Book Goodies

Find great books, bargains and freebies!

  • Home
  • Authors: Tell Readers About Your Book
  • Advertising
    • Buy Home Page Features
    • Advertise Your Bargain Book
    • List Your Free eBook
    • Feature Your PermaFree Book
    • BookGoodies Multi-site Landing Pages And Book Buyer’s Guides
    • Author Advertising PrePay and Save!
  • Deals Newsletter
  • Featured Books
    • Buyer’s Guides
  • Book and Kindle Sleeves
  • Free Printable Bookmarks
  • Sites in the BookGoodies Network
  • Inspirational Thoughts and Affirmations
  • Free Books
  • PermaFree Books
  • Featured Free and Bargain Books
  • Bargain Books Under $3
  • Buyer’s Guides
  • Interviews With Authors
    • Podcasts with Authors
  • Authors Start Here
    • Authors: Tell Readers About Your Book
    • BookGoodies MEGA Submit Book Buyers Guide
    • Submit Your Interview
    • Feature Your Free Books
    • Feature Your Bargain Books
  • Giveaways from BookGoodies
You are here: Home / Interviews With Authors / Interview with Author – Dana Ross

Interview with Author – Dana Ross

By Book Goodies Leave a Comment


About Dana Ross:
Former gemology teacher Caryn DeVincenti, who writes under the pen name Dana Ross, left all things shiny to become a full-time novelist. She is the regional director of the Florida Writers’ Association, Palm Beach County and is an active member of the Women Fiction Writers Association and the Florida Writers Association. Caryn earned her M.F.A. in creative writing from Wilkes University and loves mentoring budding novelists. Her articles on love, divorce, and relationships have appeared on DivorcedMoms.com and The Good Men Project. When not writing, Caryn enjoys dancing to loud 80s music, obsessing over social media, and playing with her insane Cairn terrier. Her first novel will be released through The Wild Rose Press on February 18, 2019. You can read her blogs at mysocalledwritinglife.wordpress.com and www.danaross.com

What inspires you to write?
My stories have always been birthed from real life struggles. Writing is cathartic, and fiction is the perfect way to right the world's wrongs. For example, when my daughter struggled to fit in with her middle school cohort, I drafted a story about a young girl who told lies to fit in, but then she started seeing ghosts and no one believed her. I also find inspiration through real-life friends and family members–but I usually combine two people to make one character.

Tell us about your writing process.
It took a few years until I started outlining, but now I'll never go back. I first create a character worksheet with details that may or may not ever see the manuscript. Music playlists are created to help set the mood, nd I sometimes scan the internet for pictures of what I imagine my characters would look like. I used to use whiteboards with timelines when I first started but, but now I usually journal in the voice of my protagonist or antagonist. Routines are paramount, and I sit down at my writing (kitchen) table every day, rain or shine, and make writing as much of my daily process as brushing my teeth. Most days my prose is drivel, but editing and going back to flesh out scenes is part of the process, so I don't get too critical. I always wrote while my kids were in school or out with their friends, but it was hard sometimes to quickly swap "writer" hat for "mommy" cap–especially when writing dark entries.

For Fiction Writers: Do you listen (or talk to) to your characters?
Growing up, I was in a school of the arts that featured Shakespearean plays, and we learned a lot about acting and "staying in character" Writing is similar in the sense that authors oftentimes talk to or in the voice of our muses. Sometimes I find myself thinking and–gasping–in the ways of my protagonist. It cannot be helped; we get pretty intimate with these fiction beings.

What advice would you give other writers?
Write every day. Read every day. Read in your genre, read outside your genre. Read the classics, read contemporary stories. Find your favorite authors and listen to the music of their words. Don't plagiarize but find sentences or similes/metaphors that resonate with you and learn to write something equal in your own "voice."

How did you decide how to publish your books?
I stumbled on my publisher while querying agents, and saw they'd won a prestigious award. I sent them my manuscript, it was accepted by a lovely editor who, unfortunately, left the company. Luckily, they paired me with another sharp gal who was incredibly patient with me during the editorial process.

What do you think about the future of book publishing?
My grandmother was a librarian for over seventy-five years. She snubbed digital reading devices but I assured her they'd only open the doors and attract readers that might not go to bookstores or libraries. My daughter has read entire books on her phone. I see more young readers doing this, and digital is probably the wave of the future–especially being in the age of blogging. But, I still love the feel and smell of paper and imagine there will always be purists (dinosaurs) like me who love holding a book in hand.

What do you use?: Professional Editor, Beta Readers

What genres do you write?: contemporary romance, YA

What formats are your books in?: Both eBook and Print

Website(s)
Dana Ross Home Page Link

Your Social Media Links
Goodreads
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.

Filed Under: Interviews With Authors Tagged With: contemporary romance, contemporary scandal, D.C. stories, dana ross, dana ross author, danaross, romantic suspense


Free and Bargain Books delivered to your email daily, subscribe now to find great new books every day.

Are you looking for ebook deals? We have them! We also have free ebooks - check them out!

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Sign up for our Featured and Bargain Books Newsletter

Fiction

  • Fiction
  • Action & Adventure
  • Drama
  • Fantasy
  • Historical
  • Horror
  • Mystery/Suspense
  • Paranormal
  • Romance
  • Romance – Erotica
  • Science Fiction
  • Women’s Fiction
  • Fiction Audio Books

Nonfiction

  • Art/Photography/Coffee Table
  • Biographies & Memoirs
  • Body/Mind/Spirit
  • Business Books
  • Cooking and Food Books
  • Crafts and Hobbies
  • Educational/How-to
  • Essays
  • Faith and Religion
  • Gardening Books
  • Health & Fitness
  • Humor
  • Inspiration and Photography Books
  • Pet and Animal Books
  • Science and Math
  • Travel
  • Nonfiction Audio Books

More Good Stuff

  • Featured Books
  • Children and Young Adult Books
  • *Reading Room
    • Interviews With Authors
    • Audio Books
      • Nonfiction Audio Books
      • Fiction Audio Books
  • Spanish
  • Giveaways from BookGoodies
  • Readers: What Podcasts Do You Listen To?
  • Readers: What Devices do You Use to Read eBooks?
  • Readers: What Do You Like on an Author’s Website?

For Authors

  • Authors: Tell Readers About Your Book
  • Author Interview – Tell Us About Yourself
  • BookGoodies MEGA Submit Book Buyers Guide
  • Advertise Your Bargain Books
  • Advertise Your Free eBook
  • Advertise Your PermaFree Book
  • Universal Link Tool for Amazon Books
  • Subscribe to Our Newsletter
  • BookGoodies News

 

Click here to have your book featured

 



Are you looking for ebook deals? We have them! We also have free ebooks - check them out!

Copyright © 2023 BookGoodies Network