A Rocking Interview with Merry Farmer

Today we have Merry Farmer, author of Historical Romance and Women's Sci-Fi novels, sharing her experience with us.

Find more about this prolific writer on her website, Facebook, Amazon, Goodreads, Twitter, or sign up for her newsletter to be up to date with news about her.

What made you decide to go Indie and self-publish?

I’ve been writing since I was ten years old, and through the years I’d toyed with the idea of publishing. I even started sending one manuscript out on submission to agents the old fashioned way about ten years ago. But the whole process left me cold. Then I discovered Indie publishing, and I knew in an instant it was exactly the publishing method for me. I am a self-starter who likes to set my own schedule and write the things that I want to write. I love the freedom Indie publishing gives me to construct my books the way I want to see them constructed. I also love the fact that as an Indie author, I own my work and no one else has rights to it.

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What do you think is the biggest challenge an Indie author faces?

Fortunately, I think the challenge that existed when I was first starting out—to be taken seriously as a writer—is long gone. The problem all writers have these days is being discovered by readers. It’s particularly hard for Indie authors just starting out because often being discovered means paying for promotions that reach readers. There are a lot of resources to be discovered though, from working with your fellow writers to approaching bloggers about being featured to hiring a publicist full-time or for specific campaigns. But any Indie author just starting out needs to take a deep breath and accept that once you’ve clicked “publish,” then the real work begins! And it is a lot of hard work. Rewarding, but hard.

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What are you working on right now?

Well, today is release day for my latest, Trail of Hope! I'm currently working on the next book in the Hot on the Trail series, Trail of Longing, which is coming out on January 5th.

What advice can you share with other Indie and aspiring Indie authors?

Never let anyone tell you that you can’t do it.

Why do you write in the genre that you do?

I write historical romance because I absolutely love and adore history. No, seriously! I’m a total history nerd, with not one, but two degrees in History. More importantly, through all my study of history, I’ve learned that people who lived decades or even centuries before us really weren’t that different than we are now. They got stressed out, they fell in love, they had disappointments and crushes and trouble with their parents. In my historical romance, I try to bring out all of the similarities between modern life and the lives people lived in the past. I sort of fell into writing western historicals accidentally, though. I always thought I would write Victorian novels set in London. But the West called to me, and I answered!

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Do you write every day, 5 days a week or as and when?

I write every day. EVERY day. I feel like you have to do at least some writing every day to keep the juices flowing. I am pretty disciplined about how I write too. Monday through Friday, I get up at 5:30am and write for about an hour before getting ready for work. When I get home from work, after supper, I write for another hour and a half or so. And don’t tell my boss, but when things are slow at the day job, I do a lot of plotting and outlining. On the weekends, I work for an hour or two when I get up and in bits and pieces throughout the day when I can. The funny thing is, as disciplined as I am about writing, I max out on creativity after about an hour, an hour and a half, and need to take a break so I come back fresh.

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Do you work to an outline or plot, or do you prefer to just see where an idea takes you?

I used to be a big-time pantser and just write where the story wanted to take me. But then I got serious about publishing on a schedule, and I realized that I had to impost at least a little structure. I switched from pure pantsing to plotting out a few major points that I knew I needed to reach in each story, but pantsing in between. I guess I was a plantser then. But this past summer, I had a sort of revelation about my writing process. I started using an extensive outlining plan put together by my fellow writer Patti Larsen. Her method works really, really well for me. Now I outline each book in detail before writing. The difference is that now I can finish a first draft in under three weeks! And since that means I can publish faster, who knows where it will take me in the end.

A Rocking Interview with Bronwyn Elsmore

Today, Bronwyn Elsmore is sharing her experience as an Indie author. Find out more about Bronwyn on her website, blog, Goodreads, Facebook, Twitter, or check out her books on Amazon.

What do you think is the biggest challenge an Indie author faces?

Doing one’s own marketing. It takes a huge amount of time and is certainly not for the faint-hearted. I find it a lot harder than writing the book.

What are you working on right now?

