Interview with Indie Author Bonnie Ferrante
*Author Photo: https://www.youtube.com/user/Bonnie0904
*Book(s) currently in stores by Bonnie Ferrante
*Next book soon to be released by this author:
"Switch" by Bonnie Ferrante
Hi, Bonnie!
Tell us a little about yourself and your latest novel.
I was a grade-school teacher and a teacher-librarian. I've been writing for publication for about 30 years. I've written fiction and nonfiction, for toddlers to adult.
My last published novel was Leya, a YA fantasy.
In a world where eye color may determine your future, Leya is born with one green and one blue eye. Will this diminish her potential or provide the exceptional opportunity to become a Double Vision Mistress?
Even if she fulfills her gifts, Leya must learn to control her impulsiveness and quick temper or she will be stripped of her powers in a painful and crippling ritual. Unfortunately, Zendra, a devious Novice knows exactly how to raise Leya's anger. But the Mistresses, struggling with significant problems of their own, seem blind to Leya's dilemma. How much should she risk in pursuit of power, prestige, and wealth?
Coming out this year: Switch
A young adult historical fantasy/paranormal novel set in Tudor times. Godmother is struggling with financial worries. Mama thinks praying will solve everything. William Cooper, the man Rosemary adores, considers her a child. Rosemary is terrified she will be hanged as a witch, turned into the street, or killed by her stalker. Worst of all are the visits by ghosts, increasing in frequency and strength. One by one, young Rosemary's supports are eroded until she is forced to face the greatest danger of all, alone.
2. What inspired you to be a writer and to get into indie publishing? How long have you been writing? How long have you been published as an indie author?
Even while I was teaching full-time, I was writing. I would submit stories during the summer and during the school year I wrote plays for my student drama club. After retiring, I realized I didn't have enough time to wait for every piece of writing to go through all the steps of traditional publishing, which often takes years. So then I started publishing as an indie author.
3. Who are your writing mentors/authors? What genres do you enjoy writing and what genres do you like to read? Are you an avid reader/reviewer of other authors?
I read so many different kinds of books by so many different kinds of authors I can't really name a specific one. I'll often find an author and binge read everything they've written. I feel like I've lost a friend when I run out of their books.
I enjoy reading contemporary YA like John Green. I recently read Radical by E.M. Koki which has received very mixed reviews. I loved it. I like science fiction that's not too technical like The Hunger Games series, and books by Patrick Ness or Scott Westerfeld. I read quite a bit of contemporary adult books and enjoyed all Lisa Genova's books. I discovered a fabulous indie book through my blog, Making Manna by Eric Lotke. I LOVE historical fiction anything to do with Shakespeare, and modern interpretations of traditional fairy tales. I read a fair bit of nonfiction and really like books on animal studies, brain research, and sociology like those written by Malcolm Gladwell.
Because of my blog and having a three-year-old granddaughter, I read a huge number of picture books. I appreciate the pithiness and the art of a good picture book.
I like writing picture books and young adult, especially fantasy.
I am an avid book reviewer of other authors. As well as posting on good reads and Amazon, I have my own blog where I review additionally published and indie writers. bferrante.wordpress.com
4. Have you ever co-wrote or consider collaborating or co-writing with anyone on a writing project?
Not really.
5. What are your dreams and aspirations that could drive you forward on this writing and publication journey?
I would be happy to have my books sell a reasonable amount and know that they are being read, especially by children and parents together.
6. Do you prefer to do marketing and promotion yourself for your works or would you rather have someone else control that spectrum? What are some of the things you have done to promote and market yourself?
I would love to have someone else do the marketing and promotion but I can't afford it. I've done all the usual social media promotions and had a few paid ones as well. I have won a couple of awards but I haven't really found that any of those things have made much difference. I have a blog, website, and a YouTube site. I’ve built up thousands of connections on Linkedin and twitter. Lately I've decided to start spending more time on the YouTube site and I'm going to keep tweaking my blog in hopes that it will help more in garnering interest in my work.
7. What is your greatest accomplishment as an author?
I love the feeling when my work really connects with someone. There have been several incidents when readers have said how much they or their child have loved something I've written. That's what it's all about for me.
8. What's the next writing project(s) you're working on?
This is kind of a trick question because I always have several things in the works. I have three novels at different stages. One of them is so close to publication but I just haven't finished it because I'm focussing on my picture books right now. I have Parkinson's and drawing has become a real challenge for me. I'm depending on more on digital illustration and that is a huge learning curve. I'm not sure how long I'll be able to continue to draw at all so I'm working as much as I can on my picture books. I figure when my tremor makes that impossible, I'll focus more on my young adult novels.
