IWU Interview with Melissa Smith

Next up in my series of interviews for the Indie Writers Unite group on Facebook is Melissa Smith, the author of “Cloud Nine“. This series is part of a blog tour we are doing to help promote and bring attention to Indie writers who are trying to establish themselves. Each week I will be interviewing a different writer as well having the pleasure of being hosted by one of them myself.

Here are a few things Melissa had to say about herself:

“I’ve been married for the last 14 years to my best friend. We have two teenaged boys, aged 15 and 12. During the day I work in the classroom helping students one on one. I’ve been writing for some time but nothing ever really came out of it more than an outline here and there. Then after the loss of my mother I needed to disappear from here for awhile and found that reading was that escape. I would read every minute of every day that I wasn’t doing things that needed to be done. I could read a whole book in just under two days, and that included days when I had to go to work. Then when the reading wasn’t enough I found that writing helped. A lot. I found that being able to create a world and live there was wonderful. And from there my first novel was completed in just under 3 months. Shortly after finishing that first one I had another story that wanted to come to life and so I sat back down and let it flow. I’m now working on two more and loving every minute of the writing process.”

Now then, on to the interview:

Where do you generally prefer to go when you write?
I like to be in the living room with my family. I might be zoned out in my own little world but at least I’m not separated from them.

Who is your favorite author?
Without a doubt Lynn Kurland. She writes an amazing story and I love living inside her pages.

Tell us three random things about yourself.
1- My favoite color is sage green. Simply love that color.
2- I love to draw. I drew the cover to “The Heir Apparent” using my son as a model.
Hmmmm. Number 3. Well lets see. Heres one that tends to evoke a lot of jokes. My hair is exactly half as long as my total height. And to answer that question so you dont have to ask, it’s 2’29″ long. You can do the math for my height.

Do you prefer to write on a laptop or a desktop computer?
I use a laptop so that if everyone decides that its nice enough to sit outside, I can pack it up and move with them. I like the ease of movement and change in scenery.

When it comes time for formatting, do you do it yourself or hire it out?
I format myself. I’m pretty good at it and enjoy the challenge of making it look good.

What are you currently working on writing?
I am currently working on the second book in the Guardians series and another untitled separate paranormal romance. Both at the same time My family thinks I’m crazy working on two separate books at once but I like the way it’s working. It’s keeping the writing exciting and moving in the right direction, forward.

When do you find it best to write?
All day long! I really truly write all day long. Like I said my computer is in the living room, so when I need a break I just push it away and when inspiration hits, I pull it back. I’m really good at tuning out the environmental noise and just concentrating on the keyboard and the story flowing out.

What is the most important thing you have learned about writing?
How wonderful it feels to create a new book. How it feels to live and love through your characters. Amazing!

How many drafts do you usually have before deciding it’s done?
Ummm, I was supposed to keep count?

What issues or challenges do you struggle with the most?
Keeping to the main story. I find that I have to delete (or move to another file for later) things from my story that are moving in another tangent. While I do well most of the time, it does sneek up on me sometimes and I have to pull out the scissors.

© 2011, Steven R. Drennon. All rights reserved.