Interview with Author – Joleene Naylor

About Joleene Naylor:
Joleene Naylor is the author of the glitter-less Amaranthine vampire series, a world where vampires aren’t for children. As a compliment to the novel series, she has also written several short stories, including the Vampire Morsels collection, and has plans for an Amaranthine Encyclopedia.

In her spare time, Joleene is a freelance book cover designer and for-fun photographer. She maintains several blogs full of odd ramblings, and occasionally updates her website at JoleeneNaylor.com. She and her husband live in Villisca, Iowa near the famous – and reportedly haunted – “axe murder” house. Though she enjoys the paranormal, she refuses to invite the ghosts for a visit. Between the cats, dogs, and turtles, her house is full enough.

What inspires you to write?
I’ve always liked to make up stories in my head because, though I love books, TV, and movies, I often think “If only they’d done this” or “What about that?” or “That needs more ___”. When I get writer’s block, the best thing I can do for it is take a couple of days and glut on anime, and that usually does the trick.

Tell us about your writing process.
I sometimes have a kind of “outline” in my head, but it’s rarely more than a couple of chapters ahead of where I am. I’m half finished with book 7 and I have a vague idea how it will end and a couple of things that will have to happen to get them there, but the rest is a mystery. When i run out of what I’ve figured out I stop, ask myself what it needs (has it been boring for a bit? a lot of action right in a row?) and then I ask the characters what they need/want to do, and generally we go from there.

For Fiction Writers: Do you listen (or talk to) to your characters?
All the time. They’re like a third party entity that I get to throw stuff at and watch them react. They all hate me.

What advice would you give other writers?
Write, Edit, Rewrite. Edit. Rewrite. Edit. Repeat a few times, and THEN publish. I’ve known so many authors who are later embarrassed because their first book(s) were badly written or edited, and once an author gets painted with that brush it’s hard to wash the stigma off in reader’s mind. By the same token, as years pass and you write more and more books, your writing will get better, so when you look back at book #1 and it’s not as good as book #20, remember neither is Stephen King’s.

How did you decide how to publish your books?
I want to keep the rights to my work; if I want to give it away free, I want that ability, and if I want to post half of it on my blog, I don;t want an executive telling me that they own what I created. With the changing landscape of traditional publishing, unless you’re a huge hitter you don’t get much from the traditional publishers, anyway. But, i would encourage a new author to research all their options thoroughly before deciding, and to never, never, sign with andy publisher – large or small – without talking to other clients and having a lawyer read over the contract.

What do you think about the future of book publishing?
I think it’s only going to get harder from here. Indie publishing is like the gold rush in California. At first it’s just a few hardy pioneers who govern themselves, then a few strike it big, hundreds rush in to join, lawlessness ensues, brawls in the streets, bad grammar, terrible punctuation, and the citizens – the readers – start to complain, they start to say “We need a Sheriff to come in here and tell all these rough and tough author types to simmer down and quit writing this drivel!” And so the gate keepers start. We’ve already seen Amazon’s on again off again policy against erotica. But I think the first step towards permanent gate-keeping will be quality; typos and such. Then it will slowly evolve until the indie publishers – mosty Amazon, I think – become the new gatekeepers. Law and Order is restored and the whole place becomes “respectable” with cookie cutter books cooling on windowsills and children frolicking across the electronic pages of more of the same old-same old drivel. Because the wild west can’t last forever; people just can’t stand that kind of freedom.

What do you use?: Professional Editor, Beta Readers

What genres do you write?: Fantasy, Paranormal

What formats are your books in?: Both eBook and Print

Website(s)
Joleene Naylor Home Page Link
Link To Joleene Naylor Page On Amazon
Link to Author Page on Smashwords

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