About Heather Scrooby:
I was born in Boston, England, to South African parents. I moved to Scotland for a brief period when I was five before going to Chegutu, a tiny town in Zimbabwe, where I spent my happy junior years. I moved to South Africa when I was in Standard 5 and have remained here ever since. I moved from Durban to Johannesburg for my wonderful husband. We now share two amazing children.
I love all animals, especially dogs (of which I am a qualified fun agility coach and Dog Behaviorist) and horses. I love reading and writing, which I am certain is why I enjoy studying too. I have worked in IT and accounting for the majority of my working career.
I hope you enjoy reading my stories and would love to hear any comments and thoughts you have.
What inspires you to write?
I started writing when I was up in the middle of the night caring for my new born son. When my mother read what I had started she encouraged me to finish… and I am glad I did. Since then I have found inspirations for new stories in all different places. I wish I had the time to write down all the ideas!
Tell us about your writing process.
I do a bit of outlining and also allow my characters to lead me too 🙂 Once I have an idea for a story, I break it down into chapters, with each chapter having a ‘goal’. I write the idea I had on the first page and the direction for each chapter under that chapters heading. I then let my characters do what they will! This way I can write jump to and from different parts of the story and still-hopefully-keep the plot whole 🙂
For Fiction Writers: Do you listen (or talk to) to your characters?
My characters often bring something new to the book-an interesting sideline plot-and most of the time I listen and agree with them. It is the extras they bring that end up making the book so much better 🙂
What advice would you give other writers?
Being a self-published author is hard work. I am still trying to learn how to market my books 🙂 The only advice I can give you is to finish your book, if you have not already. It is an achievement to get those final words down. If you have already written your first book, make sure you go over it at least twice before you send it to someone to read. The more you edit (self or paid), the more others will enjoy your stories.
How did you decide how to publish your books?
I approached a publishing company for my first book Amnesia. Only one (and I had not yet learnt to read over my own work once it was done!), I was turned down and for some time I left it at that. But with my mother’s support I looked at self-publishing eBooks and at first thought Amazon and Smashwords were far too complex for me. However, I persevered and in actual fact it was not as hard as I imagined once I sat down and focused on it. And I am so glad I did.
What do you think about the future of book publishing?
Although printed books will always have a place with readers, eBooks are quick, convenient and (generally) cheaper than your traditional printed books. I definitely feel eBooks are the future of book publishing.
What do you use?: Beta Readers
What genres do you write?: Romance, young adult fiction, social issues and many more to come 🙂
What formats are your books in?: eBook, Print, Both eBook and Print
Website(s)
Heather Scrooby Home Page Link
Link To Heather Scrooby Page On Amazon
Link to Author Page on Smashwords
Your Social Media Links
Goodreads
Facebook
All information in this post is presented “as is” supplied by the author. We don’t edit to allow you the reader to hear the author in their own voice.
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