Author Bio:
Sophie Dawson is an award winning author of Christian Historical Fiction. Her first novel, Healing Love, has won multiple awards including a Silver Medal, Readers’ Favorite 2013. She is a member of Christian Independent Authors and Association of Independent Authors. Her eclectic interests amuse her husband unless he has to help with the finishing of a project she’s overestimated her skills in completing. Sophie posts to several blogs including Little Bits Blog on her website; http://sophie-dawson.com.
What inspires you to write?
I was called by God to write during the fall of 2010. I was working as the lead of the media team at church. It was a stressful fall and in the back of my head I keep hearing that I was to leave the media team and begin to write. I left the team at the end of the year. We take a winter vacation each January and when we returned I told Yahweh that if he wanted me to write I would as long as he gave me the stories. Immediately, Lydia and Sterling’s story came into my head.
It is very similar with each book. I get the issue Yahweh wants me to write about, abuse, PTSS, marriage to non-believers, sacrificial giving, etc. then the I flesh it out with the setting and characters. Each of the books has a ‘message’ about living faithfully whatever the situation.
Tell us about your writing process.
I am more of a pantster than a plotter. I start with the issue I’m going to write about. I do rough sketches of the scenes I plan to work into the novel. I develop my characters. Then I start writing. I may not have all the scenes figured out which is okay since most of the time the story doesn’t follow what I planned out.
I use Scrivener for my writing. I can have each aspect and divide them into folders. Characters, setting, the chapters. They show up in one view as note cards. This is very good for the characters. Details such as full name, age, eye and hair color, family relationships in the note card view and developed descriptions in the page view. Those can also be subdivided into folders with folders.
For Fiction Writers: Do you listen (or talk to) to your characters?
My characters have minds of their own. They will insist upon what they want if it deviates from my idea. The character of Maggie Taylor in Healing Love was to be a nasty young woman just like her mother. Maggie didn’t like that idea and insisted she was nothing like that. I finally agreed with her and changed how she was. She ended up best of friends with Lydia, the main female, instead of an antagonist. Then she was the main character in my second book, Lord’s Love.
What advice would you give other writers?
Write what you want. Don’t follow trends. Your books will out live popular themes of now and will be very dated if you jump on the bandwagon of, say, zombies. Make sure your facts, historical, natural or technical, are correct. Quick research online can verify if something was invented when your setting is in time or when tulips bloom. In fantasy and Sci-Fi you can bend the rules more. You are creating your universe then so bend the rules if you want.
Grammar and punctuation matter. You really don’t want a review consisting of; “Needs An Editor.” I’ve seen many of those as I look for books to read. Bad grammar should never occur in narrative sentences. Neither should punctuation which should never occur at all. Dialog can have grammar errors but only to match the character. Spellcheck won’t highlight homonyms so careful editing for those is needed.
How did you decide how to publish your books?
I chose the self-publish route. I wanted total control of my creations, not someone taking them and telling me to change something. I wrote the novel how I wanted and no one has the right to force me to write it differently. I also didn’t want to have my work sit in a slush pile and get rejected by someone who never read it.
Self-publishing means you either learn to do everything yourself or hire someone to do it for you. Mainly I hire professional editing. It’s too important.
I won’t ever do anything but self-publish my novels.
What do you think about the future of book publishing?
I think self-publishing is the way of the future. Traditional publishing houses are not flexible enough to move quickly enough in the fast changing marketplace of today. The old model simply won’t work.
Digital books will overtake print in a matter of years. I think soon even school textbooks will be ebooks. I still release my books in print and large print because I many readers who are older and will never buy or use an ereader.
Audio books are another wave growing. I am in the process of having all my books recorded. It’s just another way an author can produce their work without a traditional publisher.
What do you use?
Co-writer, Professional Editor, Professional Cover Designer, Beta Readers
What genres do you write?
Christian Historical Fiction, Christian Contemporary Fiction, Christian Devotional
What formats are your books in?
Both eBook and Print
Website(s)
Sophie Dawson Home Page Link
Link To Sophie Dawson Page On Amazon
Link to Author Page on other site
Your Social Media Links
https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6431303.Sophie_Dawson
https://www.facebook.com/Sophiedawsonnovels
https://twitter.com/SophieDawson76
http://www.pinterest.com/sophiedawson/
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