Author MaryAnn Kempher Shares Their Story

MaryAnn Kempher lives near Tampa Florida with her husband, two children, two dogs, and one tempermental cat named George. She spent her teen years living in Reno NV where her new book, MOCHA, MOONLIGHT, AND MURDER is set.

She has a weakness for anything sweet including of course, a grande cafe mocha.

About the Author
MaryAnn Kempher lives near Tampa Florida with her husband, two children, two dogs, and one temperamental cat named George. She spent her teen years living in Reno NV where her new book, MOCHA, MOONLIGHT, AND MURDER is set.

She has a weakness for anything sweet including of course, a grande cafe mocha.

What inspires you to write romance books?
I grew up reading Janet Daly, she’s amazing, but I didn’t set out to be a romance author. My first book, and the book I’m currently writing has a strong suspense/mystery element.

I love having a mixture of both genres.

Tell us about how you write:
I wish I was more disciplined, but I’m not. We use a small bedroom as a home office. I get my coffee and sit at the computer, then I do everything but write. I check my email, then Twitter, then Facebook. Finally, I stare at where I left off writing, and sometimes the words just flow. Those are the best moments. When I start writing and I’m on a roll, it’s the best feeling.

I wish I was good at creating an outline, I’ve tried, but I’m not. I suspect it would make my life a lot easier. I have learned to take a lot of notes though. That’s as close as I get to outlining.

Do you listen (or talk to) to your characters?
No, the closest I’d get is when I’m writing dialogue. I say it out loud to see if it sounds like something that character would say.

What advice would you give other writers?
My best piece of advice: Before you start writing, buy a few self-help books in the genre you want to write in, also books on structure. Everyone needs advice, even us creative types.

Just recently, I wrote a post on my website titled Best Self-Help books for New Writers. These are books I’ve bought and used. They’re great. There are a lot of things you don’t know, you just don’t know you don’t know them.

Also, and this is huge–get your book professionally edited and proofread before sending to anyone, no exceptions. I used The Editorial Department. They were awesome.

How did you decide how to publish your books?
I was sending out queries to agents and getting nowhere. I had a few requests for partials, but never fulls. The truth is, the book wasn’t ready to be seen by agents. I was lucky to have gotten the few partial requests I did.

A friend had recently had her book published by a small publisher. They weren’t takkng submissions, only referrals. After I had my book edited/proofread, and I made revisions etc…. I had her read it. She liked it, referred it, and 8 months later (everything in publishing takes time) they contacted me.

What do you think about the future of book publishing?
I think there’s room for everyone. People love going to bookstores, so I hope this means that bookstores are here to stay. Ebooks aren’t going anywhere either. How things are now, I think that’s how they’ll be for a long time.

What genres do you write?
Romance, Mystery, Suspense

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
http://www.goodreads.com/author/dashboard
https://www.facebook.com/AuthorMaryAnnKempher?ref=hl
https://twitter.com/MaryAnnKempher
http://pinterest.com/maryannkempher/boards/

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