Wednesday 17 April 2013
Interview with Author S.L. Danielson
Posted on 17:16 by Unknown
I met S.L. Danielson a while back and we've remained friendly since then. I like her style a lot, and I think she's an up and coming author to watch for. She has this adorable personality where she's not exactly shy, but not by any means pushy. She's just plain friendly, and very easy to talk to.
So we talked about doing an interview last weekend, and I came up with a few questions I thought readers might like. I often tend to get into more personal details about the author as a human instead of the author as a book machine. I know I'm always more curious about the authors who write the books I read, and I think most people are.
It's been a while since we've touched base. What have you been up to?
Hi Ryan! Great to hear from you again, as always. Lately I've been working on a co-work with author and good friend Nephylim, adding to the Upstaged series. I've also been working at my day job, and finishing school. I've also been finishing up the Southern Comfort series (with Julie Lynn Hayes) and outlining a few new solo ideas of my own.
I know you're a student. Could you please describe your background as a writer?
Sure thing. I've been writing seemingly forever, since my pencil first hit the page. I read constantly as a child and dreamed up my own works as early as 11 years old. After that they grew and grew into longer stories, and entire novels. I had at least 20 steno books full of them and an entire 2-drawer filing cabinet.
What do you have out that's already been published?
Right now is the Southern Comfort series (four of them), the Upstaged series (two so far, but we're on #10 at the moment in writing) of course For the Heart of Phillip, its sequel Refugees, Love by the Numbers its sequel Life After Math, Bernard; Diary of a 46-yr-old Bellhop, Ranch Hands and its sequel Ranch Hands 2: Jerry's Season, and My Fair Vampire. (which will be finding a new publisher soon). Two works will be returning with a rework: The Alpha Lambda House and Lust in London too; but no date has been set yet.
I like knowing personal things about authors. Not anything that would be an invasion of privacy; just little things. Would you like to share anything?
Hmmm, how coy, Ryan! (smirks) Well, I suppose I could share that besides being an accounting person during the day, a business owner (Romance First Publishing) at night and weekends; but I'm also a figure-skater and also love to watch home improvement shows. We bought a house a year ago and it needs serious work; but we're getting there. I'm also a very huge lover of cats. Our two children, feline of course, rule my heart.
How long have you been pursuing a career in publishing?
Since about 2006. That's when my first work really took shape and I dared myself to sub it.
How do you feel about all the changes in publishing?
I think that ebooks are a huge advantage; but have their drawbacks as well. Even though I 'm a kindle owner, I miss the smell of the paper and the feel of the book. As for the industry insides; gay fiction, especially erotica, has come under serious fire. My stories aren't usually heavy on this; but those that are have been under scrutiny. I'm not a fan of the scrutiny, obviously. People read what they read. It's a free country. Still, I stick to certain guidelines. Part of the reason I began my own company was due to the politics of the publishing world.
I'm a huge fan of self-published books, by new authors and previously published authors. Do you have any thoughts about this?
Being a self-pubbed author myself; I have no qualms about it at all. There was once a massive stigma surrounding it; but no longer. So many houses pass on a great story just because they are unknown or don't have a ton of tales under their belt. We take risks and it is a risk; but it gets the name out there, and if even 1 book if sold; you've accomplished that goal.
If you could get the dream book contract, what would you love to write most?
Wow, the dream book contract? Hmmm. I always always said I'd love to see For the Heart of Phillip come to life in a screenplay. I feel the same way with Upstaged, too. So either one of those becoming a massive bestseller and a movie would be my absolute dream.
All writers work at a different pace. How do you do it?
I write when the mood and inspiration strike. I have no set schedule, at least time-wise. I do work off an outline or basic ideas of flow for the story; but that is it as far as structure. I like things to be a little freer-form. Currently I run home from work, write as much as I can, then tend to my evening. On the weekends it is the lions share of the day.
How much do you work on promotion, and what's your comfort zone?
As for promo, I do some; not a lot. I need to do more, but time isn't there to do what I need to do. My comfort zone stops at showing my face, which is more for protection. My family knows, on a limited scale, but that's not telling the whole world. Some care, some don't; but after having confrontations with a couple family members; anonymity is the best way to go right now. I have a Facebook page, and two sub pages, one for RFP and one for Steph, blogs for each, and a website for the company, plus a group page on Goodreads and I just joined GA.org. I'm building the presence, slowly.
First, I'd like to thank her for taking the time to answer these questions. I've known her for a while, and I didn't know about the figure skating.
Second, below are some web sites where you can check out her work.
Third, here's a link to another post I wrote about her in 2011.
www.rfppublishing.com
www.romancefirstpublishing.blogspot.com
www.ladyauthorsld.blogspot.com
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