Author Interview- Sandy Windham, Pink Tourmaline

😊😊😊I had the privilege to interview my friend, and fellow debut author, Sandy Windham about her book, Pink Tourmaline. It is going to be released December 5! So exciting. Sandy has been a friend and my critique partner for just over 3 years now. We met on the NaNoWriMo pen pal forums and have worked to support each other in our dreams to be writers.

 

1) Tell us a little about your book: It’s part historical romance, part time-travel caper. The story is about Quinn and her brother Michael who get stuck in the Los Angeles of the 1920s. To get home they have to track down their great-grandmother who’s spell landed them there in the first place. Except once they start looking for her, they discover everything they thought they knew about their family’s history is wrong. As if that’s not enough Quinn then falls in love with Rafael, a 1920s-movie star who helps them in their search.

 

2) Who are some of your favorite authors? I like different genres so there’s a few! I always liked Stephen King and Harlan Coben. I read all of Tracy Chevalier’s novels and I also love Philippa Gregory and Isabel Allende.

 

3) Who are some authors in your genre that inspire you? That’s difficult because this novel is a mix of genres. I think all the authors I mentioned above have served as inspiration in one way or another.

 

4) What are some great books you’ve read recently? 

The last book I finished is Love is Death – The Afterdeath Book 1 by L.P Masters which was great. The Japanese Lover by Isabelle Allende was good too and I’m looking forward to reading the third installment of Witches of Coolersville!

 

5) What types of books do you enjoy in your downtime? I tend to go through phases. Currently I’m going through a non-fiction phase though before that I read a lot of historical novels.

 

6) What sort of research did you do to write this book? I am very interested in crystals and the supernatural in general so I used a lot of books and material I already had. I also love the 1920s and silent films in particular so I read and watched biographies of movie stars from that time. I also researched life in the 20s in general and in Los Angeles in particular.

 

7) What are you working on now? I’m working on a sequel to The Pink Tourmaline. The working title is The Rose Quartz, in keeping with the crystal theme.

 

8) Is your book a stand-alone or series? It was intended as a stand-alone, but it will now be a series. I’m hoping to complete three novels in total.

 

9) What started you down the path of writing? 

It’s something I’ve always done. As a child I’d make up stories for my cousins and I to act out. As a teenager, I started to write poems and short stories and eventually the short stories evolved into full length novels.

 

10) How did you break into the world of publishing? 

It was a long road. I published a few poems and a short story before this but I didn’t have any luck with either of my two previous stories. The first one got nothing but rejections. The second generated a bit of interest from agents, but not much and it went nowhere. The Pink Tourmaline got several requests from agents and editors. In the end it didn’t land an agent and I was about to give up when I realized I could submit to small publishers without an agent. I went that route, got a few requests and eventually I got an offer from The Wild Rose Press.

 

11) As a new author, what is your favorite part of the writing/publishing process? Least favorite? 

Least favorite… rejections and bad reviews.

Favorite part is when the story comes together and when people like what you’ve written.

 

12) What does your writing space look like? I don’t have a designated writing area. I do have a desk but it’s not comfortable so I usually sit in a recliner with the laptop on my lap or on the floor with it perched on the coffee table.

 

13) What is your go-to writing snack/beverage? Coffee… I drink way too much of it. I usually drink iced coffee (made with the leftover coffee from breakfast!) in the afternoon. Surprisingly it doesn’t keep me up! I must be immune to the caffeine by now.

 

14) Are you a planner (detailed outline, have to know what happens) or pantser? (Flying by the seat of your pants with no plan at all) 

I start out with a general idea of what I want to happen and when I want it to happen, but I don’t make an outline. Sometimes midway through writing I get stuck and then I do make a little list with what I want to happen, but generally I just write as I go. This can be messy and I wish I was more organized.

 

15) When did you start writing? Was it something you started as a kid? When did you start seeking it professionally?  I wrote my first poem when I was…12 or 13. Before that I’d make up stories in my head and daydream a lot. I always had an active imagination. I didn’t write my first novel until 2001. That’s around the time I started sending out my poems to publishers and got one published in an anthology in the UK.

 

16) What do you do in your free time when you’re not writing? I like to read when I have the time. I also do artwork, acrylic painting especially and I like to spend time with friends. Next year I want to get back to learning languages. I speak English and German fluently and I have some basic knowledge of Hebrew which I’d like to improve. I also want to learn Spanish and French, if I find the time! Oh yes, I’d love to learn an instrument too!

 

17) What are your top three books of all time? That’s a hard question as they change frequently. If I have to choose it would be House of Spirits by Isabelle Allende, Bag of Bones by Stephen King, and What dreams may come by Richard Matheson.

 

18) Can you recommend any new or upcoming authors?

L.P Masters just published her debut novel, so that is one to check out for sure and of course Carey Starkey. I already read book two of the Witches of Coolersville series and I can only recommend it!  My friend Kristen Howe writes very exciting thrillers which I hope will find a publisher soon too.

 

19) Is there anything about the writing life that you think is misunderstood by the public?  The amount of time it takes to not just write and edit, but especially to query. People don’t understand how much competition there is and how time consuming and soul crushing it can be. Some weeks you might get a wave of rejections, other weeks you might get two requests at once only to have those turn into rejections. It’s very difficult and you get to the point where you just don’t want to do it anymore.

