About Erika Kathryn:
ERIKA KATHRYN graduated with honors from Wing Camp where she earned her Halo and her spirited set of wings. She now heads the Angel Dispatch Department in Heaven. She frequents Unicorn Island, the Fairy Forest, and the Sorcery Sire. You can find her most days taking a dip with the mermaid tribe, drinking from the Fountain of Youth, walking along the sandy beach of the Good Soul State, or playing with her pet clouds.
In addition to THE ANGEL ARCHIVES TRILOGY she is excited to have just released eight NEW additions to the Series. The Audie the Angel SHORT STORY SERIES includes six adventures, told from the view of your favorite Angel Army characters. They are a stand-alone series (to be read in no particular order) that include a FUTURE WRITER’S WORKBOOK designed to help young aspiring writers develop their own stories. Also, an Audie the Angel PICTURE BOOK as well as COLORING BOOK for a younger generation of readers have been added to the adored series!
What inspires you to write?
Everything around me gives me ideas and inspiration. But I write because I have to. It’s hardwired into my brain and no matter what I’ve tried, I can’t stop it. I would rather sit in a dark room writing on my laptop instead of going out on a boat in the gorgeous sunshine. I think that’s when you know that writing is in your blood. When no matter what else you do in life, it seems like a waste of time, compared to writing.
Tell us about your writing process.
I have always been an outliner. I think the better you outline and the better you think the story through in the beginning, the easier it is to complete and also the less opportunity there will be for writer’s block. I have tried many different methods of outlines. So far, I prefer doing a chapter outline. That way I map out the chapter names and jot down a few things that should happen in each chapter. I have also written a few feature-length movie screenplays, and for those I’ve experimented using index cards, massive sized wall post-its, and created an outline in an Excel spreadsheet. I don’t think the type of outline matters; just that you do it.
For Fiction Writers: Do you listen (or talk to) to your characters?
I truly play the novel/ chapters/ scenes out in my mind like a movie. I see everything unfold in my head. Almost every single time I’m driving in the car alone, there is a movie of my current book playing in my mind. And in my head, I act out all the character’s dialogue and action. Sometimes in the shower I will even say the character’s dialogue lines out loud. So as strange as all that is, it helps me really get a grasp on the character’s voice and what they would say in the situation they find themselves in.
What advice would you give other writers?
I’ve been doing this for over a decade and it’s certainly not for the money. So I would say before you start writing you need to soul search and discover if it’s really something you love and adore and can’t stop yourself from doing. If it’s in your blood and you can’t help but to write, then just stick with it. I believe the saying, “Anything worth having is worth working hard for.” Well, this will be hard. There are millions of other writers out there. So you have to learn to jump over obstacles and hurtle heartache and then just write what you HAVE to write. Write what’s burning in you to come out. You will never be able to please everybody. You will have doubters, you will have mistakes…but don’t let anyone or anything hold you back.
How did you decide how to publish your books?
I have now been signed with 2 traditional publishers for my novels: BLOGS OF A CHEATER EATER and coming out in May 2016, THE LAVA LORD. And I have also self-published my ANGEL ARCHIVES series. There are pluses and minuses to both traditional and self-publishing. From my experiences I would almost rather self-publish (unless accepted by a huge publishing house) because I can create/ choose my own cover, my own Editor, my own timeline, my own prices, my own release date, etc. Plus, I get higher royalties and I have more freedom to order as many copies of my own book as I want.
What do you think about the future of book publishing?
I think more and more smaller publishing houses will surface. And I think even more and more people will self-publish. But I don’t think paperbacks will go away anytime soon even though e-books are so popular. There are still millions of people who like to hold an actual book in their hands, smell the pages, and feel the textured paper. It also seems that animated books are becoming popular, so we might see more of that in the future.
What do you use?: Professional Editor, Professional Cover Designer
What genres do you write?: Fiction; fantasy, action and adventure, middle grade, children’s, young adult, and chick lit.
What formats are your books in?: Both eBook and Print
Website(s)
Link To Erika Kathryn Page On Amazon
Your Social Media Links
Goodreads
Facebook
Twitter
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.
