- Does writing energize or exhaust you? Writing energizes me unless it’s a really emotional scene and then I’m exhausted. Being a writer, being able to sit down and write each day, it fills my well. My husband knows when I haven’t found time to write…apparently, I tend to get slightly grumpy (lol).
- What is your writing Kryptonite? This is a hard question to answer. Let me get back to you…(I’m afraid to admit to it because then it’ll be real, you know?)
- Did you ever consider writing under a pseudonym? Absolutely. In fact, I’ve decided to create a pen name for a new series of books I’ll be writing and publishing starting this summer. But it won’t be a secret – I’ll be writing under J.M. Jack.
- What other authors are you friends with, and how do they help you become a better writer?
I have a community of writers that are near and dear to my heart. There’s a group of four that get together once a month and chat almost daily. Then I have a large online group that I meet up with every conference I can attend. The community of writers is amazing and I’m so glad to have a large group of peers I can call friends. - Do you want each book to stand alone, or are you trying to build a body of work with connections between each book? I prefer to write standalones but I have written a few series. I find them harder to write – probably because when I began them, they weren’t series in my head.
- What was the best money you ever spent as a writer? Signing up for classes with Margie Lawson. She has changed my writing! As well as purchasing Scrivener and Vellum.
- What’s your favorite under-appreciated novel? House by Ted Dekker.
- As a writer, what would you choose as your mascot/avatar/spirit animal? A black sheep!
- How many unpublished and half-finished books do you have? Probably around 5 that will never see the light of day.
- What does literary success look like to you? Having a vast readership where people can name me as one of their favourite authors.
- What kind of research do you do, and how long do you spend researching before beginning a book? I tend to research as I’m writing. It can be in the form of reading articles, calling professionals…whatever is needed.
- How many hours a day/week do you write? I write a minimum of 1000 words a day. Some days I can get those words in 2 hrs, some days it takes me 8 hours. I write 5 days a week. I take one day off on the weekend and then plot on the other day.
13. How do you select the names of your characters? I always ask my readers for names…they are the best resource I have!
14. What was your hardest scene to write? Every book has a hard scene to write. In The Forgotten Ones, it was when someone died. I bawled so hard I ended up with a massive headache.
15. Why did you choose to write in your particular field or genre? If you write more than one, how do you balance them? I write what I love to read and what I’m passionate about. I tend to focus on one book at a time so that it gets my full attention.
16. long have you been writing? Full time, since 2010. But I began back in 2005.
17. What inspires you? My family, my faith and my readers.
18. How do you find or make time to write? It’s not a matter of finding time to write, it’s deciding that writing is important to me and so I will write. If anything is important it will become a part of your lifestyle.
19. What projects are you working on at the present? I am working on my upcoming novel that will be out with my publisher in 2019.
20. What do your plans for future projects include? I have a new series that I’ll be publishing beginning this summer that I’m really excited about. It’s about a woman who helps to rescue abused women from cults.
21. Share a link to your author website. steenaholmes.com – I have a free book readers can download if they join my newsletter.
Mandy Eve-Barnett's Blog for Readers & Writers 