About Anna Durand:
Anna Durand is an award-winning, bestselling author of sizzling romances, including the Hot Scots series. She loves writing about spunky heroines and hunky heroes, in settings as diverse as modern Chicago and the fairy realm. Making use of her master's in library science, she owns a cataloging services company that caters to indie authors and publishers. In her free time, you'll find her binge-listening to audiobooks, playing with puppies, or crafting jewelry.
What inspires you to write?
Everything! Seriously, anything I see, hear, read, or experience can wind up inspiring a character or plot element in a future book. An article I read about a real experiment in psychic espionage planted the seed for the story in Willpower. My interest in science led me to read articles about creatures that survive total desiccation (natural mummification) and be reborn when environmental conditions become wetter again; this inspired the resurrection of my heroine Dawn in the Reborn series. But sometimes all it takes is a great song. The opening scene in Dangerous in a Kilt was inspired by "Mr. Mysterious" by Vanessa Amorosi.
Tell us about your writing process.
I sit down to write. That's really as far as my official process goes. I let ideas percolate in my brain until I have a feel for the characters and know how the book will start and end, then I write. Long ago, I gave up writing outlines because I inevitably change my mind partway through the book. The characters tell me what should happen next, and they're always right! Music is also a key part of my writing. I listen to mostly orchestral scores from movies, but when writing sexy scenes I'll switch to my special playlist of sensual electronic music and hot vocal tracks.
For Fiction Writers: Do you listen (or talk to) to your characters?
I talk to them only in the sense that I write their dialogue. 🙂 I hear their voices in my head as I'm writing the dialogue and I see them in my mind too, like a movie playing out on a private screen. The characters show me what they need, how they would act, and what's right for them. It's not so much that they speak to me, but that I let them guide me.
What advice would you give other writers?
Don't let sales rank become your obsession. It will fluctuate, and besides, sales rank is not based solely on sales — which means other authors may have higher ranks but actually sell fewer copies. Amazon admits their sales ranks take into account other things, like the author's "sales history." This means we shouldn't worry so much about ranks. Do your thing and enjoy writing. I take more pride in the reviews from readers and email comments from them than from my current ranking, because pleasing my fans is what really counts.
How did you decide how to publish your books?
I've worked with traditional publishers, but I've also turned down contracts. A lot of authors, especially newbies, think a contract from a publisher means instant success, not realizing they'll still have to shoulder the bulk of the marketing burden. If a contract doesn't offer something I can't do myself, I decline it. I've never regretted turning down a contract for Dangerous in a Kilt. Readers love the book, and that matters more to me than having a certain name on the book's spine.
What do you think about the future of book publishing?
It will keep changing. That's really the only constant. It's easy to get bummed out looking at what's going on now or reading the opinions of pundits about what might happen, but in the end, all that matters is what your goals are and how could achieve them.
What genres do you write?: paranormal romance, contemporary romance, erotic romance
What formats are your books in?: Both eBook and Print, Audiobook
Website(s)
Anna Durand Home Page Link
Link To Anna Durand Page On Amazon
Your Social Media Links
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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.
