1-When did you first realize you wanted to be a writer? For me, it wasn’t really a realisation. I have been writing for as long as I can remember and entered a school poetry competition when I was an...
1-When did you first realize you wanted to be a writer?
For me, it wasn’t really a realisation. I have been writing for as long as I can remember and entered a school poetry competition when I was an infant. So for me, it almost felt like writing was inevitably going to be a part of my life in some way.
2-How do you schedule your life when you’re writing?
I tend to write in the afternoon or in the evening as I have a part-time job. I like to carry a notebook with me as my writing inspirations can be quite sporadic. I have written several of my poems whilst I have been out and about. I feel like my writing life and my life outside of writing are well-balanced.
3-What would you say is your interesting writing quirk?
I’m not sure. I have been asked by someone who read my book if I had a musical ear because the rhyming feels like song lyrics. So from that feedback, I would say that my writing quirk is that I can be quite a lyrical writer.
4-How did you get your book published?
While I was writing my book, I was doing some research into different companies that self-published. After looking up reviews online, I decided to use Book Baby to self-publish my book. They were very helpful with any questions that I had and guided me throughout the process.
5-Where did you get your information or idea for your book?
My book started off as a Facebook group called Starlight Life ( now renamed Living in the Starlight), where I was uploading posts with inspirational quotes and guidance. One day I had the idea of writing a book of inspirational poetry called Starlight Life. The Facebook group was made in honour of my grannie as a means of uplifting people, and it feels like I have come full circle with the book. I know that if she was still alive today, she would have loved Starlight Life.
6-What do you like to do when you’re not writing?
Some of the things that I enjoy doing are reading (especially works of fiction), sea glass collecting, and spending time with my friends and family.
7-What was one of the most surprising things you learned in creating your book?
That it was harder for me to get sales on my book than it was to create my book itself. There were many steps to creating my book, including thinking of a cover design and finding an illustrator. But gaining traction on my book and getting people to buy it was harder. Whilst I have been writing as a hobby for a long time, I’m new to the world of publishing, and I still have a lot to learn.
8-Is there anything you would like to confess about as an author?
For me, it’s that you sometimes wonder if people will understand the messages you are trying to convey and whether or not they will like your work. I feel like this is possibly a universal question amongst writers, especially those who are new to writing.
9-As a child, what did you want to do when you grew up?
Apart from writing, I wanted to work in a butterfly house. I went to one on a school trip, and seeing so many stunning species of butterflies was a beautiful experience. I thought that taking care of the butterflies and working in such a beautiful environment would make anyone happy. I remember writing somewhere that I wanted to be a “butterfly look after” when I grew up.
10-How do you process and deal with negative book reviews?
I have only had a few book reviews, and so far, they have all been positive. So I can’t really answer that question yet. My only negative “book review” came when I was in Year 6 at Primary School. I was eager to show my teacher the poem I had written, but she didn’t even look at what I had written and told me she didn’t want to know. So I don’t know how I process and deal with negative reviews in the present tense, but I’m just glad I didn’t let the negative “review” in the past tense stop me from writing now.
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