Mariah Albright - New Author

Hello dear readers,

Welcome to today's post, please extend a warm welcome to Ms Albright, a new author just starting on her journey to publication. She's been very gracious in stopping by to be grilled!

Welcome Mariah and thank you for coming in. Lets just jump right into the questions, shall we?

1. 
   
2. What is the first book that made you cry?

Anne Frank

3. 
   
4. Does writing energize or exhaust you?

Energize

5. What are common traps for aspiring writers?

Telling and not showing.

6. Does a big ego help or hurt writers?

It hurts the writers.

7. Have you ever gotten reader’s block?

No.

9. Did you ever consider writing under a pseudonym?

Sometimes I've considered it.

10. Do you try more to be original or to deliver to readers what they want?

Deliver readers what they want

11. Do you think someone could be a writer if they don’t feel emotions strongly?

Possibly

12. What other authors are you friends with, and how do they help you become a better writer?

I help them by reading over their writing and giving them construction criticism.

13. Do you want each book to stand on its own, or are you trying to build a body of work with connections between each book?

Work a connection between each book.

14. If you could tell your younger writing self anything, what would it be?

Write down your ideas

15. How did publishing your first book change your process of writing?

Haven't published anything yet.

16. What was the best money you ever spent as a writer?

I haven't made money from writing.

17. What authors did you dislike at first but grew into?

J.K Rowling

20. What’s your favorite under-appreciated novel?

Diary of Helene Berr

22. As a writer, what would you choose as your mascot/avatar/spirit animal?

Flamingo

24. How many unpublished and half-finished books do you have?

3

25. What does literary success look like to you?

Having at least 100 readers 

26. What’s the best way to market your books?

Popular places and sites

27. What kind of research do you do, and how long do you spend researching before beginning a book?

I spend a week or two researching if I don't already know about it.

Right now I'm researching Planet X.

28. Do you view writing as a kind of spiritual practice?

I view it as a copying mechanism

29. What did you edit out of this book?

Names for personal reasons

30. Have you read anything that made you think differently about fiction?

Not yet.

32. How do you select the names of your characters?

It has to fit my story whichever sounds best and goes with the time period I'll use it.

33. If you didn’t write, what would you do for work?

Teaching

34. Do you read your book reviews? How do you deal with bad or good ones?

Haven't published a book yet.

35. Do you hide any secrets in your books that only a few people will find?

No, but I've thought about it

36. What was your hardest scene to write?

A scene about ptsd experience

37. Do you Google yourself?

I have before.

39. What is your favorite childhood book?

Missing Mrs. Nelson

40. What is the most difficult part of your artistic process?

Not getting distracted

41. Does your family support your career as a writer?

         Yes

42. If you had to do something differently as a child or teenager to become a better writer as an adult, what would you do?

Always use writing prompts to improve my writing.

43. Do you believe in writer’s block? 

No

Am I driven by my muse...or by the mainstream?

I've often heard from friends and family the question: How do you pick what to write about? Do you write from inspiration with the book being something you'd read...or do you write for the more mainstream fiction reader?

This may seem to be an obvious question, yet there are ways to muddy the waters with it. Are they referring to blog posts? Books? Articles? Being aware of exactly what the question refers to is helpful, but still can leave one unable to answer it.

Every time I hear this question, I am left with the urge to laugh wildly and a little manically. After all, as an artist, how do we decide what we are going to do? Explaining how I write is like asking how someone studies.

In all honesty, the answer is the same regardless of what the asker's intent is. For myself at least, I write what I am driven to. Be it a blog post, an article, a vlog, or a novel.

The topic isn't decided as one would decide whether to look at this or that, but rather what my muse is calling on me to do. I keep several notebooks on hand, as well as paper and pen all over the house, and vehicle, because I often times will get an idea while I'm doing the regular tasks we all do.

Keeping track of the ideas my muse hands out is an excellent way to ensure my creativity is flowing. An abundance of plot ideas, notes, and character information is very good. Still, it does mean as an author I have a decision to make. Beyond just which project to work on, but to actually decide how to write is a key point.

Muse it up or mainstream it down. Do I stay true to myself and my writing creativity or do I write for the more mainstream ideology? Every author must make that choice, for myself, writing within the mainstream has always proven to be a challenge. I can't find it in me to write what I'm told. I want to be free to express myself, to explore the world as I see it. Does this set me apart from others? Maybe, though I can't speak for another.

I'm happy being able to write as my Muse directs me. Writing is intensely personal and as long as my readers are enjoying what I am putting out, then I consider this to be a success.

May the muse be with you!

November's Writing Challenge.

November is looking to be a hectic month for me. I'll be working on my paranormal novella, as yet untitled, which will be part of #TheForsakenSeries. As well, I'm going to be working on the Booktube channel Patricia and I have, and the podcast channel Ciara and I share. Patricia (my alter ego) is working on a historical romance she's been dying to write, so our time will be well spent.

So this month is busy as we prepare for the writing challenge, continuing our blogging, and look to release another title.

To ensure I am able to meet the goals I'm setting myself, I've taken advantage of having this month to prepare for each project and work on getting some blogs written and scheduled, as well as doing a number of recordings for podcasts and videos. This way when November 1 rolls around, I'm ready to start the month by focusing on the projects I'm planning.

A short post for today.

Today being Thanksgiving in Canada, I must admit my post I planned for today will have to wait. I will be posting it tomorrow instead. For now, I'm going to enjoy my family, the delicious turkey, mashed potatoes, and all the fixings.

I would love to hear from you though, on what your plans are for Thanksgiving and what it means to you. For my family and I its about cherishing the small things and embracing what we have... and maybe putting less emphasis on what we want for the day!

Happy Thanksgiving to everyone in Canada and wishing my friends everywhere a blessed day! See you tomorrow.