As longtime viewers know, I used to occasionally do author interviews with friends and folks who interested me. It's been awhile. Not because I don't still have friends and folks who interest me, but, for a variety of reasons, I've become very...disengaged with social media.
I still use it to promote new releases, and I do the Advent Calendar as a thank you to readers, but beyond that, I just don't have the time or emotional bandwith. There's so just so much going on right now that isn't at all related to my writing life. I think you hit a certain age and that becomes inevitable.
Still.
The interviews were fun, and helpful to readers and authors alike, so I thought maybe I'd go back to throwing them into the mix now and again. And what do you know? We have someone celebrating a book birthday this very week!
WELCOME TO CHAPTER TWO
WITH S.C. WYNNE
JL – Tell us who you are and what you do. AND NO PEEKING ATTHE ANSWERS!
SCW - First
of all, thank you for having me on your blog, Josh! (And I only peeked a little!)
Now I’ll let the voices in my head introduce me third person: S.C. Wynne is a Lambda Award winning author and has been writing MM Romance and Gay mystery since 2013. She lives in California with her wonderful husband, two quirky kids, and a loony rescue pup named Ditto.
JL – The last time we spoke (online in blog format *cough*) you still owned the coffee house and writing was not yet your fulltime gig. That’s all changed now. Share a little bit about that journey.
SCW - Has it really been that long? Oh, God, the days of
running a coffeehouse. Don’t remind me. Talk about an exhausting endeavor.
These days I like to enjoy my coffee without the joy of jumping up and down to
serve customers. Originally, writing was just going to be a side gig. However, I
loved it so much, and it proved to be profitable for me, so I dove in with
abandon and, in 2017, became a full-time author. Before we sold the coffee
house and the writing was full-time, there was crossover. That was a tiring period
in my life. I was writing full-time and also running the coffeehouse. Many,
many books were produced during that time. I had amazing concentration skills
back in the day. Probably from the gallons of coffee I drank.
JL – Up until now you’ve mostly written contemporary mystery
and romance, with some paranormal thrown in, but now you’ve partnered up with
my friends at Blind Eye Books and completely new and exciting project. Tell us
about Beyond the Veil.
SCW - The partnership with Blind Eye Books came about when I
posted about one of my WIP on Facebook. Nicole Kimberling, the editor of BEB,
reached out because she happened to have a free slot in their publishing
schedule. Before that, the book I was working on was originally going to be my
basic MM mystery romance thing with paranormal elements. But Nicole needed a
book that was more fantasy based and so I tweaked the idea a bit. With Nicole’s
skillful guidance, I was able, I hope, to hit the marks needed to make the
story actual fantasy.
JL – I remember what an intense and instructive experience it was working with Nicole Kimberling, the editor at Blind Eye Books, on Strange Fortune. What was the best part of working with Nikki. What was the most challenging aspect of the project?
SCW - The edits were indeed intense. That’s a good word for it. But I’ve worked with many houses over my writing journey, so I felt ready for them. The best part was I learned a lot from Nicole, especially about the difference in writing fantasy romance from writing a regular mystery romance. In the mysteries, I hold a lot of info back and feed it out in little bread crumbs. But with fantasy, it seemed as if Nicole wanted answers to things quickly. Perhaps she’s just an impatient little minx? She didn’t like being kept in the dark, which is what I do with mysteries. So, she pushed me to reveal things more quickly than I would have naturally. As I recall she was also very impatient with me for promising spirits, but then not having enough spirits appearing soon enough or often enough. There were many editing comments like this: See, like this scene would be much better with ghosts sprinkled throughout, or How about the ghosts. What are they up to? You promised me lots of ghosts!SCW - The most challenging thing about working with a publisher again was going through a real content edit. Since I’ve only been self-publishing the last few years, I usually just get copy edits. I feel fairly confident in my story telling abilities, but not at all confident about commas. They’re such confusing little things. Having another opinion about where the actual story should go took a little getting used to. Relinquishing control when you’ve had total control for so long was probably the hardest part. But I respect Nicole, and I did my best to do as she requested. I only pushed back a little when her suggestions didn’t feel like something my characters would do. Other than that, I tried to be a very obedient little author. Right, Nicole? I was a joy to work with, right? RIGHT?
