Author Collette Cameron Shares Their Story

About the Author
Award winning, Amazon best-selling, and multi-published historical romance author, Collette Cameron, has a BS in Liberal Studies and a Master’s in Teaching. A Pacific Northwest Native, Collette’s been married for thirty years, has three amazing adult children, and five dachshunds. Collette loves a good joke, inspirational quotes, flowers, the beach, trivia, birds, shabby chic, and Cadbury Chocolate. You’ll always find dogs, birds, quirky—sometimes naughty—humor, and a dash of inspiration in her novels. Her motto for life? You can’t have too much chocolate, too many hugs, or too many flowers. She’s thinking about adding shoes to that list.

What inspires you to write romance books?
I’m one of those girly girls who loves frou frou, romance, happily-ever-after, and all that type of stuff.

I started reading Barbara Carltand romances when I was thirteen. I fell in love with the idea of true love.

When I had the opportunity to begin writing romances myself, I wanted to create stories my readers could escape into and experience a little bit of magic.

Tell us about how you write:
I’m a linear pantser which means I write beginning to end. Though I know some major plot points before I start writing, my story and my characters take me on the journey that leads to the story’s completion. I’m not sure what’s going to happen along the way, though.

I do complete a questionnaire for both my hero and heroine (over 50 questions each) before I start writing. That helps me really get inside their heads. Trouble is, what I think they should do, like, dislike, and so on, they frequently disagree with, and I end up making changes.

I have a gorgeous shabby chic writing room where most of my creativity takes places. Surrounded by those romantic elements, a cup of coffee and a tall water bottle, I tap away. My miniature dachshund, Ayva, is usually on my lap or sleeping on the overstuffed chair in the room.

Do you listen (or talk to) to your characters?
I don’t talk out loud to them, but I do listen. My heroes and heroines know more about what the story should include, what direction my writing should take, then I do. I have to be flexible in allowing them to develop into charismatic characters, even if they don’t end up completely as I’d envisioned them.

I like to be totally alone when I write, except for Ayva, and I have to have complete quiet. I do make weird faces and motions . . . sometimes even say the dialogue to see it it will work.

What advice would you give other writers?
Surround yourself with supportive authors who can not only encourage you, but offer useful criticism and advice.

Never stop honing your craft either.

How did you decide how to publish your books?
Though I have several friends who are self-published, the idea terrified me. I knew nothing about publishing at all when I first started. I chose to go with a Indie publisher because of the personal touches and ease of communication.

Someday I may look at larger houses, but for the immediate future, I’ll stay where I am.

I’ll be venturing into self-publishing in the near future too, though not by myself. I’m part of two multi-author projects that will both be self-published.

What do you think about the future of book publishing?
I think everything is game!

There are many, many high quality books being published by authors themselves, and the traditional publishers are making some shifts as a result. The role of agents is also in transition.

The bottom line, at least for me, is to craft a well-written, superbly edited, compelling story and then how it becomes published doesn’t matter.

What genres do you write?
Historical Romance, Regency, Scottish, Highlander, Suspens

What formats are your books in?
Both eBook and Print

Website(s)
Author Home Page Link
Link To Author Page On Amazon

Your Social Media Links
https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7047979.Collette_Cameron
http://facebook.com/collettecameronauthor
http://twitter.com/Collette_Author
http://www.pinterest.com/colletteauthor/