E. Rachael Hardcastle's Blog, page 16
March 28, 2017
The Author Interviews, Round 2: #10: Brittany Lewis
The final interview in round two is Brittany Lewis, returning to tell us more about her life as an author.What gives you inspiration for your book(s)?Different things, some of it is my depression and anxiety, some was trying to work out my beliefs and where I stand on certain issues. So far I have written two novels where the main character deals with either depression or anxiety or both. In both my novels that main character deals with loss which I have had to go through many times.Are your characters based off real people or did they all come entirely from your imagination?My characters have qualities that I have myself, but they are based solely on my imagination.Could you tell us a bit about your most recent book and why it is a must-read?My most recently published book is a young adult novel called Finding Freedom. I feel this book is a must-read because it talks about many different things, breaking away from your family as you become an adult, what it means to have a relationship with God, it talks about how your works can’t save you, only Jesus can and it talks about healthy relationships, among other things.What do you love most about the writing process?Another tough question to answer. I’d probably have to say writing the rough draft. Before the edits, before the reviewers, before the guest posts and interviews and book signings and book stores and libraries and radio shows, before it all you can just write. You can get lost in a world of your own creation. It’s beautiful and peaceful and exhilarating."My characters have qualities that I have myself."Of all the characters you have created, which is your favourite and why?I love them all. They’re like family in a strange way. I don’t know if I can choose… while I was writing Finding Freedom I thought Katie the main character was my favorite, until I wrote Heir of Zion. In that book Katie’s twin brother Michael is the main character and Heir of Zion takes place at the same time as Finding Freedom but a different location. I think Michael might be my favorite now. It’s hard though, I’ve learned a lot from both of them.What is the biggest surprise that you experienced after becoming a writer?How many people like my work, haha.Do you have a day job in addition to being a writer? If so, what do you do during the day?I’m a stay at home mom. I have a seven year old daughter and a two year old son who is autistic with developmental delays. My days consist of writing, edits, organizing events, press releases, interviews etc and caring for my family and house.Tell us a little about your plans for the future. Where do you see yourself as a writer in five years?In five years I hope to have at least five more books out, but ten would be better. I have plans on turning all of my books from The Zion Series into movies and I hope to travel to other areas of the country (or the world) to do signings.Favourite non-fiction book?The Bible.Many thanks to Brittany Lewis for closing round 2 of the author interviews. If you would like to read Finding Freedom you can click the link below.
#thankyou
I've been keeping track of how well the promotion for my book signing event is going, and I am so thrilled with how many of my Twitter friends have kindly retweeted for me so far. Some of you have replied wishing me the best of luck and some have hit that like button. You're all awesome, and I really appreciate your help.
There are so many of you, I thought it would be easier to give your handles a shout out on my blog. Tagging you all would take forever! Go ahead... follow one another! If you've helped me out and you don't see your name (sincere apologies, I have a lot to keep track of), give me a shout and I'll add you below.So go ahead and check if you're on my list! (don't worry, it's my nice list... I keep the naughty list in a draw with my potions...)@daysoutuk@daysout@Colingarrow@Carynlarrinaga@bradfordchatter@PhilMyerscough@Bathstoryaward@Nathalie_Mounir@DalesNews_@gailgloveruk@bradfordlibs247@JTAtkinson666@NikiLiv_author@DianeMaeRobinson@andymiller15@bigbookend@wyp_FizAhmed@martinskate9@jwatkinsonxxx@everyauthorvoice@lovebooksgroup@emarxbrooks@author_hmartin@marthaperez0609@schristodoulou2@AngelicaKate5@readingisourpassion@schristodoulou2@richard51185877@penelope_aaron@papriddey@lynne_jean@authorctThere are 33 of you listed here. When my next batch of happy helpers comes in, I'll post another update! Thanks again,E. Rachael Hardcastle (www.twitter.com/erhardcastle)
There are so many of you, I thought it would be easier to give your handles a shout out on my blog. Tagging you all would take forever! Go ahead... follow one another! If you've helped me out and you don't see your name (sincere apologies, I have a lot to keep track of), give me a shout and I'll add you below.So go ahead and check if you're on my list! (don't worry, it's my nice list... I keep the naughty list in a draw with my potions...)@daysoutuk@daysout@Colingarrow@Carynlarrinaga@bradfordchatter@PhilMyerscough@Bathstoryaward@Nathalie_Mounir@DalesNews_@gailgloveruk@bradfordlibs247@JTAtkinson666@NikiLiv_author@DianeMaeRobinson@andymiller15@bigbookend@wyp_FizAhmed@martinskate9@jwatkinsonxxx@everyauthorvoice@lovebooksgroup@emarxbrooks@author_hmartin@marthaperez0609@schristodoulou2@AngelicaKate5@readingisourpassion@schristodoulou2@richard51185877@penelope_aaron@papriddey@lynne_jean@authorctThere are 33 of you listed here. When my next batch of happy helpers comes in, I'll post another update! Thanks again,E. Rachael Hardcastle (www.twitter.com/erhardcastle)
Quarterly Review of Goals
