How did you get over your hard childhood?
My father was an alcoholic when I was a child and would often be verbally and physically abusive. If it wasn’t for my loving mother, god knows what would have become of me. It took many years of counselling to be able to come to terms with everything but at the end of the day, we are who we are because of our past and we all carry our own personal scars.
What did you want to be when you were a kid? Did you ever dream of becoming a writer?
I always had a wild imagination and ever since I learnt how to write and read, I wanted to become a writer. From the age of 8.
Why did you choose to write Contemporary Romance?
I started reading mills & boon books when I was only 13 years of age and fell in love with romance instantly. Someone once said to me ‘write what you know’ and I know romance.
How many unfinished or unpublished books do you have? Do you think you'll be finishing/publishing any of these books in the near future?
I’m currently writing my third book which is about Luke ‘stefanos brother from my first book’ and hope to get that published in the next few months. I have also been working on another book the past few months but that’s something completely different to what I’ve been used to writing, so will take me a little longer to complete as I have alot of research to do with that one.
What inspired the plot of your novel, Their Second Chance?
I’m almost too embarrassed to admit this, but I never had it planned out. I knew I wanted to write about a couple having a second chance at love but that was it. It’s probably why it took me a year to write.
Why do you think many authors struggle with book marketing and promotions, even if they've written a great book?
It’s really tough getting a book out there for people to see. There’s so many PR companies out there who claim they can get your book seen by thousands but actually tend to not have much of a reach apart from Facebook and the decent ones charge a fortune. You could write an amazing book with the potential to be a best seller but if it’s not ‘out there’ for people to see then nothing would happen.
It all comes down to separating the good and affordable PR companies from the ones who just want to take your money and nothing else.
What is the key to success when communicating with the public?
When I get it I’ll let you know 🤣.
In all honesty, I have always been the shy type dispute the things I write about. And I have always found communicating with the public regarding my books really hard.
But I’ve found communicating by answering comments (such as in Facebook) much easier to do.
How important do you think book covers are? Who usually designs your book covers?
Book covers are very important. I know they say ‘never judge a book by it’s cover’ but fortunately we do. The first thing that draws my eye is a good book cover so I design them myself based on what I know would draw my eye and hope others would find the appealing too.
What is your one mantra to get through everything in life? What keeps you motivated to write?
‘Everything happens for a reason’. It’s what keeps me sane when things in life go down the drain.
Is there anything from the past you wish you could do differently? If yes, what is it?
The one thing I always regretted was not finishing my A levels. I started media studies which covered everything from journalism to filming and marketing but unfortunately I was too stupid in my young age and ended up leaving half way through.
I do sometimes think how my life would have been if I didn’t leave.
That and not listening to my science teacher in secondary school when he gave me some advice (he knows what I’m talking about).
What is the sweetest thing a fan has ever said to you?
A woman send me a comment on Facebook after reading my first book ‘their second chance’ and said that it was one of her favourites and couldn’t wait to read my next book. I think I would always remember her and what she said, she gave me the confidence to continue writing.
Which is the next book you are writing? What are some goals that you wish to accomplish with this book?
The book I’m writing now is actually about a character which was briefly mentioned in my first book. I had no idea at the time I was writing my first book that he was actually going to get he’s own book. Writing has always amazed me, how one character or event can lead to another.
