Describe your writing process.
I get an idea, sit down at the
computer, and start writing. That’s the easy part. The hard part is making it
into something cohesive. So I basically do a stream-of-consciousness writing
session, where I’ll write feverishly for days or weeks on end, just getting the
main story out. Once that’s out, I go back, add clarification, check for
inconsistencies, put in additional scenes and transitions.
After I have several chapters and a
good idea where the story is going, I’ll send out some edited stuff to my beta
readers, so they can let me know if the idea itself is working, if it’s too
far-fetched, if I’ve got some glaring gaps in the story, or even if they just
adore it and want more.
When things are winding down and I
don’t have the driving need to write, I’m still thinking about the story, still
working things out in my head. Often, I’ll sit and either watch an old favorite
movie or listen to Pandora on computer, and knit or crochet as I work on the
story issues.
Lather, rinse, repeat, for each
story idea that comes up, then try to gel it all together. I’ve never been an
‘outline’ kind of girl. Even when I had to do such things in school, I’d write
the paper first, then create the outline from it. I know, crazy, huh? I’m what
they call a ‘Panster’, and most of the time I’m just fine with that.
What motivates you to sit down and write?
The possibility of escape, the need
to create a new world, a new situation, or just to get the movies out of my
head and onto ‘paper’, so to speak. It’s not that I decided one day to be a
writer. I started writing one day and have tried being everything else. Now
that my health is bad enough to prevent my working outside the home, it seemed
like the right time to take the writing seriously, actually get a book finished,
and see what happened. Now I write because I want to see where the stories lead
me, and because I have this looming fear that if I don’t get the sequel to
Hearts of Ishira out, my fans are going to come mob me!
Where does your inspiration come from?
Everywhere. Seriously, I can be
watching TV and someone will say something on a show, and BAM! There’s an idea.
My husband often sighs and shakes his head because he can tell when I just had
an idea and NEED to write it down, right now.
Do you have any writers that you consider
mentors?
Not really. I mean, there are
authors that I adore, people whose influence is definitely evident in my
writing, I think. But as for other writers that guide me… I do have one friend
that’s been there through it all, as a cheerleader and sometime-butt-kicker, so
I guess she’d be the one. Angela Drake is her pen name.
What do you think is your greatest strength in your writing?
The ability to make my readers feel
what my characters are feeling, and the ability to bring a world to life.
That’s the feedback I’ve been getting, anyhow.
What is your biggest challenge?
Discipline. That’s it, in a
nutshell. Forcing myself to turn off Facebook and actually focus on editing and
rewrites is possibly the hardest thing I do.
Do you ever experience writer's block? How do you get through it?
I do, but I have so many other
hobbies that I’ve learned just to pick up something else for a time, let the
story issues work themselves out in the back of my mind, and when it’s ready to
be written, it’ll let me know.
Name some authors who have influenced or
inspired you?
Anne McCaffrey, CS Lewis, Julia
Quinn, Karen Marie Moning, Patricia C. Wrede, Alan Dean Foster, Johanna
Lindsey, Catherine Anderson, Elizabeth Lowell… I read a LOT.
Tell a little about your most recent
work. Title, genre, and tag line.
Hearts of Ishira is my
first full-length novel. I consider it a sci-fi romantica, because it’s a bit
too tame for most erotica, but the ménage aspect tends to put it into that
category. However, the romance is primary, sci-fi is secondary, and the actual
steamy bits are icing on the cake.
I don’t really have a tag-line for it,
but I suppose if I did, it would be ‘Two hearts are better than one’, since Ri
ends up with two hunky warriors as her mates.
Tell us about your favorite character from
the book.
My favorite character is Arianna.
She’s always surprising me with her spunky wit, her enthusiasm, her compassion,
and sometimes even her bad-assery. Even she doesn’t know yet what she’s capable
of or why she was chosen for the role she’s only starting to discover. As more
‘coincidences’ crop up, she’ll get even more bad-ass… and conflicted. The role
she’s been chosen for is not something that she wants, and that will become
more apparent with each book.
