Author/editor/blogger Jolie Du Pré is the creative force behind For Love of the Vampire, a boxed set of paranormal romances launching today with novellas from eight writers including herself. She stopped by Kattomic Energy to talk about vampires, books in general, and the challenges of the writing life
Welcome Jolie!
Who’s your favorite on-screen
vampire?
Damon Salvatore of the The
Vampire Diaries!
If you could be any paranormal
creature, what would you be?
I would be a vampire! They’re
strong, sexy, and they live forever!
Do you have a writing ritual? For
example: Do you have a set page/word goal of writing a day? Do you write on
your birthday? Do you ever work on two or more projects at once?
I write with a set number of words per day. Plus, I always give myself a deadline.
Do you have a favorite among the
books you’ve written?
My favorite of the Pierce
series is book 4. I love the sex scene I
created. LOL!
What are you working on now?
Actually, I’m working on books for a new pen name. They are not paranormal related.
What’s the last good book you
read? Or: What’s on your TBR pile?
Prosperity for Writers: A
Writer's Guide to Creating Abundance by Honoree Corder. She gives simple,
yet effective solutions for getting you back on the right track, mentally, for
achieving your goals as a writer.
The usual vampire in PNR seems
to be a pale white straight male (whether sparkly or not) and a lot of readers
seem to like it that way. Do you venture outside the paranormal norm with your
characters?
Yes, but I’m not sure that’s the way to go to reach sales. I’ve learned that you have an easier time if
you just give readers what they normally want.
You’re a full-time writer/blogger.
Was there a “tipping point” where you knew you could make a living at writing
without a “day job” as a backup?
I’ve been writing full-time since 2000 as an article writer. Eventually, I wanted to write fiction as
well. I’ve never quit my article writing, and I’ve always had my husband to
back me up. Thank goodness. This is a tough business for most authors.
Only the strongest authors will survive the dark days, because for most of us,
there are a lot of them.
I love that you have a “world’
where characters overlap in the stories even though each is a stand-alone. Do
you think that helps keep your story-telling fresh?
I hope that it does.
You’ve edited a number of
anthologies. When you have your editor’s hat on, what do you look for in a
story?
When I used to edit anthologies, my role was to choose the
stories. Other editors would correct for
grammar, punctuation, etc. Therefore,
spelling and grammar errors weren’t my concern. That said, I looked for stories
that were original and fresh - the kind that never bore you.
You’re running a promotion with
ILVN offering signed copies and a $10 Amazon gift card in return for sign-ups
on your newsletter. Do you ever find these promotions attract “junk”
subscribers who are just in it for the SWAG?
One word - YES.
How important is social media to
your marketing plan? Do you run FB ads? Use mail dumps? Rely on
Twitter/Instagram? Or is it all about the mailing list? How do you feel about
conventions? Any you’d like to attend this year?
Social media is very important to my marketing plan. For example, I’ve found many of my ARC
readers through social media. I like
Facebook and Twitter, the best. I also
have a mailing list. Many of my ARC
readers came from my mailing list, as well.
As far as conventions, I used to attend conventions. They were an excellent way to meet fellow
authors face-to-face and to learn about the industry. Also, back when submitting to publishers was
the only viable way to go, I went on a national book tour for one of my
anthologies. I did readings in New York,
Los Angeles, Austin in Texas, and Chicago.
That was fun. Today, there are many options other than the traditional
ways. Plus, I don’t go to conventions much anymore. I’d rather stay home. LOL!
You published books one and two
of Pierce on the same day (December
5, 2015). And the next three will come one a month after that. Do you feel
pressure from the marketplace to constantly be putting out something new?
If you don’t keep up with readers’ voracious appetites, you’ll have a
hard time achieving full-time fiction author status.
What book of yours has received the
most reviewer love?
Benton: A Zombie Novel, Volume 1. In fact, my entire zombie series did
well. I didn’t appreciate what I had. I’m desperately trying to return to the glory
days.
What’s the last show you
binge-watched?
Amazon has come out with some excellent original programming. Two of the series I recently binge-watched are
Mad Dogs, and Catastrophe.
As a reader, do you prefer
stand-alones or series?
Stand-alones. I’m weird.
Do you have international
editions of your books? If so, what language(s)?
No
DC or Marvel? Neither
Dogs or Cats?
Dogs
Did you ever write a fan letter
to a writer?
Sometimes!
Visit Jolie’s website here.
Follow her on Twitter
Like her on Facebook.
Thank you for the interview!
ReplyDeleteMy pleasure! come back some time!
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