Author Interview

1. When did you first realize that you wanted to be a writer?

I’m not sure I even realized I wanted to be a writer until my first manuscript was finished. The Thousand Year Curse wasn’t the first full length book I wrote. There’s one before it but let me tell you, nobody will want to read it unless I revamp it. So I think after I wrote one book I thought “I could see myself doing this.”

2. What is your work schedule like when you are working on a book?

To be honest, I do a lot of writing while I’m at work. I work at a gym, so morning and night are the busy times, and during the day, it’s pretty slow. After all my work’s done, I get out my notebook and write. It’s perfect because it’s quiet, and I have the place to myself. I get more writing done at work than my desk at home!

3. Do you have any interesting writing quirks that you would like to share with us?

Colored pens. I don’t use them so much when I’m writing but I’m obsessive during the editing stages. I love to have the book printed and I have color coded pens, stickies and tabs. It’s a little extreme.

4. What do you like to do in your free time?

Well, I don’t have much especially with my last semester of school starting up, but I like being outside. So hiking or swimming or playing soccer- I like it all. I also just like to sit on my back porch and read all day.

5. What kind of research or preparation do you do for your books?

I solidify an outline for all of my books. I hate getting into a book and not knowing where it’s going to end up. I make these character sheets so I make sure I know exactly who each character is before I write. Depending on the subject, I do about a week’s worth of research on average.

6. If you could have dinner with three people (living or dead), who would you choose and why?

The first one’s easy. I would definitely pick my great grandmother. I knew her but she died when I was young. She was just such a great woman and my family talks about her a lot and most of my memories of her aren’t strong. I’d like to have one night with her. Second might have to be Edgar Allan Poe. I mean, how cool would that be? He was this crazy author with scary and twisted stories. I think it would awesome to meet him, just for one night. Lastly, Ian Somerhalder. He’s my hollywood crush and if I didn’t put him on the list, I’d be lying. Not only is he attractive, but he’s an activist and I respect that a lot.