U.L. Harper Interview S.L. Pierce
Good day or night or evening to everyone. U.L. Harper here, author of the recently released In Blackness (Sci-fi/horror/drama/). You can get it wherever book are sold. Yes, shameless plug. On any level, I had an opportunity to catch up with S.L. Pierce the author of Secrets, The Hate, and co-author of The Devil's Game. She makes for an interesting subject. Take a look below to see what we talked about.
Q.Tell us about the genre you're writing in how you came to write in that genre.
A.) The genre I write in is mystery/thrillers. It's no mystery (ouch, bad pun) why I chose this genre. It's my favorite to read. I don't really like romance, and I can't even imaging writing a love scene. I'm not creative enough for SciFi or paranormal, but I love mystery/thrillers. I also want to create some strong female characters. Ones that don't make dumb mistakes and end up caught by the bad guy.
Q.) The writing world is hard. What keeps you pushing forward?
A.)When it gets really tough I think to myself 'look, the time is going to pass whether you sit here and write or sit in front of the tv, so what is going to make you feel better at night?' That usually gets me through the rough spots. And there are a lot of those. Writing is a tough, lonely job!
Q.)Here's the silly question of the day. If for some unforeseen reason you were only allowed to write one more book in your life, what would it be about and why?
A.) Good question. I don't know exactly what it would be but I know it would be dark. Really dark. For some reason I love that desperate, 'how can I go on feeling' in a book. I would love to create a really good, dark story. It would be good for a last book because you could use it as an excuse, as in, that book took so much out of me I can't go on...
Q.) Now let's take some time to talk about your newest release. Tell ulharper.com two things about it, something to make people want to read it.
A.) The Devil's Game is about a stalker. 'What?' you say, 'Another stalker book?' But wait. This book asks the question 'What if your stalker had a stalker? Would that person be your friend or your worst enemy?' It's suspenseful without being gory!
Q.) It took us a while to get to it, but tell us three things about your latest book that might not be in the pages. You know, behind the scenes stuff.
A.) Well, it is co-written (with Maren Kaye) so for the first few chapters I would write then send it to Maren. She would read what I wrote, then send back another chapter. It was like a game at first because we hadn't discussed a plot, or even a book, at that point. It was so fun!
Q.) Quick question. What was the last darned good book you read besides your own, and could you tell us what you liked about it so much. You know, a story you wished you wrote, and don't forget to tell us who wrote it
A.) Silo Nine by S.J. Ford. He is an indie author I met through twitter. I read the first chapter on his website, immediately bought his book and read it in a day. Yes, the cover is a little offputting ( I shared this opinion with him and he is considering a change) but the book is so good. I know it will sound like another vampire book but it's more like a technology book that happens to have a vampire in it. Really! I am not a SciFi fan but this book was excellent!
Q.) What is a piece of advice you would give an up and coming author or a new author or someone looking to get into the business.
A.) I would say really think about this decision. Is it your dream? Are you ready to work hard and all the time? If so, then get ready. You need to write all the time. You need to promote all the time. ALL THE TIME. Yes, it's fun and very rewarding. But it's also hard and frustrating. So don't make the decision lightly.
Q.) Now let's get to the actual writing. What are your writing strengths? If you don't have any strengths just lie. I mean, I know plenty of perfect people, I'll just add you to the list.
A.) My strength as a writer is the start. I have tons of great ideas for the beginning of a story. Or the beginning and the end of a story. The problem comes after that. Oh look. I led right into your next question. How convenient!
Q.) Okay, be careful here. What are your weaknesses as a writer? If you don't have any weaknesses, feel free to let everyone know that you have none. Once again, some people are perfect and everyone simply has to understand that fact.
A. The middle of the story. All that stuff that has to happen to get to the end. I am always in such a rush and I hate all that descriptive stuff you need so the reader feels like they are in the story and to care about the characters. Thanks goodness I have a writing partner (Maren Kaye) who is just the best at all of that!
Q.) Last silly question of the day. Let's say you just finished your masterpiece. I mean, you wrote "the end", checked the word count at 150,000 words, stood, pumped your fist in victory and then the power shut off in the house and fried your hard drive and everything was lost. Lucky you, you made a back-up on your thumb drive that you found, for some reason, in your dog's mouth...and he just swallowed it, so you run down to the local coffee shop to retrieve the version you emailed to yourself but you were hacked and all is really lost. What do you do now? I'd run up and down the street naked with a hammer in one hand, a lollipop hanging from my mouth and a tear falling from my cheek. But what about you?
A.) Oh what a horrible horrible nightmare. I think I would lay in bed for a few days thinking I will never recover, that it took all I had to write those 150,000 words and I could never do it again. I would believe my writing career was over. Then, maybe a week later, I would start digging through all my garbage, and anyone's garbage I had sent a draft too, or a chapter, or a word, and I would start to piece it back together. In the end it would be an even better story for having written in twice. OK, now wake up! Because I'm actually still in bed devastated!
Thanks for stopping by. Come on through to say hello whenever you get the chance. We’ll be waiting!
Q.Tell us about the genre you're writing in how you came to write in that genre.
A.) The genre I write in is mystery/thrillers. It's no mystery (ouch, bad pun) why I chose this genre. It's my favorite to read. I don't really like romance, and I can't even imaging writing a love scene. I'm not creative enough for SciFi or paranormal, but I love mystery/thrillers. I also want to create some strong female characters. Ones that don't make dumb mistakes and end up caught by the bad guy.
Q.) The writing world is hard. What keeps you pushing forward?
A.)When it gets really tough I think to myself 'look, the time is going to pass whether you sit here and write or sit in front of the tv, so what is going to make you feel better at night?' That usually gets me through the rough spots. And there are a lot of those. Writing is a tough, lonely job!
Q.)Here's the silly question of the day. If for some unforeseen reason you were only allowed to write one more book in your life, what would it be about and why?
A.) Good question. I don't know exactly what it would be but I know it would be dark. Really dark. For some reason I love that desperate, 'how can I go on feeling' in a book. I would love to create a really good, dark story. It would be good for a last book because you could use it as an excuse, as in, that book took so much out of me I can't go on...
Q.) Now let's take some time to talk about your newest release. Tell ulharper.com two things about it, something to make people want to read it.
A.) The Devil's Game is about a stalker. 'What?' you say, 'Another stalker book?' But wait. This book asks the question 'What if your stalker had a stalker? Would that person be your friend or your worst enemy?' It's suspenseful without being gory!
Q.) It took us a while to get to it, but tell us three things about your latest book that might not be in the pages. You know, behind the scenes stuff.
A.) Well, it is co-written (with Maren Kaye) so for the first few chapters I would write then send it to Maren. She would read what I wrote, then send back another chapter. It was like a game at first because we hadn't discussed a plot, or even a book, at that point. It was so fun!
Q.) Quick question. What was the last darned good book you read besides your own, and could you tell us what you liked about it so much. You know, a story you wished you wrote, and don't forget to tell us who wrote it
A.) Silo Nine by S.J. Ford. He is an indie author I met through twitter. I read the first chapter on his website, immediately bought his book and read it in a day. Yes, the cover is a little offputting ( I shared this opinion with him and he is considering a change) but the book is so good. I know it will sound like another vampire book but it's more like a technology book that happens to have a vampire in it. Really! I am not a SciFi fan but this book was excellent!
Q.) What is a piece of advice you would give an up and coming author or a new author or someone looking to get into the business.
A.) I would say really think about this decision. Is it your dream? Are you ready to work hard and all the time? If so, then get ready. You need to write all the time. You need to promote all the time. ALL THE TIME. Yes, it's fun and very rewarding. But it's also hard and frustrating. So don't make the decision lightly.
Q.) Now let's get to the actual writing. What are your writing strengths? If you don't have any strengths just lie. I mean, I know plenty of perfect people, I'll just add you to the list.
A.) My strength as a writer is the start. I have tons of great ideas for the beginning of a story. Or the beginning and the end of a story. The problem comes after that. Oh look. I led right into your next question. How convenient!
Q.) Okay, be careful here. What are your weaknesses as a writer? If you don't have any weaknesses, feel free to let everyone know that you have none. Once again, some people are perfect and everyone simply has to understand that fact.
A. The middle of the story. All that stuff that has to happen to get to the end. I am always in such a rush and I hate all that descriptive stuff you need so the reader feels like they are in the story and to care about the characters. Thanks goodness I have a writing partner (Maren Kaye) who is just the best at all of that!
Q.) Last silly question of the day. Let's say you just finished your masterpiece. I mean, you wrote "the end", checked the word count at 150,000 words, stood, pumped your fist in victory and then the power shut off in the house and fried your hard drive and everything was lost. Lucky you, you made a back-up on your thumb drive that you found, for some reason, in your dog's mouth...and he just swallowed it, so you run down to the local coffee shop to retrieve the version you emailed to yourself but you were hacked and all is really lost. What do you do now? I'd run up and down the street naked with a hammer in one hand, a lollipop hanging from my mouth and a tear falling from my cheek. But what about you?
A.) Oh what a horrible horrible nightmare. I think I would lay in bed for a few days thinking I will never recover, that it took all I had to write those 150,000 words and I could never do it again. I would believe my writing career was over. Then, maybe a week later, I would start digging through all my garbage, and anyone's garbage I had sent a draft too, or a chapter, or a word, and I would start to piece it back together. In the end it would be an even better story for having written in twice. OK, now wake up! Because I'm actually still in bed devastated!
Thanks for stopping by. Come on through to say hello whenever you get the chance. We’ll be waiting!
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