Author Interviews: Barbara, C.M., and Victoria
It’s time for our next few interviews and I think you’ll like them! Check out our interviews with Barbara, C.M., and Victoria and then add their works to your TBR!
Barbara Matteson
Tell us a little about your book(s) like its title, genre, and where readers can find it:
My books are geared toward the midlife woman. I feel there is quite a dearth in books for this demographic, and these are the types of women that still have a lot of life to experience and a lot of stories to tell. My first book is The Perfect Mrs. Claus, about a 50-something year widow who finds love within the magical realms of a department store Santa's Village at the holidays. My second book, Beach Rose Path, also centers on a midlife woman who suffers terrible tragedy, but reinvents herself when she moves to coastal Maine. These can be ordered through my publisher 5 Prince Publishing, Amazon, and Goodreads.
What does your writing routine look like? Silence or noise, pen or computer, snacks and drinks, time of day, etc.
My writing routine starts by 7 am, and I write for at least 3 hours. I generally write in silence, but occasionally, especially if I need something to set the mood, I will play holiday music if I'm writing a Christmas scene or listen to beach sounds if I am writing about the summer. I ALWAYS write with several cups of coffee ready to go!!
Plotter, pantser, or in between?
Although I write a very general outline (just so I don't forget the important stuff), after that, I am an absolute pantser. I give so much credit to writers to diagram everything, use beat sheets, and have pretty much everything well thought out and planned, but my brain doesn't work like that, and I'm always writing off the top of my head, and it takes me to some quite surprising places!
Where do you keep your writing ideas? Notebook, phone, email thread?
An old-school steno book!
Who reads your writing first? Your spouse, friend, CP, etc.?
This is probably unorthodox, but no one reads my writing. I did try that once, and the person reading it didn't like anything I wrote and wanted to change everything, so I rely on myself. This is where I do make copious notes on ages, dates, eye color, to make sure I don't miss anything, and then I proofread my material in tiny increments. It might take longer, but it works for me. I am also very, very fortunately to have an absolutely amazing editor!!
Does reading help you write or distract you?
Reading absolutely helps me. I'm rarely without a book, and I always come across an interesting word or thought process I never would have thought of using, and I might try to incorporate into my writing. I truly believe reading makes one a better writer.
What (if any) research went into writing your book?
I do a ton of research. I don't write historical novels, so I don't mean that kind of research, but if I am writing about, perhaps, a certain type of commute from one town to another, I do research to see how many miles there are, how long would it take to get somewhere by plane, train or automobile (or boat as in the case of Beach Rose Path). It's important to me to keep everything I write as true as possible, because myself, as a reader, would pick up on something like that, and I want to make sure I am as close to 100% as possible.
Being as specific as you want, who is your target audience?
My target audience is the midlife woman. I generally write about women in their early/mid 50s because that was my age when I started writing, and I do use a lot of my own life experiences, from marriage, children, pets, births, deaths, in my books. We are a population that has experienced so much in our lives, and we still have a lot to accomplish! Several women under the age of 50 have read The Perfect Mrs. Claus, and reviewed it nicely!
What advice would you give your earlier self?
Believe in yourself. I could not have written and published two books say, twenty years ago, because I didn't have the confidence to do something like that. But, then again, confidence comes with age, and I believe in myself so much more than I did when I was younger.
What monetary or numerical goals do you have for your book?
Well, of course I would love nothing more than to be on the bestseller list or have my books discovered and made into movies. I'm not sure if that would happen, but I'd welcome it!
How long did you work on your book from the first idea to the date of release?
It took about two years for me to write The Perfect Mrs. Claus, and the first draft was written entirely in longhand. I spent most of 2020 editing it to perfection and sent it off to publishers early 2022 and The Perfect Mrs. Claus was published on November 1, 2022.
How did you decide on your publishing method (self, indie, trad, etc.)?
I stayed away from the big publishing houses because you need an agent, etc, and I felt that my book would get lost in the slush pile. I researched small to midsize publishing houses, and sent my query to 5 Prince Publishing in Colorado, who contracted my book. It was an unbelievable day when Bernadette Soehner, President of 5 Prince, said she wanted to contract my book. I still can't believe it!!
