Lisa Vandiver — WRITER

Lisa Vandiver

Interview with writer Lisa Vandiver —

1. Who are you and what do you do?
I am Lisa Vandiver. I am an Author. I have written 2 romance stories- “Where She Belongs Book One,” “Where She Belongs BookTwo,” and “Josie’s Thorn.” I have also written one Fantasy/Paranormal story, “Mystic Mist” which is the first book in the series, New Breed. I am in the process of putting together my book of poems, and am learning the process of screenwriting.

“Where She Belongs, Book 1”
COVER

2. Why writing?
I love storytelling, and writing is a natural path for me to take. I look at writing a fiction story much like putting together a puzzle. Sometimes I know how the whole picture will look as I place the first piece, but sometimes, even I do not know how it will turn out, and I just follow the character voices whispering to me as I write. It is fun creating characters and make believe places. I am comfortable and relaxed when I write, it just feels right for me to do it. It is a joy to hear that others are entertained by the imaginations of my mind.

3. What is your earliest memory of wanting to be an writer?
I remember writing a piece on Santa Claus for school and it was published in my hometown newspaper. Later on I began writing poems to express my feelings, though no one ever read them until I was well into adulthood. These are two of the best and earliest memories of my writings, and created the love I have had for the arts my entire life.

“Where She Belongs, Book 2”
COVER

4. What are your favorite subject(s) and style(s)?
My favorite subjects are Science Fiction, Medieval periods, Horror, vampires, fairies, and other mystical creatures for the mystical side of my imagination, and ranches and cowboys for the romantic side of me. For the mystery side, I enjoy writing about double agents, mafia entanglements, and normal people becoming the center of controversy. I write best in the third person style. However, as a reader, I enjoy reading first person view.

5. How do you work and approach your subject?
I work at the kitchen bar sometimes, or at my desk in my home office, but a lot of times, I might sit in my comfortable recliner and write. I approach the subject of my story in many ways. I come up with story ideas from everywhere; things I see or hear around me, from things I find interesting. Mostly, pictures help to motivate me to create. Usually I go to the Cover site where I purchase pictures for my book covers, and look through them until I find a picture that calls to me. As I stare at the picture, a story usually begins developing in my mind, with main character names popping inside my head almost immediately. Sometimes, the title will come to me first, and that is amazing to me when it occurs like that. I then research the subject thoroughly to make sure I have my history facts, location facts, cultural facts, natural facts, and other facts about real things in the story as real as possible for the reader. For example, in Mystic Mist, my lead character is involved in Fencing, so I immersed myself into researching the sport of Fencing until I felt comfortable with writing about it. After I have the beginnings of my story laid out in my mind, I will make notes about it in files and save it to my computer as well as several other locations. I like to write as the story comes without stopping, I simply allow the voices to speak to me, and I write. I often listen to music to motivate me as well. But, always, I keep access to research items I need close at hand for quick reference.  After I’m finished with the entire book, I will then go back and self-edit, and check for hole plots and the such. I do this several times and I’ll push the story to the side for awhile, sometime for months, before I visit it again. After I’m satisfied with the story, I then send it to an editor and to several Beta Readers for them to critique and edit.

“Josie’s Thorn”
COVER

6. What are your favorite written works, writers?
“Lord of the Rings,” by J.R.R. Tolkien, “The Thorn Birds,” by Colleen McCullough, are my two favorite books. I also enjoy Stephen King, but since I’m an Independent Author myself, I usually buy from my fellow Independent Authors, and I have several favorite Indie Authors such as Linda L. Barton, Taabia Dupree, Shaun Allan, Denise K. Rago, and Gary Hoover.

7. What are the best responses you have had to your work?
I’ve received emails from readers who have enjoyed my work, and that of course makes my day. The four and five stars that I receive at the On-line venues make me smile. I’ve often been told that my romance novels would make great television shows, or series. So that always makes me want to keep writing! My poem, “My LifeSong” was published in an e-Fiction magazine in September, 2011.

8. What do you like about your work?
I have always wanted to entertain people. I’m pretty good at storytelling, and it seems to come natural for me to create lovable characters in familiar and make-believe realities and environments that my readers enjoy and love . I love getting responses such as the reviews, or emails from readers who tell me about a favorite scene or character in one of my books. I’m loving the fact that readers will sometimes say “You need to write a book two,” or “I can’t wait to read from you again.” That is the one of the main reasons I write, for those who are my fans and who do want more from me. Without the readers, I’d just be writing to entertain myself. We authors need our readers for motivation and rewards. So, thank you readers for sticking with me and making me feel appreciated.

“Mystic Mist”
COVER

9. What advice would you give to other writers?
Write, whether it is five minutes a day, or five hours a day. Take plenty of writing exercises, there are plenty of them out there to stretch your mind and motivate the creative juices. Get to know your fellow authors by joining writing communities, give to them, not just take. RESEARCH before you decide to go the Independent or Traditional publishing route, decide which is best for you, and for sure, research a company before you sign anything with them or hand over money to them. There are lots of sharks out there that are just waiting to bite the uninformed author. Be wise, think before making big decisions, and check, double check, and then triple check, and have an editor check you before you publish.

10. Where do you see yourself in 5-10 years?
I have no idea, but I know where I’d like to be. I would like to have several published works with a large following of readers. I’d like to have several screenplays completed and an agent pushing for me in the industry. I would simply like to be making a living at doing what I love to do ~ Write.

Lisa Vandiver

LINKS —

Website:  http://www.deadlyreads.com/
Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/Authorlisavandiver?fref=ts
Twitter:  https://twitter.com/LisaVandiver1
Google+:  https://plus.google.com/u/0/+LisaVandiver/posts
Blog – Lisa’s Place:  http://www.lisavandiver.blogspot.com/
Blog – Imagination Alley:  https://lisaimaginationalley.wordpress.com/