INTERVIEWS
http://laviniaurban.blogspot.ca/2013/03/interview-with-cindy-sprigg.html
Thursday, 28 March 2013Interview with Cindy Sprigg
Today I am joined by the lovely Cindy Sprigg.
So let's get down to business and get stuck into the interview
Interview questions
Hi Cindy, thank you for accepting to be interviewed. As my blog says ‘ Complete randomness from a crazy author’ so expect the unexpected J
How long have you wanted to be a writer?
I never consciously wanted to be a writer, but when I started, I found that it was a way to exorcize the people who had been stomping around my head forever, and shut them up. Unfortunately, the door swings two ways, and for every one leaving, another shows up.
Yes I know that feeling exactly. To me I feel like I have opened the door and misplaced the key and all sorts of characters show up in my head and I want to scream and tell them to take a ticket and form an orderly queue :p
Have you come up against any hurdles along the way?
Sure, everyone does; primarily, I left school in Grade 10 to get married, which didn’t last too long. I realize now that I did so just to get out of the house. To put it mildly I did not have a supportive family, so at 17 I was functionally illiterate. Over the next 20 years I found a permanent relationship, expanded my education, married and had a son. My son bet me that I could not write a story, and my first efforts were directed to winning that bet. Once opened, that door could not be closed. Currently my ongoing bugbear is the query letter.
Your life sounds like a story in itself. But I know where you are coming from. I class myself as an orphan ;)
What would you say is the most difficult thing about being a writer is?
It’s a balancing act between finding time to write, and staying sane if I don’t. The ideas still keep coming, and if I don’t have time to write, I have to keep notes.
That is why we should have a PA sitting inside our head taking notes lol.
What or who inspires you to write?
Originally my son, more recently, the people stomping around and yelling in my head.
If your books are a series, how many books do you plan to have in your series?
There are a few stories that I know will continue in other volumes, but since I do not consciously plan the plots or characters in my stories, I really have no idea until I am finished one. “Composed in Blood” for instance, was written at white heat, and took all my time for weeks on end: I had no idea where it was going, or how the characters would develop until I was writing. I know there will be a sequel, but I only have a faint notion of what it will be.
Do you have any other writing projects on the go, apart from your current series?
Many. I always have several stories in process, some of which may be short stories, others may develop into novellas or novels. I have also planned some children’s books, but right now I cannot develop the artwork for the illustrations, due to my recent stroke. The first book of the series, “The Dandelion Child” is complete.
I am sorry to hear you had a stroke. How about you asking someone else to do your artwork for it?
If you could be any of your characters who would it be and why?
Given that most of my characters are either Monsters or Meat, the options do tend to lack appeal. I can say that the character of Susan in “Has Anyone seen Susan” is largely based on my persona.
What genre would you say your books are in?
Primarily, so far, Horror and Dark Fantasy, though I am working on a literary love story, set in medieval times, plus of course the kid’s books mentioned before.
Do you have any favourite authors?
Mervyn Peake, HP Lovecraft, Ray Bradbury, and amongst the modern masters, Peter Straub, Clive Barker, Stephen King, Neil Gaiman and James Herbert.
As a Brit we have one burning question going around our country…………… Do you scrunch or fold? ;) (toilet paper)
What makes you think I use mere toilet tissue.
LOL
What do you like to do besides writing?
Browse thrift and antique stores.
What is your favourite cheese?
Havarti
Sweet or savoury?
Savoury (I’m Diabetic)
Oh I would hate to be a diabetic. Women in my family become diabetic as they get older. But if someone is diabetic from childhood I suppose they wouldn’t miss chocolate.
Would you rather be attacked by one horse sized duck or 20 duck sized horses?
The Horse sized Duck. Ducks are edible, and I could eat off that for a while.
If you had one wish that I could wave a magic wand and grant you, what would it be and why?
To become popular as a writer; then I could spend more time writing and less time promoting.
I hear ya. One of the reason why I chose to do these type of blogs to help fellow authors out in promotion. I personally suck at it lol.
Thank you for taking the time to answer my questions.
Thursday, 28 March 2013Interview with Cindy Sprigg
Today I am joined by the lovely Cindy Sprigg.
So let's get down to business and get stuck into the interview
Interview questions
Hi Cindy, thank you for accepting to be interviewed. As my blog says ‘ Complete randomness from a crazy author’ so expect the unexpected J
How long have you wanted to be a writer?
