Tell me a about yourself. What got you started in writing?
I’m a very active mom of three
amazing kids. I’ve been creative all my
life. I was extremely involved in drama
as a child then college peaked my interest in writing. As an adult, I wrote advertorials for a local
magazine and worked at our print shop.
As my children grew and became traveling tournament tennis players, I
watched them fight and be incredibly brave and resilient alone on the
court. In junior tennis, the kids are
not allowed a coach or a parent during the match. It’s tough, and it teaches valuable life
lessons. And that’s what encouraged me
to be arduous too. To get out there
regardless of failure or criticism and write the story I knew I had inside me.
How do you schedule your writing time? When do you write?
I’m a bit unorganized. My life has to go with the flow so I can be
there for my children. For example, over
the last two months, I’ve been at the whim of my daughter’s college recruiting
schedule. And for this reason, I usually
grab time when I can. Early mornings are
best, and I guard them like my German Shepherd guards his favorite toy.
How and where do you write? Do you prefer a lap top or some
other method of getting your words down?
I am addicted to my
MacBook Air. I take it everywhere. It fits nicely into my purse. I also speak into my iPhone on a regular
basis. If an idea pops into my head, I
get it into my notes as soon as possible.
I don’t let any brainchild get away.
What's your favorite part about writing? Your least favorite
part about writing?
My favorite part of
writing is the characters. I love
them. I may think I know where the story
is going but the characters might have a different opinion. I always follow their lead. For example, in my novel coming out in March,
First Awakened (working title), my
protagonist, Tarian, discovers a secret waterway to South America. He discovered this not me. It was not in my outline. I followed his path, and now my story makes
multiple stops in South America where it's fun, exciting and suspenseful. When things like that happen organically, I
fall in love with writing all over again.
As for my least favorite part, it's time. When I’m on a roll, and I have to stop to
pick up my son from school or go to a doctor’s appointment, that is the
worst. It can be difficult to pick up where
I left off.
 |
| Get the Book at Amazon |
How did you come up with your book
idea? How long did it take you to write your book?
First Born started over four years ago as I helped my then-eighth-grade
daughter with her Civil War paper.
Suddenly history excited me like never before. The gruesome battles, the brave men, the
strategy and how one decision could change the outcome, could get men killed or
saved. I began to think it impossible to
survive such a life, so my mind went to immortals. What if the soldiers were immortal or at
least a handful of them were? What if
these soldiers helped America win all the wars?
What if they helped run the government?
And hence my secret society of the Guardians of Dare was born. Eleanor Dare is an actual historical
person. She was the daughter of John
White and came over to America as a colonist.
Her colony disappeared. In nonfiction history, this group of settlers
disappeared with little evidence and are known today as the Lost Colony of
Roanoke. In my fiction story, they
vanished on purpose and became the Guardians of Dare.
What types of marketing do you do to promote your writing?
I am with BookRhythm. They have helped tremendously with my
exposure on social media. Due to them,
my fan base has risen but now it’s up to me to engage with my fans and social
media friends. Every day I spend a
little time saying hello. I will either
retweet someone’s tweet or thank a fan on my author page or post a picture on
Instagram. Also, it’s critical to
network with other writers. We are all
in this together, and readers want to read lots of books. My writer friends are the best, and I cherish
them. If not for them, I'd miss out on
half the events I do. These events allow
more interactions with possible fans, and when competing in an international
market, that's important.
What are you currently working on? Do you have a new book out?
The sequel to First Born has been sent to beta readers so right now I’m waiting
to hear what they have to say and then it’s more editing. First
Awakened’s release date is March 2017.
Do you have a project on the back burner? Tell me about it.
Absolutely, and I can’t wait to get
back to it now that I have a window of time.
It centers on a sixteen-year-old girl who lives and works at a dog
rescue kennel. She is anxiety ridden and
struggles to get through high school.
She is most comfortable with and highly capable of handling the rescue
dogs. Due to a brutal crime against a
pit bull that her kennel has saved, her world goes viral, and all hell breaks
loose. It’s a John Green style romantic
story. I’ve already submitted three
chapters to my critique group, and they love it and believe me they are very
critical. So I’m thrilled.
What would you tell a beginning writer who wants to publish but
doesn't believe he/she has enough talent?
I’d say find readers that aren’t your
friends and family to read your work and critique it. If the readers that are your target audience
love it, then go for it, if they don’t you have work still to do. I slashed and cut for two years before one
fifteen-year-old girl that I didn’t know fell in love with Tarian and cried
when one of my characters died, and that’s when I knew I could throw it into the
public (wolves). Then I’d tell this new
writer, don’t expect everyone to like it.
Rejoice in the good reviews and learn from the bad. Keep writing and keep learning so you can
continue to put out better stories.
A question for Kathryn:
I’ve been introduced to more and
more small publishers lately. A lot of
them are printing houses turned publishing houses or combining services. Is there an advantage to going with a small
publishing establishment like this over the self-publishing route?
My company, Idea Creations Press, fits into this category. For a writer who doesn't want to have to worry about figuring out how to format the book, get an ISBN number, create a book cover, and so forth, small publishers or book packagers as I like to call them, help them create the book they want so that they can focus on the writing itself.
I left a traditional publishing house years ago, and I also know authors who put together their own books. I think what's important, is that you choose the venue that best suits you as a writer. Do you like to have full, partial or no part in the final product? Do you want to do most, part or none of the work yourself? Answering these questions will give you a good idea on what sort of publishing to shoot for.
Learn more about Janelle:
Book Rythm: http://bookrhythm.com/janelle-gabay/
Website: www.janellegabaybooks.com
No comments:
Post a Comment
Thank you for your comment.