About Ariel Heart:
I have a Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration and have worked in Fortune 500 companies and Department of Defense most of my working life. I was an adult corporate trainer for a few years (which I loved), and found I enjoy breaking material down and presenting it in a fun and easy manner. I am a Colorado native who loves the mountains, wildlife, and low bug population – but I don’t ski, I currently volunteer at a cat shelter, played clarinet for a short time, and dabble in drawing, watercolor, and acrylic painting. I am a wine enthusiast and my interests vary widely so I like to write about them.
What inspires you to write?
I’m a wine enthusiast on my personal wine journey who found most books on wine either too textbook, too long, or packed with information I don’t need or want to know. Eventually, I was collecting the information that I found pertinent to enjoying wine without a degree in viticulture. I thought others might like to have the short cut to the core material as well. Thus was born the idea for The Little Wine Guide. My love for training and imparting knowledge plays into my writing. I plan on The Little Wine Guide being the beginning of a series of “little guides” that make learning the core information on upcoming topics (beer,coffee, tea, chocolate etc.) easy and enjoyable.
Tell us about your writing process.
Non-fiction is typically based on organization. So I begin by getting my thoughts on the information organized. Often I will find that researching further on a specific aspect will cause me to change or rearrange my presentation. I wanted to make this material easy to relate to, thus I introduced some fictional characters who were learning about wine for the reader to follow. Michael, Jessica, and Katie each have different motivations to learn and various aspects they are interested in. The reader follows them through the book. I plan on this being a standard element to future “little guide” books.
What advice would you give other writers?
We have all heard “Write what you know”, but I love researching on topics that I am interested in already. For me I begin with what I know and then seek the interesting and fun information to supplement. For non-fiction authors, you still need to find your voice, your unique way of presenting the information that nobody else can. Have a quirky sense of humor, then bring that to the table. For me, I have adult training in my blood and I utilize that experience.
How did you decide how to publish your books?
I went the self publishing route. Being self published isn’t a sign of poor quality any more. It allows me more control over my author career and I use an editor and professional artists for the illustrations the same as a traditional publisher would.
What do you think about the future of book publishing?
It is an interesting time to be an author. Publishing has exploded and affordable books are everywhere. Ebooks have made publishing very easy, which has it’s good and bad sides. Traditional publishers are slow to adapt to these market changes, but the pressure is on to acknowledge author contributions more and loosen their tight reigns on accepting new authors.
Being the “stingy” gatekeepers has resulted in perfectly fine books being turned down at their own loss. There are hundreds to cases where the book was eventually (and sometimes years later) finally accepted by a traditional publisher willing to take a risk on an unknown name and they became the next JK Rowling! Self-publishing has blown that tight control away. But, it is still a challenge to market and distribute books.
What do you use?: Professional Editor, Professional Cover Designer, Beta Readers
What genres do you write?: non-fiction, mystery (pen-name), and suspense (pen-name)
What formats are your books in?: Both eBook and Print
Website(s)
Ariel Heart Home Page Link
Link To Ariel Heart Page On Amazon
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.
