Here are some of the questions I have gotten the most often. If you don’t see a question, contact me! I love hearing from my readers and read all of your messages.
What advice do you give to new writers?
Read a lot, all kinds of genres. I get so much inspiration everytime I read something from a talented writer.
What do you do to help yourself get writing?
I find a space with no interruptions so I can go full into the story. And, since, I have kids, this usually means they’re not at home or fast asleep. I’ve gotten a lot of my best ideas at 4 am when I happen to wake up. I don’t recommend that though, sleep is kinda necessary. I also make a soundtrack for my book that follows the book – it really helps me get into the part of the book I’m working on.
How did you learn to draw?
Draw real life things, not photos, as much as possible! Translating something 3D into 2D really helps your mind understand it. If you want to draw people well, focus the most on face and hands – if you get those wrong it really stands out. People focus on faces and hands a lot! Understanding the muscles and bones of people and animals helps a ton too.
Are you going to created another graphic novel?
It would be hard to hold myself back! I’ll probably create a graphic novelization of one of my novels in the future.
Where do you write your books?
In bed and in my bedroom – it’s the only room where I don’t get interrupted. Momming can be very interrupty.
What sources do you use for your books?
I adore research and love getting things as accurate as possible.
My favorite sources are:
- YouTube tours of a location – though going there in person which is so much better if you can pull that.
- For health and science facts: Harvard, Stanford, Mayo Clinic, AP, New York Times, NPR, BBC. I do not put much weight on random websites that don’t necessarily have a reputation to uphold. I love reading to see who influences the source to see where their biases are!
- For stories at specific colleges, I use the school for resources. In the case of RISD, I attended, so a lot of it is from personal experience. I did enjoy watching RISD YouTubers to see how the school is similar and different now compared to when I attended.