Q & A!

How old are you?

I’m twenty and turning twenty-one in roughly six more months!

Why do you write?

Because I love to write. Simple answer, I know, but sometimes things don’t necessarily need complicated reasons. We all do things that we love simply because they make us happy. Writing serves as many things for me—entertainment, a way to seek answers, an outlet from emotions, etc. Coincidentally, it’s almost the most frustrating thing in the entire world, but I’ve never stopped loving to do it.

When did you write your first book and how old were you?

I’m not quite sure how old I was, but I was younger than a ‘teen.’ It was in December, days before Christmas. Probably when I was helping my mother bake cookies for Santa Clause. I realized that having been to so many houses, Santa may get sick of eating cookies—he may even get a tummy ache. So I got an idea. I got some pieces of paper, a pencil, and wrote the story of Santa Clause (my own version, which was different than others). I even drew illustrations on each page. After I finished, I stapled the edges of the pages together and set it beneath the cookies we laid out for him. When I awoke the next morning, my story I wrote for Santa, along with the cookies, was gone!

What does your family think of your writing?

When I first told my father that I wanted to pursue an English degree, he wasn’t too excited. Everyone knows English is iffy when it comes to employment, unless you want to teach. However, my family has always been thrilled with me writing. My mother is actually someone who constantly inspires me, even to this day. I like to say she’s the original storyteller of the family, and her love for writing and literature in general really rubbed off on me. But when it came to publishing Twisted, I had many talks with my father, to gain his insight on the business aspect of it. I’m not sure he took me very seriously until one day, I came home with the print version to show him—and then it became real. He instantly took a picture of me, sent it to my grandparents, and now, every time we meet someone, my father likes to declare that I’m an international author—thanks to Amazon and how they distribute. It’s cool how parallel our lives have been, between my father and I. Years ago, he started a fracking company here in Texas, and here I am, self-publishing my book. Months ago, when I was teetering on the edge of indie publishing or traditional, I came to him for advice, and he said the indie route will be risky, but if you work hard enough and believe in yourself, you can make anything happen. On the contrary, I’ve always written darker themes, with sometimes sexual content, I guess you can say. My mother has only read the beginning of Twisted, but she’s afraid of reading more because she knows that I’ve written smut in my stories before. Hence, my father hasn’t read it either. I suppose it would be weird as a parent, to read a book of your daughters that has sexual content. Very funny!

Which writers inspire you?

Sarah Dessen, Robert Frost, John Steinbeck, Mary Shelley, Ellen Hopkins, Mark Twain, M.M Kin, John Green, Rick Yancey, and Alexandra Adornetto.

Give us an insight into Claire. What does she do that is so special?

I think what makes Claire so ‘special’ is how ordinary she is. I myself can relate to a lot of her qualities, especially what she loves to do—baking. In contrast to Heath, who tends to bury his feelings, Claire embraces them. She craves happiness and love, and she strives to see the good in people. This may be seen as naïve or ignorant, but I think they can definitely be strengths. As a character, I tried to make her relatable to readers—she isn’t always brave enough to do what is deemed ‘right,’ but she can recognize mistakes she makes; she can be stubborn at times when she needs to let go; she’s like every human, with both strengths and faults. Needless to say, I tried to not make her a Mary Sue character, and I can sleep at night, knowing I did my best!

Which actress would you like to see playing Claire?

My answer is still the same as when Twisted was a fanfiction. Rachel McAdams would be the perfect portrayal of Claire Manson, in my opinion. She’s exactly how I envision her!

Why did you choose to set Twisted in England, rather than the USA, your native country?

The fanfiction was set in London, but when I was beginning the original piece, I immediately thought of setting it here in the states only because I haven’t got much experience in England. I felt like it would be more accurate to write about things I knew. But last summer, I had the amazing opportunity of travelling to London and Ireland for a study abroad program, and I fell in love! I wanted to write in a different environment than where I was—I wanted to do research to do it as well. I’ve always been fascinated with cultures other than my own, so by doing this with Twisted, I fell in line with Claire Manson in the sense that I, too, was in a place I wasn’t used to, just not as extreme, per say, as her circumstance was. Sometimes, research behind stories are the best part of writing! It took a lot more effort and consideration, but it made the adventure so much more interesting.

What genre are your books?

Typically, I write romance. Now the kind of romance differs, but it’s mostly fiction and contemporary. I’ve recently been exploring fantasy mixed with sci-fi, but I always do love contemporary. There’s something challenging yet natural about finding joy in the ordinary.

What do you think makes a good story?

A ‘good’ story can be subjected to the readers. To me personally, you can have an amazing story, but if you don’t have amazing characters to go along with it, then it doesn’t work. One of my favorite things about a story is usually the characters. Thus as a writer, one of the most important things I stress is characterization. This is why when books are adapted into motion pictures, I often (not always, mind you) get turned off because they tend to focus more so on effects rather than the story or characters. Some of the best adaptions I’ve seen have poor effects, or little at all, but the acting, characters, and story are there, so it definitely makes up for it.

Do you have a special time to write or how is your day structured?

As of now, I like to write as soon as I wake up in the morning. I generally make myself a cup of coffee, sit down, and spend about half an hour, or more, working on my current project. I try not to force myself to write too much, or else things get muddled. But if I write something each day, at the beginning of each day, I’ll certainly have something to work within a couple of months or so, and I figure that’s better than rushing and having nothing at all.