Switch will be my next YA novel. It needs at least one more edit (my eighth or nineth). It is an historical fantasy that takes place during the time of Queen Elizabeth I. I just finished an alphabet book that uses active learning for children where they move to the verbs featured by each letter. I have other picture books in the works. One I'm having a lot of fun with is about an adventurous cat and his highly imaginative human.
I've also been writing original plays for YouTube. The latest was The Three Little Pigs are Rescued. I put in over 200 hours on that! I'd do a lot of things differently now. I'm going to be writing some simple puppet plays for children. My next big YouTube project is going to be a different style of illustration featuring a Harlequin 'marionette'. After that, if my husband gets the Tudor doll house built I'm going to share with my granddaughter; I intend to try some new things with fashion dolls. Maybe I’m living the childhood I always wanted.
9. How would you balance creativity with the business side of writing such as coming up with particular concepts and solutions to stand out amongst the crowd in this writing/publishing industry where 'popularity' is key, if your idea wasn't exactly popular/or was unknown to the readers/publishers?
I really don't know how to answer this. I'm not very successful with the business side.
Probably a lot of my ideas are not popular, although mainstream culture is becoming more aware of such concepts as mindfulness, compassion, harmony, karma, and gratitude which are reoccurring themes in my work.
10. Have you ever been traditional published? Would you consider it? Or feel like a sell out if you took a traditional deal and abandoned indie publishing? Have you ever thought about being a hybrid, part indie, part traditional published? How would you feel about such an opportunity, if both or either of these things happened?
Yes, I've been traditionally published. When I was teaching, I only had time for short stories and several of those appeared in anthologies and magazines. I also wrote for over three years for a regional newspaper. It was a family humor column as well as the occasional article about things that interested me. I've had several nonfiction articles and short stories published in magazines for kids. I had three books published by a small press in the U.S. that closed down in the middle of publishing my fourth book. I had my novel, Switch, accepted by a Canadian publisher but, after three years, decided to go my own way. I consider myself a hybrid writer. I very send anything out lately. I just don't have the time to commit to all that.
11. What other creative talents do you have? Do you draw, sketch, paint, etc.?
Creative, yes. Talents? I'm not sure. I love painting but that is becoming harder and harder with my tremor. I recently refinished a small drop leaf table that my husband and I use to play scrabble on. I made it look like a tree from above. I refinished a matching stool and an upcycled chair. This week, I repainted my Little Free Library. We have a new home so I'm also redecorating, etc.
I like doing little projects with my granddaughters. We upcycled an old door with 12 window panes into a fake stained glass piece for our deck. My favourite this summer was making a fairy door for the flower garden. I sew a lot, especially dresses for my littlest granddaughter. I also crochet doll clothes and I love designing and sewing fashionable or royal dresses for her Barbies. I used to do a massive amount of gardening and landscaping but Parkinson's has made me cut way, way back on that.
12. What advice would you give other aspiring authors?
Don't jump into self-publishing until you've taken a few classes and read a lot of books and received a lot of criticism. Too many people self-publish way too soon.
13. Describe yourself in a one-sentence epithet.
I bet I can make something from that.
14. Paying it forward. What things do you do in your community/ and other communities to help others?
I've had to stop my usual volunteering for health reasons. Instead I have a blog where I promote other writers. Much of my time is spent babysitting my granddaughter; that's a big focus right now. I do volunteer for the occasional fundraiser such as a scrabble tournament to raise money for a literacy group. I also provide a Little Free Library for my community.
Website - BonnieFerrante.ca
My Blog - http://bferrante.wordpress.com/
facebook - Bonnie Ferrante - Author https://www.facebook.com/FerranteAuth...
- Bonnie Ferrante - Books for Children https://www.facebook.com/FerranteBook...
twitter - @BonnieFerrante
linkedin - http://www.linkedin.com/pub/bonnie-fe...
Goodreads - https://www.goodreads.com/author/show...
Pinterest - http://www.pinterest.com/bferrante036...
Youtube - http://www.youtube.com/user/Bonnie0904
Where to buy my books.
Amazon - http://www.amazon.com/Bonnie-Ferrante...
