Saturday, August 6, 2016

Author Interview: Lo-arna Green

Welcome to Lo-arna Green, this week's feature author.  


Lo-arna is an Australian author who believes in happily ever after (most of the time) and some of the time participates in reality.


Thank s for dropping by today. It is indeed a pleasure to have you here.

Can you tell us a bit about you as an author? 
I’m a mixed bag. Truly. I write mainly romance but I love to go darker with my short stories. This year I gained a highly commended award with Stringybark Publishing and was published in their 2015 Short Story Award anthology that was published in May. That was a huge honour, there was some seriously talented authors in that bunch.

What are the hardest part of being an author?  
When the words play on the edges of your mind, not writers block as such…just they won’t play the game.

What do you enjoy most about being an author? 
Finishing and believing in it. I used to throw my work out when I was done. I purely wrote to empty my head. I didn’t want to share. It took me a while to come to that point.

What authors/books have had an influence on your writing?
I adore Amy Harmon. Her books always sucker punch me.

Do you ever get Writer’s Block? If so, how do you deal with it? Do you believe there is such a thing?
Of course! I spend more time than I would like to admit just staring at a word document, or the wall. Or one word on the word document, convinced it isn’t even a word.

Do you have a particular place that you like to write?
Sometimes my best writing comes when I am out and about with my kids. That’s when I let them go nuts playing and I write on the notes app on my phone. A session doing this sometimes sees me reaching 3000 words.

Do you have a favourite time of day to write? 
Usually just when the kids are at school.

How do you like to reach your readers? 

I’ve found readers on Twitter just by being my (nutty) self on there. Not to mention other writers who have become friends. I learnt pretty quickly it is much better to just interact in a real way rather than to flood people with promo images or posts. Facebook is much harder to reach people successfully day in and out because of audience reach. I do have a blog and I try to post weekly. I tried vlogging once and I just ended up swearing at the camera. I will try again one of these days.

Can you tell us about your latest book? 
All The Games is the third book in my series. They are all NA romance. The first book had a heavy colour theme, I basically used the colours as metaphors for emotions and vibes. All The Games doesn’t play with colours as much, it is more light hearted though.

How long did it take you to write the book? 
6 months. I really struggled with it. The first two only took a few weeks. It took me a while to figure out why I found it so challenging. It didn’t go deep enough. I need a decent amount of heartache with the sunshine for my writing.

Do you have a favourite character/topic in your work? 
A few readers have pointed out all of my characters are strong females. I didn’t even realise until it was pointed out.

What was your process?  Did you plot out the entire book, or just let the storyline flow?  Do you write in chronological order? 
I’m a total pantser and I write in all kinds of areas of the story and then thread together.

Do you have plans for further instalments? 
I have one more planned for the series and a possible “tie-up” novella down the track. There are a few things from the first book that didn’t really have a resolution.

Do you have a plan for your next book? 
My next release is called Paper Dreams and it is a historical romance. I’m really in love with it. There is a really sentimental element in it so I think it will be my favourite forever.

Ebooks vs Physical books? Do you have a preference when reading? 
Ebook for convenience but they don’t smell like physical ones. I prefer library books.

Self-publishing vs traditional publishing? What are your thoughts? Do you feel that the industry is changing? 
Definitely self-publishing. I don’t know if I could hack the restrictions of traditional publishing. There is obviously pros and cons to both.

And finally, what advice would you give to aspiring authors?
Don’t give up. You will never please everyone so write from the heart and stay true to you.

Thank you so much Lo-arna for dropping in today. How can readers find you?


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Keep Writing!

Amanda

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