Author Interview. S R Cole

I'm happy to have with us today S R Cole. She is here to tell us of her magical world of gorgeous hero's like Wild Bill Williams.  Be sure to check out the exclusive, first time seen her, of S R Cole's next book at the end of this interview.

So Stace, firstly how are you feeling about your new release? (Congratulations by the way!) Pretty exciting time for you huh?
Thanks Sam! I’m very excited to be here with you today.
It is pretty exciting yes, but also terribly nerve-wracking! Of course writers improve the longer they write and the more they write, but as this is my first published book, I want to make a good impression. I’m completely in love with my hero, Bill and I want others to fall for him too.

Take us back, what initially got you into writing and your passion for books?
My brother passed away when I was ten and I wrote a poem about him in school. It was then that I realized how good it felt to get what I was thinking and feeling on paper. I have been a book worm all my adult life, so writing what I love to read as been a natural progression.

What inspired you to write The Bodyguard’s Secret Baby?
I love bodyguards. I love protective men and I love cowboys. I’m also a huge lover of secret baby stories and medical romance, so I wanted to write something that combined everything I love in one book.

Are any of your characters based on real people, or are they completely from imagination?
They are all from my imagination, although all of my heroes have a little of my friend Maurice in them. He is my own personal hero and so I can’t help but think of him when I write. Later this year, I’ll be writing two fire-fighter stories, there will be a lot of him in them.

What genre of story do you enjoy writing? Romance obviously, any others tucked up your sleeve…?
I do have something else up my sleeve right now that I am hoping to start work on in the next few weeks, but I’m keeping it under my hat for now.
 

Who is your favorite writer? 

Oh gosh, there are just too any to choose from. I love Shirley Jump, Melissa McClone, Donna Alward, Maya Angelou and of course, E. L. James. I’m totally hooked on the fifty Shades series right now.

What is your writing schedule like? Do you have a method? Are you a pantser or a plotter?
I’m a pantser, all the way. Plotting really doesn’t work for me as I am too fickle. I never know which direction I’m going to take so I try not to plan too much.

Where do you find/take inspiration from? 
Honestly? I really don’t know. An idea just pops in my head and if I like it, I go with it. So I guess you could say I’m inspired by my gut!


What do you like to do other than writing?
I love to read, but that’s pretty much a given. I also love to bake, scrapbook, listen to music. I also love to shop and of course, eat chocolate.

Some quick fun questions...

Starter or desert?
Both – I’m greedy!

Summer or Winter?
Winter. I hate the heat.

Favorite colour?
Oooh, that’s a tough one! I love purple, but I’m also a huge lover of red, gold and brown too. I really can’t choose my fave out of those. - Purple's my favourite too!

Place you were born?
London

Star sign?
Gemini

Favorite food?
Indian and of course Ben & Jerry’s!

Name one thing you are scared of.
Spiders! Urgh!

If you were stranded on a desert island (don’t worry help is on its way!) Who would you like to be stranded with for a day or two?
Ha, this question made me laugh!
I really should say my boyfriend, but I’m going to say George Clooney. Or maybe Jensen Ackles or David Boreanaz. Hmm, can I choose all of them? - I knew you were going to say Clooney!! And Yes, ok I shall allow you have them all!

Where in the world would you most like to visit right at this moment in time?
The US! I want to visit every state before I die. So far I’ve only managed California, so I have a lot of work to do and a lot of books to sell to achieve my goal!

What is next for S. R. Cole…
At this moment in time? Popping to the shop to buy some Coke! I’m a caffeine addict and I’m all out! Beyond that, my plans are not quite so well thought out. I live for the moment so I don’t really think ahead. I do know that there’s lots more writing to come, including a collaboration that will be completely different to my usual writing style. And of course, I’m working on my second cowboy-bodyguard story, featuring Bill’s brother, Danny. Both books will be being launched together in paperback later this year.

What advice would you give to any aspiring authors (like myself) out there?
Just follow your heart. There are so many tips and courses on the practical side of writing out there, but they are all completely useless if you don’t believe in yourself first. Find your voice and stay true to it. And don't be ashamed or afraid to live or dream.

If you knew you were going to die, what would be the one book you would choose to reread before your end?

Fifty Shades

I can't get enough of it

In the book The Bodyguard's Secret Baby, You wrote Carrie Carlton as a strong woman who thinks quickly under pressure. Is there any strong woman in your life that you thought of when you wrote her?

