Straight from the mouth of Julie Ann James, Author of 'Irish Jewel'

Julie Ann James lives in Sarasota, Florida. Her passion for words came at an early age and has inspired her to plant seeds literally all over the globe. She is the founder of the Peppertree Press book publishing company and The Pepper Tree Literary Magazine, an avid public speaker, a published children’s author and novelist. 

Questionnaire:

Thanks for letting us interrogate you!  Can you give us a go-for-the-gut answer as to why you wanted to be an author?

A writer since I was ten years old, it seemed only natural that I would continue writing as an adult. I started out like most writers submitting short stories to magazines, hoping for that byline and then venturing off into creating children’s book stories for early childhood level. After becoming a publisher, I was surrounded by amazing talented writers and challenged myself to write a novel. My first book, Haunted Echoes was a paranormal mystery and from that book forward, I was hooked. I am in the process of writing my third novel and the fourth is swirling around in my head, getting ready to put pen to paper. 

Tell us (we won’t tell promise!) is it all it’s cracked up to be?  I mean what are the perks and what are the demands?

There is nothing like turning an idea into a creative masterpiece. Yes, it is completely worth it to write, publish and promote my books. I cannot imagine not writing.  Since I sit on both sides of the desk as a writer and a publisher, I so get and understand the desires that writers want and expect. Expectations do run high at times and keeping yourself grounded in this writing experience is so important.

Which route did you take – traditional or self-published – and can you give us the nitty gritty low down on what’s that like?

I have always wanted to be a writer since I was ten years old. I didn’t actually start writing seriously until after my children were in middle school. All I really wanted is to get a byline and not necessarily be paid for it. I submitted many short stories for parenting magazines and then switched gears and started writing children’s books.  I can recall my first published piece which means that was my first byline. I received a check for $25.00 and because I was so excited, never cashed it.  I later submitted many children’s stories to what I refer to as the “Big Houses” most of their offices are in  New York, and they filled my mailbox with those dreaded rejection letters.  I later found a self-publishing company online and published two books with them.

I have learned so much in all these years, especially after self-publishing.  With that said, during this process I decided to start my own publishing company and offer the personal touch that writers so deserve. I have learned that you don’t have to be traditionally published to become a successful author as long as you love writing, work hard and get the word out, literally.  It is important to keep yourself grounded and keep your expectations in check at all times. 

Tell us for real what your family feels about you spending so much time getting your book written, polished, edited, formatted, published, what have you?

I am very fortunate that my family and friends are so supportive with my writing and the writing process. They are amazing sounding boards for when my creative juices are flowing and know when to keep quiet and exit the room when I don’t respond right away to their questions. They know I am in the writing mode and to not bother me. Since I am a night owl, I write when everything is quiet anyway so it is just me and my characters in the room. 

This is for pet lovers.  If you don’t own a pet, skip this question, but do your pets actually get their food on time or do they have to wait until you type just one more word?

My Abby Girl is a 5 year old Aussie and she herds me to the treat counter no matter what my urgency is, so with that said she rules!  I would not be able to write unless her belly is full.

In writing your book, how did you deal with the phone ringing, your family needing dinner or your boss calling you saying you’re late?

Again, since I write at night it really doesn’t  interfere with my family life or my work schedule.  When I write, the television is on softly as background noise and my fingers are flying on the keyboard. 

How about the social networks?  Which ones do you believe help and which ones do you wish you could avoid?

Of course there are amazing blogs out there that are fun to send out messages to fellow writers and readers. There is the infamous Facebook that is great for creating events for my books. I can recall stalking my own event daily just to see how many people were going to come and get a signed copy of my book.

Book sales.  Don’t you just love them (or lack of?)?  How are you making the sales happen for you?

I have just hired an amazing book publicist (Maryglenn McCombs) and she is doing a remarkable job sending out press releases and promoting my book, Irish Jewel.

What is one thing you’d like to jump on the rooftop and scream about?

I would love to share with the world that my press releases went out today on St. Patrick’s Day and I am extremely excited to see the results.

Okay, too much sugar for you today!  Here’s a nice cup of Chamomile tea and come on over and sit under the cabana and watch the waves roll in.  Now…can you tell us what you love about being a published author and how all those things above doesn’t matter because it’s all part of the whole scheme of things and you wouldn’t have it any other way?

I love being creative all the times.   I suppose you can say that I wear many creative hats, and writing is my greatest love. I cannot imagine not writing on a daily basis and wish I had more time to do so..

