About Joan De La Haye:
Hi! I'm Joan De La Haye.
I'm a South African, caffeine-fuelled author of dark and twisted fiction. I write thrillers, horror and dark fantasy. I live in South Africa’s capital city, Pretoria, where most of my books are set with my two cats – Midnight and Mogwai.
What inspires you to write?
I struggle to narrow down exactly what inspires me to write. There are times when I feel a bit like a sponge sucking in story seeds from everywhere and everything. I've had times when a nightmare inspired a book, and then there have been times when simply hiking or walking along a street in my neighbourhood sparked a story idea. Other writers and their books are also a constant inspiration to keep me writing.
What authors do you read when you aren’t writing?
Oooh! I have so many favourite authors. Stephen King, Anne Rice, Karin Slaughter, Jeffery Deaver, Alexandre Dumas, Charlotte Bronte, John Connolly. Just to name a few.
Tell us about your writing process.
I don't plot, so the characters run amuck in my head and decide where the story goes. I often wake up in the middle of the night because I've had some crazy idea of where the story is going or an idea for a snippet of conversation, which I try to write down because I'll forget it the next morning. I start writing in the morning once I've had my first cup of coffee and the second one is in hand. I put my headphones on and listen to a writing ambience playlist on YouTube to help me focus. If I had some revelation in the middle of the night that I can decipher I start with that, other wise I reread what I wrote the day before and go from there. I write until my stomach growls for lunch and then spend the rest of the day on marketing and admin stuff.
For Fiction Writers: Do you listen (or talk to) to your characters?
My characters are very talkative, and I can't get them to shut up. They demand attention at the most inopportune moments, like when I'm trying to sleep or in the shower. I've come to the conclusion that writers are high-functioning schizophrenics, or that might just be me. Anyway …
What advice would you give other writers?
Focus on simply writing and getting the story done. You can always edit it later, but you can’t edit a blank page. Then, I would say get your newsletter going as soon as you start thinking about publishing your first book. Social media is great, but algorithms change, and all of them become pay-to-play at some point. You can only control the real estate you own like your website and newsletter. Focus on building those before you worry about how many followers you have on social media because that audience can disappear in an instant.
How did you decide how to publish your books?
I’m an indie author through and through. When I first started taking my writing seriously, being indie wasn’t an option, but after having been through the submissions grinder and working with publishers, I realised I’m too impatient and too much of a control freak for traditional publishing. I love the independence and freedom that being an indie author gives me. Indie authors can be far more flexible and experiment with many different publishing options that the traditional route doesn’t allow. I can sell my books from my website without sharing most of the royalties with anyone else. It's fabulous! I love being in control of my author business.
What do you think about the future of book publishing?
I think being indie is going to be more mainstream than ever before as established authors who were previously traditionally published realise that there's more money and freedom in being indie. More authors will also expand into direct sales as more readers realise they can support their favourite authors by buying direct.
What genres do you write?: Thriller, Horror, Dark Fantasy
What formats are your books in?: eBook, Print, Both eBook and Print, Audiobook
Website(s)
Joan De La Haye Home Page Link
Link To Joan De La Haye Page On Amazon
Your Social Media Links
Goodreads
Facebook
Pinterest
Instagram
YouTube
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.
