Here at Olympia we love hearing from our authors, getting an insight into their lives in writing and asking them what their advice would be to future authors. This week we had the pleasure of interviewing Roberta Franklin about her book!
What has been your highlight of publishing so far?
I guess having your second book published is even greater than your first – you really feel that you’re an author now. That’s exactly how I felt when my second book was published two weeks ago.
What kind of research do you do, and how long do you spend researching before beginning a book?
I do a thorough online research on the location of my book, because I prefer exotic settings that will capture the readers’ imagination and give them a pleasant break from everyday life. The feeling has got to be genuine, so I spend quite some weeks of getting into the place, the people, the customs. Everything plays a role, from music to food to the language.
How many hours a day do you write?
That depends very much. Sometimes I don’t write for days, even weeks, because I feel I need a bit of distance. Then again, when I’m on a roll, I usually write 6-8 hours a day.
What period of your life do you find you write about most often?
My life right now or very recently – I’d never thought it could be so great to be over 40!
What did you edit out of this book?
Nothing really; I don’t tend to change my books around, what I’ve written I’ve written.
Do you hide any secrets in your books that only a few people will find?
Yes, I guess there are some things in them that only one person in the world will understand: my fiancé.
What was your hardest part to write?
Action scenes are always difficult to write; you’ve got to keep up the suspense, the timing has got to be perfect, and since I write adventure-romance stories, they’re the key scenes to the whole story.
What advice would you give to aspiring authors?
First of all, keep going, never give up. If you’ve decided you’re going to be an author, and if you really want it, nothing can stop you. Then, always be true to your own style; it’s so important for a writer to keep and develop his or her individuality.
If you could review Olympia publishers in a few words, what would they be?
Olympia Publishers are a great publishing house, they engage in all sorts of genres and fields, they give new authors a chance and support established ones. I’m very happy and grateful I’m one of theirs!
