FAQ

I thought it might be fun (or helpful) to answer some of the questions I get asked from time to time. If you have a question you don't see answered here, feel free to ask me down below!


Q: Did you always want to be a writer?

A: Yes!
I have been writing since I could sound out words (not exaggerating). I wrote stories all through my childhood and teen years. I attended the Young Authors Conference several years in a row in elementary school. Growing up, being an author was just as probable as being a movie star, but now things are different, and I can do what I dreamed of as a kid. I'm no John Green or Suzanne Collins, but my book is out there for the world to stumble upon, and to me, that's enough. I took a long break from writing for most of my twenties, but returning to it is one of the greatest things I've ever done. I still dream of a thriving, crazy Still the Song fandom, but I'm just happy that people are enjoying my work.


Q: What is your writing process?

A: I don't generally have a strict writing process, but I do try to write everyday. It doesn't always happen. Because I am a mom, I usually have to wait until my son at school or in bed before I can sit down and disappear into my little fictional world. Both fortunately and unfortunately, my son is a night owl just like me, so despite his going to bed at a reasonable hour, he doesn't actually fall asleep until around midnight most nights. And he gets out of bed and comes to me a few times until then for various reasons, making it hard to truly begin writing until he's finally asleep and the interruptions have ceased. Then I can get some writing in, and if I can shut off the real world well enough, the words just pour out like it's writing itself. Other times, I have to literally choose each word (and question each one as if it's the final draft) and suddenly, somehow, several hours have passed and all I've written is a measly paragraph. It's an odd process, writing, but it's incredible. To help me write, I make playlists for my books. It takes some time to realize the right feel for the story as far as music goes. But I love attaching certain songs to certain scenes in my mind, and helping the vibe of the story come alive through music. Music is so powerful, and it really lends substance to the feel of a book.

Want to see my Still the Song playlist? Check it out on Spotify.

I keep a notebook for my stories, jotting down ideas and planning out upcoming scenes. I don't outline my books. I usually just get a general idea and start writing, and I figure out the story as I go. I didn't know how Still the Song would end until I got there, but I've known the ending of Paper Walls since early on, even more so than I knew the middle.

Another thing that's helpful to me is casting my characters, as if these actors will portray them in a movie version of my book (I wish!). Until I have a real face in mind, I find it hard to describe them adequately or make them come alive. I don't know if that's a bad thing, or a lack of imagination, but that's just how I function as a writer. It took me a little while to stumble across someone who I felt physically epitomized Jonah, but I easily settled on Chace Crawford, as I'm sure is evident in Lily's comment to Hannah about Jonah being Chace Crawford's doppelgänger (Consequently, I became quite fond of him as an actor and person. Oops!). In my head, Hannah is Teresa Palmer, which was difficult to decide. Elliot is Jon Hamm. Nathan is Ian Somerhalder. I almost died when I stumbled upon more than one photo of Chace and Ian together in real life (let the giddy nerdery commence!). I think Olivia Wilde makes a good Kendall. And I was never able to decide, but someone along the lines of Hope Davis for Scarlett. I never really settled on any one person for Caroline, or for Jacob. Jacob is tough to choose. I did think initially that Rob Lowe was a good physical match for Jacob, being that he looks like an older version of Ian Somerhalder, but after seeing him as Chris Traeger on Parks and Recreation for so long, I could never see Rob as a villain ever again! Okay, so that's what I do to help me envision my characters. And it's also pretty fun.


Q: How do you get an idea for a book?

A: I think I get asked this one the most, which is somewhat unfortunate because I don't have much of an answer for it. Sometimes, little flashes of stories will come to me. Or something I'm watching on TV will spark an idea.

Before I started writing Still the Song, I sat down with my iPad and typed out several one-liners for story ideas that I thought sounded interesting. One of those little lines eventually became Still the Song. The story kind of evolved as I worked on it, and each draft filled in more parallels and twists, and made it more complete.

There's a quote I love that says, "Write the book you want to read." That resonates with me because it's probably the best way to describe the way I write. When I create my stories, I am writing the book I would love to read.


Q: Are your characters based on real people?

A: Mostly no.
I always mentally cast my characters with real-life actors (like I mentioned above), and sometimes I can't help but draw from some of their performances. Like with Nathan Weston in Still the Song--in my mind, he's physically Ian Somerhalder. So I couldn't help but adopt some of the snarkiness he portrays as Damon Salvatore in the The Vampire Diaries. Or maybe Nathan's snarkiness is what made me choose Ian in the first place.

However, I do have a couple characters who I purposely drew from people I know. Henry Tyler in Still the Song is an homage to my late grandfather, who loved Christmas and his family, just like Henry does. And the other is Wesley Brooks in Paper Walls. He has many attributes based on my youngest brother, Sam. Wesley is known for calling movies "films" and speaking with intelligent vocabulary, and he's sensitive, sweet, and witty, and a lover of the arts just like Sam.


Q: Do you name your characters after people you know?

A: Yes and no.
Jonah in Still the Song, was given my favorite name (aside from Jude). If I could have another child, and it was a boy, he would no doubt be named Jonah. I love that name so much. His last name, Weston, comes from the show The Following, borrowed from Shawn Ashmore's character, Mike Weston. For Hannah, I wanted a name that depicted innocence and sweetness, and to me, the name Hannah encompasses that and it just felt right. I wasn't thrilled with both of their names ending in "ah," but both of those characters instantly became their names and there was no way I could change it. Hannah's last name, Morgan, was inspired by Dexter Morgan from the show, Dexter (played by Michael C. Hall, which is funny, because I picture him as Hannah's father, Stephen).

