Authors in the Spotlight 2/2

In today's Authors in the Spotlight, we have authors Allysa Hart and Sidney Reetz!

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Name: Allysa Hart

How long have you been published? My first book, Adopting Katie, came out November 1st, 2016.

What's the worst part about being published? Marketing. I absolutely hate it. It takes a ton of time and it feels like it doesn’t help.

What's the best part about being published? Holding my book in my hand for the first time was an absolute dream come true.

Are you self published or did you go through a publishing company? I go through a small publishing company called Twisted Hearts Productions. I got all of the perks of a publisher and I don’t have to give up any of my creativity. I got to have final say in everything as well as create my own cover. It could not have been anymore perfect.

What is the name of your book(s)? Adopting Katie

Was it/were they an easy write for you? Well that’s a funny story. My publisher, who is also a close personal friend of mine, called me one day and told me she wanted me to write a short story for an anthology she was working to put together. I had been toying with the idea of writing for real and she thought it was the perfect opportunity. I was nervous as heck, but the story just came to me and I wrote it. The original count was around 12K. After submitting it to her she sent me an e-mail telling me that the story was too good to be hidden in an anthology and she wanted me to get all of the glory I deserved. I was totally cool with that, until she told me to increase the wordcount to 40K to make it a full-length novella. That scared me. I am not very detail oriented and tend to gloss over things to get to the parts I want to tell. Another good friend of mine spent months with me, going through the 12K and helping me to expand it to the required length. That was really really hard to do. The process for my second book has been significantly easier.

What's the hardest part about writing a book? Editing the book

What's the easiest part about writing a book? Making the cover. lol

Where can interested readers purchase their copy of your book(s)? I am on Amazon, ibooks, Barnes and Noble, Goodreads, and kobo.

Do you have any future projects in the works? SO many! I am hoping for a release in March and May. Then I have some collaborations that are going to ROCK YOUR WORLD

Do you have any social media sites that you would like to share with my readers? Facebook, Facebook Fanpage, Instagram, and Wordpress.

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Name: Sidney "That red headed devil woman" Reetz

How long have you been published? 2 Years

What's the worst part about being published? Time management! When you are a self-published author everything falls upon you or it doesn't get done. Not only do you have to get the writing done, but you also have to learn every part of the business; including taxes, business licenses, promotion, social-media, convention booking, blogging, ect. ect. My 'to do' list are never ending!

What's the best part about being published? The best part is having that final product in your hand. For me, there is no more fulfilling feeling than seeing your novel on the shelves for readers.
The second best part would be all the wonderful contacts I've made during this journey. There are so many talented people out there that are still undiscovered; true diamonds in the ruff!

Are you self-published or did you go through a publishing company? Self-published

*What are the highs, if any? I guess the ultimate high for any self-published author is the knowledge that you completed your novel on your own. You didn't just write the words and send your book off into some publishing companies multiple departments to be the next item on the list for them.

If you have an editor, cover artist or ebook formatter, you had to personally go out into the world to find them, test them, hire them, pay them and see your collaboration completed. However, the benefits I have reaped from building those working relationships with such people are some of my most treasured friendships. In the end, I get the honor of stitching all our combined work into the final product I get to hold in my hand.

*What are the lows, if any? The lows for a self-published author come from the fact that everything falls upon you. If you aren’t moving your novel forward, it won't move at all. You have to believe in your novel, you have to believe in you and you have to push yourself forward to see the project through. 

I won't lie, it's a hugely intimidating task. I've had to branch out into areas I had a zero knowledge base in and stumble my way through a maze of misinformation (or lack of information).

Even once you have your novel in your hands and complete, your job still isn't done. Ask any author, traditional or self-published, and they will say that promotion is the hardest part of the game.
The work seriously never ends.

But, as they say, if you do what you love, you'll never work a day in your life. That is the driving force that pulls creative minds through all the red tape madness.

What is the name of your book(s)?
The Devil's Codex - Saints and Sinners Book One
From the Darkest Corner - Anthology
Fallen Saint - Saints and Sinners Book Two (Coming Summer 2017)
Solomon's Ring - Short Story (Scheduled for late 2017)

Was it/were they an easy write for you? My first novel, The Devil's Codex, was a very easy write for me. 

I'd previously tried to write only in third person and never really finished anything. I struggled with this for years until I tried a first person point of view project. BAM! I was on a roll and couldn't stop the words from flying.

That would be my first bit of advice for any writers struggling with completing a project. Sometimes flipping the point of view makes all the difference.

What's the hardest part about writing a book? Ha! The characters! 

I'm not one of those writers who can control her creations. They are a force unto themselves. I can outline an entire book but if the character decides in the middle of a scene to go right instead of left, I have to follow them and go off the outline. It's always for the better though. The story comes out richer and more realistic if I just trust in them. 

What's the easiest part about writing a book? The first draft is always the easiest. It's the "fun" draft where you just let the characters play and write out everything that comes to your mind as you move through the narrative. Once it's out and on the page, you can always go back and clean it up, trim it down and streamline it; but you have to get it on the page first. 

Where can interested readers purchase their copy of your book(s)?
Print books are available through my website, Ebooks are avalible via Smashwords, and Barnes & Noble.

 
Do you have any future projects in the works? *Is there a tentative release date?
Fallen Saint - Saints and Sinners Book Two (Coming Summer 2017)
Solomon's Ring - Short Story (Scheduled for late 2017)

Do you have any social media sites that you would like to share with my readers?
Sidney Reetz Facebook, The Devil's Codex Facebook Page,Twitter, Instagram, Tumblr. 

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Join me next week as I bring you more authors!