Welcome to our guest author–Sandy Appleyard.
•When did you first realize you wanted to be a writer?
After I wrote my first novel; my first and second books (memoirs) were intended to be the only ones I would write but when I took a crack at fiction I was hooked.
•How long does it take you to write a book?
Anywhere from two months to a year; it depends on how many writing projects I have on the go (sometimes I have two) and what sort of promotional efforts I’m working on in the process.
•What is your work schedule like when you’re writing?
I write all day while my children are at school and sometimes after they go to bed at night. My husband will take them out on occasion so I can get some work done as well.
•What would you say is your interesting writing quirk?
The way I come up with my book ideas is pretty interesting. Frequently they come to me as I drift out of sleep, while I’m doing yoga or sometimes as I’m watching a movie or television, or even while conversing with friends. I never leave the house without something to write on as ideas strike me all the time.
I also write, battling with my ever-loving twelve pound cat, for laptop space!
•What does your family think of your writing?
It’s cliché but my mother and stepfather love my writing. There aren’t too many readers in my family, so when I announce I have a new release they are sometimes indifferent, but they’re always happy for me. My husband is both my best supporter and my devil’s advocate; he keeps my head on my shoulders and steers me clear of promotional gimmicks and otherwise the ‘too good to be true’ offers out there for authors.
My children love that I write, especially that I wrote about them. My last memoir was a book about all the funny things that they’ve said and done since they were born. They often sit and read it together, laughing out loud!
•How many books have you written? Do you have a favorite?
I’m working on my thirteenth and fourteenth books at the moment. I write using pen names as well, but the bulk of my projects are under Sandy Appleyard. My favourite is yet to be published. It’s a Christian romantic suspense (if that’s even a genre) called ‘She Only Speaks to Butterflies’. It will be published probably in the fall and it is about a little girl who suffers from post traumatic stress disorder. That was my favourite to work on because it was such a touching story and one that will reach many walks of life.
•Do you hear from your readers much? What kinds of things do they say?
Recently, since starting a free online writing course, I get some feedback. They often say that they didn’t expect my books to be what they were or to end the way they did. I’m not yet sure if that’s a good thing or a bad thing, but at least it sounds like my stories are interesting to most.
Thank you, Sandy!