Straight from the Mouth of 'The Silver Locket' Sophia Bar-Lev

THE SILVER LOCKET by Sophia Bar-Lev is the author’s third novel. A former elementary and high school teacher, Bar-Lev now devotes full time to writing, her lifelong passion.  She is an avid reader, loves to travel, enjoys cooking and baking and spending time with her family.  Her vivid descriptions, tasteful humor and insightful treatment of human behavior render her novels not only entertaining but thought-provoking. 

Purchase on Amazon 

Questionnaire:

Thanks for letting us interrogate you!  Can you give us a go-for-the-gut answer as to why you wanted to be an author?

I’ve had this inner drive to write since I was a child, turning in my first ‘book’ of 8 pages to my second grade teacher!  I continued writing over the years despite other responsibilities and determined that once I got past raising children and holding down a job because I had to, I would do what I really loved which is to write.  Now I do and I love it!

Tell us (we won’t tell promise!) is it all it’s cracked up to be?  I mean what are the perks and what are the demands?

Writing can be an enemy as well as a friend; it can yield great pleasure and satisfaction one the one hand and discouraging frustration on the other; but in the end, most writers – myself included – keep on writing because it’s what we love. Writers, I think, have this drive to get something said and we don’t give up.

Which route did you take – traditional or self-published – and can you give us the nitty gritty low down on what’s that like?

I went the self-published route on the advice of a few people I respect.  It has its ups and downs.  The folks I worked with at Create Space were wonderful but I quickly learned that in the new paradigm of publishing, an author has to be a marketer as well.  That’s a real learning curve for many of us and demands a significant time investment.  However, my overall evaluation is that self-publishing is the way to go at present at least until such time as one’s book gets the attention of a big name publisher.  I like the control you keep over your work that self-publishing gives you, but distribution and publicity is the challenge.  However, there are some great book publicists out there to help.

Tell us for real what your family feels about you spending so much time getting your book written, polished, edited, formatted, published, what have you?

Fortunately for me, my children are all grown and married.  My husband is very supportive and only occasionally has he mildly complained when I lost track of time and forgot to start dinner!!  I do tend to get so engrossed in my writing that I lost all track of time.  He’s really good about it.  It would be very different if I still had children at home.

Are your plants actually still alive?

I laughed right out loud when I read this question.  My plants are alive but only because they’re low maintenance!!!

In writing your book, how did you deal with the phone ringing, your family needing dinner or your boss calling you saying you’re late?

Early on in the process, I turned the ringer off on my phone and learned to use an alarm clock for starting dinner.  However, I must confess, sometimes I’ve been so engrossed that the alarm clock went off and I didn’t hear it!  For true!!

My husband heard it at the other end of the house but I didn’t and it was on my desk!  Now that’s called super concentration I guess.

What was the craziest or insane thing that happened to you in the book publishing process?

After I uploaded the manuscript to Create Space, I panicked.  Was it good enough?  Did I go through it enough times to be sure there were no mistakes?

Would anybody like it?  Then all of a sudden I realized I forgot to include the Dedication in the final manuscript.  Fortunately, my account specialist was awesome and fixed it for me.

How about the social networks?  Which ones do you believe help and which ones do you wish you could avoid?

Facebook has helped as well as Twitter.  I registered on Goodreads and have had minimal response from there so I haven’t paid much attention to it.  There are hundreds and hundreds of books on Goodreads.  I felt lost in the crowd. But Facebook has several ‘groups’ for authors and those have been helpful.

Book sales.  Don’t you just love them (or lack of?)?  How are you making the sales happen for you?

Started out with Facebook, my website and some promotional emails but that wasn’t enough.  I searched out book publicists and hired the one I liked best.  She’s been great.

What is one thing you’d like to jump on the rooftop and scream about?

People who write reviews and you can tell they never finished the book! It’s so annoying.  And people who post sarcastic comments.  Whatever happened to old fashioned courtesy?  You can write a negative review without being mean.

Okay, too much sugar for you today!  Here’s a nice cup of Chamomile tea and come on over and sit under the cabana and watch the waves roll in.  Now…can you tell us what you love about being a published author and how all those things above doesn’t matter because it’s all part of the whole scheme of things and you wouldn’t have it any other way?

Sure can – I’ll give you a specific example.  Recently a reader contacted me on the website and invited me to have a SKYPE visit with her book club who had just finished reading and discussing one of my earlier novels.  It was the most delightful and encouraging experience any author could hope for.  The ladies were great; they asked superb questions and shared valuable insights they had gained including ideas I’d never thought of but that they’d derived from the novel.  It was thrilling. 

Knowing that readers get something valuable from my novels is the best reward of all.