On 28/12/2016 I set myself some writing-related goals for 2017 and these included:Finish writing Finding Pandora: Eternity before EasterPublish Finding Pandora: Eternity before EasterRelease Finding Pandora: Volume OneFinish typing up my non-fiction bookFinish writing The WantedFinish writing Faded RealmReach 500 Facebook followersReach 2000 Twitter followersHit 100 YouTube subscribersBe in my local mediaReach 2000 sales by EasterReach 3000 sales by my birthday in September
I also promised I'd keep you up to date, so here's how I'm doing so far.As of Sunday (26/03/2017) I finished re-writing Finding Pandora: Eternity and I'm now in the process of editing it. I may not quite meet my Easter goal, but I'll be publishing close enough to be satisfied that this target has been met. I have also (since setting this goal), scheduled a book signing for July based on a May 2017 publishing date for Finding Pandora: Volume One, so I'm well on track to complete the second and third goals in the list before then.My non-fiction book requires a full year of journal entries, but the year is still ongoing. I'm keeping this up to date and chipping away at it slowly, but until the year ends, this target will not and cannot be met.The Wanted and Faded Realm will be my focus toward the back end of the year. After Finding Pandora: Volume One is released and my signing is out of the way, I'll be working a bit on some more Dragonborn ideas, then diving straight into completing the Aeon Infinitum trilogy. I'm excited, but there are other priorities that need my full attention at the moment.I'm only 25 Facebook followers away from my 500 target so if you're reading this and you're on Facebook I'd love your support. The same goes for 2000 Twitter followers - I'm at 1653 as of yesterday, so I'm getting there. I'd like to take this opportunity for all the retweets and likes my book signing posts are getting. I really appreciate all the support!I'm at 55 YouTube subscribers so I'm over half way there.I reached my 2000 sales goal this month, and I'm still going strong. Thank you to everyone who downloaded one of my books this year. 3000 sales is a lot in such a short space of time but I'm confident I can do it with your help. It would be an amazing birthday present!Finally, I achieved my goal to be in the local media just one month after setting the target! I appeared on TV on the UK's Made In Leeds channel, and I also have the support of a local radio station and magazine for my upcoming book signing in July.I'm thrilled to have met three of these goals (2000 sales, local media, finish Finding Pandora: Eternity) with some time to spare. However, the hard work is just beginning, because now I need to set some new goals in their place. So, here goes:Hand out all 50 of my book signing posters to spread the wordWrite one helpful writing-related blog post per week and share it across my social mediaAdd descriptions and important information from The White Room's 16 episodes so far for reader reference.So that's it for my goals update. I'll do the same thing again on 28th June 2017 to see if I'm any closer to reaching my 2017 targets. Wish me luck!E. Rachael Hardcastle
I also promised I'd keep you up to date, so here's how I'm doing so far.As of Sunday (26/03/2017) I finished re-writing Finding Pandora: Eternity and I'm now in the process of editing it. I may not quite meet my Easter goal, but I'll be publishing close enough to be satisfied that this target has been met. I have also (since setting this goal), scheduled a book signing for July based on a May 2017 publishing date for Finding Pandora: Volume One, so I'm well on track to complete the second and third goals in the list before then.My non-fiction book requires a full year of journal entries, but the year is still ongoing. I'm keeping this up to date and chipping away at it slowly, but until the year ends, this target will not and cannot be met.The Wanted and Faded Realm will be my focus toward the back end of the year. After Finding Pandora: Volume One is released and my signing is out of the way, I'll be working a bit on some more Dragonborn ideas, then diving straight into completing the Aeon Infinitum trilogy. I'm excited, but there are other priorities that need my full attention at the moment.I'm only 25 Facebook followers away from my 500 target so if you're reading this and you're on Facebook I'd love your support. The same goes for 2000 Twitter followers - I'm at 1653 as of yesterday, so I'm getting there. I'd like to take this opportunity for all the retweets and likes my book signing posts are getting. I really appreciate all the support!I'm at 55 YouTube subscribers so I'm over half way there.I reached my 2000 sales goal this month, and I'm still going strong. Thank you to everyone who downloaded one of my books this year. 3000 sales is a lot in such a short space of time but I'm confident I can do it with your help. It would be an amazing birthday present!Finally, I achieved my goal to be in the local media just one month after setting the target! I appeared on TV on the UK's Made In Leeds channel, and I also have the support of a local radio station and magazine for my upcoming book signing in July.I'm thrilled to have met three of these goals (2000 sales, local media, finish Finding Pandora: Eternity) with some time to spare. However, the hard work is just beginning, because now I need to set some new goals in their place. So, here goes:Hand out all 50 of my book signing posters to spread the wordWrite one helpful writing-related blog post per week and share it across my social mediaAdd descriptions and important information from The White Room's 16 episodes so far for reader reference.So that's it for my goals update. I'll do the same thing again on 28th June 2017 to see if I'm any closer to reaching my 2017 targets. Wish me luck!E. Rachael Hardcastle
