Interview to the brilliant mind behind Dead Thing Series+ special woman crush road trip Wednesday

Now today we have a interview to the brilliant mind behind Dead Thing Series Ms. Martina McAtee the creator of the wonderful Dead Things Series so If you haven’t read them the links will be below the interview so go check them out. But fair warning prepare to be enslaved by that series. And always remember that with her alpha 

So now I’ll leave you to her creator so you better 

Ok I’m done….or am I?

 

When did you first realize you wanted to be a writer? 

I get asked this question a lot and it’s hard to say because I have always written. From the time I was little I wrote stories, plays…even the occasional song or poem. I never really thought writing fiction for a living would be something I did…mostly because I was terrified to let anybody read my writing. So, I always wanted to be a ‘writer’ I just never really thought I would have the nerve to do it.

What is your work schedule like when you’re writing?

My work schedule is always insane. I’m a registered nurse so from 7-4 Monday thru Friday I’m working my muggle job. Most of my writing takes place before work, on lunch and at night. On weekends, I can write as much as 10-12 hours a day, depending on how inspired I am.

What would you say is your interesting writing quirk?

I cannot write unless I have my page formatted in a very specific way. I have to write in New Times Roman, double spaced with a 12-point font. If I try to write any other way, it’s distracting. I even changed the font and text size on my answers to your questions because I cannot help myself. It’s a weird quirk.

Where do you get your information or ideas for your books?

Ideas? Everywhere? I grew up reading young adult paranormal. I watch a million different sci-fi and paranormal shows. I spend a lot of time asking ‘what if’. As for information, I’m obsessed with mythology wiki and superpower wiki. I google everything, often working backwards…so instead of looking up Celtic mythological creatures I’ll look up mythological creatures that eat their victims while still alive and go from there.

When did you write your first book and how old were you?

I wrote my first short story when I was in kindergarten. I completed my first full novel when I was 37 years old. In between, I’ve had many jobs where I’ve had to ghost write stories for the companies I worked for, written college papers, healthcare articles.  

What do you like to do when you’re not writing?

I feel like I’m never not writing. Because I work full time, most of my spare time is writing, researching or marketing. That being said, when I do get free time, I’m usually reading fan-fiction, YA books or binge watching shows on Netflix.

What does your family think of your writing?

It’s a mixed bag. While most people’s families often think everything you do is magical, my family is sort of the opposite. While they are extremely proud of the fact that I am a published author, they never hesitate to tell me all the ways I can improve my writing. In fact, my genre is not really their typical go-to book of choice so I’d venture to say only a handful of my family has actually read my books.

What was one of the most surprising things you learned in creating your books?

Self-publishing a book is hard. It’s a huge journey and there are a million pitfalls you never see coming when you are completely new at this. I’m three books in and I’m still learning something new every single time.

How many books have you written? Which is your favorite?

I’ve written two books. I’m in the middle of writing my third. I don’t know how to answer which of my books is my favorite. If you put a gun to my head, I would probably say Book 1 because I wrote it just for me. I didn’t know if I’d ever publish it so I wrote the story I wanted to read.

Speaking of favorites, which is your favorite character, couple or thing to write about?

Oh, God. I feel like you are asking me to pick my favorite child. This is so hard. I love writing Mace because he’s both charming and self-absorbed but also unwillingly heroic and kind of romantic. As far as couples…I love writing Kai and Rhys. I love a couple who fights as foreplay. Their banter is so much fun to write. My favorite thing to write is snark…I love the sarcasm…the witty banter.

Do you have any suggestions to help me become a better writer? If so, what are they?

I am still working on being the best writer I can be so I guess my only advice would be to keep reading, keep writing, find the best possible editor you can and never let them go. 

Do you hear from your readers much? What kinds of things do they say?

Yes. I have a really interactive readership. Mostly they say they love the books, the characters, the relationships. But I think I have become friends with many of my readers because I just like meeting people and interacting and, of course, talking about my characters. Like I said, they are like my children. They mostly ask when the next book is coming out, where can they read more about the books and the characters. 

What do you think makes a good story?

In my opinion a good story is a formula of realistic characters that people care about, a plot that keeps you guessing and twists you didn’t see coming.

What have you found most helpful in marketing your book?  What have you found least helpful?  Is there anything you want to warn authors to stay far, far away from?

This is a hard question. I have found that there are pros and cons to everything. I think I can only say stay away from companies that want to sell you huge packages for hundreds of dollars. When you first decide to publish everything is so overwhelming you think you need to do every type of marketing just in case. I think doing a virtual book tour really helps get your name out there as does using social media like Instagram and Facebook. Twitter can be helpful too but I find people rarely read their feeds so sometimes it’s a bit like screaming into the abyss. Easy to overlook.

Who created your cover art?  If you did it yourself, could you explain how you did it?  If someone else did it, how did you hear about their services?  What was it like working with them?

 My cover art was created by surreal artist Nathalia Suellen. She is a genius. I love working with her. She literally never takes longer than two weeks to create my book covers and she usually nails it on the first shot. I did a lot of research to find her. I went to bookstores and took pictures of the covers I loved and who created them. When I contacted her, I really thought that she would be too busy to work with me but she was very gracious and punctual even though she’s all the way in Brazil. You can check out her artwork at www.ladysymphonia.com.

 Do you have an editor?  Did you edit your own manuscript?  Do you have advice for other authors editing it themselves or hiring someone else?

 Book 1, I didn’t have a professional editor. I’m now in the process of having it re-edited. As previously stated, find a good editor and keep them. You cannot reliably edit your own work no matter how much of a grammar nazi you are. You just cannot be objective. There’s a reason most editors do two passes and a proofread. It’s necessary. But do your research. Ask for references. Don’t just go for the first person you ask.

 Where have you decided to publish your books?  (Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Smashwords, etc.)

 I have published my e-book on Amazon through Kindle Unlimited. I published on Smashwords for three months but had no response and I find that the majority of my sales come from Amazon so, for now, I’ll keep it exclusively on Amazon.

Did you format your own book?  Did you run into any trouble formatting it?  Do you have any advice to fellow authors about formatting their books?

 I never tried to format my own book. I do not have the patience for it. I cannot give anybody advice on doing it yourself. I can tell you that there are some excellent options out there for people who will format your book properly at a reasonable price.

Now for this week #WCW we have two girls from Martina’s Series: Here she is the Hippie Fairy Princess Neoma Davies sister of the Belladona Pack Beta Wren Davies and Harlow Jade the newest addition to the Pack

 

Now for the Road trip location let’s all go to The eight kingdoms of Karen Tomlinson’s new book A bond of Venom and Magic.