Next Big Book Thing: Author Interview

Have you started another book yet? I’m already working on several, with a new spin-off series ready to be written this summer, based on the Hayle Coven Universe.

Where do you see yourself in five years? Writing. Happy. Writing some more.

What are your current writing projects now? I’m presently working on the final book of the Hayle Coven Novels, #20 The Last Call.

Are you reading any interesting books at the moment? I am! I love to read and try to fit in at least an hour a day. I’m presently in the middle of NYT Bestseller Suddenly Royal by Nichole Chase. Since I always wanted to be a princess, she’s making my old fantasies come back in a rush. If you haven’t read it, you should. It’s fantastic.

Are there any new authors that have sparked your interest and why? Nichole Chase is one. I love her writing style and her storytelling makes me smile. It’s no wonder she’s a New York Times bestseller. I also love Angela Scott. She writes zombie westerns—just fantastic. Kimberly Kinrade is another favorite. Catie Rhodes’s Forever Road is just brilliant. I could go on and on, you know. I’m finding so many amazing writers in this new publishing world, writers who may never have seen their work published. A shame, because they are top notch.

What are some of the best tools available today for writers, especially those just starting out? Microsoft Word, as much as everyone complains about it, is really the best software and the only one I use, for editing especially. I know there are other writing programs, such as yWriter and Scrivener, but I prefer to do all of my outlining by hand and find those programs make me anxious. Too crowded!

What contributes to making a writer successful? The spark, first and foremost. I don’t care who you are, if you don’t have it, you’ll never be a writer. Everything else can be learned, but that tiny touch of creative need is absolutely necessary.

From there, education, and not just from studying English lit, but actually dissecting stories that work, from books to television shows to movies and short stories. All writing.

Actually writing. Not just playing at it, but sitting down, butt in chair, and putting the words on the page or screen.

And trusting the muse, the Universe, you’re doing it right.

Do you have any advice for writers? Three pieces I’ve finally come to believe are vital. One, explore all kinds of writing. Try a screenplay. Poetry. Short stories. Outline. Write by the seat of your pants. Play with it to find what works for you. Two, don’t stop, not ever. No matter what someone else thinks/tells you. Yes, you can. Maybe you’re not there yet, but you will be. And three, have fun, would you? We fall into the pit-trap of ego where we worry and fret and judge. This is fun. Or it is supposed to be. If it isn’t, time to refocus.

Her mom’s a witch.
Her dad’s a demon.
And she just wants to be ordinary.

I batted at the curl of smoke drifting off the tip of my candle and tried not to sneeze. My heavy velvet cloak fell in oppressive, suffocating folds in the closed space of the ceremony chamber, the cowl trapping the annoying bits of puff I missed. I hated the way my eyes burned and teared, an almost constant distraction. Not that I didn’t welcome the distraction, to be honest. Anything to take my mind from what went on around me.

Being part of a demon raising is way less exciting than it sounds.

Sydlynn Hayle’s life couldn’t be more complicated. Trying to please her coven, starting over in a new town, and fending off a bully cheerleader who hates her are just the beginning of her troubles. What to do when delicious football hero Brad Peters–boyfriend of her cheer nemesis–shows interest? If only the darkly yummy witch, Quaid Moromond, didn’t make it so difficult for her to focus on fitting in with the normal kids. Add to that her crazy grandmother’s constant escapes driving her family to the brink and Syd’s between a rock and a coven site. Forced to take on power she doesn’t want to protect a coven who blames her for everything, only she can save her family’s magic.

If her family’s distrust doesn’t destroy her first.

· ”A great, inventive plot, a deeply flawed, self-deprecating, heroine, many wondrous sub-characters and a constantly-evolving world of madness and magic (with a goodly side order of teen angst thrown in!). What more could you want?” — Amazon reviewer Hobbitual

· ” Thank you Ms. Larsen, for an excellent read….please please please tell me there will be more about these characters!” — Amazon reviewer Michelle William

. “ …this book was incredible. I was sucked in from the very beginning. I fell in love with the characters. The plot twists and the way it was written kept me turning pages well into the night.” — Amazon reviewer Misty Harvey

Don’t miss the exciting sequels in the Hayle Coven Novels:Witch Hunt
Demon Child
The Wild
The Long Lost
Gatekeeper
Flesh and Blood
Full Circle
Divided Heart
First Plane
Light and Shadow
Queen of Darkness
Dark Promise
Unseelie Ties
Ancient Ways
The Undying
Shifting Loyalties

And Coming Soon:
Enforcer
Coven Leader
The Last Call