My mum and my sisters. They are so strong and are a real inspiration to me. It's why I write strong heroines and why the book is dedicated to them.

Did anyone you know inspire your for the character of Bill?

Bill, like all my heroes has a bit of my own real life hero friend, Maurice in him. He has been a life guard, a soldier and is now a fire-fighter and was my own personal hero at a stage in my life when i needed him. So every hero I write has a little Maurice in him.

Who is your favorite secondary character in The Bodyguard's Secret Baby?

Danny Williams and...

his story, Fire at White Hill Ranch will be released in August. 

Oh, excellent. I am definitely looking forward to it. Thank you Stace in being here and allowing us to share with your excitement.

Contact details for S. R. Cole:
You can reach me via Facebook
www.facebook.com/writerstace
On Twitter
@writerstace
And via my blog
www.stacemcsweeney.blogspot.co.uk


Before I go, I’d just like to say a huge thank you to you for having me here today and for helping me celebrate my book launch. x - You are absoloutly welcome! Would love for you to stop by often! All the best with The Bodyguard's Secret Baby, I'm sure it will do ridiculously well.

S. R. Cole

Take time to research

A few days ago I bought a printer. Another one. At this point, I have no idea how many I've gone through in the last ten years. I spent three hours on the internet researching printers. This is a first for me, and if I had bothered to do that years ago, I would have bought the right one for me in the beginning.

I had always had people steer me in the direction of Inkjet printers. They say they are 'better'. The last few years, I've been writing. Now, I stop and ask, what do you mean by better? Better how? faster? clearer? prints more? color?

Since I also have a history of having inkjet printers, I know what I like and don't like about them. I love printing professional pictures at home. I'm not a picture person. I don't want to take 24 pictures and pay to  have them all printed up. Am I showing my age here? I'm sick of buying ink cartridges. Also, when I ran out of color ink, I wouldn't let me print anything. Not even a black and white page. Now, that's not right.

So, when I start my research, the first thing I looked at is what cartridge the printer used and what the yield is. Yield is the average number of pages a cartridge will print. I also priced the cartridges. Most web sites don't give you all this information. That's why it took me three hours. I would have to go to one web site to look at the printer, another to find out what cartridge it used, and even another to find out the yield.

I never did this until last week, but I figured I am paying 20 cents for every page I am printing, plus the cost of paper. Now that I know that, I started thinking twice before printing.

During my research I looked at laser printers also. They do have laser printers that print color. Most of them are black and white. 95% of what I print is black and white.

To make a long story short, I found a printer. I had to buy it online and I got it two days ago. It's a xerox 3210. The printer was $230 which comes with a cartridge with a yield of 2,000. I can buy a high yield cartridge that will print 5,000 for less than $50. Quick math, that is 1 penny a copy, plus paper. Yes, it is only black and white. But, who cares? I can print tons.

Yes, I do recycle paper. Save a tree.

So far I love my printer. I'm keeping the old one for when I want to print pictures.

Moral of the story. Research and know what you are buying.

Writer Distractions

It never fails. I get to the good part, and I develop a strong need to go get a drink of water. I always think of a little kid at bedtime screaming, "I'm thirsty." I get up, pour 1/8 of a glass of water. Because, when I got up, I had nearly a full glass. And I trudge back to the desk.

Oh, email. I might have gotten an important email in the last fifteen minutes. I check all three accounts, usually nothing or junk mail I just delete. Thirty minutes later, after reading several news stories about people I don't know and didn't need to know about, I realize I should be writing.

I pull up my WIP and think of something else to do. Why do I do this? I am not alone. I've read other writers that talk about finding other things to do besides write. Writers that struggle with distractions always have sparkling clean toilets. I imagine real writers have messy houses. There have been just a few times in my brief writing career that I was so focused, I didn't have a problem with distractions.

I'm still trying to figure out how I got that focused and how to get it back. When I find out, I'll be sure to blog about it.

I'm the type of person that tends to go to extremes. I see I have this problem, so I'll do something about it. What can I do? You may ask. I can duck tape myself to my chair. I like my chair. I really don't want to do that. I can write a reminder sticky note. "Don't get up unless the house is on fire or you are about to go in your britches." I have many sticky notes. It won't take long until it goes unnoticed. Plus, that isn't in the category of extreme. I like extreme.

