200 Subscriber Q & A

I have reached a new milestone!  I have reached 200 subscribers on my YouTube channel.  I am going to be doing a live-stream over there Sunday, August 15th, at 2-5 PM Eastern Daylight Time, if you are interested in hearing a Q & A, as well as some writing sprints.

I went ahead and posted a AMA on my Instagram to get a couple of questions ahead of time.  I thought I would share some of the questions here on my blog.

Q: What are your publishing plans? Trad., indie, etc. (From Life of Angelina)

A: hybrid publishing. Both options are equally attractive. Traditional publishing, on one hand, seems like it takes some of the burden off the author’s shoulders, specifically in regards to some of the super detailed things that make me dizzy with indecision.  Another attractive element of Traditional Publishing is that they have years of market research, teams of editors and cover designers, etc.  Indie Publishing, on the other hand, allows you to have complete creative freedom.  You get to choose exactly what cover, font, size, etc.  You get to choose how to market your book as you want it to be put forward rather than what might sell more.

So I have several projects that would do well in indie publishing, and I have my YA series which is beginning to shape into something more Traditionally friendly. 

Q: What is your strangest idea that’s made it into a story? (From O.K.Wyrd)

A: I am not sure if there is anything specifically strange.  But just because I consider my ideas relatively normal doesn’t mean everyone else does.  I do remember a line I thought was slightly odd, yet fun.  It’s from my YA Fantasy and is a part of the conversation between my main character and his mentor when the main character is faced with the corruption of people who are supposed to be good and kind all the time.

“Holy people are just like the rest of us: full of holes and hot air.”

Q: Would you rather be attacked by 1 horse-sized duck or 100 duck-sized horses? (From Alli Earnest Writes)

A: My initial answer was 1 horse-sized duck because I thought it might be easier to avoid only one pair of wings.  I’ve heard horror stories about swans and geese being able to break bones with their wings.  However, I would rather choose the 100 duck-sized horses because there is a severe lack of wings there (unless you somehow manage to slip in a miniature pegasus).  As long as I can 1)tip the small horses over, 2) get away from the small horses, or 3) climb high enough the small horses can’t get me, I should be good.

Q: Chunky or smooth peanut butter? (From ADHD Writer)

A: Both!  I choose smooth for sandwiches and chunky for cookies!

*If you are allergic to peanuts, do not choose either of these options.

Q. Which video games do you play? (From Halo2girl)

A: I game on a PC rather than a platform, so that eliminates a lot of really popular franchises.  I love the Diablo franchise, Skyrim and the Elder Scrolls franchise, Slime Rancher, Titan Quest, Doom, Command and Conquer (my favorite was the one you could build a Tesla coil to guard your base and it would electrocute trespassers, and you could see their dancing skeletons.  So cute.  Plus, you could get german shepherd guard dogs, too.

Q: You seem organized.  Do you like being logical and analytical? (from Author Abigail Ford)

A: It depends.  If I am reading a book to escape, I typically do not like to analyze it while I am reading.  That’s reserved for academic books and textbooks that I’m not likely to read a second time.  But for other things, I do like to get involved in the nitty gritty and see how things work (which, to be honest, is usually more math and science than I am comfortable with admitting to).

Also, I am a fake organizer. I have all the proper tools, I read all the blogs, I have the bins, the drawers, and the Kondo Mari folding techniques.  So I will do a huge clean and purge, and my space will look beautiful.  For a grand total of 3 days, if that long.

Q: What is your favorite singer, band, or musician? (From C.E. Dorsett)

A:  At the moment, my favorite singers are Aurora, Lewis Capaldi, and Florence Welch.  My favorite bands are Queen and Nightwish.  As for music in general, I tend to love music with both a complex melody and a really driving percussion section. AKA GIVE ME DRUMS!

Q: Have you ever killed off a character because you couldn’t kill off a person in real life? (From Oddly Mimi)

A: I haven’t killed off a character with a specific person in mind, but I have molded characters based on groups of people I’ve met.  Their behavior tends to coalesce into a single character with all the bad behavior of the group exhibited, and then that character gets exactly what that behavior deserves.

Q: Do you write recurring characters? (From Oddly Mimi)

A: Yes! I have a collection of children’s detective stories and the same kids appear in each story.

ALA Boxcar children, Hardy Boys, etc.

Q: What is your favorite season? (From Hannah R. Palmer)

A: Either autumn or winter.  I love the temperature of spring and autumn, but my spring allergies are horrid, so I usually wind up with a sinus infection.  Therefore, Fall wins!  I also prefer the cooler temperatures of fall and winter because I hate mosquitos and sunburn, and the winter isn’t too harsh in the south (of the US).

Q: Were you a teacher? (From Hannah R. Palmer)

A: Yes, I was a teacher for High School English.  I taught 10th grade (Year 11), 12th grade (Year 13), Gifted, Mythology, and Advanced Composition.  I was also the club sponsor for the Creative Writing Club and the Gay Straight Alliance.

I made the choice to halt my teaching temporarily in order to help my family move, fix the new and old house up, etc.  And that took much longer than I anticipated.  Then the pandemic hit. 

From Tamama Writes:

Congrats!  I can never think of any questions to ask until after the video comes out.

Q: What was the hardest part of the writing process? (From Shelbie Writes and Procrastinates)

A: So far, the biggest problem has been developing the discipline to sit down and write every single day (or at the very least, develop some sort of regular schedule).  Writing the first draft was fun.  The process of reading through what I wrote is also fun, but the developmental editing is slightly frustrating because I keep finding plot holes.  And the existence of those plot holes makes me face the reality that my first draft isn’t perfect.

Those were some of the questions that were sent in ahead of the live-stream.

If you’re interested, here is the link to the stream.

If you have other questions you would like me to answer, please do comment below!