Another novel. I’ve had some lovely reviews for the one before it – that’s my novel Every Five Minutes – and I’ll be really pleased if the next one appeals as much to readers.

They’re different, though both are set in New Zealand and have a woman as the central character.

Every Five Minutes is written with a unique format. It follows a woman, Gina, over a day of her life, through her thoughts every five minutes of each hour. Through these snippets she gradually reveals her life to this point. I’ve been so thrilled with the reaction of many readers. I’ve received private letters from several who have told me how they’ve identified with Gina, and how much the book meant to them. To touch people in such a way is really why writers love to write.

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What advice can you share with other Indie and aspiring Indie authors?

To have your book rise above many indie publications, have it proof-read and edited professionally.

What genre do you write in?

I’ve been a professional writer all my adult life, so my writing has covered a wide range of forms. My books include the genres: children’s, fiction; non-fiction; history, academic. These days I am keeping to fiction – novels, though there will be a collection of short stories coming up sometime.

How much research do you do when you write?

A lot. Research is always necessary. I’ve done years of research in the past to inform my non-fiction my works, but it is essential even for fiction. There are readers who know all about the background to your story, whatever it is about, and will pick up on any mistakes. Research used to be very difficult involving much time and travel. Thanks to the internet we have much more at our fingertips, but you still need a good basis of knowledge to use it – there are many traps for the unwary!

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Do you work to an outline or plot, or do you prefer to just see where an idea takes you?

For fiction, a mixture of both. I start out with a plan of where it is going, but as it progresses my characters tend to take over. Good characters that an author has taken the trouble to know well before they start writing, will do this and should be trusted to write their stories, with some authorial guidance, of course.

Is there anything else you would like to add that you haven’t included?

Thank you very much for the invitation to be featured on your site.

A Rocking Interview with Sasha Leigh

Today we have Sasha Leigh sharing her experience as an author. To find more about Sasha, visit her website, blog, Facebook page, Goodreads, or Twitter.

What do you think is the benefit of going Indie and self-publishing your own work?

The biggest benefit of going indie and self-publishing your own work is that you can retain all of your rights to the stories you've spent your time perfecting. Nobody tells you to change things or that something "just won't work." Your successes and failures are yours alone to own.

What do you think is the biggest challenge an Indie author faces?

In my opinion, and excluding the writing and editing process, the biggest challenge an indie author has is exposure, especially when they are just starting out. Building a readership is hard for indies. Many promotional sites charge for services, which makes sense from their standpoint, but a lot of indie authors are people who work full-time jobs and write because they have a passion for it. They have bills and other financial obligations that make utilizing paid services a challenge, limiting their spectrum for exposure. Consequently, this causes them to spend more time searching for services they CAN use, and less time writing.

What are you working on right now?

I am currently writing two series simultaneously: Twisted Fate and Cast From Power, though the latter has yet to be published. Book two in Twisted Fate, Fate's Return, was released on October 27, 2014, and the third installment, Fate's Demand, will be released in December (just in time for Christmas!). Fate's Exchange, the first novel in the series, is currently available for free on Smashwords, Barnes and Noble, IBook, etc., and I am halfway through writing the fifth novel, Fate's Disguise. It is a six-book series about a girl who dies and is given a second chance to change her circumstances. The Sisters of Fate pull the strings behind the scenes, tasking angels to protect Alyssa, and as the series progresses, Alyssa is revealed to be the only one who can help them all. It is a YA Fantasy Romance, and reads like a mix of The Lovely Bones and Lauren Kate's Fallen series.

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What advice can you share with other Indie and aspiring Indie authors?

Never stop writing and use every critique, no matter how negative it may seem, as a tool to help you improve your skills.

Which authors inspire you?

Traditionally, I've read and enjoyed books by Lauren Kate, Jennifer Estep, Cassandra Claire, Richelle Mead, and Alyson Noel. My favourite indie author, Amanda Hocking, turned traditional, but her books are amazing.

When did you decide to become a writer?

I've always written poems, and I love art, but writing novels (excluding those I wrote and then deleted when I was younger) did not begin until just over a year ago. However, I spent the year prior to that reading and researching everything I could find about writing fiction. In the end, there was a story I couldn't shake, and decided that the only way I could move past it was to write it all down. After all that research, I realized that the only thing I really needed was a love of writing and the ability to take what I knew from the hundreds of books I read throughout the years, and use it as an example. So I wrote a book, and then another, and posted those on critique sites because I was too shy to share with anyone I actually knew. A lady found and read what I had posted, and asked a simple question: do you have an agent for publication? The rest... well, obviously my novels are published now :)

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Do you write every day, 5 days a week or as and when?

I write a minimum of 2000 words per day, every day, even when I am on vacation. Because I work full-time in insurance Monday-Friday, this happens whenever and wherever I am able to complete it. Most of the time, however, I will fit it in after my daughter is in bed and on the weekends, and I always make sure I've met my quota before beginning any editing on books that have already been completed.

Do you work to an outline or plot, or do you prefer to just see where an idea takes you?

For my first novel, Casting Power (Cast From Power, #1), I wrote an outline for plots, timeline, schedules, characters, locations, and every little meaning behind descriptions and objects. However, once the writing began, revisions changed the story as it had been plotted. I started Twisted Fate as a distraction from Cast From Power, and didn't outline a thing. It started as a stand-alone novel, but quickly grew beyond what I had imagined, and now that I am in the middle of writing book five, I find myself going back to previous novels to make sure that everything is consistent.

How long, on average, does it take you to write a book?

It takes a month or two to write a novel, depending on my schedule i.e. exams to study for in order to obtain a designation for work, my daughter, the hours I have to put in at work, and editing. I write everything longhand, and then type it out on the computer. While this saves the story from the dreaded delete button, and allows for a first edit during transcription, it is time-consuming. The fastest I have completed a novel is during the 2013 Christmas holiday when I spent a week house-sitting for my sister and took vacation from work. Both Fate's Return and Pulled Away were written during this time, becoming what I aptly refer to as "My Christmas Vacation."

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Tell us about the cover/s and how it/they came about.

I am a very visual person, and before I ever thought of putting pen to paper, I was always painting, drawing, and browsing other artists' work. A single picture, for me, has the ability to inspire an entire story - and has. While I am writing, I try to think of the biggest theme of a novel or series, or even a pivotal scene, and then sketch an outline of what I want to have depicted on the cover. At that point, I find the pictures that fit, and create the cover myself.

How do you market your books?

My life doesn't have a lot of free time, and when I don't write, I get cranky. My marketing strategy hasn't followed any kind of plan other than post what I can where I can when time allows. I've utilized critique sites such as Wattpad, and posted promotional images and excerpts on Facebook, Twitter, and other social media. Once in a while, when I have time, I submit my novel to be featured on book sites and request reviews. For now I am happy knowing the books are out there and readers seem to be enjoying them. When Cast From Power is launched, I will be following a more strategic plan by using what I've learned from Twisted Fate's release as a guide of what works and what doesn't.

A Rocking Interview With Angela Mcpherson

Today we have Angela Mcpherson sharing her experiences as an author. Find out more about Angela on Facebook, her Website, Goodreads, Twitter, and Amazon.

What do you think is the biggest challenge an Indie author faces?

The biggest challenge would be exposure, getting your name into readers' hands.

What are you working on right now?

I'm working on a few projects at the moment. Hope's Deceit (The Fated, #2) is in early editing stages. Hopefully, HD2 will be completed by the end of Aug/Sept. However, I do have another project I'm secretly working on. The title hasn't been released yet ;)

What advice can you share with other Indie and aspiring Indie authors?

I'd say to never give up, keep writing. Sorry, I don't have anything original, but never giving up is the best advice I could give. The more you write, the better you get. True story.

Which authors inspire you?

All of them...but here's a list: Christopher Pike, Jennifer Armentrout, Colleen Hoover, Richelle Mead, Elizabeth Reyes, Jen Wylie, Lynn Vroman, Heather Van Fleet, J. A. Campbell, Sean Hayden, John Green, Jamie McGuire, Joanne Wadsworth, Ingrid Nickelsen, Katy O'Dowd, Laura Thalassa, Troy Lambert, Rachel Brune, Julie Kagawa....Oh, my goodness, this list could go on. I'm gonna stop here.

What genre do you write in?

Hope's Decree (The Fated, #1) is a young adult, paranormal romance and Distraction is a new adult, college romance.

Why do you write in the genre that you do?

I love romance, in any sub-genre it may be in. I'm in love with love, I guess.

When did you decide to become a writer?

I've always liked creating stories in my head, but it wasn't until reading a Christopher Pike book that I really decided to write. That was about 4 years ago.

Do you have a special time to write or how is your day structured?

I WISH I could write in the daytime, but sadly, I write better at night.

Do you write every day, 5 days a week or as and when?

I write everyday, it's like a drug. I can't stop.

How do you think you’ve evolved creatively?

With every story I write, I learn a better way to create scenes. This comes from reading, listening to whatever helpful advice my editors give me and listening to what my readers want. Oh! And listening to music, I must have music to create anything, and coffee. Music and coffee or I can't listen to anyone. ;)

A Rocking Interview With Nikola Yanchovichin

Today we have author Nikola Yanchovichin. Find out what he has to say about the world of writing.

 Smashwords/ Barnes & Noble/ Kobo/ Scribd

What made you decide to go Indie and self-publish?

I just wanted to join this fever. 

Maybe the next time I will send the stuff to a traditional publisher.

What do you think is the benefit of going Indie and self-publishing your own work?

It's not the money, I think, to me is more the desire. To me, that's creating the opiate of writing - just the pure possibility to feel big.

What do you think is the biggest challenge an Indie author faces?

Competition. Maybe the're are millions of readers out there, but the're also so many books.

And the situation is getting harder and harder.

But every author should give it a try.

In my country, due to numerous circumstances, people are buying less then one book in entire year.

But believe it or not, every single day books are being published.

What are you working on right now?

Few short stories and one novel.

What advice can you share with other Indie and aspiring Indie authors?

Every word and every dream is a struggle, but the end is totally worth it.

Which author inspires you?

Maybe the author which has inspired me the most is Nikos Kazantzakis. With simple words, he tells you how to be become a man. And that, folks, means a lot.

What genre do you write in?

Fantasy and horror for now, but I want to create Sci-Fi/ action adventure books too.

Why do you write in the genre that you do?

I like the freedom in it.

If you want, you can create a god, demon or man.

And that's something no other source will give you.

Is there anything else you would like to add that you haven’t included?

Don't forget to download my e-book. It's free.

Grab a free copy of "Crematorium for Phoenixes" and tell me what you think.

That's all I want.

A Rocking Interview With Chloe Testa

Today we have Chloe Testa sharing her thoughts on writing and publishing. Find out more about Chloe on her website, and on Goodreads.

What do you think is the biggest challenge an Indie author faces?

Probably one of the biggest challenges is definitely marketing - creating a name for yourself as an author and gaining readership for your book. Your book may be an absolute masterpiece, rivaling Dickens, Stoker and Shelley, but that doesn’t mean people are going to immediately start buying and reading it – you need to promote! And this takes a lot of time because as an indie author, you don’t have the contacts or know-how that someone in the ‘big leagues’ of mainstream publishing does have. And more than this, it can soon work out quite expensive to market your work. Not that it has to! There are plenty of free services out there run by some fantastic people all willing to help the indie author (such as the wonderful Rock the Book), but it takes time trying to find these, and even then their schedules may be swamped with requests and work or your genre may not quite fit to what they do. You’ll set up a Facebook page and a website and any other form of social media in an attempt to gain readership but of course this is also really complex at times and needs to be regularly maintained and promoted and pushed. It’s tiring. It’s hard. It’s never ending. But it needs to be done, and trust me, when you start seeing the fruits of your labour, you soon forget the pain! 

What are you working on right now?

I’m currently really busy focusing on the marketing of my most recent release, Blood Roses. Marketing really is a full time commitment and, around my second job teaching in a high school, it’s hard to find time to write. I can however reveal that I've started plotting and planning the sequel to Blood Roses. I've given myself a deadline of 18 months to finish it and get it ready for publishing. It’s no small order!

Do you work to an outline or plot, or do you prefer to just see where an idea takes you?

A little bit of both. I always have a basic outline to my writing – I know the beginning, main conflict/climax and ending and these are my guides throughout my first draft and are, normally, the only things to not change as I write and edit! Once I've got this clear in my head/on a sticky note stuck to my laptop, I do let the idea flow and try and see where it will take me. This does lead to a lot of editing later, as I find I just blabber on trying to get as much of the idea out as possible, but then this is what the editing process is for and it’s why it is such a crucial stage in publishing. I do also spend a lot of time jotting down notes and ideas, developing portions of the plot on sticky notes or whatever sheet of paper I can find but that doesn't mean I’ll ever use what I've written down. 

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Tell us about the cover and how it came about.

I spent a lot of time looking at covers of all the different books currently available in my genre, both world renowned titles as well as many indie pieces, so I knew what to expect. It’s really important to do some research on these things and size up other works because, despite the old cliché, people will judge a book by its cover – it’s the first thing they see after all. Hence I knew I needed something eye-catching that would stand out. As one of the biggest themes across Blood Roses is the colour red, particularly blood red, I needed that to be a predominant colour. Originally I was toying with the idea of a black background, as most fantasy novels seem to have black covers but decided, with guidance from my photographer, that white would not only stand out more on the ‘shelf’, but would also help the red pop. I’m very lucky to have a partner who is also a fantastic photographer so we used her professional skills to take a high quality image of some beautiful red roses covered in ‘blood’, which she then edited into the stunning photographs you can see on the front cover. They encapsulate the theme of the book and it’s dark nature, but are also eye catching and mysterious enough to capture the reader’s attention and encourage them to pick it up, check the blurb and hopefully purchase!

What’s your views on social media for marketing?

Social media can be an invaluable tool for marketing if used in the right way. It can take up an inordinate amount of your time but it really is something completely invaluable to marketing, especially for the indie author. Social media is such a big thing in today’s world that you do need to consider using Facebook and Twitter to reach out to your fan base, even if that fan base is, initially, just your family and close friends. Sharing, liking, retweeting - all of these then present your posts to another selection of friends beyond your initial circle; this helps you gain more exposure and also give your readers a place to 'touch base' with you, get to know you as the author and know your work better. Social media also works really well if you run a promo or giveaway as people love freebies and will share and share alike, getting your work known and out there even more so. Furthermore you can buy advertising through these websites so that your posts/page/feed is shared to a specific target such as a genre, age group or country. Of course this needs to be used with caution, as I’ve found it didn’t particularly do as much as I had hoped in promoting my page, but for some it does work. But on the whole, with the entire world connected at the touch of a button through social media, it needs to be utilized in your marketing strategy. 

A Rocking Interview With Jo Bissell

Today we have Jo Bissell sharing her thoughts on the publishing world. To learn more about Jo, visit her website, blog, Goodreads, or Amazon. 

What made you decide to go Indie and self-publish?

I chose to self-publish for two reasons. 1) I wanted to keep complete control over each step of the process 2) I don't see the point of the multiple middle-men involved in the traditional publishing industry.

What do you think is the biggest challenge an Indie author faces?

Getting quality exposure. You may have written the best book ever produced in the history of history, but if you can't find people willing to give it a try, it will go no where. There seems to be many book bloggers, book reviewers, newsletter, book websites, and other places indie authors can access, but finding the right ones that will give you exposure to the readers most likely to want to read (and hopefully therefore buy) your book, is very challenging. Adding in the limited budget with which most Indie Authors start out with, it becomes even more difficult to choose wisely so that your resources can go the furthest. 

What are you working on right now?

