Interview with YA Author L.Danvers

1.   You’re a busy lady! How do you manage your time between the writing and the marketing?

 
It’s definitely a balancing act. I stay at home with my two kids, so my focus during the day is taking care of them. I fit everything in before they’re awake, during their naps and after they’re in bed. Lately, I’ve been trying to focus on writing in the mornings and marketing in the evenings. It seems to be working well for me so far.

 

2.  What’s the driving force behind what you do and what can slow you down?

Ultimately, I have a passion for the stories I’m telling. And I want to share these stories with as many readers as possible. I’ve tried taking breaks from writing—telling myself I’ll take two weeks off to clear my head. But then after a day or two, I miss it so much that I start again.

As for what slows me down? My kids. Haha. They constantly keep me on my toes. If I get up at 5:30 a.m. to write, they’ll wake up at 5:35 a.m. But I just roll with it. Somehow, it all works out.

 

3.   How long did it take you to reach the author level you’re at and how much further do you want to go?

I’ve been writing for a couple of years now. It’s been a slow road, but at the same time, I didn’t get into writing expecting to get rich quick off of it. I write because it brings me joy, and I want to share that joy with others. I plan to continue writing for many years to come. In the meantime, I’m learning as much about both the craft side and business side and am striving to be the best writer I can be.

4.    Of your Indie author career so far, what aspect(s) do you enjoy the most and why?

One of the most astounding things is being able to share stories with people on the other side of the world. It blows my mind that there are many countries I may never get the opportunity to visit, but through people there reading my books, it’s like a piece of me has been there. It gives me chills just thinking about it.

    
    5.     What challenges you the most as an Indie?

It can be overwhelming trying to figure out where best to focus my attention. On the one hand, an AMAZING thing about the indie author community is that people are so open with sharing what’s working for them. But ultimately, I have to decide what works best for me. For example, there are plenty of authors who love Twitter. I gave it a shot, but I just wasn’t enjoying it. (I know. I’m a terrible Millennial.) So, I guess part of it is trying to balance what I feel like I should be doing with what actually works for me.

  
6. Does writing across genres cause any issues and do you have any ideas to branch out further?!

Ha. If you are just starting out, I do not recommend doing what I did and writing in totally unrelated genres. I have some wonderful loyal readers who followed me from sci-fi to fantasy and then to space fantasy, but I do think bouncing around like I did has made it harder to grow as large of a fan base as I could have otherwise.
Having said that… I am changing things up again. (Do as I say, not as I do!) I’m currently working on a PNR series called Vampires of Crescent Cape. Over the past year, I watched The Vampire Diaries and The Originals, and I became obsessed. I never understood the vampire craze before watching those shows. But I can’t get enough of them. And this new series has been so incredibly fun to write because I’m so excited about this genre. I plan to stick with vampires for the foreseeable future.

    7.  Who are your role models in the writing world and why?

Where to begin? As far as people I enjoy learning from, I’d have to say Joanna Penn, Mark Dawson and Cecelia Mecca. They are brilliant writers with large fan bases and go above and beyond to help guide fellow writers in the indie community.

As for what I like to read, my interests are absolutely everywhere (I can’t stick to reading in one genre either!). I recently discovered Michelle Madow, an indie author who writes really fun Urban Fantasy stories. I love her writing style and she is amazingly creative. I highly recommend checking out her books.

  8.    With the knowledge and experience you’ve gained so far, what advice would you give to aspiring Indie authors wanting to make a living from their writing?

As tempting as it is to just jump in head-first once you’ve written a book, take a minute to really do your homework before publishing. Listen to podcasts like Mark Dawson’s Self Publishing Formula, The Creative Penn, The Career Author and the Sell More Books Show. Join Facebook groups like SPF Community and 20booksto50k. There is a wealth of information out there from people who have found great success and are gracious enough to share what they’ve learned with fellow writers. Take advantage of that and absorb everything you can.

    9.    What does your writing/ creative process look like? Are you fixed on routine or do you work in cycles?

I’m constantly adapting. I try to write consistently, but sometimes I need to step away for a day or two in order to refocus. Or sometimes I’m just exhausted from wrangling the children and need to take a morning off to sleep in (as in, sleep until 7:00 a.m.) so that I can function. And that’s okay with me. I try not to be too hard on myself. As much as I love writing, and as much as I want to consistently get books out to readers, the world will keep spinning if I need to take a day off.

   10.  If you could ask one question to a favourite author, dead or alive, what would it be?

Oh, goodness. That’s a hard question! I feel like I should come up with something super high-brow to say, but honestly, I’d probably ask Mindy Kaling if I can be her friend. I adore her. And if you want a good laugh, I highly recommend her books!

     11.    What is your personal idea of success?

For me, it comes down to numbers. Not so much about the income, although rolling around in piles of money would be fun, but about how many people are reading and enjoying my books. If tons of people are loving what I’m writing, then I’ll know I’m doing something right.

 

     12.    What are your ambitions for your books? Can you see any making it to the big screen?!

That would be a dream come true. When I write, I imagine the story playing out like a movie in my head. So it would be both incredibly surreal and exciting to actually see my work on the big screen. At some point, I do plan on writing screenplay versions of my books. Why not?

 

13.  And last but not least, what do you make of the new Doctor Who?!

I thought Jodie Whittaker was spectacular. Honestly, I wasn’t sure what to expect. I wasn’t familiar with her work in previous roles, and even though I know the Doctor changes every few seasons or so, I’m always hesitant of the new one. I fall in love with each of them and it’s hard to let go. But I thought she was fantastic in the first episode, and I loved the rest of the cast, too. I think she will be a lot of fun to watch.



 

L. Danvers spends her time creating and destroying worlds...writing science fiction and fantasy for YA and adults alike.
Her books have memorable characters, tons of action, some romance and are real page-turners!
 

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