Author Bio:
I live near the borderline of North & West Yorkshire, the Gateway to the Yorkshire Dales in England.
My 4 children are all grown but I’m also very lucky to be a grandmother too. We are dog and cat owners. My wonderful husband assists Me with the complicated world of computers that allow me to publish my works for the world to view.
Most of my reading is dedicated to the worlds within Fantasy Adventure, Urban Fantasy and even mild horror fantasy. I also like Historical British Crime. When I first started to read seriously, as an adult, I began with the English Classics of Charles Dickens and the Bronte sisters.
By day I am an e-commerce retailer in antique & vintage items. By night I change my hat and I am busily creating and writing towards my new Fantasy series, Aarabassa World.
What inspires you to write?
As I have mentioned when I began my adult reading it was during my studies and I had to read the English Classics of Charles Dickens and the Bronte sisters. I then took the plunge of reading the Lord of the Rings trilogy (before all the film hype) and fell in love with Fantasy. This led to the vampires in Anne Rice, plus her witches trilogy set in New Orleans. From thereon my reading escalated. Then it was time to create my own world, my own creatures, my own story. From which the Aarabassa World was born.
Tell us about your writing process.
I have no programme of action for the writing, I’m afraid. I simply don’t know how I get my ideas but once I start to write it just seems to flow out and take its own direction. Rarely do I feel I have control of the wheel. Usually I’ll just have a flash in the pan idea, jot down anything. Then like a flower it just blooms outwards. Characters pop in along the way. Main characters will change and alter before I’m completed with my story. New cities will be created and the plot will chop and change many a time.
This is where I then become my methodical self as I will write approx. three quarters of what I intend to do. I know when I’m there as I try to write around 50k for a book. So, at around 35k, I will go back and do the first edit. This process usually leads the way in creatind the ending. After that there will be many, many editing sessions. During this editing process is usually when I decide upon a title and search for a cover.
So now it’s complete it’s time to do the printed paperback copy first, via Amazon. This is so I can view a printed version. Often, even at this stage, there can still be more editing to do. Eventually I will go ahead with the e-version, using KDP on Amazon. For the first 90 days the e-version can only be sold via Amazon. Once this is finished I will put e-versions out elsewhere.
Then the process starts all over again with the next book.
For Fiction Writers: Do you listen (or talk to) to your characters?
I certainly talk to myself in a conversational manner. Whilst writing my lips are often whispering the words I type so I can hear it better in my head. As a new author I probably haven’t got a set method yet. I don’t decide who will interact with whom, this just happens as I write. I’m not one to sit and plan each chapter. Though I do approach each chapter as it’s own individual story so there will always be some sort of highlight. I cannot say I communicate with characters because in my head each character is me. So as I write about different characters I am in their shoes at the time of writing. Yep, your brain does a lot of switching around I suppose.
What advice would you give other writers?
You must have faith in your own writing. Sometimes it appears that every other author is selling, but you. Don’t give up. Especially once you get one or two good reviews. That’s enough to confirm to you that you can write well. It is a very competitive market and you have to stay the course. Most of us are authors as a hobby not a living. Most of us hope it may one day become a living. That however, will take years of stamina.
How did you decide how to publish your books?
When I completed my first book it was during the time of submitting to agencies and publishers and receiving rejections. So I put it down for a few years and didn’t write anything else. Then came the boom of being able to sell your book as an e-book with no outlay but your skills and your pride. So I took the plunge and have never looked back. Plus, I now write all the time. I joined many social media groups and forums to see what everyone else was doing. They were all way ahead of me so I just got on with my own pace of publishing and marketing. At first I hadn’t realised I would be the one who had to do all the marketing but it’s just now part and parcel of my own deal. A self published writer has to sell themselves and that’s the way it is. No one is going to do it for you.
What do you think about the future of book publishing?
Very exciting for both readers and writers. Never before has there been so much reading matter. Gone, I’m afraid, are the day of relying on your local library to order a book for you that could take weeks to come. I will not be sad to see libraries go other than they are useful for those who do not own the electronic means of reading. I love my kindle and I also love sharing my reviews and telling other people what I think of something I have just read. I never would have known that there are so many talented people out there who can be successful authors. Yes, there is also a lot of rubbish but that’s a personal choice. I don’t own any books now, other than my own paperbacks. They were just dust collectors and I constantly ran out of space for them.
What genres do you write?
Fantasy
What formats are your books in?
Both eBook and Print
Website(s)
Author Home Page Link
Link To Author Page On Amazon
Link to Author Page on other site
Your Social Media Links
http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6927743.Catherine_L_Vickers
https://www.facebook.com/vintageplazauk
https://twitter.com/onewomansquest
http://pinterest.com/onewomansquest/
