AUTHOR INTERVIEW: Eliza Crosby

1     Tell me about yourself. What got you started in writing?

I started writing in High school for Honors English assignments, then I wrote for the school literary magazine. I was always a closet writer, but once I started having kids, I realized I needed a creative outlet and something to focus my stresses on. Writing just came to me, and I fell in love with it.

 How do you schedule your writing time? When do you write?

I    I usually write when everyone has gone to bed. It’s quiet, and I’m not being asked questions every two minutes. I may have to stay up late to do it, but I really get my best writing and stories late at night.

       How and where do you write? Do you prefer a laptop or some other method of getting your words down?

I use my laptop, and I usually write in my bed. I like my space there. It’s comfy and I think best in my spot. I can’t concentrate sitting in a hard chair. Sometimes I can write on the couch, but not often. Best times to write are during a rainstorm. Or three in the morning. If I get an idea I use whatever is handy, whether it’s my phone, a small notebook, I have even used a gum wrapper before.

What's your favorite part about writing? Your least favorite part about writing?

          

My favorite part of writing is seeing it all play out in my head. It’s like having a movie play in my head, and then seeing where it goes. I may come up with a great scene, but my characters often take it someplace else, and the adventure just gets better.

My least favorite part, cutting stuff out, or editing. It’s like making a soufflé, they can’t all be perfect. You take so much time making it, and you only know if it turned out at the very end. Hoping that the middle doesn’t fall. Because if the middle falls, then the whole thing is ruined. I want it to come out perfect but it’s going to take a few tries to get there. And the sweet reward is the finished product, and even just one person coming to me and saying they loved my book, or can’t wait for another.

         How did you come up with your book idea? How long did it take you to write your book?

That’s a loaded question. To keep it simple the story was always there. It just took years of growing up to get it into what it is now, a book. My family is from Minersville, Utah. I have a lot of stories from my family and relatives from there, and I had my very own adventures there growing up. I always imagined ghosts roaming the streets of the town and a love story there. It took me two years to really complete my first published novel. It was my story, and I needed it to stay that way.

What types of marketing do you do to promote your writing?

            

I use social media, to promote my writing. It’s not much, but for a mom of four, with a separate full-time job outside of writing, I can’t do much more than that. But I write because I love it. Not for the money, or fame, or any of that stuff. I do it because I just want my stories to get out into the world. So, I try to keep it simple and do it in my time.

What are you currently working on? Do you have a new book out?

I just released a middle-grade book this last spring. The Eyeball Mysteries. About a boy with a mechanical prosthetic eye and he solves mysteries and goes on pirate adventures. Like a Goonie type book. I am working on a few projects, but with my job and kids, it’s been hard to get back to it.

Get the Book at
Amazon

Do you have a project on the back burner? Tell me about it.

            

I do have a few, I have a book that I started a few years ago and wanted to finish. about a storm chaser that gets swept away to OZ. It’s something that I really want to finish, but another book that was similar to it got published by someone around the time I was writing it, so I got discouraged and stopped writing it. I hope to at least finish it for myself one day.

What would you tell a beginning writer who wants to publish but doesn't believe he/she has enough talent?

Talent has little to do with it. It’s all about passion, motivation and a love for the art of writing. Talent is only a small piece of it, but really if you want to write do it. Don’t let anything stop you. Just sit down and start writing. It doesn’t matter if it’s the beginning the middle or the end. We all start somewhere.

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A Question for Kathryn:

Authors usually ask each other the same question, how do you do it? How do you find the time? How do you not get distracted? And how do you not get discouraged when 99% of the time it’s already been written, or how do you make it different?

The subject you have decided to write about, the time period, perhaps even the main character you have chosen, may be just like a character another author has created, but only you can share it in in your voice. You have your own way of putting things together on paper, and it's up to you to share your voice no matter what else has already been written.

I make the time for writing. I treat writing like a job because it is. Yes, writing is a job I like, but it needs to be treated beyond a hobby. I also write when it's the quietest in the house; that's the mornings for me. I also get away as often as I can away from home and write without the usual distractions; i.e., dishes, laundry, folks dropping by for an unannounced visit, and things like that. I find I can really get the pages done when I'm away from home.