Reading by Deb: INTERVIEW with S NELSON

I want to thank S Nelson for taking the time for this interview!

BIO:

S. Nelson grew up with a love of reading and a very active imagination, never putting pen to paper, or fingers to keyboard until 2013.

Her passion to create was overwhelming, and within a few months she’d written her first novel. When she isn’t engrossed in creating one of the many stories rattling around inside her head, she loves to read and travel as much as she can.

She lives in the Northeast with her husband and two dogs, enjoying the ever-changing seasons.

When and how did you know you wanted to be a writer?

One day I was reading a book that wasn’t holding my attention I thought, “I’m going to write a story I want to read.” The thought was completely random. And I stopped and looked around, as if I was going to find the source of the statement because I didn’t understand where it came from. Before that moment, I never thought about writing a book. But once I decided to follow through, there was no stopping me. 😊

I have a cool story that relates to this question. For as long as I could remember, going back to childhood even, I’ve had this reoccurring dream where I’m looking at a book with blank pages and as I’m scanning those pages, words start to fill in. The dream NEVER made any sense to me, even though I kept having it. Then once I started writing, it finally hit me what the dream meant. I truly believe my subconscious was trying to tell me something, and thankfully I finally listened. I haven’t had that dream since.

Did you have any influencing writers growing up?

My favorite author when I was younger was V.C. Andrews. I couldn’t read her books fast enough.

Are any of your characters based on people in real life?

As of yet, no, none of my characters are based on people in real life.

Where do you draw your book inspirations from?

I draw inspiration from everywhere. Movies, other books, music, random conversations with people. Anything that sticks out can become an idea for a book.

For instance, one morning, I woke up with a repeating thought of “I’m not a nice man.” I said out loud, “Who’s not a nice man?” And from that single sentence came my second book, Redemption.

So, it can be something as simple as that.

Do you use have a basic outline when starting a new story or do you let the characters lead the way?

I don’t outline any of my stories before I start.

I do jot down some questions and have somewhat of an idea for the story, but I allow the plot and characters to develop as I write.

There have been a few times when I thought the story was going to go one way and the characters had a different idea.

When you are picturing the characters in your book, do you have a cheater photo for inspiration?

Maybe once. I did, however, come across an image while searching for a book cover of a man and as soon as I saw him, he fit one of my characters perfectly.

A character from my Knights Corruption MC Series I never intended to give his own book to, even though readers wanted one.

It was only after looking at his image did I decide to write his story, which in turn led to a spinoff series of my MC. That book was my newest release, Tag.

Many people read as a form of escape and relaxation. What is your favorite way to sit back and relax?

I do love to read, so that would apply to me as well. I also love to watch movies and TV.

Who are your favorite current authors to read?

There are so many but if I had to just name a few off the top of my head I would say Jodi Ellen Malpas, K. Bromberg, Pepper Winters, Sylvia Day, Alessandra Torre.

What are your favorite books by others?

Again, there are many but one of my favorites is the This Man series from Jodi Ellen Malpas.

I also love the Indebted Series from Pepper Winters.

Do the locations in the stories have any meaning to you?

Not yet, no.

Do you write in single or multiple POV?

Only my first book, Stolen Fate, was written in single POV. Every other book was dual POV.

What do you find to be your best research tool?

My imagination. Oh… and Google. 😊

Do you write under a pen name? Also, do you write under more than one name?

My pen name is S. Nelson, and so far, that is my only one.

What genre do you write and why is this your preference?

For now, I write under Romantic Suspense and Contemporary Romance. I love my romance, but I also love twists and turns, and love to dive into all the nitty gritty details for the characters’ journey.

Real life isn’t all sunshine and roses, and neither are my stories. Sometimes I really put my characters through it.

Tell me something about yourself outside of writing. Jobs, accomplishments, family, quirky trait...what led to you being you?

I come from a large family, five sisters and two brothers. Being from a family of eight forces you to adapt to a variety of personalities, all of them good. Haha.

What advice would you give to an aspiring writer?

Write the story you want to read. And enjoy the process at every step because it can be quite tedious, and technical.

You’ll have to read that same story at least ten times, from the first draft to self-edits to professional editing (which I would strongly suggest doing) to final edits, etc.

How do you deal and process negative book reviews?

I don’t pay attention to negative reviews because I know that not everyone is going to like my stories. It’s just a fact. Every single author, even the super famous ones, have negative reviews.

I do remember once coming across a negative review for one of my books and part of their opinion was, “He’s not a nice guy” and I laughed to myself because I never said that character was.

Thankfully, he had some redeeming qualities. At least, I think he did. LOL

What is the most difficult part of your writing process?

Trying to write in a way that grabs the reader's attention right from the first line and keeping it all the way through the story.

What do you need in your writer’s space to keep you focused?

I need my office to be organized. If there are too many notes scattered on my desk, it distracts me.

What is your naughty indulgence as you are writing?

Lately it’s been chocolate and iced coffee, not necessarily together.

If you could spend a day with another popular author, whom would you choose? And why?

Hmm…I’m going to go with Jodi Ellen Malpas because I want to pick her brain about all things Jesse Ward, her character from This Man.

What is your schedule like when you are writing? Do you have a favorite writing snack or drink?

After eight years I’m still trying to figure out a consistent schedule.

As of right now, I just write whenever the characters are talking to me, which gets rather annoying when I snuggle under the covers to go to bed.

As for a favorite snack, I’d say grapes and for a drink, it’s either coffee or iced tea.

Do you listen to music when you write – what kind of music is your favorite?

Sometimes I do and sometimes I write in silence.

When I do listen to music, it’s mostly calming music like instrumental piano or Celtic music. Which was kind of odd when I was writing my motorcycle series, but I believe that kind of music soothes me and allows my imagination to come out in full force.

Have pets ever gotten in the way of your writing?

Only when I had to make sure they were fed. Haha.

What is your kryptonite as a writer? What totally puts you off your game?

If I’m stressed about something, I can’t focus on my story. But thankfully, that doesn’t happen often at all.

Have you ever killed off a character that your readers loved?

Not yet but I can’t say I won’t ever do that.

How do you celebrate after typing THE END?

I take a breath and smile, and then wonder where the hell I came up with enough to write an entire story.

I’ve released 21 books so far, and I’m still amazed I wrote them. LOL. I think that’s because when I’m in the thick of it, I kind of zone out sometimes and just write. Sometimes, I even close my eyes when I’m typing because I’m allowing the scene to play out in my head.

I hope you enjoyed this interview!

Check out all my interviews/reviews for S Nelson!

https://readingbydeb.blogspot.com/2022/10/author-at-glance-s-nelson.html

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Connect with S Nelson:

Email:

snelsonauthor8@gmail.com

Website:

https://snelsonauthor.com/

Amazon:

https://www.amazon.com/S.-Nelson/e/B00T6RIQIQ

Goodreads: