Vampire Books, Vampire Romance Books, Paranormal Romance Books, Werewolves Books, Shapeshifter Books



     


My Interview with Paranormal Romance Author Simone Bern


1
Q: Please tell us a little bit about yourself. Where are you from, what is your background?

A: My family moved from Europe to Canada when I was five. Can you imagine arriving in a strange country with two kids, two suitcases, $2000, no job and only a limited understanding of the language? Boy, my parents were brave! I'm so glad they did it though, I love Canada and wouldn't want to live anywhere else.
2
Q: When did you first realize that you wanted to be a writer, and What was it that inspired you to start writing?

A: I have had characters living inside my head for as long as I can remember. They amused me during long car rides as a young child and while suffering through high-school grammar classes. I started writing poetry when I was 7 or 8 years old. My mom still has a newspaper clipping with my smiling face beside one of my poems ( I guess I can say I was first published at the age of 10!). Fiction writing didn't come until much later. I started writing short stories in high school - I even turned essay assignments into dialogue (making my arguments through a conversation between ghosts, that sort of thing). I should thank my long-suffering English teachers. I really am grateful to them for teaching me sentence structure and how to properly format an essay, even if I didn't seem to be listening.
3
Q: When did you write your first book?

A: I didn't tackle a full novel until a few years after my son was born. There comes a time in every mom's life when they realize that their little boy or girl no longer needs them quite so much and they simply must...stop...HOVERING. I was doing consulting work from the home at the time but it was very uneven. So, during the lulls in my paid work, and while my son was busy playing in the back yard with the neighborhood kids, I started to indulge in the pleasure of story-telling. It helped that my office window overlooks the yard and I could keep track of events by the changing tones of laughter and shrieks (silence required immediate parental attention).
4
Q: How many books have you written? Do you have a favorite?

A: I have four published works (check out my website at http://www.simonebern.com for the list) and another wending its way through the formal editing process right now. Of course I also have five drafts of more or less complete novels, and another half dozen or so incomplete ones, sitting on my hard drive. It's hard to pick a favorite but I think I enjoyed writing In a Dark Embrace (my witch/werewolf erotic romance) the most so far.
5
Q: When you were younger, what did you want to be when you grew up?

A: What didn't I want to be! At one time or another I insisted I would be everything from a stewardess (I loved to fly), geneticist, oceanographer, architect, lawyer, and even an astronaut. Funny, I never considered "writer" to be a career choice.
6
Q: How long does it typically take you to write a book?

A: It's highly variable - from six months to several years. When I really get into a story (and real life is kind enough to give me a break) I can write an entire first draft in two or three months. Then I switching into editing mode, which usually takes longer than the writing phase. My newest novel, Cat's Game, came together very quickly. However, the historical vampire story which I started some time ago seems to have stalled while I sort out exactly what sort of novel it wants to be.
7
Q: Where do the ideas for your books come from?

A: My stories usually start with a single scene and my curiosity leads me to follow the characters in order to find out why they are there and what happens next. Almost every writing project begins with my fingers stumbling on the keyboard as I try to keep up with the revealed scenes. I often feel more like a recorder than an author during those initial flurries of writing. It is usually thousand of words later that I feel the need to stop and take a step back, to determine where the story is going (basically where I'm at with the vampire story). That is the most difficult part of my writing, when I have to assert some control in order to formulate an ending and structure key plot points along that path. However, I try to hold those future elements only loosely in my mind as my characters have a tendency to surprise me and sometimes take the story in unexpected directions. But then, I like surprises!
8
Q: Where is your favortie place to write, where do you feel most creative?

A: I have an office at home and that is where I do most of my writing. However, I have a notebook in my night table drawer so I can scribble out scenes that come to me at odd hours of the night. I've also been known to use paper placemats, the backs of store receipts , etc. when inspiration strikes away from home.
9
Q: Do you have any role models? Have there been any other writers that have inspired you?

A: I love so many authors - everyone from Isabelle Allende to George Elliot, Rohinton Mistry, Tolkien and Roger Zelazny. I think they all inspired me to some degree.
10
Q: When you're not writing, what do you like to do for fun?

A: I read a great deal - from books about history and science (I recently finished The Empathic Civilization by Jeremy Rifkin which was fantastic) to business magazines and many kinds of novels. I love to dance and will do so at any opportunity. I also love to ski in winter and camp in the summer. Travel is an itch that I don't get to scratch nearly often enough. Oh, and I ride a motorcycle.
11
Q: Do you have anything that you'd like to say to your readers?

A: Thank you, thank you, thank you! I think I'd write even if I never managed to publish anything, but having others actually share my stories is a wonderful, amazing thing.
12
Q: What kind of advice would you give to new writers?

A: Read a lot, join a critiquing group (there are good ones on-line) and write, write, write!




Attention Authors! Would like to have your fans learn a little bit more about you and your writing?, Send me an e-mail and I will be happy to send you an interview.