Author Interview & GIVEAWAY

Today, I would like to welcome Valerie Franklin to The Blogging Book! She has taken some time out of her busy schedule to answer a few questions for us, and she has also been gracious enough to giveaway 2 copies of Always A Hero. The cool thing is the winners get to choose which format they want! That's right! You can choose eBook or Print! This woman is amazing! Okay, Now on to the interview!

Tell us a short Bio about yourself:

I always wanted to write, and wrote my first book in sixth grade and my
mother still has it. In high school I was the editor of my school newspaper
and thought I wanted to be a journalist, but my shyness made interviewing
almost impossible. So I decided that journalism wasn’t the career for me.

After spending five years in the Army, where I met and married my
husband, John and started a family, the bug to write came again. Watching
the antics of my four children, I decided to get a degree in Children’s
Literature and write children’s books, but even as I wrote short stories for
my children I didn’t pursue publishing them.

Then came the Harry Potter phenomenon and I began writing Harry Potter
fan fiction under the pseudonym of Professor Scroll. Reading the reviews
on my stories gave me the impetus to sign up for NaNoWriMo (National
Novel Writer Month) and cram a years’ worth of writing into the month of
November.

This novel is the third one I’ve written during NaNoWriMo.

What inspired you with the idea for this Book?

The prologue wrote itself one evening. The rest was a compilation of two
different projects.

What was the easiest/hardest part about writing this book?

The hardest part was naming the characters. Rebecca’s name changed
four times.

Is there anything you wish was different about the book?

I am never finished. I am always tweaking what I write. When I was writing
Harry Potter fan fiction, when I received a review that someone would have
liked me to expand on a subject, I would. It’s much harder to do that with a
printed book.

What's a typical working day like for you? When and where do you write? Do you set a daily writing goal?

Most of this book was written during the month of November. I have a
regular 9-5 job so I usually write in the wee hours of the morning. I am a
night owl. I also find that I write a lot during car trips while bouncing ideas
off my husband. Paper and pen are never far away.

What’s the best thing about being an author?

I’m not sure yet. I was scared spitless, but I loved my first book signing.

Do you have any favorite authors or favorite books?

That’s a hard one. J K Rowling – of course. Janet Evanovich - the
Stephanie Plum Series – they are so amusing. I just sit and giggle my way
through them. Tolkien. Tom Clancy.

If you could jump into a book and live in that world... Which would it be?

Harry Potter – as Professor Scroll I did just that in my story Witches and
Wizards and Trains – Oh My! Which can be found on the HP fan fiction site -
Sink Into Your Eyes

What's one piece of advice you would give aspiring authors?

Write.!

Write every day and don’t let anyone talk to out of it.

Take writing courses. You can always learn grammar, punctuation and
spelling or use your spellcheck option on your word processing program.
But only you can tell the story you have bouncing around your head.

Any other books in the works? Goals for future projects?

Yes. The project I’m working on is about a serial killer. At the moment I’m
thinking this will be a three book series.

When and why did you begin writing?

The dream has been with me since I was 11 when I wrote my first book.
Too much imagination! When I read a book, I always come away with
questions or that I would have like to see this or that scene expanded.
Hence – fan fiction.

How many books have you written?

Including fan fiction – 12 so far.

Is this book based on someone you know, or events in your own life?

No, not really. The only similarities are that I and my husband were
both in the Army and my husband loves Spiderman – hence Paul
having ‘spidey-sense’.

How do you react to a bad review?

I cringe. Read it again and move on. We learn from our mistakes.

Where is your favorite place to write?

My home office. Everywhere is there are too many distractions.



Thank you so much for taking time out of you day to answer some questions for us! I have had a blast!

Now on to the giveaway!

As I said before, there are 2 copies of Always A Hero to be given away. Format is up to the winner.

To be entered in the giveaway, all you have to do is fill out the Raffelcopter form below.

a Rafflecopter giveaway