Author Bio:
Theresa Parker was born in Fresno California. She still lives in the Central San Joaquin Valley with her husband and sons.
Theresa is an avid reader and whenever she finished reading a book, she would imagine new characters and insert them into the existing story. She loves anything crafty and going to the local Indian Casinos with her husband.
Her greatest passion is writing, however you can usually tempt her to stop for brief periods by showing her cute animal photos and shiny crystals and gemstones.
What inspires you to write?
Everything inspires me to write. I could look at the most mundane thing and make up a story about it. I would often find myself making up my own characters and inserting them into the books I’ve read. I just never know when an idea for a book is going to spark inside my head. I think that’s the best part of the job, getting that spark.
Tell us about your writing process.
I don’t really have a strict writing process. Some books I have time lines going from plot point to plot point. Others, I’ve just sat down and started writing, letting the story unfold as I go along. A couple of times I have written books starting in the middle and then working my way outward. It’s like I get a main idea or scene for the story and then craft the story around that main idea or scene.
For Fiction Writers: Do you listen (or talk to) to your characters?
Sometimes I do talk to my characters. No so much having conversations with them; I’m crazy enough without that! But sometimes I will need to remind myself about a character’s voice, so I might ask the question, “Why did you say that,” or maybe question the behavior, “Would (so and so) do that?” I am currently working on one series so right now, it’s easy to keep with the characters behaviors.
What advice would you give other writers?
Just write. Good, bad, or ugly…write it! And when you’re done….edit, edit, edit, and then, edit again! I know I’m terrible about editing my own stuff. Most writers have this problem. Find someone that can find misspellings, punctuation, and grammar errors.
And remember that you can always go back an fix it. Just because it’s up on Amazon, or Nook, or Kobo, doesn’t mean you can’t fix any problems you still find with it. I see so many authors that have books that need additional editing but they, for some reason or another, won’t fix them. You uploaded the file the first time to get it into these sites, fix the file and upload it again. You don’t want your reviews to say they couldn’t finish reading the book because of all the errors.
How did you decide how to publish your books?
I decided to self publish because trying to get noticed by an agent or publisher is like finding a needle in a haystack, to use an old cliche. You can’t get a publishers attention without having an agent and you can’t get an agent without being published. After several polite rejection letters I was about to give up. I even stopped writing for a time.
Then Amazon started offering to allow authors to publish their own books. I didn’t jump on that wagon right away. It’s hard to put yourself out there for anyone to criticize. I finally got to a place where I decided that I was just going to write for me and whoever wanted to come along for the ride was welcome.
What do you think about the future of book publishing?
As an avid reader, I’m a little sad that traditional book stores seem to be disappearing. But, as a writer, I love being given the opportunity to publish my books. It amazes me that through these ebook sellers, my stories are available to anyone worldwide. I get chills every time I seem my book cover pop-up on an email or website. It’s very thrilling.
What do you use?
Professional Editor, Professional Cover Designer, Beta Readers
What genres do you write?
Paranormal/Fantasy/Action/Adventure
What formats are your books in?
Both eBook and Print
Website(s)
Theresa Parker Home Page Link
Link To Theresa Parker Page On Amazon
Your Social Media Links
https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/8261499.Theresa_Parker
https://www.facebook.com/TheresaParkerOfficialAuthor
https://twitter.com/parkerauthor