 

 20) Do you write full time or do you have a “Day Job?” I have a day job. I work in an RV park in the office as an admin.

 

21) What are some of the challenges you faced on the road to publication? 

The waiting and the rejections are hard. Plus, you have to be so careful because there are scammers out there who prey on up and coming writers who want to see their work in print.

 

22) Are there any tips you can give to aspiring writers? 

Understand how difficult and complex the publishing industry is. Just because you do not get an offer or you get rejected doesn’t mean your novel is not good.  Fortunately, there are so many ways to get published these days. Many great books I’ve read recently were self-published. So don’t give up!

 

 

Special thanks to Sandy for answering these questions! Keep an eye out for her book when it's out on December 5. You can pre-order the Kindle version now and print will be available on release day. I'm certainly adding it to my list. ^_^

Letter to Mr. Trump from a concerned citizen

To Mr. Trump (you're not sworn in yet so I will not call you President)

I confess, I am not a solid follower of politics. My job has all over the place hours and I have other obligations. But, what I did see and read of your speeches and your devoted followers at your rallies scared me.

The videos I've seen of your supporters spewing slurs, racial or otherwise, make me want to flee to Australia.

I am not saying all your supporters acted that way. I have plenty of close friends and family members who voted for you and they are kind and accepting people. So, it's not fair to generalize. These are the ones who made viral videos. And, I am hoping it's a very small minority.

Also, in all these speeches and in the debates, I didn't hear a single thing about your policy. Aside from building a wall and running on the fact that you are supposedly better than Mrs. Clinton, what exactly is your policy? (Also, the wall is a damn stupid idea but I'll get into that in a bit)

Now, here are my concerns. I am a 32 year old woman about to get married in 2017. I have an autoimmune form of arthritis that requires some very expensive medication as treatment and a lot of doctor visits. So, what are you going to do about Healthcare? I know you are anti-Obamacare. But, instead of completely repealing it, why not get Congress to improve upon it? You do realize that before people could get medical insurance with this program, there were people who had to choose between food for their children and medications, right? How about doing something so people do not have to pay thousands of dollars for medicine? Or, heaven forbid they actually have to go to the hospital. I had to spend 4 days in the ICU and my initial bill before my work insurance kicked in was $95,000! That may be chump change for a billionaire but I make about 1/10th of that per year. If you do feel the need to repeal it, you better have a damn good alternative.

Also, there is this thing called the First Amendment. I'll leave it right here.
"Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances"
Do you know what that means? No closing mosques, no suppression of the press if they disagree with you or call you an orange pressure cooker, people are allowed to protest, and we can write blog posts like this! You should probably actually read the Constitution as it lays out all the things the President can and cannot do. You can't do whatever you want. Reality check, Mister.

I am a Catholic Christian. But, I was raised and firmly believe in accepting and learning from all cultures and religions. Not all Muslims are terrorists. Islam is a beautiful and peaceful faith. When I was briefly in college, I had a class with a young man who was Muslim and he was heartbroken that there was this stereotype because of a fringe group of crazies.

College! Another point. I was in and out of community college before completely stopping. Again, you wouldn't know having that silver spoon and all, but it is hard for the average 18 year old to go to college. They usually have to be submerged in years of debt just for tuition. Not including books, which are ungodly high. $100 or more for something you're going to need for a single semester and then the next edition comes out, 2 sentences are rephrased and you're stuck. I would love to go back to school for a degree. But, I also want to have a family and I want to be able to feed and educate them.

Your comments (alleged or not) about minorities and women are unacceptable. I know what it is like to be bullied. I was bullied in school and came home more days than I can count in tears, wanting to die. My best friend had to move across the country to escape being bullied because he is gay. I have a transgender friend who could had to cut ties with their family because they couldn't accept them. The division your campaign has caused is deeper than you probably realize. I know in your acceptance speech you talk of bringing the country together but it was YOUR campaign and YOUR followers who made this behavior okay. I am able to combat the insults and shame when directed toward me. But, what about my children when I have them? What about my niece, who is a beautiful and intelligent girl but she's also painfully shy and when kids torment her she just absorbs it. What about the man in the grocery store on food stamps and people give him dirty looks and call him a freeloader but they don't get to know him and learn he served his country in our great military and suffers debilitating PTSD from the things he saw and did and can't work because certain things trigger an anxiety attack.

I briefly mentioned your stupid wall plan and since I'm almost done I'll talk about that for a bit. Why not encourage people to come through the legal way? My ancestors came to this country 100+ years ago to seek a better life. That has not changed. America has always been the land of opportunity. "Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, the wretched refuse of your teeming shore. Send these, the homeless, tempest-tossed to me, I lift my lamp beside the golden door!" So, work with Congress to improve our policies! Don't just shut everything down.

So, that is all I have to ask for now. If you have answers to my questions, please do not hesitate to email me. Careyann2017@gmail.com And, I want an actual explanation. Not a link to a website. You are now accountable to the American people. And, if you try to put a toe out of line, you will have millions of people ready to call you out.

Sincerely, a concerned citizen.