Ask the Author: C.L. Walters
Answered Questions (11)
C.L. Walters
I live in Hawaiʻi and I have always thought some of the superstitions of the locals would make for awesome stories. For example: don't sweep the doorway at night. There's a tale of a aswang (a vampire in Filipino culture) that is said to roam the village near where I live, or there's a man-dog werewolf a few valleys over. So many ideas that are both terrifying and creatively intriguing.
C.L. Walters
Hi there! A great question (And I'm sorry I'm only seeing it now). All of the books occur in the same universe. The Stories Stars Tell is a stand alone (and was written first), but the main character from In the Echo of this Ghost Town is in The Stories Stars Tell as a secondary character (and is a jerk). You can read them both on their own without the other, but for additional perspective starting with The Stories Stars Tell will make you hate the main character of In the Echo of this Ghost Town worse. :) When the Echo Answers is a companion to In the Echo of this Ghost Town (the female character's perspective of the same story) so I would suggest reading it last.
C.L. Walters
My TBR is always growing - I'm always adding to it and I'm never up to date with new releases. I just read what's there. I am always on the look out for new YA.
C.L. Walters
One morning I woke up and went downstairs to make my coffee. I opened the cupboard and all of the coffee beans were gone.
C.L. Walters
I would go to Mary E. Pearson's World and have Dinner with Jace and Kazi (along with the family). I want to see those trees in the sky.
C.L. Walters
When I get stuck, I put the writing away. I read. I listen to and dabble playing music. I go to the beach. I talk to my friends. I take myself on a date or go on one with my husband. I work on something new. When I've allowed myself some space from the story, I go back, reread to rediscover the rhythm and begin again.
C.L. Walters
I am very comfortable by myself and in my own mind. So, hanging out there with character friends is really awesome. It's coming back to the real world that presents more of a challenge. "Oh, I have to interact with real people. Ah oh."
C.L. Walters
Read. Read. Read some more. This is the first and best way to not only be inspired by good writing, but also to learn. And we don't just learn from the excellent stories, but also from the mediocre as well. It is how we acquire vocabulary, explore the rhythm of language which isn't only relegated to poetry, explore and understand structure. It is the way in which we dive into and develop our own imaginations. Read the genre you write. Read outside of it too.
Now, write. Write without fear.
Now, write. Write without fear.
C.L. Walters
I am currently working on a New Adult Contemporary Romance starring a couple named Emma Matthews and Tanner James. Over the last month, I used a "one word prompt challenge" on Instagram to help me develop the characters I've been getting to know on this story: Emma and Tanner. If you're interested in excerpts, look to my Instagram Feed in September for 29 different scenes of this story.
C.L. Walters
Writing, in general, is something that inspires me, even when it is difficult. I've been telling and collecting stories my whole life. The stories, snippets of conversation running through my mind, a visual image, a character talking to me, all serve to push me forward.
C.L. Walters
The Bones of Who We Are (releasing October 1, 2019) is the culmination of the Cantos Chronicles Series that begins with Swimming Sideways with The Ugly Truth the second installment. Gabe, the protagonist in The Bones of Who We Are offered me a key scene back in 2009 - one I didn't want to look at, but eventually had to examine. The entire book circled around this scene, and the story unfolds around this formative event in the character's life. I'd spoil the story to share anymore, but when you read the novel, you'll understand what I'm referencing.
I have found that scenes often flash like disconnected leaves floating through my mind and my job is to grasp it and figure out where it fits on the tree.
I have found that scenes often flash like disconnected leaves floating through my mind and my job is to grasp it and figure out where it fits on the tree.
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