What else do you want to share about yourself or your writing?
Never think that you cannot do something. When I was writing The Perfect Mrs. Claus, I didn't tell a soul (not even my husband) what I was doing. That way, if I failed, then no one was the wiser. But I believed in my book, and I am forever thankful someone else did too.
Where can readers connect with you?
Anyone can connect with me on my website barbaramatteson.com; Instagram @barbaramattesonauthor; on Facebook Barbara W Matteson Author and Threads barbaramattesonauthor.
C.M. Crockford
If you publish/write under a pen name, how did you come up with it?
It’s just my initials and my last name – Conor Malcolm. My middle name is for my great-uncle, who I only met once but was a lovely old man.
Tell us a little about your book(s) like its title, genre, and where readers can find it:
Birdsongs is a poetry collection that looks at subjects like autistic life, climate change, and Yukio Mishima with hopefully some grit, humor, and real emotion. Readers can find it on my website or via Alien Buddha Press.
What does your writing routine look like? Silence or noise, pen or computer, snacks and drinks, time of day, etc.?
I work almost every day from the late morning until the afternoon. I tend to need silence or at least quiet, and for some reason, I almost entirely use mechanical pencils, despite my father’s fondness for Dixon Ticonderoga, because of how smooth they feel in my hands. If it’s poetry, I’ll write several handwritten drafts, then switch to a computer. With longform I outline, take copious notes, then write the first draft on Word. Food is an inconvenience – thankfully there are typically leftovers from dinner in the fridge.
Plotter, pantser, or in between?
Plotter when I’m writing stories and essays, pantser with poetry. Your daemon’s talking to you even if it’s just gibberish, right?
Where do you keep your writing ideas? Notebook, phone, email thread?
Sometimes my Notepad app if I’m on the go, but typically I have one notebook for poetry, one for longform, and I write my ideas into either one. I also keep a little notebook in my backpack, and I have notes in there for various things.
Who reads your writing first? Your spouse, friend, CP, etc.?
Friendsssssssss. Or my dad. But if I’m seeing someone, I’ll usually show it to them first.
Does reading help you write or distract you?
It gets the ball rolling, though mirroring some of my influences was a problem when I was in my mid-twenties. It’s been less of an issue in the past few years.
What (if any) research went into writing your book?
Mainly looking at news articles for inspiration in imagery. “Ida” probably took the most preliminary research because it’s based, of course, on Hurricane Ida’s impact on Philadelphia. I also did some quick checks into historical specifics.
Being as specific as you want, who is your target audience?
Neurodivergent people, many of them queer, who enjoy Paul Schrader movies and want capitalism to crumble into the ground.
What advice would you give your earlier self?
Tell other people what you need.
What monetary or numerical goals do you have for your book?
To reach a lot of readers and build a consistent audience, which I think is working.
How did you decide on your publishing method (self, indie, trad, etc.)?
Self-publishing rarely results in a satisfying cover or look, and I don’t have a big enough audience for a lot of presses. Alien Buddha Press’ level suits me fine.
What else do you want to share about yourself or your writing?
I edit books, so always check out my website if you need help with proofreading or developing your writing.
Where can readers connect with you?
You can always go to my social media, @cm_crockford, www.cmcrockford.net, which has a ton of links to my online writing, or you can email me. Always happy to hear from a fan or a reader.
Victoria K. Taylor
If you publish/write under a pen name, how did you come up with it?
My pen name is a collection of all the names my mother almost gave me! My actual first name is Tori, but my mom didn’t name me Victoria because she thought it was too long and she didn’t want anyone calling me Vicky (lol)…She also originally planned to name me Kelly Taylor, so Victoria K. Taylor was born!
Tell us a little about your book(s) like its title, genre, and where readers can find it:
A Crown of Star & Ash is an adult Fantasy Romance book and is the first book in the Fate of Ashes series! It’s a Game of Thrones meets ACOTAR medieval fae fantasy world with plenty of political intrigue, warring kingdoms, enemies to lovers, and a dash of spice!
