Meet The Authors Showcase Edition #1 (1 of 3)

A showcase with @wallxflowxer, author of a thousand reasons

 1 what inspired the idea of your story?

I wanted to tell a story that was real and honest. The main character Sawyer has been put through the ringer in life, as have many people. But she found a way to deal with it through the people in her life that led her to God. I was wanting to write a story that had characters who struggled but made it through anyway to offer some encouragement to my readers!

2 what was something you struggled with for your story?

I actually struggle with this same thing for all my stories, but that's making sure all the dots connect. I think sometimes I would try too hard to make something meaningful and it wasn't as meaningful as I thought it'd be.

3 what has been the overall response to your story from your readers?

The amount of comments and messages I get from people who have thanked me for openly writing about God and using bible verses in my work is crazy. I'd like to say that people get a good feeling out of my work? I'm not sure... that's what my goal is, anyway.

4 what did you enjoy writing most of your story?

I really enjoyed the story between Travis and Sawyer. I love making relationships between characters, and not just romantic ones. I really love the sibling relationships because my siblings are some of my biggest role models in life.

5 is your story a stand alone novel or a piece of a series?

A Thousand Reasons is the first of a spin-off series. So, out of A Thousand Reasons came the story for the next book in the series based off of a character from that book. The same goes for the last book. Altogether there are 3 books in the series.

6 what would you like your readers to take away from your story?

I would like for my readers to see that there is light at the end of the tunnel. Things may look bad in a moment or two, but compared to the rest of your life those moments are only seconds. It's the mindset you have and the decisions you make that really help keep you on a path.

7 what's a piece of advice you would provide to another writer, when it comes to focusing on their story?

If you get an idea, even if it's tiny and you aren't sure if it would work in a story or not, WRITE IT DOWN! I can't tell you how many times I got a good idea and didn't write it down, then tried to think of it again later and couldn't remember. Write everything down. I have so many notes on my phone. I have sticky notes all over my room lying around with ideas I may or may not ever use, and notebooks that are half filled off. So write those down! Another thing would be write down the details of your characters like their hair color, eye color, their birthday just in case you'll need it, and anything else like their dreams, or anything you may have to mention. That way you don't have to search for it later!

8 does your main character share any similarities to yourself?

The main character in this story is Sawyer. We are actually very different, except for her kind of loner vibe. I had several friends in high school, but I also wasn't much like my friends. In that way I feel like Sawyer and I are alike because we were different from those around us and were quiet about it. Other than that, Sawyer is much more bold than I am. I would never have approached Travis the way she did. So I wish I was more like her!

9 what's something you believe would draw in new readers?

Something that would draw in new readers... I've always written for enjoyment for myself so focusing on getting readers has never been something I've done. I just let it go and waited for people to read them. However, I do think that having a book that looks nice is a huge help. If the cover is nice and organized, the chapters are organized well and neat (I normally don't edit ) or have some sort of theme to them. The theme I used for ATR is putting the picture of the number of the chapter at the beginning of each chapter. It was a lot more work than I thought it'd be at the time, though. Choosing pictures and songs to go with each chapter also helps. I get a lot of comments on the songs I use!

10 do you have any future projects?

After writing A Thousand Words and also the spinoff to Bea & the Broken Record, The Things He Couldn't Forget, I plan on writing a historical fiction novel. I'm so excited for it, but it's one of those projects where I won't be able to post it because of how I'm doing the layout. I would like to post it in wattpad one day, but if I decide to try to get it published I may not do that. Other than that, I have no doubt I'll continue writing on wattpad! (: