Interview!

This week, I had the honor of being interviewed by my friend and fellow author, Heather Ellis!  For some reason, WordPress is not letting me reblog the interview, so I thought I’d post it here as well as a link to her blog!  She’s an amazing young lady, a published author at 10, and I have the utmost respect and admiration for her. 

Here is the link to her blog: http://heatherellisbooks.wordpress.com/

Here is the Interview:

A few months ago a very kind lady called Jacqueline Smith from America found me on WordPress. She helped me lots, to review my books and we became friends! She is also an author (but not of the same type of books as me). I was really interested in her books and how she writes and I came up with a list of questions which turned into an interview.

Well, here it is. It’s a very interesting read for everyone. =)

Check out her books and BLOG, the links are below!

First of all I can ask who are your writing inspirations?
One of my earliest writing inspirations was JK Rowling.  Shortly after the fifth Harry Potter book came out, I realized that I needed more Harry in my life, so I started making up my own stories (Yes, I wrote fanfiction…).  Other inspirations include John Green and Meg Cabot. 

At what point did you stop and think about really writing a book?
Spring break of my third year in college.  I had a terrible upper respiratory infection and spent the entire week coughing and reading books on the couch.  I’m not sure if it was the fever or the decongestants, but halfway through True Believer by Nicholas Sparks, I thought to myself, “Hey.  I could do this.”  And from that point on, I decided I was going to write books! 

My books are a bit different to the types of books you do, for younger readers but I have to ask if it is different… I wondered how long does it take for you to write a book? 
It really depends.  Cemetery Tours and its sequel, both around 75,000 words, took about 5 months each to write.  I have another manuscript for a short non-fiction book, however, that I finished in about a week.  Then again, I’m still working on the first manuscript I ever started, back in 2010.  For some reason, I just haven’t found the right formula for that one.  But I think I’m getting closer!    

What are your favourite and most difficult parts of writing your own book?
I love character development and I really love dialogue!  I like to think I’m a witty person, so writing smart, snarky characters with attitude is a lot of fun for me.  The most difficult parts are action scenes.  They’re fun, but they are tricky!  I’m also really bad at coming up with good names! 

What was the biggest thing you learned from your experience of writing your own book?
I learned to stop and breathe.  There is a lot to process when writing and publishing a book, and it is a lot of hard work, but in the end, it is worth it.  It’s very scary and can be intimidating, and I really admire everyone who believes in their work and loves it enough to go through this process, because it is a big job. I’ve also learned pretty much everything there is to know about the publishing process, which is really cool!      

I spend quite a lot of time thinking about my characters and their names and personalities. Can you see any of your family and friends in any of your book characters?
Yes, absolutely.  I especially see my mother in Michael’s mom.  She sees the goodness and beauty in everyone and everything, and in turn, everyone knows and loves her.  I think it was one of the rarest and yet most profound and wonderful gifts.   

Who designed your book covers? 
My good friend and professional photographer/graphic designer, Benjamin Durham. 

I’ve seen some of your paintings on your blog, they are pretty awesome – Have you ever thought about designing your own book covers?
Thank you!  As much as I love to paint, I am a terrible graphic artist! I actually tried to design quite a few ideas for the cover, but Ben took one look at them and said, “Why don’t we start from scratch?” 

What advice would you give to authors starting out writing their own books?
Don’t let anyone discourage you.  Believe in yourself and in your ideas, because they are worth the world. Don’t stress over the details, especially in the first draft.  You’ll have plenty of time to rework them during the editing process.  Most importantly, if you get stuck, keep writing! I’ve met so many writers who succumb to writer’s block because they think that because they get it, they’re not meant to write.  NOT TRUE!  All writers hit bumps along the road.  No one can just sit down and write out an entire book in one sitting.  The only way to get through it is to keep writing!  

You mentioned you are working on a new book, how is that going?
Excellent!  This is a whole new book, not related to Cemetery Tours (though I’m sure I will go back to it one day).  I’m really excited to be working on something new.    

When will we be able to buy it?
The sequel to Cemetery Tours will be out sometime this summer!  As for the new one, I’ve only just started, so it will at least be another six to eight months. I’m really excited about the sequel and I can’t wait until I can talk more about it! 

Link to Jacqueline Smith’s book Cemetery Tours: 
http://amzn.to/1guWp6v 

Link to Jacqueline Smith’s BLOG:
http://www.jackiesmith114.wordpress.com/ 

Thank you, Heather!  I can’t wait to read your next book!