My debut novel is a paranormal romantic tragedy called Beyond the Reach of Judgement. It is the story of Ruth and Julien who are brought together by unfortunate circumstances beyond their control. In each other than find hope which then becomes something more despite their secrets, fears, and enemies. 

I hope to complete a sequel in the near future, but currently I'm working on something a bit more Urban Fantasy set in Iowa City, IA featuring a real mysterious black angel grave marker and the urban legends which surround it. 

What advice can you share with other Indie and aspiring Indie authors?

Try not to get distracted and stay focused primarily on your writing. Worry about the rest after!

Which authors inspire you?

I find something inspiring in almost everything I read. Sometimes it is a character or a situation or even a certain phrase or setting. Some of my favorites are Kurt Vonnegut, JK Rowling, Madeleine L'Engle, and Ursula K Le Guin, I also enjoy beta-reading for other authors when I have the time.

How much research do you do when you write?

Research is one of my favorite parts about writing. I research much more than necessary for most projects because I don't want to just skim the surface, I want to feel like an "expert" in whatever I am writing so that it feels real. When the premise of the novel involves paranormal, supernatural, and fantastical ideas, I feel there needs to that much more depth and strength to the research.

Do you work to an outline or plot, or do you prefer to just see where an idea takes you?

I create a very rough outline as well as a list of themes and character sketches before I start on a new project. I also try to do the major research prior to starting. Then I just dive in and see where things go. Often I am surprised and the outlines and theme change as I go.

What’s your views on social media for marketing?

I think social media is for connecting with readers and other indie authors. I'm not sure how successful it is for actual sales. 

A Rocking Interview With Elizabeth Blake

Today we have Elizabeth Blake sharing her experience as an author. Learn more about Elizabeth Blake on her website.

What do you think is the benefit of going Indie and self-publishing your own work?

Self-publishing provides an author with complete control. I've been published with a publishing company and also have self-published. A publisher decides what price to put on the book, which cover artist to use, how the editing will be done. Also, working through a publishing company takes months, even years. Self-publishing is done on your own time schedule. I'm much happier self-publishing.

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What do you think is the biggest challenge an Indie author faces?

I think the biggest challenge any author faces is marketing. 

What advice can you share with other Indie and aspiring Indie authors?

Take your time. Pay someone to edit if you have to. Make sure you're putting your best out there. GET A GOOD COVER!

What genre are your books?
I've written two memoirs, one e-romance published by Keith Publishing, and edited/contributed to an anthology. Four books in all.

How much research do you do when you write?

I did a lot of research for my e-romance "Shelter of Love." My heroine is a veterinarian's assistant wanting to start an animal shelter, and concerned about endangered species.

When I wrote my memoirs, I read and read and read memoirs and also read "How-to write a memoir" books to learn the craft.

When did you decide to become a writer?

I've always wanted to be a writer. It took a lot of years and hard work to learn the craft, and I'm still learning.

How long, on average, does it take you to write a book?

I don't write 40 hours a week, so it takes me about a year to write a complete book.

Tell us about the covers and how they came about.

I'm very happy with my latest cover for "Conquering Challenges - A Working Mother's Story". It was done by Travis Miles. His prices are very reasonable and he's good.

The cover for "Shelter of Love' was done by my publisher, Keith Publisher. I'm very happy with that cover also.

I did the cover for my other two books and they're just okay. I'm not the most artistic person in the world. That's why I went with Travis for my latest cover.

How do you market your books?

I use Goodreads, Author's Den, Twitter, and Facebook.

What part of your writing time do you devote to marketing your book?

Marketing is very time-consuming and takes up a big chunk of my writing time.

A Rocking Interview With J.J. Stone

Today we have author J.J. Stone sharing her thoughts on the publishing world. Find her on Facebook, Twitter, Goodreads or her Website.

What are you working on right now?

I finished The Mirror Stage (my debut novel and the first book in The Imago Trilogy) a month ago, and am currently working on the yet-unnamed second book in the trilogy.

