About Constance Barker:
I’m a wife and mother to two furry critters. I’ve been married for over 25 years to a wonderful husband who has always supported my writing. In fact, he encouraged me for years to start writing. We live in the country on 5 acres with a woods and a pond. I enjoy sitting on my back porch looking out over the woods and thinking of my next story.
What inspires you to write?
I have always loved mysteries, whether they were cozy or hard boiled. This stemmed from my grandmother buying me Nancy Drew and Hardy Boy mystery books at a young age. I devoured them. From that moment on I loved mysteries.
I was an only child so my imagination ran wild. Since I didn’t have brothers and sisters to play with I entertained myself by creating stories in my head. It felt like I was watching an episode of television only I supplied the words, places and actions of the characters. So I believe my grandmother supplying mystery stories and the fact that I was an only child and had to use my imagination for entertainment inspired me to eventually write.
Tell us about your writing process.
I do not write from an outline. Normally my process starts with an idea that pops into my head. I usually jot down some notes, which are highlights of the story. But for me, an outline places a chokehold on my creativity. Many times I allow my characters to lead me. I know that sounds strange, and many times my own characters have surprised me, but its as though they tell me how they want their story told. So I’m definitely a seat of the pants writer, although when I start I do have a storyline in my head.
For Fiction Writers: Do you listen (or talk to) to your characters?
I don’t talk to my characters, but they do talk to me.; ) To me my characters have a heart and soul and I want to tell their stories in the best way possible. I want readers to connect with them, and that’s why my stories have a different types of characters. For instance, one of my main characters in the Caesars Creek Series is a brash young woman who dives right into a mess and asks questions later. Her friend is quite the opposite. She calculates the risk first and is very pragmatic. The third main character is the narrator. You experience the story through her eyes and hopefully the reader can feel what she is feeling during the story.
What advice would you give other writers?
Just write! Don’t overthink it. Don’t feel you have to have a masterpiece the first time around. Simply put your fingers on the keyboard and start. And don’t worry about starting in the middle of a story either, especially if you’re stuck on how to start. There are no hard and fast rules to writing, and every one will have their own system. No system to writing is right or wrong. Do what feels natural to you and the words will flow.
How did you decide how to publish your books?
I had no idea how to go about finding a publisher so I read writer forums on how to self publish at Amazon. It is really simple to do, especially with Amazon’s platform, which is very user friendly.
What do you think about the future of book publishing?
I think and hope the future of book publishing will flourish. In the past you had to find a trade publisher, but now all you have to do is write and submit your works to places like Amazon and Smashwords.
What genres do you write?: Cozy Mysteries
What formats are your books in?: Both eBook and Print
Website(s)
Link To Constance Barker Page On Amazon
Your Social Media Links
Facebook
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.
