Thursday, October 1, 2009

An Interview with Erin Sinclair


Help me in welcoming our second interview of the day, Erin Sinclair. I met Erin through a mutual friend and we started emailing in regards to her writing. I enticed her to come to a writing group and we’ve been friends ever since. Here’s her answers to some very interesting questions.

At what age did you realize you wanted to be a writer? I was very young, eight years old to be exact.

What has been your biggest influence on becoming a writer? Storytellers in general. Those incredibly entertaining, imaginative souls that transport us from the reality we live, to adventures we can scarce imagine.

How did you feel when you got your first publishing contract? My brain went into overload, excitement doesn’t begin to describe what I felt. There was a rush of sensation so energizing, so powerful I was in high revolution for weeks afterward.

Is writing a lonely career for you? Not at all. I lose myself in writing and enjoy every moment of it. It gives me a peace that sometimes is hard to find elsewhere.

How many novellas/novels have you published to date? When did you have your first sale? I have published one novel and two novellas to date, with a third novella coming out on Halloween via Devine Destinies Publishing, a division of eXtasy Books. My first sale occurred with my first batch of printed novels of Twilight’s Son, Book 1 of the Fallen Angel trilogy. When I received my first order of printed novels and my friend Dani bought the first one, I thought “Good Lord, this has been thirty-seven years in the making.” I couldn’t take the smile from my face for weeks.

How do you get your ideas for your stories? Do they come all at one or in bits and pieces over a period of time? My ideas are a total inspired moment. They hit me fast and hard. I have to write them down or I will forget them. I have a ton of stories in their first stages, now to write them.

If you could take the place with one character in your books, who would it be and why? I would take the place of Lt. Detective Brianna Carter in Twilight’s Son. She’s brilliant, beautiful, strong, independent and has the eternal love of an angel who has given up his angelic existence because he can’t be without her. It doesn’t hurt that he’s all man, all hers and gorgeous inside and out.

Tell me about your upcoming release. Please include if it is part of a series or a stand alone book. My next release is a novella entitled Witch One? scheduled for sale on October 31, 2009. It is about a beautiful witch living a perfect life in New England whose fiancĂ© has just proposed. She joyfully accepts but she’s forgotten one small item, her first fiancĂ©, a man to whom she’s been engaged since a child and, inconveniently, still is betrothed. It is a stand-alone novella.

What was your inspiration for this book? Several sources actually not the least of which Bewitched, Fantasy Island, my spiritual belief system and my passion for romantic comedy.

How do you categorize yourself: pantser or plotter? Basic plotter, but allow my characters to tell me their story. When that happens, pantser all the way.

How do you handle the editing/revision process? Methodical and one sentence at a time. I tend toward perfectionism, but fall short more often than not. A wise woman I know who is also a writer has subsequently advised me to devote more time to writing than to obsessing over every paragraph. I’ve taken her advice and have attempted to become less paranoid.

You’ve received some fantastic reviews...how do you feel about them and why? I’m flattered to say the least. My goal is to entertain, transport, maybe even teach my reader something along the way. When I receive a good review, I appreciate that reviewer’s opinion because knowing what they liked about the story means I’ve reached them in the way I wanted to, what they may have had issue with, I utilize to improve my style. What I truly enjoy is when several reviewers have the same positive reaction to something I’ve written because that means they understood what I was trying to convey in my story.

Did anything odd happen while you were researching this story? Not odd, more like intriguing. Witch One flowed so smoothly from my imagination to computer, I wrote it in a minimal amount of time. I felt like I was literally watching a Hallmark movie in my head. That’s my hope one day, that Witch One is translated to a film as a charming romantic comedy. Well, a girl can dream can’t she?

What is your favorite literary quote of all time? This is the last stanza of Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening by Robert Frost, one of my favorite poets and definitely in my top five favorite literary quotes of all time. “The woods are lovely, dark and deep, but I have promises to keep, and miles to go before I sleep, and miles to go before I sleep.” It has told me life is choice and your will is free. Life is done when you are and not before.

Where do you see your career in five years? Ten years? I see my writing career expanded and unlimited. I see myself exploring every artistic bone in my body. I see myself pursuing my first love writing via several different aspects of fiction and even a non-fiction book or two. I see myself illustrating young adult/children’s books. I see myself pursuing photography, finishing my Master’s Degree in Creative Fiction and in Art. Quite frankly I see myself pursuing whatever sings to me and calls me to explore its possibilities.

Erin Sinclair can be found all around the web and is looking forward to hearing from readers at:


www.myspace.com/erin_sinclair_author
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/devinedestinies/

Erin is also on Facebook, Twitter (ESinclairWriter), Writers and Readers of Distinctive Fiction, Romance Book Junction and many more!

Thank you so much for the opportunity to chat with you today Lynn, this has been so enjoyable!


Erin's Bio:

I have been writing since I was eight years old. Writing is everything to me. It is my dream, my hope and now my reality. I am a daughter, sister, wife, mother and friend. As each role ebbs and flows in my life, the one that is constant is that of a writer. To me, storytelling is the original art form. I am thrilled and honored to be a part of such an ancient, noble tradition. My goal is to transport the reader to the worlds of my imagination. The greatest compliment I receive as an author is when a reader tells me I’ve “taken them there”. When I hear that, I know I’ve done what I am supposed to do with my career.


Thanks for taking part in my 2 for Thursday promotion, Erin.

Lynn


4 comments:

  1. Erin Im new to your work so i havent had the pleasure of reading anything yet but I deff will be looking in to it and reading some thank you for stoping by to day and giveing us some insight in to your world.Its amazing that you've been writing since you were 8

    ReplyDelete
  2. SiNn,

    Thank you for trying my stories out! I think you may like them, I have so much fun creating them!

    I was once told I had a past life as a well known writer. Whether that's true or not I don't know but would explain possibly my obsession with the art form at such a young age! :)

    Either way, I love doing it, now to hone my craft to its shiny best!

    Erin Sinclair
    "For love that's out of this world!"
    www.erinsinclairauthor.com

    ReplyDelete
  3. Hi Erin and Lynn
    Nice interview. Writing since you were eight, wow. Although when I think about it I was about 10 when I started writing poetry, not stories. I graduated to writing stories when I was about 12.

    Cheers
    Margaret

    ReplyDelete
  4. Margaret,

    Thank you! At such a young age, that's when you know it's coming from the soul, thanks for stopping by!

    Erin

    ReplyDelete