Amazon/ Barnes & Noble/ iBooks

What advice can you share with other Indie and aspiring Indie authors?

NETWORK. You are only as strong as those you surround yourself with, so put in the effort and connect with other authors!

What genre are your books?

Crime thriller. 

How much research do you do when you write?

Due to the genre I write in, a TON. I also think because of the subject matter of the trilogy (serial killers) I have to research more than the average author might. It's a good thing researching is something I find enjoyable!

Do you work to an outline or plot, or do you prefer to just see where an idea takes you?

I'm definitely an outline person. The Mirror Stage started out as a One-Hour TV script, so when I converted it to novel format, I was working off of a very structured timeline. When I began working on the second book, I didn't have a script to rely on, so I took the time to layout a chapter by chapter outline. It has helped me so much!

How long, on average, does it take you to write a book?

Since being an author is not my full-time job (yet!), it takes me a few months to write the first draft of a book. Then I go through the draft and make the first round of edits before sending it off to my beta readers. Once I have their feedback and make additional edits based off of what they've told me, THEN I sent the manuscript to my editor. I would say in total it takes around a year for me to write a book, first draft to hitting "publish."

A Rocking Interview with Kory Shrum

Today's author interview is with Kory Shrum, author of Dying by the Hour and Dying for a Living.

What made you decide to go Indie and self-publish?

I was frustrated by how slow the traditional publication model is. So I broke up with my agent so I could do everything faster. 

What do you think is the benefit of going Indie and self-publishing your own work?

More creative license and freedom to follow your own vision of a project. For a perfectionist like me, this is heaven. :)

What do you think is the biggest challenge an Indie author faces?

Being an unknown unknown.

What are you working on right now?

I'm wrapping up some shorter projects and a cool anthology. Then I'll be back to writing Jesse books 2 and 3.

What advice can you share with other Indie and aspiring Indie authors?

Whatever you do, don't stop writing. When you stop, your muscles get cold--and it gets so much harder.

Which authors inspire you?

Laurell K. Hamilton, Neil Gaiman, Nancy A. Collins, Stephen King, Anne Rice--plenty of writers do.

What genre do you write in?

Urban fantasy--technically ;) 

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Why do you write in the genre that you do?

It gives me a big playground to explore in the scifi/fantasy realm that I prefer.

How much research do you do when you write?

Enough to make things work--but I prefer to make up my own rules.

When did you decide to become a writer?

Around 2003.

Do you have a special time to write or how is your day structured?

My imagination is more alive at night and therefore that's when my best ideas come, but it is best to do the writing first thing in the morning--before the day takes you over.

Do you write every day, 5 days a week or as and when?

I try to write something everyday. I have an 87% success rate.

Do you work to an outline or plot, or do you prefer to just see where an idea takes you?

Both. A few big ideas will come to me and I'll write them down and then I let my imagination fill in the dots, exploring how each "High" scene came to be.

How do you think you’ve evolved creatively?

By leaps and bounds. But most importantly, I'm learning to let myself play. My inner critic can be so ruthless, snatching the paint and glue out of little hands. I'm learning not to listen to that *&^%%

How long, on average, does it take you to write a book

About 8 months; Then two months to produce it (turn it into something you can hold).

Amazon

Tell us about the cover/s and how it/they came about.

The covers are lovely! They were made by the lovely John K. Addis and I think they are good representations of each book.

How do you market your books?

Mostly Twitter and blogs.

What part of your writing time do you devote to marketing your book?

None! You have to treat them differently, or you get into a habit of thinking you don't need to write that day. Bad, bad, bad!

What’s your views on social media for marketing?

I think social media is a FANTASTIC way to reach out and talk to your readers. Writers need readers! But I think it's a terrible idea just to use it to make people buy your book. Let them know when new and exciting things are happening, sure! But mostly, just be yourself--hopefully, a charming, funny, clever self.

Is there anything else you would like to add that you haven’t included?

Thanks for having me! :)

Kory Shrum's Blog

Dying for a Living on Amazon

Dying by the Hour on Amazon