ANNOUCING Autumn Rosen and her new book My Novel Affair

I am pleased and proud to introduce Author Autumn Rosen writting her latest book, My Novel Affair as Sinara Ellis!  I was so pleased when I picked me to be a beta reader for her newest book and I have to tell you that if you love comedy and want to laugh while you read, this is the book that will do it.  I rarely laugh out loud when I am reading, but Autumn brought me out of my shell when I read her book and I laughed.  It is funny, it is pure witticism at its best, and you will cry but I think you will fall in love with Sinara Ellis and her books if she keeps writing them like this.

Jacque - Do you have any quirks or superstitions that have become as integral to good writing as plot and character?
Sinara - Never be cliché or too obvious, I try to avoid those two things.  Strange as it sounds, I have to have gum to write. I buy it constantly; my desk drawer is filled with it. It’s usually the only time I chew it.

Jacque - Are your stories plot or character driven?
Sinara - My stories tend to be character driven. I believe that the emotion of a character can move a story along in a more realistic manner. Emotion can change so quickly and in unexpected ways, it allows you to keep a reader interested.

Jacque - Everyone has their own dream. What's yours… best seller, feature film adaption, fame, riches, Oprah, Pulitzer?
Sinara - I would love to see my work on the big screen. I’m not in it for the money or fame. I would love nothing better than to enter a theatre and stand in the back, to take in the reactions of a crowd watching my story unfold, that’s what I’m after.

Jacque - Where do you get your ideas?
Sinara - Different places, my first novel My Four Fathers & Eleanor was from a dream, as most of my books have been. My Novel Affair, just popped into my head while I was watching an unrelated movie. I walked out on the movie and pounded out fifteen thousand words in a couple of hours.

Jacque - Tell us, what is your most productive/inspiring setting?
Sinara - Last year I cleared out my old home office and created a space that was more conducive to writing. An open window with a great breeze flowing through and music to set a mood (depending on the plot) and I’m set. I have a catalog of eight thousand songs and growing, so I feel I have lots to write in the future.

Jacque - How much of you will a reader find in any given book?
Sinara - Most people find me complicated. My friends and family will tell you that my characters are all me in some way. All of my work is some side of my personality, some obvious, and some not so obvious. People that believed me to be insensitive were shocked by my debut novel’s depth and emotion. In turn my spouse spent weeks asking me if he was the protagonist in my new novel, My Novel Affair, because the main character was so like me. I think I actually had him worried.
Jacque - That's funny, you would say that, Autumn. I have my husband worried because I am doing research on poisons for one of my books, lol.

Jacque - What advice would you give to new/unpublished authors?
Sinara - No matter how many times you are rejected do not stop writing. The great thing about writing is the audience, you will find one since you have an entire world of people to share your work with. Possibilities are endless, treat them that way.

Jacque - What's the best advice ever given to you, and by whom?
Sinara - I was told by an English teacher in school that my writing was rubbish, but it was good rubbish and to keep trying. I don’t remember his name and I should, but I have always followed that advice. It keeps my ego in check and makes me work harder.

Jacque - Do you have an author you feel your work most resembles?
Sinara - That’s a hard question to answer. Fans usually compare my work with films rather than books. My first novel was compared to Rainman and Pay it Forward. I’m a visual person and I think that transfers over to my stories, so people find it easier to find resemblances to something they’ve seen rather than read.


Jacque - What is the one thing you would most like people to know about you?
Sinara - I answer 99.9999% of my fan mail and I have an unexplainable addiction to gummy bears sent in that fan mail.

Jacque - What are the biggest misconceptions new authors have about the publishing industry?
Sinara - I think that most believe they are not good enough if they are not published by the large publishing houses. There are other avenues out there now, take advantage of them if you don’t get that big publisher.
Another is that agents are goddesses/gods sitting upon pedestals, untouchable. In reality they are just people with the same problems as the rest of us.

Jacque - Where do you see yourself in five years? Where did you see yourself five years ago? Did you make it there?
Sinara - In five years I see myself at my desk, still entertaining readers and myself.  Five years ago I didn’t think that far ahead, call it irresponsible, but I liked not knowing. I guess I’ve come out better than I thought I would.

Jacque - What do you do when you're not writing?
Sinara - In my spare time I hang around my house and with friends. I play the piano in my kitchen when people are not around. I’m piano shy.
I also write book reviews and blog on-line. I love Twitter and Facebook, they allow me to bounce ideas and find people who are like minded to chat with.

Jacque - Do you belong to a writer's group, on or offline? Critique groups?
Sinara - I belong to a brilliant writing group called Book Country, it’s run by two fabulous ladies from Penguin Books, Colleen Lindsay and Danielle Poiesz. I was more than happy to join the Beta group when it started several months ago and I have met some great writers there. I have learned a lot from my fellow authors, I love the fact they are willing to tell me when I need to take something back to the drawing board. I use beta readers for critiquing; I pick volunteers from my social sites to do this. I think this is more honest since these are the people more apt to take a chance on reading my work. I take that feedback and work it over.
Jacque - I want to thank you again for letting me be a beta reader for this book.  It was a great pleasure to read and I hope you make lots of sales from it.

Jacque - Who's your target audience? What aspect of your writing do you feel targets that audience?
Sinara - I work in seven separate genres in my writing so I have a pretty wide audience. My target audience for My Novel Affair is anyone who has ever been in, or wants to be in love, from ages eighteen to six-feet under. I think the ultimate goal for anyone in life is to find and give love, those are the people I see reading this novel. Love is messy, hard, easy, scary, funny and irresistible.
I think the characters really help people dive into the story because all of us can find something in common with at least one of them.


You can find Sinara's books here: http://www.autumnrosenbooks.com/index.html


Thank you for joining me here today.