Novel Journey’s Ane Mulligan just posted her conversation with me about Auralia’s Colors. These are the questions she asked:

  • Time to crow: What new book or project do you have coming out?
  • How did you come up with this story? Was there a specific ‘what if’ moment?
  • You write movie reviews for Christianity Today. How did you get into that?
  • Every novelist has a journey. You say on your blog you dreamed about your first novel since you were five. That’s a long road to publication. Tell us about it. How did you find out and what went through your mind?
  • Do you ever bang your head against the wall from the dreaded writer’s block? If so, how do you overcome it?
  • Novelists sometimes dig themselves into a hole over implausible plots, flat characters or a host of other problems. What’s the most difficult part of writing for you?
  • How did you climb out or overcome it?
  • Where do you write: In a cave, a coffeehouse, or a cozy attic nook?
  • What does a typical day look like for you?
  • Some authors report writing 5-10 thousand words a day. Do scenes flow freely from your veins or do you have to tweeze each word out?
  • Briefly take us through your process of writing a novel… from conception to revision.
  • What are a few of your favorite books (not written by you) and why are they favorites?
  • What’s the best writing advice you’ve heard?
  • What do you wish you’d known early in your career that might have saved you some time and/or frustration in writing? In publishing?
  • How much marketing do you do? What have you found that particularly works well for you?
  • Do you have any parting words of advice?