Can you tell us a little about yourself and how you got into writing?
I’ve been writing, like most authors, in one form or another, my whole life. I “got serious” about it two years ago. My daughter, 4 at the time, told me she wanted to marry Edward the vampire. Four years old! I decided that there had to be something I could do to change my daughter’s preference. I wanted her to have a better role model and first love than a unavailable cold vampire. I sat down and wrote a couple paragraphs. Then a couple more. Then it became a couple chapters, I wrote the kind of hero I would like her to bring home for dinner. Then I made the character in my book do just that, bring her new boyfriend home for dinner. Vampires had been done to death so I picked witches. And wrote a few more chapters. I remember the exact moment when the knowledge that I WAS WRITING A NOVEL hit me. I got so scared I shut the laptop and left the room, not to open it for another week. When I sat back down in front of that computer, the transformation was complete….I was a writer.
You currently have five books published. This talk a little about them:
I don’t want to say it was easy, but kind of, it was. Once I acknowledged and believed in myself as a writer, the words did indeed flow. And happily, they continue to. I’ve written five books, Spellbound, Ghostly, Everspell, The Detention Demon and Teeth and Talons.
Spellbound and Everspell are part of a three story YA series. Spellbound and Everspell will have a third book joining them. The working title is Everbound. I hope to have it ready for my publisher by summer’s end.
Ghostly is a YA story as well. The Detention Demon was my first foray into horror, in the Middle Grade. And Teeth and Talons is my collection of horror shorts.
I have a sixth work contracted to Musa Publishing for a September release, called Waterdancer, also a YA paranormal, just a bit edgier than my earlier stuff for YA. And I am working on my fifth short story for another collection. I just decided on a title, but I’m not giving it away yet! I hope to publish it in another month or so, having just contacted my artist for a new cover.
A little about Ghostly, Samantha's second YA novel:
Ghostly is a sweet story about a girl, who is not too sure of herself, who is befriended by a ghost. Little did the ghost no, though, that she had a tight group of her own friends he would have to win over. I believe its about self-realization, acceptance, and the bonds of true friendship and first love.
The Detention Demon, your middle grade horror released in Febuary. Can you tell us a little about it?
I started my foray into horror with my middle grade horror story, The Detention Demon. My son loves his Goosebumps books. Since I wrote Spellbound for my daughter, he asked me to write one for him. And he wanted spooky. And he got it!
Do you prefer to write in the genre of paranormal or is there any other genres you would like to try?
I have been recently drawn to the horror genre. With YA, there is a restraint, a barrier sometimes because of the appropriateness of the subject matter. I LOVE writing YA because I get to relive the best times of my life and share them with others. But with horror, the ability to write unfettered by the rules and regulations in place to protect our reading teens is, in a word, exhilarating. In horror, anything goes. And I LOVE that too!
Your new novel. Waterdancer will be released in September 2012 by Musa Publishing. Can you tell us a little about it?
Waterdancer is a YA, but it has some edge to it. Still a sweet story though, its about a girl trying to find her place in the world, in a new town, a new school, and with a new stepfather. By the end of the book, she’ll reconnect with her real father, forge a close bond with her mother, ad learn the meaning of true love, all while finding out a surprising secret about herself and her family.
The authors last word.....
I would like to add that while I often wax poetic about how much I would love to have an agent, I know I write for the joy of it, not to make a mint. For creating something from nothing and then falling in love with it. If you don’t write for that reason, you should never write another word.
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WRITE, PUBLISH, AND BE INFORMED!
I like your attitude about why you write, and I wish you much continued success. I'm not a horror reader, but I do like paranormal if it's done well. Great interview.
ReplyDeleteLovely interview! :D
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