Smashwords - https://www.smashwords.com/profile/vi...
and most other online bookstores
*Book(s) currently in stores by Bonnie Ferrante
*Next book soon to be released by this author:
"Switch" by Bonnie Ferrante
Hi, Bonnie!
Tell us a little about yourself and your latest novel.
I was a grade-school teacher and a teacher-librarian. I've been writing for publication for about 30 years. I've written fiction and nonfiction, for toddlers to adult.
My last published novel was Leya, a YA fantasy.
In a world where eye color may determine your future, Leya is born with one green and one blue eye. Will this diminish her potential or provide the exceptional opportunity to become a Double Vision Mistress?
Even if she fulfills her gifts, Leya must learn to control her impulsiveness and quick temper or she will be stripped of her powers in a painful and crippling ritual. Unfortunately, Zendra, a devious Novice knows exactly how to raise Leya's anger. But the Mistresses, struggling with significant problems of their own, seem blind to Leya's dilemma. How much should she risk in pursuit of power, prestige, and wealth?
Coming out this year: Switch
A young adult historical fantasy/paranormal novel set in Tudor times. Godmother is struggling with financial worries. Mama thinks praying will solve everything. William Cooper, the man Rosemary adores, considers her a child. Rosemary is terrified she will be hanged as a witch, turned into the street, or killed by her stalker. Worst of all are the visits by ghosts, increasing in frequency and strength. One by one, young Rosemary's supports are eroded until she is forced to face the greatest danger of all, alone.
2. What inspired you to be a writer and to get into indie publishing? How long have you been writing? How long have you been published as an indie author?
Even while I was teaching full-time, I was writing. I would submit stories during the summer and during the school year I wrote plays for my student drama club. After retiring, I realized I didn't have enough time to wait for every piece of writing to go through all the steps of traditional publishing, which often takes years. So then I started publishing as an indie author.
3. Who are your writing mentors/authors? What genres do you enjoy writing and what genres do you like to read? Are you an avid reader/reviewer of other authors?
I read so many different kinds of books by so many different kinds of authors I can't really name a specific one. I'll often find an author and binge read everything they've written. I feel like I've lost a friend when I run out of their books.
I enjoy reading contemporary YA like John Green. I recently read Radical by E.M. Koki which has received very mixed reviews. I loved it. I like science fiction that's not too technical like The Hunger Games series, and books by Patrick Ness or Scott Westerfeld. I read quite a bit of contemporary adult books and enjoyed all Lisa Genova's books. I discovered a fabulous indie book through my blog, Making Manna by Eric Lotke. I LOVE historical fiction anything to do with Shakespeare, and modern interpretations of traditional fairy tales. I read a fair bit of nonfiction and really like books on animal studies, brain research, and sociology like those written by Malcolm Gladwell.
Because of my blog and having a three-year-old granddaughter, I read a huge number of picture books. I appreciate the pithiness and the art of a good picture book.
I like writing picture books and young adult, especially fantasy.
I am an avid book reviewer of other authors. As well as posting on good reads and Amazon, I have my own blog where I review additionally published and indie writers. bferrante.wordpress.com
4. Have you ever co-wrote or consider collaborating or co-writing with anyone on a writing project?
Not really.
5. What are your dreams and aspirations that could drive you forward on this writing and publication journey?
I would be happy to have my books sell a reasonable amount and know that they are being read, especially by children and parents together.
6. Do you prefer to do marketing and promotion yourself for your works or would you rather have someone else control that spectrum? What are some of the things you have done to promote and market yourself?
I would love to have someone else do the marketing and promotion but I can't afford it. I've done all the usual social media promotions and had a few paid ones as well. I have won a couple of awards but I haven't really found that any of those things have made much difference. I have a blog, website, and a YouTube site. I’ve built up thousands of connections on Linkedin and twitter. Lately I've decided to start spending more time on the YouTube site and I'm going to keep tweaking my blog in hopes that it will help more in garnering interest in my work.
7. What is your greatest accomplishment as an author?
I love the feeling when my work really connects with someone. There have been several incidents when readers have said how much they or their child have loved something I've written. That's what it's all about for me.
8. What's the next writing project(s) you're working on?
This is kind of a trick question because I always have several things in the works. I have three novels at different stages. One of them is so close to publication but I just haven't finished it because I'm focussing on my picture books right now. I have Parkinson's and drawing has become a real challenge for me. I'm depending on more on digital illustration and that is a huge learning curve. I'm not sure how long I'll be able to continue to draw at all so I'm working as much as I can on my picture books. I figure when my tremor makes that impossible, I'll focus more on my young adult novels.
