Intro: "After thirty years of working with the unemployed, coping with threats, tears and broken lives (and these were only from fellow staff), I decided it was time to make my escape. I always wanted to write, and now was my perfect opportunity.
I keyed in the question "where can I post my books for people to read" into trusty Google, and Wattpad was one of the sites which popped up—and the only one I have remained with. I've been posting on Wattpad for eight years now under two different pen names. VeraLoy for my more conventional historical m/f romance, and elveloy for more challenging sci-fi and m/m romance. I've also got several stories (mainly self-published) on Amazon and Smashwords, which is a whole different ball-game, involving marketing as much—if not more—than actual writing. In my private life, I live in Australia with my partner, our daughter and two cats."
1) What advice would you like to give writers who are struggling with their first novels?
"I may not be the best person to answer this, lol. I wrote half of my first book when I was 20 then hid it away under my bed for the next 30 years until I felt able and ready to finish it and do it justice."
2) If you were given the opportunity to form a book club with your favorite authors of all time, which writers would you want to become a part of the club?
"Ooh, tricky! I have had so many 'favourite' authors over the years, as I've changed my reading habits... Perhaps Anne McCaffrey, Marion Zimmer Bradley and Lois McMasters Bujold would be a great start."
3) If you had to describe yourself in three words, what would they be?
"Rich, beautiful and fascinating... only kidding! Probably, world's best-selling author? (still kidding... unfortunately)"
4) Do you try to be original or give the readers what they want?
"I write what appeals to me—so I suppose you could call that original. I have a variety of subjects, so I hope I've written something which will appeal to others as well!"
5) What, according to you, is the hardest thing about writing?
"Getting started! Then later, if you want to publish your work (either traditionally or via self-publishing), I find the editing and rewriting process very challenging. Sometimes I spend hours fiddling with a piece before eventually deciding it worked best the way I first wrote it! Wattpad is a great place to test out new work—it's far more forgiving than Amazon and Goodreads."
6) Do you have a favorite character that you have written? If so, who? And what makes them so special.
"Another hard one! What author doesn't love all their children? Hmm if I had to pick, I'd say Liam Connell, who co-stars in Pirate and is featured in Suns. He is a gentle, kind and straight(!) man, who goes above and beyond for his friend."
7) What, in your opinion, are the most important elements of good writing?
"Being able to engage the reader. If the reader isn't interested in your story, it doesn't matter how technically "well-written" it is. That being said though, I do think spelling, grammar and punctuation are important, because obvious errors are likely to distract the reader. They'll find themselves silently (or loudly) correcting your work rather than enjoying the story. That is, if they don't give up after the first page."
8) What is the most surprising thing you discovered while writing your book(s)?
""Alright" isn't an acceptable word yet, unlike altogether. You have to write it as two words. All right?"
9) What were your goals and intentions in your most recent book, and how well do you feel you achieved them?
"My last story was "Dangerous Love" written for the Open Novella Contest 2019. My goals for that story were a) to write a story with LGBT characters that was approachable for any reader, whatever their gender-identification, b) to complete the story (at 20K words it was the longest story I've been able to write for a year), and c) to get shortlisted. I completed the story, and it came fifth overall in the Contest, so I was pretty happy."
10) If you could ask one successful author three questions about their writing, writing process, or books, what would they be?
"1) How important is social networking (eg Facebook, Twitter etc) for your success as a writer, these days?2) Have you ever written / published under a different pen name and 3) if so, how successful was it? And why?"
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Thanks again for doing this interview, I hope you enjoyed it! Would anyone else like to join me for an interview with some virtual tea and biscuits?