Behind The Scenes With: Indie Author T.M. Souders
Today I sat down to chat with indie author T.M. Souders. Her debut novel Waiting on Hope is bound to strike a chord with fans of women's fiction!
Q. Your first book, Waiting on Hope, is a women's fiction novel and was released in July of this year. Can you tell me more about the premise?
Waiting On Hope is about a woman, who after one violent act, discovers she's pregnant. Unable to stay in an apartment filled with the memories of what happened, she flees to her parent's house in rural Ohio; however, when she arrives home, she discovers that healing is not going to be so easy because she has to deal with the past she left behind. Ten years earlier, she abruptly abandoned a heartbroken fiancé and devastated younger brother. Now she is forced to face not only the ghosts of her past, but also the reality of her pregnancy. Waiting On Hope is all about finding hope and the resiliency of the human spirit.
Q. What are you working on now?
I recently started working on a new novel. I don't have a title for it yet because I usually decide that more towards the end of each novel, but it should fall in the romance/women's fiction genres.
Q. You're a fellow indie author. Can you tell us more about your decision to self-publish? What has been your experience so far?
Honestly, when I started writing Waiting On Hope, I thought I would query agents and go the traditional route, then if that didn't pan out, I'd self-publish. As I wrote, however, and continued to read about the developing world of e-publishing, at some point (I'm not quite sure when), I just decided that I no longer wanted to try the traditional route. E-publishing just seemed the way-to-go. I didn't want someone else to decide whether my book was good enough. I knew it was good enough, and I wanted the readers to make their decisions, not an agent looking to find one person to fit the particular slot they were looking to fill.
Q. What kind of reaction have you gotten from your readers?
I haven't gotten the chance to talk to too many of my readers yet, but the ones I have heard from, all really enjoyed Waiting On Hope. I even had a couple people tell me that they hardly ever read, but my book made them want to read more.
Q. Real books or e-reader?
I used to prefer traditional, paper books, but I have to admit I prefer reading on my Kindle now. In fact, I love it. Plus, most of the books are cheaper, so you can't beat it. I have to admit though, I do love browsing the shelves at Barnes & Noble.
Q. Okay, now give me the deets on the real T.M. Souders… Do you have a day job?
I am a fulltime stay-at-home mom to two rambunctious and very needy children, ages one and three. Three kids if you count my husband, lol. Trying to fit quality writing time in is difficult, but like all authors with a day job, I manage. I just might have circles and bags under my eyes the next day, lol.
Q. You've got a teen book coming soon… What was high school T.M. like? Did you enjoy school or completely loathe it?
Freedom Road is my YA novel. I am doing rewrites on it as we speak, but because of the new novel I'm also writing, it's probably not going to be released until sometime this winter. I don't have any particularly strong feelings about high school either way. It wasn't horrible and it wasn't amazing either. Looking back now, I kind of just think of it as days of naiveté and complete oblivion. I was kind of in my own little world, with so much growing left to do and so much left to learn about myself and life in general. Now college, that's another sorry. Where can I sign up to go back? lol
Q. Favorite romance movie?
Gone With the Wind. It's classic, and nothing can replace it.
Q. Do you believe in love at first sight?
Honestly, no. I believe two people can be drawn to each other and have extreme chemistry at first sight.
Q. Where and when do you write? Is it hard to find time to write? Is there anything in particular you absolutely have to have beside you?
I prefer to write in the morning and early afternoon. With kids, however, that is usually impossible, so I'm left to write in the evening. I don't have to have anything other than my laptop to write, but a cup of coffee doesn't hurt.
Q. Pen and paper or keyboard?
Keyboard of my laptop. I can't even write on my desktop, just the thought that I'm glued to one spot, makes me squirm.
Q. Do you create your own cover art?
I tried the first version of the cover for Waiting On Hope, but, frankly, the results were not as professional looking or appealing as I wanted, so I worked with Christine from Flip City Covers and she created something that worked so much better.
Q. Do you have any advice for writers, young and old alike?
Be patient! This is something I'm still learning how to do, but it is vital. What aspect of writing or publishing specifically? Everything. All of it. If you're not patient, you're either going to screw something up, or it will show in your work.
Thanks T.M. for taking the time to chat with us! If you'd like to read Waiting on Hope, it can be downloaded at Amazon, Barnes & Noble and Smashwords. Paperback copies can be purchased at Amazon and CreateSpace. For more information on T.M. Souders, visit her website or her blog. You can also follow her on Twitter or her Facebook fan page!
