Tuesday, July 17, 2012

5 QUESTIONS FOR AUTHOR ANN CHARLES


Ann Charles is a rising star in the publishing world.  Just put her name in the Amazon search engine and you'll see exactly what I mean.  She is also a real treat to interview.  If you want to know about her writing style, just read her answers and you'll quickly understand why readers are flocking to her books.  She has two separate series going, one takes place in Deadwood, South Dakota, the other in my backyard, Jackrabbit Junction, Arizona.

 Ann was very gracious enough to spend a little time to play five questions with me and I think you'll be glad she did:


1- What’s a nice wholesome girl like you writing about a place called Deadwood, South Dakota?

 Okay, who’s going around spreading rumors that I’m wholesome and nice? Ha!

 I spent summers growing up in and around Deadwood, South Dakota, learning about the history of the place, daydreaming about what life used to be like in the Black Hills during the area’s rough and rowdy past. Several years ago, when I was back in Deadwood visiting my mom, who still lives there, a story idea hit me about a single mom of twins trying to make it on her own in a town full of colorful characters and a past that just won’t die. That was the birth of my Deadwood series, and I’m loving every minute of writing one book after another with many of the same characters and several new ones appearing along the way.

 2- Your protagonist, Violet Parker, is a single mother of twins—how is Violet different from you?

 While I’m a mom of two kids, I’m not a single mom, nor are my kids twins (whew!). I am lucky to get to tag-team with my husband and have down time to keep from pulling my hair out some days. I can’t imagine how single parents handle the constant responsibility of be “on” for their kids. I have tons of respect for parents raising children on their own, and that was at the forefront of my mind when I came up with Violet. I wanted a heroine whose strength is not necessarily in her ability to shoot a gun or kick the crap out of a bad guy, but rather more in her determination to keep standing while taking one hit after another.

 3- Tell us a little about your career path and how did your relationship with your agent stay afloat during your Indie phase?

 My agent grew as frustrated as I did with me making it “close” to getting a contract time and again only to be rejected for a book that wasn’t considered to be able to draw a big audience. Together, we decided to put it out without going through a New York publisher and let readers to determine if it could draw an audience or not. She’s been by my side throughout this whole venture and is loving seeing my success.

 4- Between work and family, when do you find time to write?

 I don’t sleep much. Ha! No, seriously, I don’t sleep much. I average about five hours a night for most of the work week, dragging my sorry hiney into work every day and slamming the caffeine throughout the day and into the evening. Once a week, I try to get seven or more hours of sleep to catch up a little. Then I’m back at it. Until I can afford to quit my day job, this is the routine. I would love to write/publish books faster, but three a year is my absolute max because my books average 100,000 words.

 5- With your experience writing about marketing, how do you see authors like yourself finding an audience in the future?

 Using whatever means they can get their hands on. There is no one thing that makes you successful. Building your empire takes a lot of time and hard work. You have to build with long-term in mind, focusing on different areas of your platform at different times. I have done everything from blog tours to writing articles, winning contests to buying ads. I have also given over 150,000 ebooks away through Amazon’s Kindle Select program. Somehow, you have to get visibility, and the competition is fierce for readers’ attention. You’re competing with television, movies, video games, other books, and more. I joke about all of the chickens I have sacrificed to the publishing gods to get my name out there, but it’s tough. Patience, persistence, determination, and a lot of stubbornness pays off.


Thank you, Gary, for the fun interview. I appreciate you having me on your site!

11 comments:

  1. Hello Gary & Anne,

    Thank you both for a delightful interview. Gary, you certainly have the knack for inviting interseting and entertaining people to your popular blog. Anne is no exception. I have heard many wonderful things said about you and your books, and your strong readership relects this.

    Wishing you the best with all your future work.

    Stuart

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    1. Stuart, thank you for the kind wishes and words. I was thrilled when Gary invited me to stop by and chat--he's a talented author with an excellent series!

      Ann

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    2. Thanks, Stuart for stopping by. I always appreciate your support and kind words.

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  2. I can't wait for Violet's next adventure! I tried the first Deadwood book because it was an amazon "deal of the day", and now I am HOOKED! Quit your day job so we can have more Violet!

    Thank you for bringing these colorful characters into our lives. Best wishes for the future.

    Dinone Rogers

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    1. Hi Dinone,

      Amazon has been wonderful with helping to promote my books.

      I dream of that day when I can hang up my day-job clothes and stick to a life of elegant pjs in front of my laptop!

      Thank you for checking out Violet and crew,
      Ann

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    2. Dinone, you are right--more Deadwood is always a good thing. I'm sure Ann will get to the point of writing fulltime sooner than she thinks.

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  3. Good morning, my first read of the day and it was a delightful interview between two great authors. Thanks Gary for asking Ann fun questions, and thanks Ann for being your humorous self. I love the Deadwood series and bite my nails waiting for each new book to be released. I love a good thriller like Gary's to keep me on the edge of my chair...then Ann's is there to keep my on the edge of my chair in suspense and laughter. Violet has quickly become a favorite person to me so I look forward to her next adventure.

    Thanks for great fun, great reads and lots of laughs in-between.

    CJ Vermote

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    1. Thank you, CJ, for stopping in this morning to stay, "Hi!" I am looking forward to watching your writing career grow. Gary has a knack for asking interesting questions--he did all of the hard work. I just blabbed on and on, as usual. ;)

      Ann

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    2. CJ, this is the easy part of the job--finding cool people like Ann who deserve to be promoted and ask some questions I'd like to know the answers to. Thanks for supporting our work. Both of us will have more books coming out this year so stay tuned.

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  4. Ann, your persistence and stubbornness are qualities I love about you! Awesome interview.

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    1. Ha! Thank you for appreciating some of the qualities that periodically drive my family nuts. ;)

      Ann

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