I was scrolling through my twitter stream last week when I saw I was tagged by Lexi Miles (@leximilesbooks). I love being tagged for short little interviews - gives me a chance to chat more than 140 characters. For those of you who know me better, you understand why. I can be as longwinded as my dragon friend, Farloft. I am so pleased Lexi thought of me.
Speaking of thinking of people, since I got caught by the tag I now have become the tagger. So, *grins* I get to introduce you to some of my favorite authors on Twitter. These are folks you should take a minute to get to know and as I always say #FRR (follow-read-review).
By tagging them, it will then become their chance to answer the same questions, as seen below, within their blog and to also become the tagger. With that said, please stay tuned to see if you have been tagged at the end.
So without further ado, ladies and gentlemen, grab a cup of your favorite beverage, kick up your feet and have a read.
When did you first start writing? Was being a writer something you always aspired to be?
I have been writing since I can remember. I wrote my first novel with a friend during recesses in middle-school. It was called ‘The Fifth Beatle.’ I was a product of my generation. *laughs*
Did I aspire to be a writer? I have always considered myself a writer. I have aspired to being a published writer since 1990 when I finished my first scifi novel ‘The Helavite War.’ I finally became published in 2013.
What genre do you write?
I write in four genre currently, fantasy, paranormal, scifi and memoirs. I cannot say I will stay limited to those in the future. *grins*
Can you tell us a little about your current work in progress? When did you start working on this project?
I usually have several works in progress. Currently, I am working on #7 of ‘The Star Traveler Series.’ It has been a bit of a rough go. This has been a WIP for three years now. It is a stubborn piece, but I have the cover finished so I know it will come to fruition. Over the holiday vacation in December I intend to write Book #4 of my paranormal series. It will wrap-up our adventures with Scar, the shape-shifting wolf in the Shifting Books.
What was your first piece that you can remember writing? What was it about?
My first pieces were poems for family and friend greeting cards. They were very ‘Hallmarkish.’ Several are posted on my blog, “Theresa Snyder After Thoughts.” In addition to those, I wrote a plethora of short stories prior to writing ‘The Helavite War’ in 1990.
What’s the best part about writing?
I love flexing my ‘imagination’ muscles. That is the reason I love writing fantasy, paranormal and scifi. I enjoy creating characters and places through me imagination. Creating worlds and character is just downright fun.
What’s the worst part about writing?
Sitting! I have done more sitting in the last two years then is reasonably healthy for any person. I have been thinking of mounting my laptop on the handlebars of a stationary bike.
What’s the name of your favorite character and why?
I love all my characters. Like a mother, I can’t really pick one above the other. My spacemen of ‘The Star Traveler Series’ are like my first born. They hold a special place in my heart. Farloft is a sweet dragon and has made friends for me all over the world. I love crawling into Scar’s ‘wolf skin’ and telling the story from his point of view. And, Commander Tait is growing on me. I worry about him like you do the youngest of your children who is still finding their way.
How much time a day/week do you get to write? When is the best time for you to write (morning or night)?
I write best in the morning and get the most writing accomplished on the weekend. I wake with fresh ideas and have time to get them down, unlike weekdays, when I must hurry off to work the old 8-5 grind.
Did you go to college for writing?
Oh, no. I was going to be a movie star. *giggles* I was a theater major. I ended up working as a make-up artist for years in my free time. I have done runway work, documentaries for HBO and programs for Showtime. One of my most memorable jobs was doing Bob Hope’s cast (and meeting him) for his traveling show at Autzen Stadium at the UofO.
Later I went back to college and got my legal assistant degree.
So I think my background prepares me well for being an author, a person who can crawl into a character’s mindset with legal writing skills.
What bothers you more: spelling errors, punctuation errors, or grammar errors?
All rub me the wrong way. Authors, myself included, read what we ‘think’ we wrote. Every author should have several good beta readers to proof their work. You can’t catch all the errors. Even professionally published works have mistakes, but the cleaner the work, the better the read. That is the reason I set up the ‘Affordable Proofreading & Editing Service.’ I hope to help other authors make their work sparkle, because we are all attracted to shinny objects.
What is the best writing advice that anyone has given you?
Make your work: manuscript, cover, blurb - Shine. There is a lot of competition out there. If you manage to sell a book, you want that person to have a good experience and buy another of your books.
What advice would you give to another writer?