Where do your ideas come from?

Oh—so many places! Sometimes, I incorporate a part of me into each story I write, though I usually add a twist or so with it. It’s not that I constantly search for inspiration in my life, it’s just that I sometimes take experiences and use them for the better. For me, my ideas are spontaneous, they can hit me anywhere, which is usually why I keep my journal in my car, or my cellphone always handy, just in case I need to jot something in my notes. Usually, story ideas hit me in images, like a vivid, flashing movie. And from those, I build on the circumstances and the characters. Sometimes I can think about an idea, on and off, for days, maybe even months, before I decide to either pursue it or focus on something else.

What is the hardest thing about writing?

Finishing whatever it is you’re working on—in my case, a book. I may get halfway through it and have a new idea strike me, and then I’ll be inspired to start on that. It’s so easy for me to lose track of my stories—you’d know this if you’ve read my fanfics because this happened all the time. But this summer I’m strictly focusing on two projects, and I’m determined to not start the 2^nd one until I finish writing the first one. Hopefully, I stick to that!

Do you ever get writer’s Block?

Oh yes, all the time! I can’t imagine never getting it.

Any tips on how to get through the dreaded writer’s block?

Write anything! Back in high school, I used to RP with people, which is kind of like improvised writing, so it doesn’t take deep thought or consideration or planning, so that always helped. Now, I just take a break, write some journals. The key is to never stop writing, though. You should always be writing—whatever it is, it doesn’t matter. Just write. I cannot stress that enough.

For your own reading, do you prefer ebooks or traditional paper/hard back books?

Ahh, hard question! I have hundreds of ebooks on my Nook over the past couple of years, but to me, it’s not the same as holding a new, or old, printed book. Just smelling the pages (sorry if that’s creepy), being able to physically hold the book—I’m not sure what it is, it just makes it more real to me, and makes me appreciate it more. Ebooks are way more convenient, and the major downside of a physical book I can think of is having so many, having already read, and having them just sit there, rotting. I have a lot of books in my childhood room that have been there for years. Sometimes I’ll go back and read them, but I feel bad because they should be being read, you know? I’ve been wanting to turn them into Half Priced Books, but I keep forgetting. Anyhow, I’d really like reading printed books—so long as they don’t just rot there when I finish!

Do you proofread/edit all your own books or do you get someone to do that for you?

I used to have a terrible habit of editing my writing along the way of, well, writing it. I’d write a chapter and then immediately go back and edit it. I’ve learned that in the writing process, this really stops me from finishing anything. I’ll obsessively go back and critically wonder if the direction of my book is right, if what I’ve written is trash or not, and so on. I’ve learned to just write and come back to editing later—I mean, that is what editing is for, right? First, I do most of the editing. But I can’t catch all my mistakes—that’s impossible! Especially with content. I’ll normally turn to my Simon Cowell of a sister to critique my writing, and then I’ll usually ask fellow authors, people who won’t be afraid of telling me the truth. Editing is a crucial part of writing, and you can’t be afraid of getting your writing out there! Without critique, your story may not improve to its full potential.

Do you think that the cover plays an important part in the buying process?

Oh, it definitely does! Despite the notion of don’t judge a book by its cover, well, I can disagree in the marketing sense of books. At first glance, a book cover is all one gets. I’ve seen amazing covers and have picked up the book just because it’s piqued my interest. But at the same time, I’ve read amazing books with meh covers. Covers may not necessarily reflect the content, but they should be taken into high consideration by the author because writers can be picky. It’s just reality.

What would you say are the main advantages and disadvantages of self-publishing against being published or the other way around?

Some of the advantages of self publishing is one, you don’t have a long wait because you decide when you want to publish it—and that can be in a single day, if you want to. You don’t have to send a manuscript to a company and wait months to hear an approval or rejection. You don’t have to wait even more months for your book to finally go on the bookshelf. Furthermore, you have total control. You choose what book cover better suits your book, you choose the price, you choose the distribution—and the downside goes hand in hand with this because you publicize it. With self publishing, you are the publisher. With a lot of writers, this can be terrifying because in the world of publishing nowadays, it is very cut throat, and there is tons of competition. It’s very difficult to separate your story from thousands of others. Big publishing companies usually already have reputations established, whereas you, an indie writer, don’t. With the traditional route, you have a whole board of hired professionals to make your book the best it can be on the market. They most likely know more than you do on what sells, what target your audience should be, and so forth. Along with the creative side of publishing, there’s also a business side—and that cannot be avoided. The reason I leaned towards indie publishing for Twisted is because I knew I already had people who would buy it, so I figured if I worked hard enough, did my research, I could expand on that. And surprisingly, that’s working so far! And that goes back to another advantage of indie publishing—you can leave your book out there on the market for as long as you want, I guess depending on where you sell it. Through Amazon, though, that can be forever. So I can be constantly improving my sales. Whereas with the traditional route, they can choose when to take your book down, if it’s doing poorly. It’s a difficult fork in the road, between indie and traditional, and it takes lot of time and consideration. It definitely shouldn’t be something that is quickly decided!

Where can you see yourself in 5 years time?

As a high school English teacher, having published another book!

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Website: http://sreeves28.wix.com/officialsite

Blog: lovefreelylovedeeply.blogspot.com (and for Twisted) twistedunstableseries.blogspot.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/sarahmreeves/?fref=nf

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/15201282.Sarah_Reeves