I was asked...

DO YOU TRAVEL MUCH WITH YOUR BOOKS?

Travel!!!  One of the highlights of my writing. When I wrote Revenge and Bad Blood, I
spent a lot of time in Jackson County NC where those two books were set. 
It has become an almost second home to me. If I could live anywhere else,
that might well be the place I would choose.  

I am also privileged to travel and have book signings where i meet my readers. 
Most of my signings have been in the southeastern states, but would love to travel more
beyond the Mississippi and meet my readers. The Readers that I have meet
from the mid west and west are wonderful people. Perhaps I will find some
venues to visit in that direction more often. (Hint, hint! LOL)

HAVE YOU EVER HAD A CHARACTER SURPRISE YOU AS YOU WROTE?

Oh my, YES!!!  It happens quite often. The character will say something or do something
totally unexpected...something that I did not have in my thoughts at
all!!!  My plan had been for them to be a secondary character. They
did not agree. They came out with words and actions that demanded a more
active part in the story. (If you recognize the sane SUGAR from my Revenge
series, meet one that did just that!!)

WOW what great questions you ask.  KEEP THEM COMING


((((HUGS)))) 

Ann

Thank you for the questions. I hope they are answering them to your satisfaction. If not, let me know.

I have been asked:

What is the hardest part of writing for you?

Answer: Keeping on track to the end.    I usually keep two or three books going, but I have to keep a deadline for the next project in my mind to keep me on track. I have A list of books with simple outlines that I want to write. I can also get carried away in the research as I love history and family stories. Actually, my readers help keep me focused as they ask WHEN the next book will be out. LOL

What’s the best thing about being an author?

This is an easy question for me. THE READERS. I love to meet with them at signings and talk with them at book clubs. I have my favorite scenes/chapters, but I want to hear theirs and why they connected with that section.

Another good part of being an author is having an outlet for the stories that play out in my mind when it is keyed with some story or incident that I hear.

Send me a question...on here or to my email that you can find on my web site at annrobbinsphillips.com.

(((Hugs)))    Ann

PS: I hope to get a book trailer up for "Sorrow..The Sighted Sister" soon. It will be on youtube with my other book trailers that you can find by googling my name and youtube book trailers.

TAMMY: You are obviously passionate about writing and I love reading your work! Do you think there will come a time when you can write full time? And is there anything in the works after the Revenge series?

Thank you Tammy for responding.

 I do believe there will come a time when I can write full-time.  It cannot get here too quickly for me.  LOL.  

As for after the Revenge Series, I do have some books already written in the Christian Fiction genre I plan to publish, BUT I have another historical fiction (factual fiction for those that have heard me speak and I use to describe my books), that I want to write and am making plans to do just that.  It is about a woman that I have read about that moved with her husband from the North to the South when he came to be over a Confederate Army Fort.   She lives in the Army Fort with him and the men.  During that time, she wrote letters home to her parent.  A curator in that Fort has those letters in his possession.  I am trying to secure a time with him that I can come and read those letters and write a "factual fiction" account of her time there.  She was quite an amazing woman.  

Love answering your questions.  

Hugs, 

Ann

PS: A book club in North Carolina have made my Revenge book their Book of the Month for February 2014. They have asked me to meet with them then, and I have happily agreed to do that.  That is the time I plan to start the book I spoke about above.  

Question: How long do you think about or research a book before you start writing?

Answer: The first book was a couple of years in the making from its incubation stage to the completed manuscript. Actually the four book series was planned on my mind almost immediately with the concept of Revenge, so I have been making notes a long time on them.

This spring I visited both Cocke County TN and Clifton, SC and it was exciting to see the places that the book for talk about. I hope to return to both of these towns as soon as I can after the book comes out and have a book signing and talk with people that live there.

Question: When and Where do you write?

Answer: Every chance and anywhere I can. I spend spare moments during work hours to think about plot and structure. Nights and weekends give me continued time to put those ideas on paper. I try to find extended periods of time (a week) occasionally when I can make better headway with the book. There comes a point when a night or a Saturday just won't cut it. LOL.

Check in occasionally for another question/answer with the Author. Feel free to ask you own questions and let her answer.