Author Interview: Susan Antony

About the author:
My name is Susan Antony and I write young adult fiction. Becoming a writer was a childhood dream I’d buried years ago. One day in the recent past while spring-cleaning, I came across a fifty-page novel I’d written as a ten-year-old and my long forgotten passion awoke again. I currently reside in South Carolina with my sixteen-year-old son and two naughty but adorable Cairn Terriers.

What inspires you to write romantic fiction?
Who doesn't love to fall in love? Especially for the first time. I love writing YA Romance. Young adults love, hate, and play hard in an arena where the world shines new and the future burns wide open. When I’m writing or reading YA, if I dig deep inside, I can recapture those intense, wonderful, sometimes painful feelings and immerse myself in that world once again through my characters lives.

Tell us about how you write.
I create my entire novel in my head while I’m driving or taking long walks. I play with characters for a year or more before putting them on paper so they are very real to me. Sometimes they surprise me. They’ll hijack my story and lead it in another direction.

Do you listen to or talk to to your characters?
I do not interact with my characters. I mentally view them as if I were watching a movie.

What advice would you give other romance writers?
Practice, practice, practice and never give up. If you haven't already, build an online presence today and nurture it. Only a minute amount of authors write a novel and become an overnight success. There are general rules to writing as in everything else. If you study and apply them, you have a better chance of achieving your goal. Take online writing classes. Join critique groups. Listen to your critics and evaluate the information provided. Take what you like and trash the rest. Though, always keep your mind open and learn to take criticism. My harshest critic helped me the most. After I finished crying over my bruised ego, I realized he was one-hundred percent right. Had I not listened, I might not be published today.

How did you decide how to publish your books?
I entered the first 7000 words of Cherokee Summer in "The Gateway to the Best" contest sponsored by the Missouri Romance Writers of America. I won in the YA division. My future editor, Kinan Werdski, at The Wild Rose press was the judge. She requested my full manuscript and so here I am.

What do you think about the future of book publishing?
As a writer I'm not sure I am qualified to answer this question and I don't have a crystal ball, but it appears that the market is steadily moving toward ebooks and print on demand.

Which romance sub-genere(s) fit your stories best?
YA Romance

My books are available in the following formats:
eBook, Print