Author Bio:
Barbara was born in Colorado where she now resides with her two white Collies, Jackson and Storm. She began writing at a very young age in an attempt to make sense of the world she lived in. Never planning to publish, she now has 2 books in print and e-book, Magic’s Guardian, and the sequel, Magic’s Dragon. She has always had a love of magic and magical creatures and incorporates them in her writing. “Nothing is impossible. See the magic in the world around you and it will be there.”
What inspires you to write?
There are many things that cause inspiration. If I read a good book or someone tells me a story of their life. Birds flying over head causes me to wonder about the journey they are on. I have a friend who has the most wonderful Indian stories and life stories that just cause my imagination to soar. So in many ways, it is people who inspire me.
Tell us about your writing process.
I find that writing more then one book at a time actually helps me. When I hit a hard spot on one I will switch to the other. By the time I come back to it, the answers are there waiting for me.
My main characters are thought out in my head, put on paper and then develop as I write. As they grow, I write their highlights next to their names.
I will talk to them and they talk back, (yikes). In time, they take on a life of their own and tell me what direction they are going and usually, I listen. It’s rather funny how your characters become your friends and you feel bad when the story ends.
Before I published my first novel, I was scared. I thought “What if no one likes it?”. It took me a week to finally hit that publish button. What finally came through to me was simple: You wrote a story, not everyone is going to like it and really, you have nothing to lose by publishing. Share your stories.
For Fiction Writers: Do you listen (or talk to) to your characters?
Once my characters have developed, I will ask them questions such as, will you do this or that, how do you feel about that. You are the writer and need to be in your characters head. I think they call that multiple personalities.
What advice would you give other writers?
Don’t give up. Not everyone will like your story but someone will. The point is to write what you feel and be happy about it. When the first person liked my novel, it put me the nth degree of happiness.
When you first start out and even after you have published, join writer help groups. They are amazing people that will look at your writing and tell you plainly what might be changed or improved. They helped me and still do. I return the favor by reading their work and giving them feed back, that helps you too.
How did you decide how to publish your books?
After many publisher rejections (and yes, it hurt my pride), I started looking into self-publish. I was very nervous because I had no idea what it involved or if it was a good idea. Well, it involves a lot and it was a good idea. You learn a lot from self-publish. Some of the horror stories I have heard about publishers lately makes me glad to do it myself. My suggestion is to go the route you are comfortable with. Don’t close your mind to all possibilities.
What do you think about the future of book publishing?
E-books and self-publish are becoming big and more Authors are going that direction. Myself, nothing takes the place of a printed book. I think that the smell and feel of a real book brings comfort and familiarly. That being said, the generations coming up will be attuned to e-books verses printed. Publishers need to step up and change their ways before they become obsolete.
What genres do you write?
Fantasy, Paranormal, Romance, Mystery
What formats are your books in?
Both eBook and Print
Website(s)
Author Home Page Link
Link To Author Page On Amazon
Your Social Media Links
http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6550109.Barbara_Mason
http://www.facebook.com/barbara.mason.507
http://twitter.com/BarbaraMason1
http://pinterest.com/barbarasmason/
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