About Courtney Hamilton:
Courtney Hamilton has worked in Hollywood with writers, directors, executive producers, actresses and actors in the entertainment industry in L.A., Las Vegas and New York, including Golden Globe and Emmy winners in television and feature films (particularly in the humorous fiction, humor romance and women’s fiction genres). Based in Los Angeles, California, Hamilton is a keen observer of L.A. Royalty and southern California society (which many consider a romantic fiction of its own). Almost Royalty is a fictionalized satire of Los Angeles social classes and especially those who aspire to be part of the city’s A-Level Royalty.
What inspires you to write?
A brutally bad break-up. Also, the sub-prime loan crises— in the months leading up to the actual sub-prime crisis, I saw some wild behavior—the kind of thing where people with no income and no job—people recently out of graduate school– were buying hugely expensive big ticket items— things like $2 million dollar homes. And a cat—the cat was a huge inspiration for Almost Royalty.
Tell us about your writing process.
I don’t think that I ever realized it but writing has always been a very organic experience for me. I am able to sit down and start writing. Of course, it’s an extremely rough draft but from there I elaborate on my draft and add areas that I feel I need to expand on. Then I hand it on to numerous friends and family to see their opinion and work from there. Use the resources you have around you!
For Fiction Writers: Do you listen (or talk to) to your characters?
I would definitely say Courtney has some elements that I would express in myself. When writing out dialogue, I try to keep the conversation in my head, but as some know I may blurt words out to see if it sounds right.
What advice would you give other writers?
Keep Writing- even when people tell you that your work sucks. And try and find your own voice. Also, try to remember that unless someone feels something when they read your work – good, bad, happy, sad, excited, angry etc.- it’s not working. And definitely get a great attorney, because you will get screwed if you sign your contracts without one.
How did you decide how to publish your books?
I think the greatest accomplishment I had was with an independent publisher. The big name publishers have gotten so big you don’t receive that personal connection and growth you once had. There is always that self gain for big publishers and I always try to have personal connections with all the reviewers of my novel.
What do you think about the future of book publishing?
Oh wow, so far I can say the Ebook market has been flooded by titles over the past year. I think I remember back in 2013 to 2014 there was an increase in over 400,000 titles in the Amazon Kindle Store. So many books, how do you even get seen at that point? I’m hoping the book publishing industry makes it easier for little or small-time authors to get see better.
What do you use?: Professional Editor, Professional Cover Designer, Beta Readers
What genres do you write?: Humor & Satire, Women’s Fiction, Chick Lit, Contemporary Fiction, Urban Fiction
What formats are your books in?: Both eBook and Print
Website(s)
Courtney Hamilton Home Page Link
Link To Courtney Hamilton Page On Amazon