I never consciously wanted to be a writer, but when I started, I found that it was a way to exorcize the people who had been stomping around my head forever, and shut them up. Unfortunately, the door swings two ways, and for every one leaving, another shows up.
Yes I know that feeling exactly. To me I feel like I have opened the door and misplaced the key and all sorts of characters show up in my head and I want to scream and tell them to take a ticket and form an orderly queue :p
Have you come up against any hurdles along the way?
Sure, everyone does; primarily, I left school in Grade 10 to get married, which didn’t last too long. I realize now that I did so just to get out of the house. To put it mildly I did not have a supportive family, so at 17 I was functionally illiterate. Over the next 20 years I found a permanent relationship, expanded my education, married and had a son. My son bet me that I could not write a story, and my first efforts were directed to winning that bet. Once opened, that door could not be closed. Currently my ongoing bugbear is the query letter.
Your life sounds like a story in itself. But I know where you are coming from. I class myself as an orphan ;)
What would you say is the most difficult thing about being a writer is?
It’s a balancing act between finding time to write, and staying sane if I don’t. The ideas still keep coming, and if I don’t have time to write, I have to keep notes.
That is why we should have a PA sitting inside our head taking notes lol.
What or who inspires you to write?
Originally my son, more recently, the people stomping around and yelling in my head.
If your books are a series, how many books do you plan to have in your series?
There are a few stories that I know will continue in other volumes, but since I do not consciously plan the plots or characters in my stories, I really have no idea until I am finished one. “Composed in Blood” for instance, was written at white heat, and took all my time for weeks on end: I had no idea where it was going, or how the characters would develop until I was writing. I know there will be a sequel, but I only have a faint notion of what it will be.
Do you have any other writing projects on the go, apart from your current series?
Many. I always have several stories in process, some of which may be short stories, others may develop into novellas or novels. I have also planned some children’s books, but right now I cannot develop the artwork for the illustrations, due to my recent stroke. The first book of the series, “The Dandelion Child” is complete.
I am sorry to hear you had a stroke. How about you asking someone else to do your artwork for it?
If you could be any of your characters who would it be and why?
Given that most of my characters are either Monsters or Meat, the options do tend to lack appeal. I can say that the character of Susan in “Has Anyone seen Susan” is largely based on my persona.
What genre would you say your books are in?
Primarily, so far, Horror and Dark Fantasy, though I am working on a literary love story, set in medieval times, plus of course the kid’s books mentioned before.
Do you have any favourite authors?
Mervyn Peake, HP Lovecraft, Ray Bradbury, and amongst the modern masters, Peter Straub, Clive Barker, Stephen King, Neil Gaiman and James Herbert.
As a Brit we have one burning question going around our country…………… Do you scrunch or fold? ;) (toilet paper)
What makes you think I use mere toilet tissue.
LOL
What do you like to do besides writing?
Browse thrift and antique stores.
What is your favourite cheese?
Havarti
Sweet or savoury?
Savoury (I’m Diabetic)
Oh I would hate to be a diabetic. Women in my family become diabetic as they get older. But if someone is diabetic from childhood I suppose they wouldn’t miss chocolate.
Would you rather be attacked by one horse sized duck or 20 duck sized horses?
The Horse sized Duck. Ducks are edible, and I could eat off that for a while.
If you had one wish that I could wave a magic wand and grant you, what would it be and why?
To become popular as a writer; then I could spend more time writing and less time promoting.
I hear ya. One of the reason why I chose to do these type of blogs to help fellow authors out in promotion. I personally suck at it lol.
Thank you for taking the time to answer my questions.
http://www.leesafreeman.com/on-a-dare/
Home » Guest Post » On a Dare – Guest post by Cindy Sprigg
- Posted on July 2, 2013 by Leesa in Guest Post.
I started writing on a bet with my son.
Since he was a young boy, instead of playing outside, as most children would be doing, would instead be seen curled up in some comfortable place, pen and paper in hand, writing stories. This is still very much the case today,except he is now a young man and the pen and paper have been replaced by a laptop. Anyway, I digress, when I told him that I was bored and was going to start to write, he protested. “You will never get past a few pages”, he said.
This challenge had to be met. I produced a child’s story first, “Dandelion child”, the story was written that same night, but the 54 full page illustrations have just been finished and is now being shopped around. My son’s reaction to this was that it didn’t really count, too short.
