About Claire Fullerton:
I’m proud to report that I grew up in Memphis, TN. I now live in Malibu, California, with my husband, two German shepherds and one black cat. I also once lived in Galway, Ireland, which is the setting of my second novel, Dancing to an Irish Reel (contemporary fiction; Vinspire Publishing.) My first novel was released in 2013 by Vinspire Publishing and is a paranormal mystery in two time periods entitled “A Portal in Time.” I set this novel on California’s Monterey Peninsula, in a village called Carmel-by-the-Sea. I am a multiple award winning, full-time writer, an ex music disc jockey, a ballet dancer, and I love the outdoors, especially if woods are involved.
What inspires you to write?
A good story, which I cull from real life. I like to write stories that show the predicaments people unwittingly find themselves in because they say something about hopes and dreams and human nature. I think good stories tell us about ourselves in many ways; they say something about this business of living and can be insightful.
Tell us about your writing process.
I make sure I have the entire story, its beginning, middle and end in my mind. I decide what the point is in my novel, and always consider a theme that will run through the book in a way that suggests it, but doesn’t say it overtly, because that is up to the reader to ascertain. I take notes in a composition book with scenes I want to put in, or perhaps a line I want a character to say that will make a point. Always, I like a strong sense of place as the setting because this presents the mood. To me, everything depends upon where a book is set. Beyond this, I treat a book as if it is a full time job that I go to every morning. Once I start, I don’t stop until the first draft is finished. Then I walk away for a week or two, and go back to the manuscript as if I were not its writer! I go through the book line by line and edit it to make it better. I may do this five or six times: once for dialogue, another for continuity, another for description. I work a novel from different vantage points, and ultimately go through it to make sure there is a cohesive ebb and flow.
For Fiction Writers: Do you listen (or talk to) to your characters?
I hear what my characters would say in my head. I have a clear idea of how people really talk and write from this understanding.
What advice would you give other writers?
I think a writer has to separate themselves from everything as they write their story. They should use their own voice and give themselves permission to write the way that comes naturally to them. They need to be confident and fearless, and never compare themselves to anyone else.
How did you decide how to publish your books?
I never considered self-publishing because I wanted someone to see the merits in my books enough to want to be a part of the process. After two novels, I still feel this way. At first, I sent query letters to agents, then, after no bites, I went straight to a publishing house that accepted unagented manuscripts in the genre in which I had written. When the door opened, I walked right in!
What do you think about the future of book publishing?
I think it will continue as it is, with a divide between the big publishing houses who take on a book and a writer as an investment, and those who want to publish their own book and spend all their time working it!
What do you use?: Ghostwriter, Professional Editor, Professional Cover Designer
What genres do you write?: contemporary fiction.
What formats are your books in?: Both eBook and Print, Audiobook
Website(s)
Claire Fullerton Home Page Link
Link to Author Page on other site
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.