What does your writing routine look like? Silence or noise, pen or computer, snacks and drinks, time of day, etc.?
My writing routine has changed a lot since I was younger. I’ve been writing books since I was in middle school, and my first seven novels were written in spiral notebooks between school and home. I used to write anywhere, anytime, loud, quiet, or otherwise!
I stopped writing for a long time during college and into adulthood, and when I picked it back up to write my eighth novel (A Crown of Star & Ash), I had to pivot how I approached writing. Now balancing a full-time job (and maybe a bit of delayed ADHD), I had to be much more disciplined in how I approached writing. Nowadays, I sit on the couch, and type out my whole draft. I prefer silence (can’t write with music very much unless I’m super into it!) or with ambiance sounds to put me into whatever scene I’m writing!
I write wherever and whenever I can in order to keep up with my release schedule but aim for about 1,000-2,000 words a day when I’m actively drafting.
Plotter, pantser, or in between?
I think, at heart, I’m so much more of a pantser. I pantsed every single novel I’d ever written until I hit A Crown of Star & Ash. Until this book, I wrote YA contemporary romance, which takes me way less planning to execute. For an intricate fantasy world and multi-part series, however, I fully threw myself into the world of in-depth plotting. Give me all that story structure!
Even when I plot, though, I still feel like my writing comes out too stilted if I know exactly where I want to go, so I do like the “guidepost” style of plotting. Get out the big, important scenes, and let your characters take you there how they want to!
Where do you keep your writing ideas? Notebook, phone, email thread?
I am that weirdo who has everything in a million Word Documents like I’m doing a school paper. There’s bullet points and headers, and sometimes, I even catch myself writing down my plots in an “E” shape that they taught me in school for an expository writing essay!
Now, I definitely do Word Doc lists and bullet points for all the books in my series, but I do admit to having a bunch of very cryptic notes on my phone of lines of dialogue or narration that I want to put into a future scene.
Who reads your writing first? Your spouse, friend, CP, etc.?
This varies. Before ACOSAA, my best friend and I would read as we wrote and swap notebooks. Now, I have a few people who are okay with alpha-reading and a few that want it as polished as I can make it before I send it out! For Book 2—which I just finished drafting—I do have a feeling my mother is going to be the first to read it. She’s been one of my biggest fans since writing this story, and I think she has read ACOSAA almost as many times as I have at this point. She’s demanding Book 2 ASAP, and I’m not one to deny my mother!
Does reading help you write or distract you?
Reading definitely helps me when I write. Sometimes I find myself overthinking every sentence I write, and sometimes I keep a book in a similar genre and POV beside me to reference when I feel like I’m getting too much into my own head about my sentences.
However, I don’t like to read popular books in my genre while I’m writing my series! This may be shocking, but I haven’t read almost any of the popular fantasy books in the genre besides SJM’s books (and even then, only ACOTAR and part of Throne of Glass)! I try to limit my exposure to these in order to avoid any unconscious borrowing I may accidentally do while drafting my own book. I want to be sure all my ideas are my own and try to keep everything unique to my world and my imagination.
What (if any) research went into writing your book?
Every kingdom within ACOSAA’s world is inspired by another language or culture or even “vibe” of some kind—especially the names. A lot of research went into the names and the languages that I created for this world, as well as the different kinds of creatures and monsters that exist. While I didn’t want to take exactly, I wanted things to be loosely inspired on places and things in the real world.
Being as specific as you want, who is your target audience?
My target audience are mostly women ages 18 and up who love a good romance book but want to lose themselves in a fantasy world. I myself don’t personally enjoy super complicated fantasy worlds with hard magic rules and a lot to remember and keep track of. I wanted to speak to the people who love the escapism of fantasy, but still want that steamy, toe-curling romance that contemporary romance novels give you. Since I came from the world of YA, though, I’m definitely more inclined to have a heavier plot than just the romance! So, if you like your romance with a strong plot, and a dash of spice, I wrote A Crown of Star & Ash for you!
What advice would you give your earlier self?
Traditional publishing is not your only option. Self-publishing does not make you any less of a writer. Trust in yourself and your ability and keep doing you! Don’t be afraid to share your writing with the world.
