Author Bio:
Ripley Patton lives in Portland, Oregon with one cat, two teenagers, and a man who wants to live on a boat. She is an award-winning short story writer and author of The PSS Chronicles, a young adult paranormal thriller series.
Ripley doesn’t smoke, or drink, or cuss as much as her characters. Her only real vices are writing, eating M&Ms, and watching reality television.
What inspires you to write?
A love of story. Reading and writing have always been the way I make sense of the world and find meaning in the ordinary, unpleasant or mundane. Everything is better as story.
Tell us about your writing process.
I approach writing very organically. I don’t make myself write because I almost always want to. And if I don’t, I probably need to go on a walk, or garden, or eat ice cream, or read, or take a shower, or drink, or think, until I do again. I also do not outline. Where’s the fun in that? I write books for the same reason I read them– to find out what happens.
For Fiction Writers: Do you listen (or talk to) to your characters?
I don’t talk to them, at least not out loud, but they certainly talk to me and do things I did not predict or expect. I love it when my characters surprise me.
What advice would you give other writers?
There is no such thing as a perfect book. Write the best book you can and then write another one. Don’t worry about perfect. It doesn’t exist.
How did you decide how to publish your books?
I wrote my first novel because I was prompted to by a New York City agent to do so. She had read some of my short fiction online and liked it. But by the time I’d written and honed that book, three years later, she wasn’t in the business anymore. Things in the publishing industry were changing fast, mainly the rise of self-publishing and the indie author, and I could see that I ought to catch that train while the tracks were still hot. So, I self-published and I’ve never regretted it. I love being in control of my own work from concept, to cover design, through to the publication and marketing process. Who wouldn’t want to make their own books for a living?
What do you think about the future of book publishing?
I think it will be a wild and crazy ride, and the key for new and upcoming authors is to be informed, self-educated, flexible, and internet savvy.
What do you use?
Professional Editor, Professional Cover Designer, Beta Readers
What genres do you write?
Young Adult, Teen, Paranormal, Thriller
What formats are your books in?
Both eBook and Print
Website(s)
Ripley Patton Home Page Link
Link To Ripley Patton Page On Amazon
Your Social Media Links
https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/4340243.Ripley_Patton
https://www.facebook.com/writerripleypatton
https://twitter.com/rippatton
