1.
When did you first realize you wanted to become a
Writer/author?
I was 7 years old when I
started telling myself bedtime stories after my parents left my room. And I was
10 when I started writing them done. I would always write, but people spent a
lot of time telling me I’d never be an author because it wasn’t a paying job
and it was impossible to get published. So the answer is forever, but the
reality of achieving that came in 2011.
2. Where do you get your
ideas for your books?
Many of my ideas come from
questions I want answered, like what would I do if I was a Navy SEAL in love
with two men? THE NAVY’S GHOST. Or how would I deal with being a new werewolf
and still hide from the humans? QUEEN BITCH OF THE CALLOWWOOD PACK. Or how far
would I go to get away if a hot guy kidnapped me? HER DEVOTED VAMPIRE. And
several of my books started as dreams I wrote out. THE BELTANE WITCH started
out as a dream of being cornered in an alley and having a hero rescue me -
except he wasn’t quite a hero.
3. What kind of things do you
enjoy when not writing?
I like reading, baking,
sewing, hiking, and meditation.
4. How many books have you
written? Which is your favorite?
Currently, I have
twenty-two (22) books out for people to enjoy, but I don’t really have a
favorite. Each book is my favorite at the time I’m writing it. There are a few
I’ll go back and read from time to time, but I like them all. I write the best
story I can to please myself before I offer it to others.
5. Do you have any
suggestions to help others who have a passion for writing?
Suggestions for writing?
Sit your butt in the chair and pound out the tale. No one got recognized by
dreaming and doing nothing. Suggestions for being recognized? Get your voice
out there even before you publish anything. Start a blog, a website, a Facebook
page, and a Twitter account. It doesn’t matter if you haven’t published.
Publishers, agents, and other industry professionals are looking for your
online presence as well as your writing. Get it out there where they can look at
it. And INTERACT with the readers. Safest way, if you’re really shy, is online.
Next step is conferences and booksignings. You want to be accessible to them
and that will help you sell books. Suggestions for getting published? Write the
story, find a critique partner or two who you can trust to be honest and
helpful (rather than hurtful), and find an editor. Then send it to a publisher.
6. What do you think makes a
great story?
Great stories are those where you take someone seemingly ordinary and insert them into an extraordinary situation. Then you have to make the reader care what’s happening to the character and how the character reacts to the situation. You also have to give enough realism that the reader can identify with how the characters act within the story. If the reader cares, the story is great.
7. Which Writer/Authors
inspire you?
Sabrina York for her attention to detail and humor. Cat Johnson for her action adventure. Sage Marlowe for his magic and storytelling. Charley Descoteaux for her ability to make the characters human in every sense of the word.
8. What are you working on at
the moment?(optional)
Currently, I’m working on IN DEATH’S SHADOW, a fantasy romance and book 3 in the Rifts Series. It should be out mid-to-late February. I’m just waiting on edits for THE VALKYRIE’S SWORD, a paranormal romance, that comes out in mid January.
9. What genre are your books?
I write paranormal
romance, and cowboy and military romantic suspense, so if it snarls, bites,
shoots or chases you, I probably have it in my books somewhere.
10.What drew you to the genre
you write?
I started off in science
fiction and fantasy until I found out there was a whole genre of romance
dedicated to characters who weren’t human. In that moment I knew I needed to
write stories about extraordinary characters and throw them into situations
with ordinary humans just to see what they’d do.
11.Which Actor/Actress would
you like to see portraying the lead character from your most recent book?(any
book you like)
I don’t write stories with
actors in mind for my characters, but there have been some actors who have
inspired characters. Russell Crowe inspired Jeff Lightfoot from QUEEN BITCH OF
THE CALLOWWOOD PACK. Sean Bean from LoTR inspired Darius Winterbourne from THE
BELTANE WITCH. Russell Crowe also inspired Brandon and Taggart Crowe in THE
IVORY ROAD SERIAL (I might have thought him sexy ;) )
12.Do you write full-time or
part-time?
I write full time.
13.What is the hardest thing
about writing?
Endings and revision.
Endings because in my mind I know how it ends, why do I have to write it out?
Answer: because no one else knows how it ends. ;) Revision because my muse
says: I’ve already written this, why are we going back through it? Answer:
because good writing is rewriting.
14.Any tips on how to get
through the dreaded Writer’s block?
I don’t because I don’t
get it. But that’s because I’m working on 4-5 stories at a time. If I get stuck
on one, I move on to another while the first one percolates in the back of my
mind.
15.Do you read much, and if
so who are your favorite Authors or genres?
I do read a lot, though
not as much as I used to. I like paranormal romance, romantic suspense,
military romance, cowboys, some historical and some BDSM. I have too many
authors that I enjoy to list, but I often help promote them online when they
have a new release and I include them on the Buy a Book, Tell a Friend blog.
16.Is there anything else you
would like to add that I haven’t included?
How
can Readers discover more about you and your work?(please provide proper links)
Website: http://siobhanmuir.com
Facebook:
http://www.facebook.com/
Twitter:
http://twitter.com/SiobhanMuir
Pinterest:
http://www.pinterest.com/
Bookstrand:
http://www.bookstrand.com/
Three
Lakes Books: http://www.siobhanmuir.com/
Thank you so much for hosting me today, Book Aholic. :)
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