I would give what I got. Polish your work like a rough stone in a tumbler. Gather an impartial group of beta readers to review all your work. Then let a proofreader/editor have a last read-through before you even think of posting it. Don’t trust your own review.
What are your favorite writing sites or blogs that you turn to for help, tips, or encouragement?
I use the internet endlessly for research. We are so lucky, as modern-day authors, to have this kind of a tool available to us. I can’t say that I have a lot of favorite sites. I really enjoy reading @james_kafka and @WallaceCass blogs. I always find them informative as well as entertaining.
Besides writing, what else do you enjoy doing? What are your hobbies?
I love to garden and play at photography, mostly in my garden. I do a lot of mental writing while working in the garden. I am an avid reader and consume at least one book a week. I enjoy reading my fellow indie author’s work.
What’s the best book you’ve read this year?
I really enjoyed “Iron Mike” by Patricia Rose. It was one of the best Scifi I have ever read. You become so involved with the characters and the point of view which shifts from the humans being invaded to the aliens doing the invading. It is her first book and a triumph. I highly recommend it.
What is the best movie you’ve seen this year?
I admit to being a movie junkie. I go to the movies at least once a week - sometimes twice. I enjoy a variety of films from indie to action, documentaries to fantasy. I tend to remember the most recent. The one that sticks in my mind today is “Bridge of Spies.” I find movies based on true stories to be highly entertaining. Tom Hanks is a fabulous actor and this movie is a must see.
What is your favorite book or series of all time?
Once again, a difficult choice. A favorite book would be ‘West with the Night’ by Beryl Markham. It is a wonderful non-fiction book about a woman growing up in Africa. The writing is exceptional. I had a desire to re-read passages out loud. As for a series, I loved the James Herriot books. I am addicted to the Stephanie Plum series by Janet Evanovich and I enjoy the escapism of Sherilyn Kenyon’s paranormal and scifi.
Who is your favorite author?
Oh my word, these questions do not get any easier. A pox on you, Lexi. *wags finger at fellow author* I am going to harken back to my early theater days and say my favorite (or one of my favorites) is Shakespeare. One of the nicest compliments I ever received was from an English director who said he thought I had one of the sharpest grasps of Shakespeare he had ever witnesses. So many of our storylines come from his early works.
What are your plans for the rest of the year in terms of your writing?
Well, the year is fast coming to a close. Just last Friday ‘Farloft’s Storybook’ came out for the hatchlings from 2-1/2 to 6 year olds. Thanksgiving weekend ‘The Farloft Chronicles - Collections 1 and 2’ will come out. These are the same wonderful tales told in ‘James & the Dragon,’ ‘Kingdom of the Last Dragon,’ ‘Dragon Deception,’ ‘Too Many Dragons,’ ‘Three & a Half Dragons,’ and ‘Dragon Memories, Dreams & Reflection,’ consolidated into two volumes in a standard sized paperback for only two-thirds the cost of the trade sized volumes. So, for the holidays, I have you covered with dragons for all your family and friends from 2-1/2 to 100.
Speaking of thinking of people, since I got caught by the tag I now have become the tagger. So, *grins* I get to introduce you to some of my favorite authors on Twitter. These are folks you should take a minute to get to know and as I always say #FRR (follow-read-review).
By tagging them, it will then become their chance to answer the same questions, as seen below, within their blog and to also become the tagger. With that said, please stay tuned to see if you have been tagged at the end.
So without further ado, ladies and gentlemen, grab a cup of your favorite beverage, kick up your feet and have a read.
When did you first start writing? Was being a writer something you always aspired to be?
I have been writing since I can remember. I wrote my first novel with a friend during recesses in middle-school. It was called ‘The Fifth Beatle.’ I was a product of my generation. *laughs*
Did I aspire to be a writer? I have always considered myself a writer. I have aspired to being a published writer since 1990 when I finished my first scifi novel ‘The Helavite War.’ I finally became published in 2013.
What genre do you write?
I write in four genre currently, fantasy, paranormal, scifi and memoirs. I cannot say I will stay limited to those in the future. *grins*
Can you tell us a little about your current work in progress? When did you start working on this project?
I usually have several works in progress. Currently, I am working on #7 of ‘The Star Traveler Series.’ It has been a bit of a rough go. This has been a WIP for three years now. It is a stubborn piece, but I have the cover finished so I know it will come to fruition. Over the holiday vacation in December I intend to write Book #4 of my paranormal series. It will wrap-up our adventures with Scar, the shape-shifting wolf in the Shifting Books.
