About J.D.W.:
Writing has always been a hobby of mine, beginning as a young child. It was a way to cope with losing my father at seven years of age. I started with poetry and was featured several times on the amazing poetry blog, Autumn Leaves, by Sondra Ball. My love for poetry soon led to writing songs in middle school and beyond, which I still do occasionally. Music has always been an important part of my existence, so writing songs came naturally to me. In high school, I started my own novel, however, life got in the way and I never finished it.
Fast forward many years later and I find myself married with four children, absorbed in my busy life with commitments to my family, work, school, church, and charities, among other things. One day I came across my old binder, with notes from my first novel, and it was with those notes that I conjured up the elusive Everealm.
I write to please readers such as myself, who have a love for fantasy and romance, but like a little danger and sex in their reading. I wrote the book with a mature audience in mind, who can appreciate a hearty imaginary world with magic and the unknown, but want more than fluffy love stories with wizards in them. They want the romance, magic, and danger, all wrapped into one.
What inspires you to write?
I get a lot of inspiration from music. I have a playlist that I listen to between writing and I find that I am able to visualize many scenes better by putting music to it, like a miniature music video playing in my head!
Tell us about your writing process.
I outline the heck out of it! I use a composition book to list plot ideas. It’s easier to carry around with me and I like the feel of writing with pencil and paper. Then I move to the computer (Word) to actually place the ideas into chapters because it’s much easier to cut-and-paste than to erase and re-write over and over again.
I usually have at least 3-4 points per chapter so that when I’m writing, I can refer back to the outline to make sure I don’t forget something. Other than those few points, however, the rest of each chapter is mostly invented on the spot.
For Fiction Writers: Do you listen (or talk to) to your characters?
I don’t speak directly to my characters, but my characters do talk to each other–all of the time! I will be writing one thing and another scene will pop into my head with other characters talking. I have a document open on the desktop for what I call “snippets” of conversation or scenes that just pop into my head at random.
I write in third person POV, so talking to my characters wouldn’t fit my writing style. I sit back and “watch” my characters interact with each other, instead.
What advice would you give other writers?
My advice to other writers would be to IGNORE MY ADVICE. I have ignored many other people’s advice and seem to be better off for it because so many “rules” contradict each other and every single writer’s experience is different. It’s ridiculous. I can’t please everyone and neither can you, so just write a book that YOU would enjoy reading. The rest is just bologna. If every writer wrote the same way, every book would be the same, and our lives would be incredibly boring!
How did you decide how to publish your books?
I self-published because I am inpatient and self-sufficient. I am a business owner, do my own taxes and bookkeeping/accounting, web design, etc. Anything I can learn to do, myself, I do. So self-publishing wasn’t a scary task to me. I do hope to publish to print one day soon. But I may do that myself, as well, via Createspace or the like. For now, I am fine with ebooks.
I’ve also found (while running my bakery) that word of mouth is my best form of marketing and it certainly seems to be the same for books. Happy readers tell their friends and so on. Building a fanbase who enjoy my characters and stories is my goal, not a short-lived spot on a best-selling list.
What do you think about the future of book publishing?
The future for books is bright! Even though we have to weed through more stones to find the jewels because the market is crammed with books, there are far more jewels to be found now that self-publishing is an option. Just think of how many books and authors we’ve probably missed out on over the decades because some big-name publishing companies rejected them. How many of those authors gave up and left their manuscripts sitting on a shelf somewhere?
For authors, there is more competition than ever, which means we have to step up our game to impress readers. And for readers, there is a never-ending supply of book boyfriends and OTPs, biographies and memoirs, fantasy and real life experiences, to immerse yourself into.
I am happy to be a part of the new revolution in publishing and support my fellow indie authors!
What do you use?: Professional Cover Designer
What genres do you write?: Fantasy, Romance, Paranormal Romance
What formats are your books in?: eBook
Website(s)
J.D.W. Home Page Link
Link To J.D.W. Page On Amazon
Link to Author Page on other site
Your Social Media Links
Goodreads
Facebook
Twitter
Pinterest
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.
