Find out what Laura believes makes the best characters and what she's dreaming about when it comes to fiction.
Tell me a about
yourself. What got you started in writing?
I was raised in South Carolina but came to live in Michigan
by way of Chicago and Germany. When I’m not writing, I enjoy spending time with
my husband and our two soon-to-be-adult sons (and our Springer Spaniel),
playing soccer, nature photography, and finding my roots.
For me, writing was
an avocation long before it became a vocation. My interests in genealogy and
photography evolved into a passion for helping others tell their stories—and
telling my own. I became serious about writing as Lyme disease left me unable
to go back to the corporate business world. My grandmother, who wrote in secret
all her life, has proved to be a great source of inspiration. Unlike my
grandmother, though, I believe in sharing.
How and where do you write? Do you prefer a lap top or do you prefer writing freehand?
I write whenever an
idea pops in my head. My preference would be for that to happen when my laptop
is open and ready, but that’s not always the case. When I do write in long hand
I usually transcribe it onto a digital file while I can still decipher what I
wrote.
What's your
favorite part about writing? Your least favorite part about writing?
The creative part
is my favorite part. I love having an idea and crafting the words to make it
come alive to others. My least favorite part was writing a book proposal.
How do you come
up with your characters? Why would readers want to get to know them?
So far, I've kept
my fiction to myself. (My book and blog are non-fiction.) I’m not sure I could
articulate where the characters come from—they just materialize. Some are much
like someone I know (or knew); others are new to me. None of them is perfect—or
too close to perfect.
I think readers
like characters they could imagine knowing. They feel a connection via the
character’s flaws and humor.
What types of
marketing do you do to promote your writing?
My marketing to date has
been primarily content driven, i.e. trying to provide and curate content that
will connect me with my target readers. I also use Help A Reporter Out (HARO) to
gain exposure. I’m one of the few authors that enjoy Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest, Google+, Good Reads
and Linked In. (Notice
the links? J) I like connecting with others and building
relationships.
How do you
schedule your writing time? When do you write?
That’s an area I
need to work on. I maintain a blogging schedule, but I have problems carving
out time for new projects. There’s not a particular time of day that works best
for me, but mid- to late afternoons are the worst.
What are you
currently working on? Do you have a new book out?
Memories of Me: A Complete Guide to Telling and Sharing
the Stories of your Life comes out May 13,
2014. As the title implies, it’s a guide to preserving episodic memories and
stories. As a recipient of such a legacy of
memories, I’m passionate about the topic. Memories
of Me coaches readers through choosing which memories and stories they want
to write about and deciding how they would like to share them with loved ones.
Do you have a
project on the back burner? Tell me about it.
I have young adult fantasy
project on the back burner. It’s about a group of kids attending an elite
international academy on scholarships—kind of like a Hogwarts for Hunger Games
kids. Away from home, they find themselves advocating for their individual
heritages.The plot line continues
to develop; the kids keep going off-script.
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Thank you Laura!
Learn more about Laura here:
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Website
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Facebook
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Google+
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Twitter
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Pinterest
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Linked In
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Amazon Author Page
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Good Reads
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RSS
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Amazon Buy Link
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B & N Buy link
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About Memories of Me (the book)
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About Me on website
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