BIO:
Shani Haim has been a romantic at heart for as long as she can remember.
One of her greatest passions has always been reading, and she devoured anything that swept her away to faraway places.
From reading she made the transition to writing, falling in love with her flawed, broken and full of soul characters one happily-ever-after at a time.
When she’s not swooning over book boyfriends, she’s practicing yoga, drinking unhealthy amount of coffee, or watching Netflix with her husband in their Tel Aviv home.
When and how did you know you wanted to be a writer?
I’ve been writing since I was very young and then life happened, so I stopped and was only reading. Recently, when I felt like I had all these stories boiling inside of me did I decide to go back to writing.
Did you have any influencing writers growing up?
I’ve been reading Stephen King for more than 15 years. Anything he’d put out, I’d read in a heartbeat.
Are any of your
characters based on people in real life?
All of them are some of me, some of the imagination.
Where do you draw your book inspirations from?
Real life and my imagination, I love tossing them all into a mix and see what comes out.
Do you use have a basic outline when starting a new story or do you let the characters lead the way?
Both, they talk to me and I let them divert me from the outline if they ask for it.
When you are picturing the characters in your book, do you have a cheater photo for inspiration?
Yes, always! I have a Pinterest board for every book, all of them are hidden except for The Heart of a Painter, but I’ll reveal them one book at a time:
Many people read as a
form of escape and relaxation. What is your favorite way to sit back
and relax?
Make myself a huge mug of coffee, have chocolate nearby and read.
Who are your favorite
current authors to read?
I have so many! I love CD Reiss, Sylvia Day, Lex Martin, Penny Reid, Monica James, Karina Halle, LH Cosway, SJ Tilly, AL Hartwell, and MJ Marino.
What are your
favorite books by others?
My two favorite series ever are Jonathan and Monica by CD Reiss and The Crossfire series by Sylvia Day.
Do the locations in
the stories have any meaning to you?
Not really, I wanted to give them an urban environment so I placed them in cities.
Do you write in
single or multiple POV?
Multiple.
What do you find to
be your best research tool?
Google is a huge help, but it can only take you so far, so I ask my friends a lot of questions to try and be informed.
What genre do you
write and why is this your preference?
I love romance. Romance makes me happy and it pulled me out of so many dark days, that I can’t imagine writing anything else.
Tell me something
about yourself outside of writing. Jobs, accomplishments, family, quirky
trait...what led to you being you?
I practice yoga and meditation daily for years. Just like reading romance, I feel like it’s my safe place and it helps me unwind and not overthink things.
Besides that I’m an orchid and candle lady, and I can’t get through the day without at least 7-8 cups of coffee.
What advice would you give to an aspiring writer?
I’m still very much at the beginning, so my best advice would be just write! Our mistakes are such a powerful learning tool for everything in life, so just write whatever and it’ll come.
How do you deal and process negative book reviews?
Honestly, I try not to read them. I think books, like food, like music, like movies, is a matter of taste and I respect everyone’s opinions, but I’m having a hard time going through them so I’d rather not at the moment.
What is the most difficult part of your writing process?
The endings, because I fall in love with my characters and have a hard time letting go of them.
What do you need in your writer’s space to keep you
focused?
Silence. Lots and lots of silence.
What is your naughty indulgence as you are writing?
I eat a ton of chocolate. I keep promising myself I’d eat healthier, but what’s the fun in that?!
If you could spend a day with another popular author,
whom would you choose? And why?
I could never choose. I love everyone I read and I talked to some, and they’re all such wonderful people. I guess with everyone!
What is your schedule like when you are writing? Do you have a favorite writing snack or
drink?
I try to write whenever I have free time, I love everything about it. And I drink coffee and snack on chocolate bars, all day long.
Do you listen to music when you write – what kind of
music is your favorite?
I usually don’t.
Some scenes though, it’s like I have to listen to their song to get in the characters frame of mind.
I have a Spotify page with playlist for every book that you can find here: https://spoti.fi/3GY1Nhn
Have pets ever gotten in the way of your writing?
No, we have no pets unfortunately.
What is your kryptonite as a writer? What totally puts you off your game?
I have trouble concentrating when there’s noise around me, so I use my noise cancelling headphones to stay focused.
Have you ever killed off a character that your readers
loved?
No, no one died in my books (so far).
How do you celebrate after typing THE END?
I cry, truly, it feels like a part of me is left on the pages and I already miss my characters.
I hope you enjoyed this interview as much as I have!
Make sure to give Shani a shout-out and FOLLOW her on all her social media!
Check out my reviews of the following Shani Haim books!
THE HEART OF A PAINTER
THE STORY BEHIND THE STORY - The Heart of a Painter
Connect w/ Shani:
Email:
authorshanihaim@gmail.com
Website:
authorshanihaim.com
Facebook: https://bit.ly/3HMx4pe
Amazon: https://amzn.to/3HWVDj0
GoodReads: https://bit.ly/3HKdoCw
Instagram: https://bit.ly/3D9nR7b
Twitter: https://bit.ly/34VFnjI
Pinterest: https://amzn.to/3HWVDj0
Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3GY1Nhn
Newsletter Sign-Up: https://bit.ly/3LAfHKn
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