What was your first piece that you can remember writing? What was it about?
My first pieces were poems for family and friend greeting cards. They were very ‘Hallmarkish.’ Several are posted on my blog, “Theresa Snyder After Thoughts.” In addition to those, I wrote a plethora of short stories prior to writing ‘The Helavite War’ in 1990.
What’s the best part about writing?
I love flexing my ‘imagination’ muscles. That is the reason I love writing fantasy, paranormal and scifi. I enjoy creating characters and places through me imagination. Creating worlds and character is just downright fun.
What’s the worst part about writing?
Sitting! I have done more sitting in the last two years then is reasonably healthy for any person. I have been thinking of mounting my laptop on the handlebars of a stationary bike.
What’s the name of your favorite character and why?
I love all my characters. Like a mother, I can’t really pick one above the other. My spacemen of ‘The Star Traveler Series’ are like my first born. They hold a special place in my heart. Farloft is a sweet dragon and has made friends for me all over the world. I love crawling into Scar’s ‘wolf skin’ and telling the story from his point of view. And, Commander Tait is growing on me. I worry about him like you do the youngest of your children who is still finding their way.
How much time a day/week do you get to write? When is the best time for you to write (morning or night)?
I write best in the morning and get the most writing accomplished on the weekend. I wake with fresh ideas and have time to get them down, unlike weekdays, when I must hurry off to work the old 8-5 grind.
Did you go to college for writing?
Oh, no. I was going to be a movie star. *giggles* I was a theater major. I ended up working as a make-up artist for years in my free time. I have done runway work, documentaries for HBO and programs for Showtime. One of my most memorable jobs was doing Bob Hope’s cast (and meeting him) for his traveling show at Autzen Stadium at the UofO.
Later I went back to college and got my legal assistant degree.
So I think my background prepares me well for being an author, a person who can crawl into a character’s mindset with legal writing skills.
What bothers you more: spelling errors, punctuation errors, or grammar errors?
All rub me the wrong way. Authors, myself included, read what we ‘think’ we wrote. Every author should have several good beta readers to proof their work. You can’t catch all the errors. Even professionally published works have mistakes, but the cleaner the work, the better the read. That is the reason I set up the ‘Affordable Proofreading & Editing Service.’ I hope to help other authors make their work sparkle, because we are all attracted to shinny objects.
What is the best writing advice that anyone has given you?
Make your work: manuscript, cover, blurb - Shine. There is a lot of competition out there. If you manage to sell a book, you want that person to have a good experience and buy another of your books.
What advice would you give to another writer?
I would give what I got. Polish your work like a rough stone in a tumbler. Gather an impartial group of beta readers to review all your work. Then let a proofreader/editor have a last read-through before you even think of posting it. Don’t trust your own review.
What are your favorite writing sites or blogs that you turn to for help, tips, or encouragement?
I use the internet endlessly for research. We are so lucky, as modern-day authors, to have this kind of a tool available to us. I can’t say that I have a lot of favorite sites. I really enjoy reading @james_kafka and @WallaceCass blogs. I always find them informative as well as entertaining.
Besides writing, what else do you enjoy doing? What are your hobbies?
I love to garden and play at photography, mostly in my garden. I do a lot of mental writing while working in the garden. I am an avid reader and consume at least one book a week. I enjoy reading my fellow indie author’s work.
What’s the best book you’ve read this year?
I really enjoyed “Iron Mike” by Patricia Rose. It was one of the best Scifi I have ever read. You become so involved with the characters and the point of view which shifts from the humans being invaded to the aliens doing the invading. It is her first book and a triumph. I highly recommend it.
What is the best movie you’ve seen this year?
I admit to being a movie junkie. I go to the movies at least once a week - sometimes twice. I enjoy a variety of films from indie to action, documentaries to fantasy. I tend to remember the most recent. The one that sticks in my mind today is “Bridge of Spies.” I find movies based on true stories to be highly entertaining. Tom Hanks is a fabulous actor and this movie is a must see.
What is your favorite book or series of all time?
