Today I will be interviewing a newly self-published author who I found through MySpace. April Bostic is the author of a romance novel called A Rose to the Fallen and I found out about April and her new book through a couple of MySpace Groups that we are both members of. I went to her official author website and found out about her and book, which really got my attention from the first couple of sentences she posted about it. On top of that I love the cover of the novel, which is very lovely to look at. I will also have the honor of being the first to review her book here on my blog. So today I will be posting my interview with April and it’s her first interview, but she did so great and I loved reading her answers to each questions. I will also be posting my review of her novel A Rose to the Fallen sometime this month so keep coming back to the blog to find out what I thought of her novel.

Phoebe Jordan: Which author inspired you to start writing?

April Bostic: An author never inspired me to write. I began writing because I wanted to challenge myself and see if I could do it. I also wanted to express the story ideas that were overflowing in my imagination. I still have many ideas that I have yet to write.

Phoebe: Did you experiment writing different types of writing genres?

April: As an adult, I’ve only written romance because that’s what I enjoy the most. I’m really not interested in writing a story in a different genre.

Phoebe: What was the first fiction you ever wrote? And do you still have it with you?

April: I wrote short stories when I was a kid, but I no longer have them. As an adult, my first fiction was a Lord of the Rings fanfiction. It’s actually on fanfiction.net.

Phoebe: How much research did you have to do for your novel and did it take you a long time to gather that research?

April: I did research on Brighton, England because there are some chapters that take place there. I also did research on British terms and phrases because I have British characters in the story and I wanted their dialogue to be authentic. I would say that it took a couple days total to gather the information I needed.

Phoebe: How did you come up with the concept for your latest novel and release A Rose for the Fallen?

April: The actor Toby Hemingway inspired me to write the story initially. But I decided to make the story about a young woman meeting a fallen angel because I wanted to write a modern-day story that could be believable. There are people out there who really believe in angels and I wanted to introduce the idea that perhaps they do exist, but they’re in disguise. I also wanted to introduce the idea that perhaps soul mates really exist as well. A Rose to the Fallen was my spin on the concept and how I believe the love can be between two people who are soul mates through sharing a single soul.

Phoebe: Do you have any plans for writing anymore novels like A Rose for the Fallen in the future?

April: No, I don’t plan on writing anymore novels in the future.

Phoebe: Do you have a process of how you start to write your novels?

April: I usually start by writing an outline so I know how I want the story to flow. Also, I only write on weekends or when I’m on vacation because that’s when I have free time. I don’t write when I know I have a time constraint because I find myself rushing. And I know if I rush, I’ll even more editing to do later.

Phoebe: What process did you have to go through to get your novel A Rose for the Fallen published and did it take you long?

April: I submitted my manuscript to Author House after I did research on self-publishing. Because I’m a perfectionist, I submitted many copies of my manuscript and I even had a second galley created. It took about 5 months for my book to go live.

Phoebe: How did you feel when you finally saw your first published book came out?

April: I was very excited because I accomplished one of my life’s goals. But what was even more special was how excited my family was. They really felt like it was a big deal; even more than I did. I think I can understand their feelings because I’m the first published author on both sides of my family.

Phoebe: Why did you decide to self-publish your novel instead of sending it to an agent or a publishing house?

April: Because I wanted guaranteed publishing. When you submit your manuscript to an agent or publishing house, there’s no guarantee that anyone will be interested. Sometimes it could be years before anyone decides to publish it. That is, if you don’t give up.

Phoebe: How do you handle your writing and your personal life without going insane?

April: I don’t write much these days so I’m not stressing out right now. But when I was writing, I only do it on the weekends. I don’t have much of a social life, so it worked out perfectly.

Phoebe: What do you do to relax after having spent a long while writing?

April: I usually stayed up and wrote until the sun came out, so I usually went to bed after I finished. It was amusing to me that I would start writing during the day, keep writing until it was dark, and finish when the sun was up again.

Phoebe: Do you have any hobbies?

April: I collect Barbie dolls and other dolls from the 80’s like Rainbow Brite, Strawberry Shortcake, and Cabbage Patch Kids. I also enjoy reading books. I just bought a Hugga Bunch doll from eBay and I’m trying to get my hands on a Jem doll.

Phoebe: Is there any advice that you would give to an aspiring writer that you wish someone had given you?

April: Try to sell your manuscript first to see if anyone would be interested in publishing your story. I never thought of doing that because a co-worker sold me on self-publishing and I immediately took that route after I did my own research. But I can imagine that publishing for FREE can’t be beat.

Phoebe: Is there any writing tips or research tips that you would give to an aspiring romance writer that you wish someone had given you?

April: I would say that if you’re passionate about a story you’re writing…finish it even if others don’t like it. I gave up on a vampire romance novel I was writing because of criticism. I let the criticism take precedence over the praise I was receiving and it caused me to give up on the story. My #1 writing tip to all aspiring authors writing in any genre is to never give up until your story is finished and you’re 100% satisfied.

Phoebe: Now for a question that I have been meaning to ask an author. Do you have a favorite genre you like to read? Who is your favorite author(s)?

April: My favorite genre is paranormal erotica romance. My favorite author is Charlaine Harris even though her books aren’t considered erotica. They’re paranormal romance so that’s still right up my alley.