Is/are there specific themes that you would
like your reader to grasp while they're reading your novel?
Acceptance, love without limits,
thriving in a new environment, and making the most of second chances. I’ve had
a lot of second chances in my life, and I’m grateful for every new opportunity
to get things right.
Oh, and never stop believing in
magic.
What makes a good story?
I think that’s a subjective
question… for me, it’s good relationships between the characters, decent
forward motion of the plot, and a good dose of HEA. There’s enough sadness and
loss in the world. When I read, I want to come away with hope and the feeling
that there’s still a chance for anyone to have a HEA.
How do you market your work?
·
I
have a Facebook Author page- facebook.com/bethanyaan
·
a
twitter account- @bethanyaan
·
a
blog- bethanyaan.blogspot.com
·
goodreads
account- Bethany Aan
·
g-mail
account where my readers can (and do!) write to me. I read everything myself at
this point, and LOVE hearing from fans. bethanyaanerotica@gmail.com
Do you have a current work in progress? Can you tell a little bit about it?
Yes, several, actually!
I’m working on the sequel to Hearts
of Ishira, which is the continuation of the first book, with the focus on Ri
and Sean.
HERE
BE SPOILERS:
Hunter and
Jace are still a big part of her life, but with so many new mouths to feed and
take care of, they aren’t around as much as they’d like. That’s okay, because
big brother Sean is there, healing from the blaster wound that he took to save
Ri’s life in the first book, and Ri is a captive audience for his flirting and
seduction. Of course, Ri being who she is, the seduction and flirting don’t go
just one way. Her heart might firmly belong to Hunter and Jace, but that
doesn’t mean she doesn’t have room for their long-lost brother, as well. After
all… it’s the Thorsani way!
Tell us about yourself, outside of writing.
There’s life outside of writing??
Okay, seriously… My husband and I
participate in the Society for Creative Anachronism, a not-for-profit
educational group that focuses on life in the Middle Ages. My persona is a
Danish Viking from the 10th century. I teach various fiber crafts…
spinning, knitting, a method called sprang, weaving, and anything else that
requires string. My husband thinks I’m part cat.
I take long naps, decorate cakes,
bake, knit, crochet, sew, quilt, bead, quill, and lots of other crafts. I also
like gardening, though I haven’t been able to do so for a few years. I love
hanging out with my geeky friends, watching sci-fi and fantasy shows and
movies, and Big Bang Theory is the boxed set I’d want with me if I ever found
myself stranded on a desert island with a solar powered DVD player.
Sal and I have been together more
than 16 years, 5+ of those married. He’s my best friend, instigator, enabler,
and silliness partner. He’s my inspiration for most of my heroes. He’s about to
graduate college (May 11th, 2013!) with degrees in math and
education. At 42, we’ve both achieved our dreams: mine is being a published
author, his is being a high school math teacher. We’ve been through so much
together, and though our lives are about to get even more ‘interesting’, we’ll
be making our next moves together, as it should be.
Is there anything else you would like to
share?
I know that some folks are
bewildered by my style of writing, in that my heroes and heroines don’t fight a
lot.
My
experience with love has been that it shouldn’t be a constant battle, that it
should be easy and just kind of happen. I find it much more intriguing watching
committed couples (or in the case of most of my stories, groups of people),
band together and fight against an outside force, instead of each other.
Love
should be the glue that binds you, not the fight tearing you apart, and I hope
that my stories convey that.
Do you have any words of advice or encouragement for other writers who are looking to publish?
DO IT!!!! Don’t just think about it, don’t just dream. Sit down, make it happen, and do it. Best advice I can give is to cultivate a good batch of beta readers that love your work, and then treat them like gold. They’re going to read the same stuff over and over again with minor variations, so don’t ever take them for granted.
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