What monetary or numerical goals do you have for your book?
Miley Cyrus once described her Bangerz tour as “an investment in herself” and that really spoke to me. Miley said the cost of production for the Bangerz tour was far more than what she expected to recoup with ticket and merch sales with the tour, and everyone thought she was crazy for doing it. But she told them she would rather lose money than put out something that wasn’t the level of quality on par with her vision. This was exactly my mindset when I went out to publish ACOSAA.
I was fortunate enough to have had a lot saved up to invest in my vision of making a high-quality book. My goal was always to publish a book that was on par with traditional publishing standards, and I hope I achieved that! My hope was to break even eventually with the start-up costs of starting my author business, even if it means at the end of my series. I know self-publishing isn’t an overnight thing, and it may take years of hard work to get the return on investment you’re looking for, but I won’t stop writing even if no one buys my book. Writing is always something I would do, even if no one reads it!
My pipe dream is to definitely quit my job and write full time. I think I never committed fully to a dream career in my life because I always only ever wanted to be an author.
How long did you work on your book from the first idea to the date of release?
This is still wild to me. From the night that the idea hit me, to the day I began to plan out the world and lore for the whole thing, I probably started writing that same week. And I finished it in 32 days. After six years of not writing anything at all, this was crazy to me!
Even after seven completed novels, I had never written a full-length novel so fast before—especially one as long as ACOSAA was! I finished draft one in November of 2022 and am publishing now in March of 2024. I definitely gave myself a bigger window to figure out everything than I maybe needed, but I’m glad for the extra time!
ACOSAA’s quick turnaround was definitely an outlier for me, though. Book 2 took over eight months to complete draft one—and even though I was editing book one and marketing hard at the same time, this is much more on par with my usual turnaround time for a first draft.
How did you decide on your publishing method (self, indie, trad, etc.)?
I originally was deadset on traditional publishing. Prior to this, I had queried one of my previous books, gotten one agent offer, rejected it, then never got another one again. After doing a ton of research while writing this book, I thought I had a stronger chance of getting picked up by an agent with ACOSAA than the rest of my books—especially with the rise of romantasy within the industry.
Self-publishing had always been something I was aware of, and it intrigued me, but I always thought I could never be proud of my writing unless I was traditionally published and had a whole giant publishing house telling me that my writing and my story (and me) were valuable. Of course, this wasn’t true, and when I began helping my old writing friend self-publish her debut novel, I was really inspired by the amount of creative freedom you get to have as a self-pub author. I was always that kid who wanted to learn how to do everything creative—web design, graphic design, video edits, you name it, I tried to learn it. All these random hobbies of mine seemed like the perfect calling card for an indie author who could handle a lot of the DIY herself.
After doing research about how—even if you sell your book to a publishing house—there is no guarantee of being able to produce the series you want, I changed my mind. The thought of a publishing house owning the rights to my characters and world and stopping me from writing this story was what ultimately changed my mind and had me pivot towards self-publishing.
I definitely do not regret it. Being able to publish a prequel novella right after ACOSAA and be able to write as many books as I want in this series was worth it in spades to me. In the end, self-publishing was the only way I could tell this story how I felt it needed to be told.
What else do you want to share about yourself or your writing?
I always find it super hard to share my writing—especially with people that I know! ACOSAA is a very personal story to me and is a portrayal of my own experiences with CPTSD and anxiety. This book was like cutting off a piece of my heart and throwing it into the world! Who knew handing it to a bunch of strangers is way less scary than giving it to my family and close friends?
I strive to always put pieces of my heart and soul into my writing, and hope that my future fantasy series all has a bit of heart that you all can continue to relate to!
Where can readers connect with you?
I am most active on Instagram at @victoriaktaylorbooks or you can catch me on my website at victoriaktaylor.com! I’m still a TikTok n00b, so you may not find me posting often, but I’m also on TikTok @victoriaktaylorbooks too!
Every single time we share author interviews, I get all up in my feelings about how much reading and writing mean to people. Whether it’s representation, mental health, current events, or something else entirely, it’s magical (at least to me) to see authors sharing their stories and voices with the world.
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