I rearranged my bedroom/office yesterday. Not because I wanted to, but because I am getting a new printer and I decided to change my desk area a bit. (I'll blog about my printer once I get it)

As I was deciding where my new printer will go, I thought I needed a new table. I didn't want to splurge for a table so I walked around the house to see what I already have that would work. Boy, did I find a solution. I have a small refrigerator that looks like a safe. That will be my new printer stand. Not only that, but I can no longer get up to get a drink because if I need one, it is beside me. It is a constant reminder that I don't need anything. I need to finish my WIP.

My soul knows I am a writer. So, forget everything else, and enjoy writing, even when I get to that difficult scene that makes me think.

God is Watching

A few days ago a friend went to the Da’vinci exhibit in London. She sent me a picture of one of his drawings. It was so detailed it must have taken him hours to draw. I began to wonder about how he had the energy, brain power, and focus to accomplish everything he did in his life.

Everyone else has to sleep a third of their time, and work for a living a third of the time. That leaves a third of our time for pleasure, to do whatever we want to do. In theory that is. Most have family obligations and normal household chores. We do have to eat and prepare those meals.

So, what did Da’vinci do different than I’m doing? How did he find the energy and focus? Maybe he just decided that is what he wanted to do and didn’t let anything come before it. I don’t know about him, but I decided to ask God. Yes, I admit I talk to God. I have for years. I have also learned, if I stop and listen, he DOES talk back.

How he usually answers can be another blog post. This time when he answered my question, it was clear.

I had a dream.

I was in a crowded theatre. I can’t recall what I was there for, but I looked over and saw my family sitting all together. When I say, all my family, it was all my family. All my cousins, my aunts and uncles, and my Mom. For those that know me, Mom died years ago. I got up to go talk to Mom. My cousin stopped me and told me I can’t talk to her.

A quick side note. I dream a lot. And, my family and friends are often in my dreams. But those that are deceased, I have never been able to talk to. I can sit with them, but communication is always forbidden. That is just one reason I believe some dreams are real. They are real places and real spirits you encounter while in the dream state.

As I walked out of the theatre, I realized I left my purse. At that same time, a woman walked up to a counter with my purse and gave it to another lady. I told them it was mine. They ignored me and opened my purse and looked at my name. I was then told I was dead. I argued. I’m young, I want to do things.

The next thing I know, I was placed in a big bubble and Morgan Freeman was sitting in a chair beside me. He said I needed to rest a while. Inside the bubble was the most comfortable bed and I overlooked a forest and a waterfall. It started raining on the bubble and it sounded like my tin roof when it rained. I thought it was the perfect sleeping place.

It was after I was awake that I remembered Morgan Freeman played God in Bruce Almighty. Yes, God has a sense of humor.  

Later, I was walking around a resort type of place. I enjoyed wonderful conversation with many people. Everyone was talking about their life and what they did. I made the statement that I wanted to write but never did. I was asked, “Why didn’t you?”

Just like my life everyday, numerous excuses popped in my mind. Every single one I came up with, I was shown that excuse is not true. I have the time. I have the talent. I have the tools.

I then woke at 3 AM. For weeks now, I’ve been wanting to get up at 3 AM to write. It works out well because I have no distractions, and I have plenty of energy before work. I have gotten out of the habit when I had to work more time at my job. I admit I am one of the lucky ones that own my own business and if I put in 30 hours a week, it is a busy week. Which proves I have more time than most to write. 

Thank you, God, for that dream. 

What is it that you want to do with your life? Are you making excuses not to do it? Why?

Obama's Writing tips

 

I just read an article about President Obama and his past. As a writer, I thought this part was particular interesting. I don't know when this actually happened, but the advice is pretty good.



A friend sent Obama a manuscript for editing, Obama wrote back with five tips:

1)  "Careful about too many adverbs, particularly describing how people speak (Paul asked disbelievingly, etc.) It can be cumbersome and a bit intrusive on the reader"

2) "Resist the temptation of easy satire...Good satire has to be a little muted. Should spill out from under a seemingly somber situation."

3)  "Try to get the basic stats on the characters out of the way early {Paul was 24} so that you can spend the rest of the story revealing character."

4) "Think about the key moment(s) in the story, and build tension leading to those key moments."

5) "[W]rite outside your own experience...I find that this works the fictive imagination harder."