Hello. I'm sorry I had no idea these questions were here. I get personally attached to every one of my main characters no matter if it is my Fantasy/Paranormal or my Thriller Series. All my stories start with a dream or a nightmare and grow from there. My characters lead me in the story.
Yes I certainly do read every one of my book reviews. The good reviews speak for themselves. Many times I will thank the person but most of the time we don't actually know the true name of the person leaving the review unless they tell us. Bad reviews can be horrible on your self esteem so as an author I've had to grow thick skin. I actually got my first 1 star review a while back, and yes it still troubles me but there is nothing I can do about it. When I purchase a book myself, I've already read the blurb, checked out the cover, and decided it was something I would like before paying for it. When someone pays for a book then leaves a one star review with no firm or solid explanation and no contact name, there is simply nothing I can as the author say to that person. They had already decided to hate the story before reading it. I believe as a writer it is so hard to please everyone for sure, and a person can have a trigger from a story they weren't expecting. Everyone has an opinion and is entitled so I just keep writing, keep publishing. I adore all the input and suggestions I get for my stories and have used several.
Wow I can't believe I was missing all these cool questions. I started reading and writing poems in my secret journal when I was 10 years old. I published my first book of poems when I was 23. I didn't start writing and publishing stories until I was about 49 years old. My Chasing the Lights Series & Thriller Series both began with a dream and a nightmare two weeks apart in 2013. I shared them with my God Daughter who told me to write a story about them both. Everything exploded and took off from there.
Emotional connection to your characters and the story they are telling. For me I must feel involved and invested fully in my characters lives. I literally walk around talking to them as I create my stories. I may be quirky but that is my thing. I don't do outlines or plan. I write free form and let my characters tell their story.
