Book Goodies

Find great books, bargains and freebies!

  • Home
  • Authors: Tell Readers About Your Book
  • Advertising
    • Buy Home Page Features
    • Advertise Your Bargain Book
    • List Your Free eBook
    • Feature Your PermaFree Book
    • BookGoodies Multi-site Landing Pages And Book Buyer’s Guides
    • Author Advertising PrePay and Save!
  • Deals Newsletter
  • Featured Books
    • Buyer’s Guides
  • Book and Kindle Sleeves
  • Free Printable Bookmarks
  • Sites in the BookGoodies Network
  • Inspirational Thoughts and Affirmations
  • Free Books
  • PermaFree Books
  • Featured Free and Bargain Books
  • Bargain Books Under $3
  • Buyer’s Guides
  • Interviews With Authors
    • Podcasts with Authors
  • Authors Start Here
    • Authors: Tell Readers About Your Book
    • BookGoodies MEGA Submit Book Buyers Guide
    • Submit Your Interview
    • Feature Your Free Books
    • Feature Your Bargain Books
  • Giveaways from BookGoodies
You are here: Home / Interviews With Authors / Interview with Author – Terri-Lynne Smiles @TLSmiles

Interview with Author – Terri-Lynne Smiles @TLSmiles

By Book Goodies Leave a Comment

Headshot-7-2013-1-lightened
Author Bio:
Terri-Lynne Smiles writes accessible, cross-genre novels from her central Ohio home. Her science fantasy novels composing The Rothston Series creates “a fascinating sci-fi world [is] mapped directly onto the everyday reality.” (The Kirkus Review). Possessing “a native talent for imaginative storytelling,” (Midwest Book Review) Terri-Lynne’s analytic were previously put to work as an attorney, where she was recognized as a Best Lawyer in America, an Ohio Super Lawyer, and one of the Top 25 Female Attorneys in Ohio. Her novels have been noted as “highly recommended reading” by the Midwest Book review. She is an active volunteer for several nonprofit civic organizations and is current board chair of the Ohio Association.

What inspires you to write?
I love to write and I love to think about morality and human interactions. I’ve always thought that fiction provides a wonderful means for examining what we believe to be right and wrong by testing it in new contexts. I believe fiction can be “popular” – meaning fun and readable – while still having that core of something to think about after the last page is turned.

Tell us about your writing process.
Plot is vital in fiction – and that doesn’t mean having a good story. Plot is the skeleton that allows a good story inhabited by good characters hang together. If you aren’t sure about what a plot requires, I recommend 20 Master Plots by Ronald Tobias. Very easy and accessible information. I reread it before I start each novel. Then I do a 30,000 foot outline. Then I create a scene by scene outline of the first 1/3 to 1/2 of the book. Then I set the outlines aside (but the framework remains in my head) and just write. Often climax scene writes just after the opening scenes. When I have the first two acts of the novel completed, I do a scene by scene outline of the last 1/3 and follow it pretty closely.

For Fiction Writers: Do you listen (or talk to) to your characters?
My characters are real people to me. They talk to me constantly while I’m writing. At first, this was problematic – they would balk at the terrible things I had in store for them. When I listened to them, the stories became bland and lacked tension. I had to learn to have the conversations with them but remain the captain of the ship in my head.

What advice would you give other writers?
Listen critically to all advice you are given. Accept that which makes you a better writer, even if you don’t like it because it makes you work harder. Reject the advice that amounts to “Write the next ___” with the blank being the most recent blockbuster novel. You will hear a lot of that in different forms, but unless that is your passion, don’t listen. You need to write YOUR books, not copies of someone else’s.

How did you decide how to publish your books?
My novels are currently published with a small publisher and I retain the rights to pull my work from them (under certain circumstances). Thus, I’ve kept the flexibility to sign with a major publisher. My decision to go small press was based on my novels being cross-genre – neither entirely science fiction, entirely fantasy, nor entirely thriller. That makes marketing more difficult because the audience is not as easily accessible, and made my initial novel, Foreseen, less desirable to traditional publishers given that I was an unknown author. My suggestions for new authors is to take their time in making the decision. Self-publishing and even indie publishing is seductively fast and easy, but the process of querying and receiving rejections provides information about your work as well as market forces.

What do you think about the future of book publishing?
Books will survive, as will authors. Oddly, I think there is a market for short, badly written novels and a separate market for quality works. Right now, these two products are mixed together, but I suspect that overtime, different different access points will develop bringing the readers and authors of each type together in separate forums.

What do you use?
Professional Editor, Professional Cover Designer, Beta Readers

What genres do you write?
Science fiction, fantasy, thriller

What formats are your books in?
Both eBook and Print

Website(s)
Terri-Lynne Smiles Home Page Link
Link To Terri-Lynne Smiles Page On Amazon
Link to Author Page on other site

Your Social Media Links
https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6430276
https://www.facebook.com/TerriLynneSmiles
http://twitter.com/TLSmiles

Filed Under: Interviews With Authors Tagged With: adepts, choices, Foreseen, Terri-Lynne Smiles, The Rothston Series


Free and Bargain Books delivered to your email daily, subscribe now to find great new books every day.

Are you looking for ebook deals? We have them! We also have free ebooks - check them out!

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Sign up for our Featured and Bargain Books Newsletter

Fiction

  • Fiction
  • Action & Adventure
  • Drama
  • Fantasy
  • Historical
  • Horror
  • Mystery/Suspense
  • Paranormal
  • Romance
  • Romance – Erotica
  • Science Fiction
  • Women’s Fiction
  • Fiction Audio Books

Nonfiction

  • Art/Photography/Coffee Table
  • Biographies & Memoirs
  • Body/Mind/Spirit
  • Business Books
  • Cooking and Food Books
  • Crafts and Hobbies
  • Educational/How-to
  • Essays
  • Faith and Religion
  • Gardening Books
  • Health & Fitness
  • Humor
  • Inspiration and Photography Books
  • Pet and Animal Books
  • Science and Math
  • Travel
  • Nonfiction Audio Books

More Good Stuff

  • Featured Books
  • Children and Young Adult Books
  • *Reading Room
    • Interviews With Authors
    • Audio Books
      • Nonfiction Audio Books
      • Fiction Audio Books
  • Spanish
  • Giveaways from BookGoodies
  • Readers: What Podcasts Do You Listen To?
  • Readers: What Devices do You Use to Read eBooks?
  • Readers: What Do You Like on an Author’s Website?

For Authors

  • Authors: Tell Readers About Your Book
  • Author Interview – Tell Us About Yourself
  • BookGoodies MEGA Submit Book Buyers Guide
  • Advertise Your Bargain Books
  • Advertise Your Free eBook
  • Advertise Your PermaFree Book
  • Universal Link Tool for Amazon Books
  • Subscribe to Our Newsletter
  • BookGoodies News

Copyright © 2023 BookGoodies Network