
could take you out this world and into another one.
Is there a particular book that changed or
affected your life in a big way?
Around the time I was a teenager, I read
Harold Bell Wright's The Shepherd of the Hills, which is set in Missouri during
the early 20th century. It's a great book, full of romance, adventure,
mystery, and suspense. It really impressed me. Louis L'Amour westerns also
shaped the way I write. His descriptions of the West and his characters make me
see the world the way it was in the 1800s.
What was the seed of inspiration for your
latest book?
I got interested in mythology when I was in
college. Lately I've taken to exploring more Native American mythology. There
are so many interesting legends that anyone could write about. In The Sky
Pirate's Wife, I've taken the legend about thunderbirds, these huge cryptoid
birds that people still report seeing, and molded them into a weapon to be used
against the hero of the novel.
Is there a message in your book that you
want readers to grasp?
The Sky Pirate's Wife is about a man who
starts out too selfish to reach out for love. When he marries an heiress to
save his business, he discovers that love is real and in the end, he's willing
to sacrifice everything for her safety. I like to think that love is one of the
greatest forces on the planet and it's a universal feeling, so everyone
understands it. Love changes things.
What challenges have you faced in your
writing career?
As a self-published author, I've stumbled
over a few roadblocks and trials. I do everything from cover design to setting
up formatting for both e-books and paperback. When I made the decision to
self-publish last year, I had no idea where to start. There's so much
information out there about it, it can be difficult to sort through it all and
figure out what's relevant to me and my books. And it's not just formatting
issues and making sure the edits are correct. There's no support for marketing
like traditionally published authors usually receive. Formatting and covers
eventually get finished, but marketing is something that has to be done
frequently. It can get very tiring fast.
What has been your best moment as a writer?
There are a lot of good moments. Most
recently it's a toss up between finishing the third book in my series and
seeing the proof copy of my second book in paperback. Of course, there's also
the thrill of selling a paperback to a person in front of you and signing it to
them. Amazing.
Who is your author idol?
Linda Lael Miller has been one of my
favorite romance authors since I read the Springwater Series. She's the reason
I love historical romance novels.
Do you see yourself in any of your
characters?
The characters from the Legends and Lovers
Series are always faced with challenges that force them to go beyond the limits
they think they have. When I started seriously writing in 2009, I never
imagined I'd be able to sit down and write an 80,000 word novel. It's the
characters that have led me on and inspired me to finish their stories.
Do you feel like your dream has come true
or is there much more to do?
Both. I never intended to write a series.
The first book in the series was written just for fun as a novella, but as I
added more to it and realized I wanted it published, it grew into a bunch of
characters clamoring for their own stories. I plan to release the third book in
April 2013, but I intend on having five novels total in this series, so I still
have plenty of work to do to get that finished.
What is your personal cure for
procrastination?
I participated in two NaNoWriMo events
where I managed to “win” with 50,000 words. I learned that writing
consistently, even if it doesn't seem very good, is important for accomplishing
goals. To really get down to business, I like to turn the TV off, pop my
earbuds in, turn on either the radio or my music list, and block out the world
so I can get involved with the characters and their story.
What does your workspace look like?
Messy! I'm not very organized at all. I
have stacks of papers, books, and various odds and ends laying around. That's
my type B personality going crazy. I can very easily ignore debris when I'm
focusing on the story.
Have you ever had a day when you just
wanted to quit?
I think most writers go through that. One
day when I took the first chapter of my first novel to my writer's group
critique and it was met with dead silence after I finished reading it, I got a
very bad feeling in my stomach. When you're surrounded by a talented group of
people, you start thinking you don't have what it takes. All it took though,
was rewriting that chapter three times. I eventually got it right. During the
process of learning formatting, I had days where I was sure I was making a
mistake. And there are months when sales aren't the best no matter what kind of
advertising and marketing I do. I've gotten over that though, because I've
learned that everyone has off months.
What do you do when you’re not writing?
I love walking and taking photographs of
nature. Sometimes I get some pretty pictures. During the winter when it's too
cold to do much, I'm usually found sitting in my chair watching DVDs and
reading. I'm lucky enough to have a day job as a card cataloger, so I get all
the new releases before anyone else in the library. I also have a husband and a
dog to keep me entertained.
What are the most important attributes to
remaining sane as a writer?
Never taking criticism personally. Or if
you decide to take it personally, then make sure you use it to turn yourself
around. If someone says you can't do something, or you're wrong for making a
decision (self-publishing, for instance), stand by your convictions. It's
important not to let others get you down and never, ever listen to self-doubt.
Some doubts are necessary to make you learn to be better.
What was the greatest thing you learned at
school?
That I'm terrible at math, the cooler your
car, the better your social status is, and that you should never stop learning.
I enjoyed most aspects of school from history to English and even got into
science. I particularly loved agriculture studies. Learning new things makes me
feel good about myself, so I try to keep that up.
Did you have a moment when you realised you
were meant to be a writer?
I've been writing for a long time. There
was a time when I took a break, didn't do any writing, but in late 2008 I
decided to try writing another novel. I've been at it since then, writing
historical romance and historical fantasy romance. I was hugely surprised in
2009 when I got second place in the first writing contest I'd entered in years.
That's the kind of thing that keeps you going and makes you want to get better
and better.
What advice would you give to aspiring
authors?
Join critique groups, make friends with
writers, read, read, read. Follow agents and publishers and write what you
love. Take the criticism and use it to make yourself better.
After this book, what is next?
I'm editing the third book in the series
now, working on the fourth, and I have an idea for the fifth in mind. After
that I've got an idea for a paranormal historical romance series about
brothers. I'm looking forward to starting that. It should definitely keep me
busy for the next couple of years.
What a great interview! Please thank her for joining us today! She can be found at the below addresses:
http://havenovelwilledit.blogspot.com/
https://www.facebook.com/allisonmwrites
https://twitter.com/allison_merritt
The Sky Pirate's Wife:
Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Pirates-steampunk-romance-Legends-ebook/dp/B008UUYNQO/ref=pd_rhf_gw_p_t_3
Barnes and Noble: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-sky-pirates-wife-allison-merritt/1112878533?ean=2940015701098
Go check out her and her book. Leave a comment on her blog and let her know you've been there!
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