In a few days the idea for “Galaxy Zoo” came to my mind. This story was a Sci-Fi and was a couple of months in the making.
My son said, “So you did it, now you have your first story to stow away in a drawer somewhere to gather dust.”
I took this as another challenge. I would have it published. Some big publisher would pick it up right away, give me a massive some of money, and a movie would be produced (more money) and with the merchandising percentages and the 5 other books in the series, we would be set for life! I was so new at this….I met the wolfs of the writers world very quickly. With all the resources literary at your fingertips with the invention of the internet, I should have checked them out.
This wolf pack had a name “Publish America”. It was too late, I had never heard of a vanity press and they came in the guise of a traditional publisher. They went for the throat, promising that my book would be big, placement all over the internet and on the shelves of the big brick and mortar stores. After signing over all rights for 7 years “Galaxy Zoo” was lost to me. Everyone had a big laugh, except me. I would give up writing.
But it seemed once the door had been opened, the stories just kept coming, the characters stomped around in my head and would not leave me alone until I let released them to print. I then turned my hand to horror and this seems to be what I am most comfortable at. Short story ideas seem to come easy, and I keep a computer file of every idea that comes to me. Just a quick note, a line, a title, a concept, anything that I may use later. Every time I leave the house, I carry a pocket tape recorder with me, I know that my memory is bad and the idea will be lost by the time I get home.
My horror novel “Composed in blood”, was strange experience for me. I seemed to have no control over it’s birth. Like a child, it took nine months to write. The book seamed to take possession of me and I have never had that happen to me, before or since. I would write for hours on end, ignoring everything and everyone else. I wouldn’t cook meals for my family, or go out or even do my normal household tasks, my house plants and fish perished around me. I sat among dried up foliage and aquarium with only inches of water. I became a different person.
My family didn’t like who I had become, and neither did I. As in the book the story itself became an entity that the author had to feed. It was the first time I had ever written anything with no idea of either plot or characters. When it was finally finished things started to return to normal and I spent the next year trying to shop it around. I knew I had something here and was going to do a complete internet search on every agent and publisher I could find before I queried them. A writer I may be, but a sales person I am not. I can create story upon story, but the art of query letters elude me.I spent a year of putting out at least a letter a day…with either no reply or a form letter no thank-you. I wasted a year of my life doing this, then I decided I would self publish. I have yet to publish in print, ebooks were easy. I have gotten great reviews from all that have read my work, the problem has been getting people to notice it. I guess maybe, like many authors and artists, they become popular once they die. I am currently working on several projects: ” “Upon the Fins of a Unicorn” a med evil romance, “The Boogie Man” based on a true story about a young, heterosexual man and his fight with AIDS, as well as many short stories.
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http://kriswampler.wordpress.com/2012/03/07/cindy-sprigg/#comments
Cindy SpriggMARCH 7, 2012 2 COMMENTS
Cindy Sprigg writes in the horror and science fiction genres and chose self-publishing because of the free time it afforded her. Read how it’s worked for her so far.
1. Pretend for a moment I’m a reader looking for my next book. Pitch me one of your books in five to ten sentences.
I would recommend reading my novel “Composed in Blood”. It is a horror/dark fantasy story that includes suspense, murder, mayhem and romance. There are several intertwining plot lines that twist and turn until the final climax, which catches most readers by surprise. Reader reviews have been very positive. If you like a story with plenty of action and graphic violence this one is for you.
2. What motivated you to become an indie writer?
I got fatigued spending more time sending out query letters than I spent writing.
3. Have you been traditionally published? Why or why not?
I have no idea, really. Agents seem to have specific types of stories they can sell, and if you don’t fit that profile, it seems you go direct to the slushpile.
4. How have you liked self-publishing so far?
It’s a fair amount of work, but you can see the results of your labor. I think most people would prefer to be traditionally published and concentrate on writing, but this is an acceptable alternative that allows people to read my stories.
5. Tell me about the marketing techniques you’ve used to sell your books. Which ones have been the most successful?
I have concentrated on e-publishing so far: there are facilities for allowing free distribution of my work, and that has helped get it out to an audience. In addition, I will try anything that will encourage readers to enjoy my stories.
6. Are there any marketing techniques you intentionally avoided or discontinued, and if so, why?
I had a bad experience with PublishAmerica a few years ago, and I will not repeat that. Other than that, I try a method, and if it doesn’t work out I stop. I need to write, and I don’t need useless paperwork.
