SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER
AUTHOR SPOTLIGHT
Pamela Sparkman
Pamela Sparkman is the author of two works of fiction, set in the comtemporary romance genre, Stolen Breaths and Shattered (due October 2014) which she has co-written with her cousin Deanna Gohn. She's an author that just based on her books alone, deserves to shine which is what this spotlight is all about.
A Little About Pamela from her Amazon Author Profile:
I grew up in Alabama and have always been an avid reader. I had a stack of those Little Golden Books and I can remember reading Three Little Kittens over and over and over again. It was my favorite.
Fast forward and the older I got the more in love with books I became. So, I'm admitting that I am a huge nerd. The only reading I don't like are those math word problems. And I'm okay with that because no one has ever asked me in real life... "If I give you two bananas and take away six apples, how long will it take the southbound train to collide with the northbound train if Johnny left his house at midnight?" It just doesn't happen.
So, yeah, books are my thing.
Oh and music. All kinds. Love.It.
I was lucky recently to sit down and ask Pamela some questions as it pertains to her journey with writing, who inspires her and a few tidbits about her own books. The results of that interview are below.
Thank you so much Pam for taking the time to answer my questions!
Interview With Pamela
When did you start writing?
I began writing March 2013. I put the first words on the page and wrote until I had the first five chapters written.
When did you decide that you wanted to release your writing to the world?
I’m not sure to be honest. I think my intention was to write something that I wanted to share with others when I started writing Stolen Breaths. I just didn’t have a timeline set that I would actually do it, until I did it.
What genre do you write?
Contemporary Romance
Why did you choose to self-publish (or if traditionally published why did you go that route)?
Well, let’s be real...the only way my book would have ever seen the light of day is by self publishing it. I didn’t even attempt to go the route of traditional publishing. I wouldn’t even know where to begin.
What are you currently working on and what can you tell the world about it?
I am currently working on the third and final book in the Stolen Breaths series. It is Hayden and Beth’s story, and like SHATTERED my cousin, Deanna Gohn, is co-writing with me. What I can tell you is that their story is uniquely different from the first two books. This book deals with heavy subject matter, and we’re taking our time with it because we want to get it right. We don’t want to screw it up. It’s more than just a story to us. These characters...they represent all of us in ways, big and small. We want their story to touch people’s lives. They’ve certainly touched mine, and that’s what I want to share.
Who are some of your favorite authors?
There are so many authors out there that I admire and inspire me. Colleen Hoover, L.H. Cosway, Melyssa Winchester, Mia Sheridan, Autumn Doughton, Meridith A. Walters. I could keep going. The list is quite extensive. Let’s just say there are a lot of fantastically beautiful writers out there.
What is your favorite book to read?
My first love was fairy tales. I still love those. They had it all: good guys, bad guys, good girls, bad girls, crime, and suspense, with a little bit of mystery thrown in. What’s not to love? And who doesn’t like to see the guy get the girl at the end?
What are some no go’s for you when you’re reading or writing?
Like things you wouldn’t want to read or write about no matter how many other people enjoy them? I don’t know, I think it all depends on the story and if it’s well written and I can connect emotionally to the characters. I can’t say that I will “never” read this or that because I don’t know...maybe I will. I think it depends on the author. I think a lot of times, for me, the moments I have to put a book down, have more to do with the execution of whatever it is I didn’t like about it than the subject matter itself. Having said that, I won’t write a hero that doesn’t respect the heroine. If there is no respect, there is no story for me.
If you had to choose one character (male or female) from any of the books you’ve written, who would you choose as your all-time favorite?
Since I’ve only written/completed two books you would think this would be an easy question, but it’s not. I happen to love all of my characters. However since you’re making me choose, I’m gonna have to say Joe Carlisle, because just saying his name makes me smile. I love him hard, and writing from his POV was the most fun for me. I think I “got” him more. I had a deep understanding of who Joe was and my love for him runs deep. But we’re writing Hayden’s story now, and I gotta say for the record, he’s setting the bar pretty high. My opinion may change again in a few months. ;)
Where do you find inspiration?
I’m a people watcher. I pay attention to body language and the way people speak to one another, so real life is my number one inspiration. My family inspires me. These are the people I spend the most time with, so I can take things they do and say and turn it into a story. But, shhhh, they don’t about that.
What do you do when affected by writers block? Have you ever experienced it before?
Writer’s block for me, I think, is more or less about being afraid that what I have to say (or write rather) won’t be good enough, so I’ll stare at the blinking cursor longer for that reason. But for me, the only way to push through it is to just start writing. I’ll open a new document and do a mind ramble, meaning just writing whatever is bouncing around inside my head at the moment. And then, walk away for five minutes or five hours. When I come back, I read over all the crap that I wrote, and something always, always sticks out and I say to myself...hey I can work with this.
Can you remember the book you read that made you decide you wanted to put your work out there and if so, why was that book the one that spurned the change?
I have always written. I haven’t always let others read I wrote. Most of my family and friends knew nothing about this side of me. It was mine, and I liked having something that was just for me. But then one day I picked up a book. That book was SLAMMED by Colleen Hoover. There was such a beautiful message intertwined within the pages of that book that I decided the next time I wrote something, maybe it wouldn’t be such a bad idea to share it with other people. Colleen has repeatedly said how the Avett Brothers inspired her to figure out what you want to be and go be it. And she did the same for me. So this is me, figuring out what I want to be – and being it.
Haven't read Stolen Breaths yet? Want to know even more about Pam and all of her future endeavors? Be sure you follow her at the above links and get yourself ready for the release of SHATTERED on October 1, 2014 <3