Most of my other characters are named based on names that I like. Sometimes a name just fits someone and I can't explain it. I did plug my brothers' names into the quick rundown of Jonah's family (Ron, Shaun, and Sam). Rachel, a barista at The Venue was named after my cousin. Jeffrey, another barista at The Venue, was named after a family friend. The manager at The Venue was named Ryan after Ryan O'Neal of Sleeping At Last, one of my favorite musicians (and Jonah's too!). My mom's name, Debbie, pops up when Scarlett is on the phone with Nathan's hospital. The tattoo artist in Tampa, Andy, is based on my brother-in-law.

In Paper Walls, Wesley is named after my son's middle name, but the rest of those characters are named based on what I liked and what just felt right.


Q: Do you write based on your personal experiences?

A: Sometimes I throw in things that have actually happened to me, but most things are simply fiction. For the record, I do not know what it's like to have an abusive father like Jonah in Still the Song. Without giving anything away, the premature birth experience is based on mine, as my son was born at 31 weeks. The febrile seizure scenario is also, unfortunately, based on my son. The flashback where Hannah tells Jonah she likes him is based on an experience I had in college where I confessed my feelings to a guy I liked (except I didn't get the guy at the end of the confession. haha). Jonah's family's Christmas Eve tradition is based on my family's. I do try to pepper in some personal insight, because, as they say, it's always good to write what you know. I find it easy to write raw and honest parts when I'm drawing from a personal place.


Q: How did you come up with the title Still the Song?

A: Not easily!
Sometimes I'm still not so sure I'm in love with the title, but this story is so complex, it was hard to pin it down to one perfect title. Originally, the working title was The Cadence of Beating Hearts, which is a Sleeping At Last lyric. I considered calling it Jonah for a short while out of sheer lack of ideas. Then it was called After All This While, but I just wasn't satisfied. The title I wanted so badly was All We Know is Falling. I thought it was so perfect with its double meaning. Like, all they've ever known in their life is falling in love with each other, and also, "all we know," as a noun, their whole world is falling down. I loved that title and it became the first definite title, but it's also the title of Paramore's first album, so I didn't want to do that. I know you can't copyright titles, but I didn't want to mess with that, and I didn't want people thinking of something else when they saw my book. I wanted my book to be its own thing. So then I came up with Still the Song. I always wanted the title to somehow relate to music, since music is such a big part of the story and who Jonah is. The phrase "still the song" is used in the book, as you know if you've read it. I sort of got the idea from the Jackson 5 song "Maybe Tomorrow," where it says, "You are the song that I sing..." Hannah was always the song of Jonah's heart and after all this while, she is still the song inside of him. So there you go.


Q: Are you going to write a sequel to Still the Song?

A: Not exactly.
When I said I was starting a second book, so many people asked if it was the same characters, if it was a sequel to Still the Song. I was surprised by that frequent reaction because I feel that all the strings were tied up at the end, leaving nothing more for the reader to desire. But maybe it's just the characters they loved and weren't ready to say good-bye yet. I felt the same way! Because of the apparent interest in a sequel, I initially brainstormed some alternate ideas. First, I tried to go back and tell the story we didn't get to see--the five years Jonah was away at college. It just didn't work. Everyone knows what happened in those five years. Nothing will be a surprise. We all know Jonah goes through college, spends a year working in graphic and web design while working on his music on the side. There wasn't much to tell.


Q: When is your next book coming out?

A: I'm currently working on book number three and I'm in the final stages of writing the first draft. There is no known release date as of yet (September 2018).


Q: How can I get a signed copy of your book?

A: If I don't know you in person, this one is a little difficult. My books are print on demand, which means it doesn't exist until you order it, and then Createspace prints it and ships it directly to you. I don't have my own stock of my book available at any given moment (just my own personal copies). But! If you are truly interested in purchasing a signed copy of my book, I can order you a copy, sign it, and then personally ship it to you for $16 through PayPal (which is actually $1.36 cheaper than buying it yourself directly from Amazon...this price covers the cost of printing the book, shipping it to myself, shipping materials, and then shipping it to you). If you would like to purchase a signed copy, email me and we will work out the details!


Q: How do you self-publish a book?

A: There is a bit of a learning curve, but it is not impossible! I used Createspace (an Amazon company) to publish Still the Song, and I am very satisfied with my experience. I will be publishing Paper Walls through them as well. I use Amazon's Kindle Direct Publishing for the digital Kindle version. I use BookBaby to distribute my ebook to Apple iBooks, Nook, Kobo, and Scribd (just to name a few). The cost of self-publishing is directly based on how much of your book you can do yourself. I was fortunate to have taken a really great fall photo in Pennsylvania several years ago that went with my story that I was able to use as my cover. Createspace, and many other independent designers online, can design covers for anywhere from $50 to $300+. I taught myself how to build the interior of my book on Microsoft Word (Most recommend using Adobe InDesign--I tried to play around with the trial but didn't want to take the time to learn the program). Createspace also offers this service. What I did pay for was professional copy editing through Createspace. The service went beyond my expectations and I was very pleased with the results delivered (two weeks early) by the editor assigned to my book. She was kind and helpful and I'm happy with the feedback and corrections I received. Editing is costly ($0.016 per word, I believe), but it is worth it! I also purchased my own ISBN bundle through Bowker. You can get an ISBN for free through Createspace, but it affects your distribution opportunities. Do your research before choosing! Marketing is another huuuuuuge part of self-publishing, which I am still working on. It's not easy to self-promote, but it's very important for indie writers.

If you want to chat about self-publishing, or you have any more questions that I might be able to help you with, email me!