About Chantal Gadoury:
Amazon Best Selling Author, Chantal Gadoury, is a 2011 graduate from Susquehanna University with a Bachelor’s Degree in Creative Writing. Since graduation, she has published "The Songs in Our Hearts" with 48Fourteen Publishing, and “Allerleirauh” with Parliament House Press, with future titles to follow. Chantal first started writing stories at the age of seven and continues with that love of writing today. Writing novels for Chantal has become a life-long dream come true! When she’s not writing, she enjoys painting, drinking lots of DD Iced Coffee, and watching Disney classics. Chantal lives in Muncy, Pennsylvania with her Mom, Sister and furry-‘brother’ (aka, puppy) Taran.
What inspires you to write?
Life, Adventures, Movies, History, Emotions, and People inspire me to write. A bright, beautiful sunny day can spark a romantic scene in my head, or a dull rainy day can make me pause and think about something emotional and longing. Music is a huge part of my writing process – and often helps to develop what I'm writing. The people in my life tend to appear in my novels, whether they know that or not. Things that I watch or read also inspire me to do something similar or sometimes, do the opposite. Everything can be a source of inspiration.
Tell us about your writing process.
I'm a pantser. I try to outline (and in some instances, it's worked) – but most of the time I just write freely, chapter by chapter. I think I keep a structure in my head of, "this character needs to get from point A to B to C . . ." and so on, but I let the journey of that be created more freely. Sometimes I'll create a Face Character montage, but – I really try to let everything come to me organically. I sit down at my desk, put on a playlist of score music that I'll create with my novel/idea in mind – and write. (With the coffee. Don't forget the coffee.)
For Fiction Writers: Do you listen (or talk to) to your characters?
Both. I don't think you can do one without the other. Sometimes my characters are super vocal and take over. Sometimes I have to pull them and get them to talk. So it's an on-going conversation between the both of us. I talk and I listen. I might ask a question of "What would you do in this instance?" Sometimes they respond, and if they don't, I'll write it anyway. But let me tell you if they don't like it… They let me know. It's sort of a void that comes to my mind (aka Writer's Block) and I'll know I did the wrong thing.
What advice would you give other writers?
Always write. Always, always, always write. But don't do it for other people. Write a book or a story that you'd want to read. The rest will fall into place. Don't tell yourself that you can't – because you can! Surround yourself with other authors -meet other writers. It's so valuable to create author-friends who can bounce ideas with you. Write for yourself. Read! Read lots of books – and specifically in the genre that you're trying to write. You can't know how to write your genre without knowing how others are writing it (both good and bad.)
How did you decide how to publish your books?
I did both publishing and self-publishing. I think when I approached self-publishing, I was really frustrated with my previous experience. And realized just how much I didn't know anything about publishing or marketing myself as an author. When I came back to publishing through a company, I had learned so much through my self-publishing experience – that I knew the journey of being an author didn't just stop once the book was in my hands. I knew being with a company was beneficial for me – getting the support of not only other authors but my publisher. Getting great advice and suggestions on how to market, and being a part of a team in that regard. I knew I didn't want to do it alone – so publishing just made sense to me.
What do you think about the future of book publishing?
I think the future of book publishing is always going to change. Right now, Independent Publishing Companies are rising up with more and more quality books (comparable to Top Publishers.) I think it'll be harder to market all of our books, as more and more people are writing books – and competing in places like Kobe and Amazon. Social Media is always going to play a key role in the book-publishing world. It won't just be about your book – it'll be about selling yourself as a genuine human being too. I hope that as the future of publishing grows, reviewers adapt to the influx of independent authors/publishers. I saw a comment the other day of "I won't read indie books because they're not in bookstores, and that's what appeals to me." I don't think everyone realizes the sort of budget you need to be in a bookstore, and what all entails in that. There are GREAT books that aren't in bookstores. I hope there is more of an acceptance to indie publishers and authors because – we're awesome too.
What do you use?: Professional Editor, Professional Cover Designer, Beta Readers
What genres do you write?: Fantasy, Contemporary, Romance, Young Adult
What formats are your books in?: Both eBook and Print
Website(s)
Chantal Gadoury Home Page Link
Link To Chantal Gadoury Page On Amazon
Your Social Media Links
Goodreads
Facebook
Twitter
Instagram
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.