Switch will be my next YA novel. It needs at least one more edit (my eighth or nineth). It is an historical fantasy that takes place during the time of Queen Elizabeth I. I just finished an alphabet book that uses active learning for children where they move to the verbs featured by each letter. I have other picture books in the works. One I'm having a lot of fun with is about an adventurous cat and his highly imaginative human.
I've also been writing original plays for YouTube. The latest was The Three Little Pigs are Rescued. I put in over 200 hours on that! I'd do a lot of things differently now. I'm going to be writing some simple puppet plays for children. My next big YouTube project is going to be a different style of illustration featuring a Harlequin 'marionette'. After that, if my husband gets the Tudor doll house built I'm going to share with my granddaughter; I intend to try some new things with fashion dolls. Maybe I’m living the childhood I always wanted.
9. How would you balance creativity with the business side of writing such as coming up with particular concepts and solutions to stand out amongst the crowd in this writing/publishing industry where 'popularity' is key, if your idea wasn't exactly popular/or was unknown to the readers/publishers?
I really don't know how to answer this. I'm not very successful with the business side.
Probably a lot of my ideas are not popular, although mainstream culture is becoming more aware of such concepts as mindfulness, compassion, harmony, karma, and gratitude which are reoccurring themes in my work.
10. Have you ever been traditional published? Would you consider it? Or feel like a sell out if you took a traditional deal and abandoned indie publishing? Have you ever thought about being a hybrid, part indie, part traditional published? How would you feel about such an opportunity, if both or either of these things happened?
Yes, I've been traditionally published. When I was teaching, I only had time for short stories and several of those appeared in anthologies and magazines. I also wrote for over three years for a regional newspaper. It was a family humor column as well as the occasional article about things that interested me. I've had several nonfiction articles and short stories published in magazines for kids. I had three books published by a small press in the U.S. that closed down in the middle of publishing my fourth book. I had my novel, Switch, accepted by a Canadian publisher but, after three years, decided to go my own way. I consider myself a hybrid writer. I very send anything out lately. I just don't have the time to commit to all that.
11. What other creative talents do you have? Do you draw, sketch, paint, etc.?
Creative, yes. Talents? I'm not sure. I love painting but that is becoming harder and harder with my tremor. I recently refinished a small drop leaf table that my husband and I use to play scrabble on. I made it look like a tree from above. I refinished a matching stool and an upcycled chair. This week, I repainted my Little Free Library. We have a new home so I'm also redecorating, etc.
I like doing little projects with my granddaughters. We upcycled an old door with 12 window panes into a fake stained glass piece for our deck. My favourite this summer was making a fairy door for the flower garden. I sew a lot, especially dresses for my littlest granddaughter. I also crochet doll clothes and I love designing and sewing fashionable or royal dresses for her Barbies. I used to do a massive amount of gardening and landscaping but Parkinson's has made me cut way, way back on that.
12. What advice would you give other aspiring authors?
Don't jump into self-publishing until you've taken a few classes and read a lot of books and received a lot of criticism. Too many people self-publish way too soon.
13. Describe yourself in a one-sentence epithet.
I bet I can make something from that.
14. Paying it forward. What things do you do in your community/ and other communities to help others?
I've had to stop my usual volunteering for health reasons. Instead I have a blog where I promote other writers. Much of my time is spent babysitting my granddaughter; that's a big focus right now. I do volunteer for the occasional fundraiser such as a scrabble tournament to raise money for a literacy group. I also provide a Little Free Library for my community.
Website - BonnieFerrante.ca
My Blog - http://bferrante.wordpress.com/
facebook - Bonnie Ferrante - Author https://www.facebook.com/FerranteAuth...
- Bonnie Ferrante - Books for Children https://www.facebook.com/FerranteBook...
twitter - @BonnieFerrante
linkedin - http://www.linkedin.com/pub/bonnie-fe...
Goodreads - https://www.goodreads.com/author/show...
Pinterest - http://www.pinterest.com/bferrante036...
Youtube - http://www.youtube.com/user/Bonnie0904
Where to buy my books.
Amazon - http://www.amazon.com/Bonnie-Ferrante...
Smashwords - https://www.smashwords.com/profile/vi...
and most other online bookstores
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message 1:
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Pamela
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Feb 26, 2017 10:33AM
Lovely interview! My compliments!
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Pamela wrote: "Lovely interview! My compliments!"Thanks!
