Author Sarah Fredricks Shares Their Story

About the Author
I love romance, have done since I was old enough to start reading it! Even before then, when I think about it, all the old Hollywood movies I watched as a child had big splashes of romance in. So I’ve been into it since I was knee-high to a grasshopper!

I spent a huge number of years reading it as my career went off in a very business-like direction and have only been writing it for the last few years. So far I have three novels out on Amazon. It would have been five, but 2013 threw a health curve ball which held me back.

What inspires you to write romance books?
I love romance and the idea of happy ever after. Romance novels allow you to escape and dream. I also get to write about wonderful places and create lavish homes and fashion. I can be sitting in Scotland on a cold, wet day and be writing about a sun-filled day in the South of France – how many other people get to work in fancy places?

Tell us about how you write:
I plot out my story line and create my characters in depth before I start. I use specific writing software to keep me on track with my chapters and scenes, timeline and loose ends.

I’ll spend time at the beginning searching through stock photo websites to find the pictures that illustrate the character I have envisaged in my head.

Even though I plot my storyline, my characters very often take the story in a different direction. That’s when I know I’ve truly got into their heads while I’m writing.

I review and edit a couple of times before I get to the proof-reading stage. I’m also fortunate to have someone read through my draft and give me honest comments.

Do you listen (or talk to) to your characters?
I definitely listen to my characters, which is why they shape some of the plot. I haven’t talked to them yet but that would be a really dreamy thing to do to my heroes!

What advice would you give other writers?
Your characters are critical. You must spend time planning them – get into their heads. What motivates them, what are their likes and dislikes, how are they likely to react in different situations, what is their past like? I read a lot of reviews where the characters have been described as shallow and ill-defined. Poor characters switch off the reader.

Another kep piece of advice i would give is to read the genre – the more you can read the better. You’ll learn so much from other authors, both good and bad.

How did you decide how to publish your books?
I discovered that Amazon allowed self-publishing. That was it! I haven’t yet explored any other avenue.

You have to choose what’s right for you. Make sure you read all the Terms and Conditions and read other authors’ experiences of places like Amazon and Smashwords etc.

If you want to go the traditional publisher route, make sure you’ve read the submission guidelines, grow a thick skin and cultivate patience.

What do you think about the future of book publishing?
Gosh, big question. There’s a place for traditional publishing and self-publishing. I think the competitiveness of publishing and the advent of e-books had forced publishers to cut their costs which is detrimental to the quality of the books – far too many typos and grammatical errors these days. I think there needs to be better quality control in self-published books too because there’s too much published with a ghastly number of errors.

What genres do you write?
Romance

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/5753729.Sarah_Fredricks
https://www.facebook.com/SarahFredricksRomance
https://twitter.com/SarahFredricks1
http://www.pinterest.com/romancenovelist/