Interview with Stephanie

Hey guys! Today I'm interviewing, Stephanie, one of the two winners of Knights of MicroFiction! Tobi will be interviewed over at Kathy's blog.

Here we go!

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Hello, Stephanie! It's so nice having you here! I don't know about you, but I'm really excited for this interview. You ready? Okay, good! My first question is...

When did you know you wanted to be a writer?

I was about 15 when I wrote my first original story, about a family of witches guarding an ancient artifact. From there my love of writing took off, but it would be a few more years before I was brave enough to take a writing class and share my work with others.

Oh, yeah I know what you mean. It's scary sharing your work with others! And speaking of sharing your work... what's your current WIP about? We'd love a short summary.

Right now I'm working on the sequel to the YA fantasy book, I intend to self publish this year. In the first book, Shadow of the Wolf, the main character Toby finds himself in enemy territory, surrounded by werewolves. Instead of killing him, the werewolves, who Toby was raised to believe are monsters, adopt him into their pack. While he's adjusting to a very different way of life, his sister is back home looking for some way to rescue him and uncovering a lot of secrets in their village.

In the sequel, Wings of the Butterfly, Toby is preparing to take the Trials that will declare him an adult. Unfortunate events and the escalating threat of war, lead to suspicion and the possibility that Toby won't be permitted to become an adult. Ora meanwhile is attending school in a neighboring kingdom and gets caught up in several political assassinations that she attempts to solve.

Wow, that sounds exciting! I'm working on my sequel, too! I know how hard that can be. And I just love that title, Shadow of the Wolf. It sounds so awesome!

Now, what are your goals for this year?

I plan to fully proofread and self-publish Shadow of the Wolf by July. I'll finish the first draft of Wings of the Butterfly by next December, so I can have that revised and proofread by July of next year. And in the meantime I'll be writing and submitting short stories to try and get my name out.

Sounds like you've really got a good game-plan here!

Alright, next question! How long have you been blogging and how has it improved your writing?

I just passed my one year blog anniversary a couple of weeks ago. It's been lots of fun. My writing has definitely improved, especially in learning to sit down and hammer something out. Contest and posting deadlines are a great motivator, and I love having feedback. Reading writing from other bloggers, fiction and nonfiction, has also been a great way to expand my knowledge of writing.

So, when you're not learning about writing or writing, what do you like to do?

I read a lot, of course :-)  I do yoga and pilates, and I do a lot of different crafts depending on my mood. Sometimes I make candles, sometimes I cross-stitch or sew and I also cook. I also have an unhealthy obsession with iTouch games like Tiny Tower, and Paradise Cove. Those things are really addictive :-)

Lol, yeah, once you start playing those games it's hard to stop.

Is there anything else we should know about you, Stephanie?

I'm very scatterbrained, and fairly disorganized in relation to anything that's not my writing. But I love to keep busy, because otherwise, I tend to fall asleep.

Haha, I'm with you on the 'keeping busy' and the 'disorganized' part...

Unfortunately, that's all the time we have for today! Thank you so much for joining us, Stephanie!

Thank you for having me!

No problem, it was a pleasure! Let's have a round of applause for Stephanie at Word by Word!

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Thanks guys, hope you enjoyed! Go check out Stephanie's blog and congratulate her!

Have a great weekend!

--Jess