Once again, a difficult choice. A favorite book would be ‘West with the Night’ by Beryl Markham. It is a wonderful non-fiction book about a woman growing up in Africa. The writing is exceptional. I had a desire to re-read passages out loud. As for a series, I loved the James Herriot books. I am addicted to the Stephanie Plum series by Janet Evanovich and I enjoy the escapism of Sherilyn Kenyon’s paranormal and scifi.
Who is your favorite author?
Oh my word, these questions do not get any easier. A pox on you, Lexi. *wags finger at fellow author* I am going to harken back to my early theater days and say my favorite (or one of my favorites) is Shakespeare. One of the nicest compliments I ever received was from an English director who said he thought I had one of the sharpest grasps of Shakespeare he had ever witnesses. So many of our storylines come from his early works.
What are your plans for the rest of the year in terms of your writing?
Well, the year is fast coming to a close. Just last Friday ‘Farloft’s Storybook’ came out for the hatchlings from 2-1/2 to 6 year olds. Thanksgiving weekend ‘The Farloft Chronicles - Collections 1 and 2’ will come out. These are the same wonderful tales told in ‘James & the Dragon,’ ‘Kingdom of the Last Dragon,’ ‘Dragon Deception,’ ‘Too Many Dragons,’ ‘Three & a Half Dragons,’ and ‘Dragon Memories, Dreams & Reflection,’ consolidated into two volumes in a standard sized paperback for only two-thirds the cost of the trade sized volumes. So, for the holidays, I have you covered with dragons for all your family and friends from 2-1/2 to 100.
Over the Thanksgiving holiday I will be starting a new 'free' read on my blog. These stories usually run for 8-12 weeks with a post each Saturday. I alternate between scifi, fantasy and paranormal. This one is going to be a paranormal story that ties into the Shifting Books. Give the readers a little more information about one of the character's backgrounds.
Over Christmas vacation I will be writing the fourth Shifting Book. I am looking forward to revealing to my readers the big climax of Cody's story. Well, maybe not climax, but at least a big development.
Where else can we find you online?
You can connect with me at any of the following:
Website: www.TheresaSnyderAuthor.com
Email: TheresaSnyderAuthor@gmail.com
Twitter: www.twitter.com/TheresaSnyder19
Facebook: www.facebook.com/BooksbyTheresaSnyder
Pinterest: www.pinterest.com/tsAuthor
Good Reads: www.goodreads.com/author/show/7077138.Theresa_Snyder
YouTube: www.youtube.com/user/lorjim3su/feed
Instagram: www.instagram.com/tsnydert
Lexi did not say there was any limit to the number of folks I could tag.
I want to know more about these fine authors.
Here are an even dozen of my favorite folks.
So, ready or not, you’ve just been tagged:
@TheDragonDreamr @JennyBurnley1 @ionacrv @balanceguide @Car01am @Tammysdragonfly @LisetteBrodey @FrostieMoss @ClucianaLuciana @TaylorTfulks20 @vickicaseauthor and @RonGizmo
Where else can we find you online?
You can connect with me at any of the following:
Website: www.TheresaSnyderAuthor.com
Email: TheresaSnyderAuthor@gmail.com
Twitter: www.twitter.com/TheresaSnyder19
Facebook: www.facebook.com/BooksbyTheresaSnyder
Pinterest: www.pinterest.com/tsAuthor
Good Reads: www.goodreads.com/author/show/7077138.Theresa_Snyder
YouTube: www.youtube.com/user/lorjim3su/feed
Instagram: www.instagram.com/tsnydert
Lexi did not say there was any limit to the number of folks I could tag.
I want to know more about these fine authors.
Here are an even dozen of my favorite folks.
So, ready or not, you’ve just been tagged:
@TheDragonDreamr @JennyBurnley1 @ionacrv @balanceguide @Car01am @Tammysdragonfly @LisetteBrodey @FrostieMoss @ClucianaLuciana @TaylorTfulks20 @vickicaseauthor and @RonGizmo
Oh, wow, Theresa! Thank you SO very much for your comment - I was reading along, expecting to be tagged because G+ told me I'd been mentioned, but not to have such a WONDERFUL comment about Iron Mike jump out at me from right in the middle of your interview! WOW! Just ... yeah, WOW! Thanks so much - I am so glad you enjoyed Iron Mike. *toodles off with a big, goofy, happy grin on her face, mumbling joy-joys to herself!*
ReplyDeleteTheresa, is there a cyber form with the questions?
ReplyDelete