Oh, this was a slippery slope! It all started when the buzz was going on about “Fifty Shades of Grey.” I kept hearing the talk on the radio and even TV shows referencing it. So I decided to read it just so I would be “in the know.” It was the first erotica I’d ever read. After I finished it, I read the “Twilight” books because I wanted to see how those inspired the writer who did “Fifty Shades.” And it just kept going, I was reading more romance books with vampires, zombies, werewolves… and then I read “Monster” by MK Barrett, where a woman gets kidnapped by a monster, who was in a homosexual relationship with another monster. A whole new world opened up for me, and plain old heterosexual romances were old news. Eventually, I found there was a certain niche that was being ignored, so I decided to try filling it.
I read a book where the abused guy got his happy ending, but the abuser didn’t. He got some ending where he was the shell of his former self. I was like, “He should get a happy ending too.” And that is exactly what inspired “Kale.”
What do you find most challenging about the writing process, and how do you deal with it?
The waiting game. After your book has been accepted by a publisher and you have to wait for the editor to look at it, then the proof editor, then the formatter… and you’re just sitting there biting at your nails wanting your book to hurry up and be out there so you can show it to people already!
I deal with it by having more than one book in the works. So while I’m waiting on edits for one book, I’m writing another, and doing promotion for a third.
When and where do you do your writing?
I can write anywhere. I can get interrupted mid-sentence and pick right back up where I left off, hours or even days later. I don’t need a special zone of concentration to work. Before I owned a computer, I would go to a local library between work shifts and jam out a few chapters. Now though, I work on my laptop at home and listen to whatever CD I’m currently into.
What have you learned about promoting your books?
It’s not something you can do overnight. And don’t be afraid to reach out to other authors. I used to think fellow authors were the enemy, I mean, they are the competition. But they are also the customers, a writer is usually a big reader too! And I have yet to have a bad experience with a fellow writer. If they are doing something you like, and you want to know how they did it, just ask, they’ll usually answer. I’ll take business cards from authors I’ll see at conventions and contact them after about how well their books sold. I’ve never had someone refuse to tell me, authors are a friendly bunch.
What are you most proud of as a writer?
The fact this skill helps me with so many other aspects of my life. You use writing for so many different things. You can’t go wrong with developing these skills. I encourage anyone to do it, even if they never publish anything.
If you could have dinner with any writer, living or dead, who would it be and what would you talk about?
Darby Conley, author of the comic “Get Fuzzy.” I don’t know what we’d talk about, but I’m pretty sure it would be hilarious and probably pet related.
About the Author
Nina Schluntz is a native to rural Nebraska. In her youth, she often wrote short stories to entertain her friends. Those ideas evolved into the novels she creates today.
Her husband continues to ensure her stories maintain a touch of realism as she delves into the science fiction and fantasy realm. And their kitty, a rescued Abyssinian, is always willing to stay up late to provide inspiration.
“Kale’s Paroxysm” is Nina’s first contemporary novel, but will not be her last. Visit her blog, mizner13.wordpress.com, for information regarding previous and upcoming publications. She also posts book and movie reviews for a wide variety of genres.
On Twitter: @mizner13
On Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/amaranthine.mizner/
Website: https://mizner13.wordpress.com/
Publisher: http://bit.ly/23SXXRQ
On Amazon: http://amzn.to/1qJCuJ4
On Goodreads: http://bit.ly/1WPIlsW