Today we welcome Kristen Stone to the guest author interview, you can read what she has to say below:
Please introduce yourself, who are you and what do you do?
Hello Everyone, my name is Kristen Stone, well that’s my pen name anyway. I’m married with one grown up daughter and three grandkids, which aint bad going considering I’m only 18, honest guv. (In my head at least, I wish someone would tell that to my knees). I write novels, do some editing, and since early in 2012 I have been a partner in Blue Hour Publishing, a very small set-up that aims to help indie writers who haven’t a clue about technology. We fully believe that if you can do it yourself, you should. But not everyone can or has time.
What first inspired you to start writing?
Would you believe the Famous Five, The Hardy Boys and Nancy Drew? Yes, I’ve been toying with writing ever since I first realised what reading was all about. I’ve never really been into the classics although I have read my fair share, but I prefer imaginative books as opposed to words for the sake of words no matter how cleverly they are put together. I soon started to think ‘I could do this.’ And ‘I WANT to do this.’ But it has taken a long time, lots of hard work and the advent of new technology to make my dreams come true.
What is the most satisfying part of writing for you?
Hearing someone else say ‘I enjoyed that, it was a really good book.’ Writing comes so easily to me, and I don’t mean that in any boastful way, once I start the words just seem to drip out of my fingertips, that I genuinely find it hard to believe I have written anything of value. When Edge of Extinction was first published I could not believe some of the reviews I received. Every one said something complimentary and I found it quite touching and humbling. Now I have a little more confidence and KNOW I can write a good book – it’s just getting the rest of the world to see that! Same as the other million indie writers out there in Amazon-world.
And the most difficult?
Writing about myself. It’s against my true nature to shout about my own abilities – but I’m learning. You have to sing your own praises in this business because no one else will.
If you could work with any author who would it be?
I don’t think I COULD work with another author. I don’t think I would want to. It would mean getting to know someone I admire and that might lead to disappointment. I wouldn’t want to copy another author’s style and you can’t work with someone without working in their way. I have admired the books of many top selling authors over the years but in the last year or so I have abandoned most of those and have been reading lesser known authors. Of these Gerry McCulloch is a favourite. And I have helped a couple of other up and coming authors, too. Simon Swift, Alfie Robins and Ron Sewel have all had at least one book edited by me. If you haven’t heard of any of these authors find them on Amazon.
What advice would you give new and aspiring authors?
Don’t give up. Edit, edit, edit. No matter how many times you go through a manuscript you will find something that needs changing. But having said that, at some point you have to decide enough is enough, my story is told. Don’t expect to make a fortune. It is great that authors can now publish their own work as ebooks, but there is a lot of competition. Don’t publish your book and then sit back and wait for something to happen because it won’t. You have to be prepared to come out of your shell and shout about yourself and your work.
What are you working on at the moment?
Umm. That’s a difficult one. At the moment I am sorting out ideas, having just finished my fourth book. Even authors need a bit of a break sometimes. I am busy editing for Blue Hour Publishing; we have some new books in the pipeline, so my own writing is taking a bit of a back seat at the moment – but the ideas are forming!
Tell us about your latest work and how we can find out more.
My most recent book to be published is called DayStalker. I would say it’s completely different to the other books I have written, but then again, none of my books are the same!
DayStalker is a horror story based around Robert Gaunt who is basically a blood-sucking vampire, although he prefers to call himself a haematophagous, which is a real word if you want to look it up in your Kindle dictionary. Without giving the story away he is not like the traditional vampire, he is not un-dead, whatever that is supposed to mean – nor the modern touchy-feely ‘sorry I’m a vampire I don’t really want to hurt anyone.’ This guy lives on blood and Bloody Mary’s and doesn’t really care where he gets it. The book is available at http://www.amazon.com/DayStalker-ebook/dp/B00943OF8W or whatever domain you have for your own country.
And while you are at Amazon check out my author page or put my name in the search box to see what else I have written. You can also find out about my books on my website
http://www.kristen-stone-the-writer.com.
Oh and I have a blog, too, at http://kristen-the-writer.blogspot.co.uk/
And Blue Hour Publishing can be found at http://bluehourpublishing.blogspot.co.uk/
Thanks to Kristen for sharing her thoughts, on Tuesday we welcome Jaq Hawkins to the hot seat.
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