Spotlight Interview with Author Sadie Forsythe

Q1: Thanks for participating in our Authors.com Spotlight Interview series Sadie! Please introduce yourself and your book to help our readers get to know you.


A: Hello everyone. I’m Sadie Forsythe, author of The Weeping Empress. It’s an epic fantasy with a little YA crossover appeal and I’m an American living in the UK (among other things).

Q2: Please explain how you came to be a writer, what inspired you to write your book(s) and how long it took. 


A: Oh, I’ve always wanted to be a writer. I’ve been devouring books since I learned to read and have been imagining stories for even longer. It took me a long time to get around to it though. I went straight from high school, to university, to graduate school. I did a lot of writing during that time, but only the academic kind. There was no time to write fiction, but I had to really master the art of writing a clear, concise, grammatically correct sentence, and that has made writing my first novel significantly easier.

Q3: What did you enjoy most about creating this book?


A.
 I really loved watching it take shape. Seeing the words form on paper, describing the scenes in my head. It felt like magic.

Q4: What facets of your life, both personal and professional, are woven into your book, if any?  


A. I’ve always been fascinated by religion and the power of faith. I wasn’t raised in a religious environment, so it was a bit of a curiosity for me. Some of this comes through in The Weeping Empress. It’s not a religious book by any stretch of the imagination, but the characters are forced to consider the proper place of their church and its authority.

Q5. How did you get published?

A. I’m self-published. I have nothing against the traditional publishing industry, but the whole process of query/rejection/query again terrifies me. I’ve written a good book. I think so, but more importantly readers think so. The reviews have been great. But there are so many of us, new authors I mean. I decided to skip that melee, hired the professionals to do their magic, and presented The Weeping Empress to the world.

Q6: Did you have any surprises or hiccups along the way during the book writing and/or publishing process?


A.
 It started as a hiccup in a lot of ways. I’ve jotted down dozens of story ideas. I keep a little moleskine with me for just that purpose. But there was no indication in advance that The Weeping Empress was the one that would really take off. By the time I started writing in earnest I had the story largely complete in my head, so I missed the opportunity to do the front-end organization that helps so much. If I had it to do again, knowing what I now know, I would have taken a lot more time outlining and writing character profiles to reduce the workload during the latter writing process.

Q7: What one thing did you wish you'd known before you started this project? 


A. That I would see the end of it. It took me a long time to write The Weeping Empress, more because I didn’t view it as a project with a deadline in the beginning. I had no qualms with letting it sit unattended for six months. As soon as I realized that it wasn’t a long story anymore, but a book, I ensured I had writing time regularly.



Q8: You're a fly on the wall when readers are discussing your book.   What would you hope to hear them say about it?


A.
 “I loved it!” That would be the best. After than maybe, “It really made me think” or “Senka was hot,” depending on what type of reader I was ease dropping on.

Q9: Tell us one thing about you that most people don't know or would surprise them. 


A. I love toe socks, you know the type that keep all of your toes separate like gloves. I’ve always wanted to try Tabi socks (the ones with just the big toes separate), but have never had the chance.

Q10: What single piece of advice would you give new authors?


A. Relax, when the right story comes along it will have a life of its own that will carry it to completion.

Q11: Share a short summary of a typical day in your life with us please.


A. A typical day starts after I bustle the kids off to school. At the moment I am back to writing for academics, so I generally spend the day sitting at my desk agonizing over a few hundred five-syllable words and drinking copious amounts of tea. If I’m lucky I get to read a little fiction in the evening. That’s my favorite part of the day.

Q12:  Describe where you do most of your writing. What would I see if I was sitting beside you?


A. It would depend on what stage of the writing process I was in. If it was early on then you would almost certainly find me in a café with a steaming latte and an old-fashioned pencil. (Yes I still use a pencil, even in this day and age.) If it was later on in the process then I would be curled up on the couch with my laptop on my lap, and if I was in the meticulous editing stage I would be sitting hunched over at my desk.

Q13: What's your motto or favorite quote you like to live by?

A. I’ve always been fond of Dryden’s, “There is pleasure sure in being mad which none but madmen know.”



Q14: Is there anything else you'd like to share with us in closing such as your website, an imminent book launch or what you're working on presently? 


A.
 Sure. I’m currently working on the sequel to The Weeping Empress. It doesn’t have a name just yet, but will answer some of the hows and whys that led to the events of The Weeping Empress.

http://www.sadieforsythe.com

https://www.facebook.com/SadieForsythe

https://twitter.com/#!/SadieSForsythe

Thank you for providing this opportunity.

Authors.com profile: http://www.authors.com/profile/SadieSForsythe

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