JL – What are you most excited about with this new book? What
do you hope readers take away from this literary adventure?
SCW - The most exciting thing about writing this book was it
forced me to stretch my creative wings. I think authors should do that from
time to time. I enjoyed the experience a lot. It was tough, but I look back on
the edits with a real feeling of accomplishment. I know the book is better for
them. I’d happily work with BEB again, if asked.
I’m not sure what I hope readers take away from this
little adventure of mine. Hopefully, while the book has fantasy elements, readers
will see that Beyond the Veil is still very much an S.C. Wynne book. What
happens to my characters is fantastical, but my characters themselves will
still always be true to my writing style.
JL – Are we going to see more spec fiction titles from you?
SCW - Perhaps. I do love writing all kinds of different
stories. I have a backlog of mysteries I’ve promised readers. But once those
are published, there might be more spec fiction in my future. I’ll have Lorenzo
look into his crystal ball and tell me what’s next!
JL – How would you say the writing biz has changed since your
last visit to the blog?
SCW - For one thing, it’s way more crowded. There used to be
like three books published a day in our genre, now there are sometimes thirty? Also,
I believe Kindle Unlimited came about the year after I began writing. That
definitely changed everything. Many readers now simply borrow books rather than
buy them.
It also seems like the craft of writing isn’t anything
anyone talks about anymore. Everyone is very fixated on promotion. There are a
lot of people making money selling authors courses on how to promote their
books, but less people talking about the writing itself. I remember when people
devoured and discussed books. I don’t see that happening much anymore. Everyone
is reading so quickly because there are SO MANY BOOKS.
JL – While it’s hard to get specific data, there’s
significant anecdotal evidence suggesting most authors, particularly
self-published authors, give up within the first 2 -5 years of launching their
writing career. So, you’ve already lasted longer than the majority of authors
last in this crazy business. What’s the secret to your success? Do you have any
advice for someone starting out today?
SCW - I can’t imagine ever giving up. I’ve been writing for
eleven years now, and I still absolutely love it. I don’t know that I have a secret
to success. The experts say authors should pick one genre and beat that to
death. Maybe I’d be more of a household name if I’d been able to do that and
only written one thing for eleven years. I tend to jump around a lot because I
love writing so many different things. While I’m not a person who is bored
easily, I do have a lot of things that interest me and so I try them. I don’t
really regret that though because it’s made my writing journey more interesting
for me. I think if you’re bored writing something, and I would be if I only
wrote one thing, the readers can tell.
JL - What’s next for S.C. Wynne?
SCW - I have a standalone mystery idea I’m really excited about. It has to do with a lover presumed lost at sea, who isn’t actually lost. That’s all I’ll say for now. No, shhh. Don’t ask for details. I shan’t tell. That book idea has been percolating in my brain for a year now. I can’t wait to start that one. There’s also a Dr. Thornton book coming in the next few months. How I’ve missed Max and Royce. Also, I have another book planned for my Kip O’Connor cozy mystery series too. Rest assured there are many story ideas ping-ponging around in my brain. I’m excited for 2024. :)
BEYOND THE VEIL IS AVAILABLE NOW!
Being a psychic in the small seaside town of Fox Harbor is challenging enough, but winter months are brutal. Not that using his clairvoyant abilities to hunt down lost pets isn’t thrilling, but Lorenzo wouldn’t mind a tiny bit more excitement in his life.
Be careful what you wish for?
Things get more stimulating when the charismatic Dr. Ian Thatcher takes a romantic interest in him. Unfortunately, their promising evening takes a ghastly turn when an old man dies on Lorenzo’s doorstep, after warning Lorenzo his life is in danger.
Before Lorenzo can say “Give me my old boring life back, please” his home is ransacked, a fiery being tries to burn him to death, and he’s informed he’s the only hope to save the world.
