What do you hope your obituary will day about you?
That I lived a life of meaning, purpose and love.
Location and life experiences can really influence writing, tell us where you grew up and where you now live?
I grew up in Whittier, a town in Los Angeles County. I always felt like a fish out of water there. I have lived in the San Francisco Bay area since 1983. In Berkeley I feel like a moderate, which is how I prefer to identify.
How did you develop your writing?
Patience and practice. I had to really, really slow down and imagine each scene.
What is hardest getting published, writing or marketing?
I am incredibly grateful to have hit the market right as Amazon and Kindle were available. I did not have any success going through the traditional publishing route. Agents kept telling me, “Great writing, but no one wants to read this story. Do you have anything else?” I was only wrote to get Mattie and Lisbeth’s story into the world. So the publishing was hard until I decided to self publish. The writing is incredibly hard work for me. And marketing can be a puzzle-how to go about it without spending money on the wrong thing or without being obnoxious.
What marketing works for you?
Writing to bloggers and asking them to review the novel and/or do a book giveaway. KDP promotions are great. It bumps my sales every time I do a promotion.
Do you find it hard to share your work?
I needed to share it with the right people at the right time. At first I gave it to people without enough thought. I gave it to people who never read it. That was hard. I realized that I had to be careful.
Is your family supportive?
Yes, though they did not really understand why I needed to write it, they were very gracious about giving me the space to do it. Now they are very proud.
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Genre - Historical Fiction
Rating – PG-13
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