7. What’s the most important thing you’ve learned about self-publishing that you didn’t know when you started out?
When I started I knew nothing; so everything, especially the law of copyrights.
8. If you could do one thing differently in publishing your books, what would it be?
Perhaps start earlier in life and investigate the people I was dealing with thoroughly; this would save a lot of time that I could have spent writing.
9. Independent authors face the obvious challenge of marketing their books without the resources of traditional publishers. What advice do you have for an indie author just starting out?
Don’t be overawed by the plethora of options available: take each option and investigate it. You have to convince readers that the benefit of reading your stories exceeds the opportunity cost of the purchase. This means you need to establish your name, your brand if you will. To that end use every tool at your disposal.
10. What projects are you currently working on?
A bio of a straight man with AIDS, a Gothic romance story, a Children’s picture book, and several short stories.
11. If you could market your brand – not just one particular book, but your overall brand of writing – in one sentence, what would it be?
I would hope it would be stories that capture the imagination of the intended reader.
12. How can readers learn more about your books?
Search my website: links to all my published works are there, currently in e-book format, as well as hints about works in progress: cindyspriggsfanpages.weebly.com.
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FILED UNDER INTERVIEW TAGGED WITH CINDY SPRIGG, INDIE, INDIE AUTHOR, INDIE WRITING, INTERVIEW, MARKETING,SELF-PUBLISHING
2 Responses to Cindy Sprigg
http://kriswampler.wordpress.com/2012/03/07/cindy-sprigg/#comments
Cindy SpriggMARCH 7, 2012 2 COMMENTS
Cindy Sprigg writes in the horror and science fiction genres and chose self-publishing because of the free time it afforded her. Read how it’s worked for her so far.
1. Pretend for a moment I’m a reader looking for my next book. Pitch me one of your books in five to ten sentences.
I would recommend reading my novel “Composed in Blood”. It is a horror/dark fantasy story that includes suspense, murder, mayhem and romance. There are several intertwining plot lines that twist and turn until the final climax, which catches most readers by surprise. Reader reviews have been very positive. If you like a story with plenty of action and graphic violence this one is for you.
2. What motivated you to become an indie writer?
I got fatigued spending more time sending out query letters than I spent writing.
3. Have you been traditionally published? Why or why not?
I have no idea, really. Agents seem to have specific types of stories they can sell, and if you don’t fit that profile, it seems you go direct to the slushpile.
4. How have you liked self-publishing so far?
It’s a fair amount of work, but you can see the results of your labor. I think most people would prefer to be traditionally published and concentrate on writing, but this is an acceptable alternative that allows people to read my stories.
5. Tell me about the marketing techniques you’ve used to sell your books. Which ones have been the most successful?
I have concentrated on e-publishing so far: there are facilities for allowing free distribution of my work, and that has helped get it out to an audience. In addition, I will try anything that will encourage readers to enjoy my stories.
6. Are there any marketing techniques you intentionally avoided or discontinued, and if so, why?
I had a bad experience with PublishAmerica a few years ago, and I will not repeat that. Other than that, I try a method, and if it doesn’t work out I stop. I need to write, and I don’t need useless paperwork.
7. What’s the most important thing you’ve learned about self-publishing that you didn’t know when you started out?
When I started I knew nothing; so everything, especially the law of copyrights.
8. If you could do one thing differently in publishing your books, what would it be?
Perhaps start earlier in life and investigate the people I was dealing with thoroughly; this would save a lot of time that I could have spent writing.
9. Independent authors face the obvious challenge of marketing their books without the resources of traditional publishers. What advice do you have for an indie author just starting out?
Don’t be overawed by the plethora of options available: take each option and investigate it. You have to convince readers that the benefit of reading your stories exceeds the opportunity cost of the purchase. This means you need to establish your name, your brand if you will. To that end use every tool at your disposal.
10. What projects are you currently working on?
A bio of a straight man with AIDS, a Gothic romance story, a Children’s picture book, and several short stories.
11. If you could market your brand – not just one particular book, but your overall brand of writing – in one sentence, what would it be?
I would hope it would be stories that capture the imagination of the intended reader.
12. How can readers learn more about your books?
Search my website: links to all my published works are there, currently in e-book format, as well as hints about works in progress: cindyspriggsfanpages.weebly.com.
Share this:
Like this:
FILED UNDER INTERVIEW TAGGED WITH CINDY SPRIGG, INDIE, INDIE AUTHOR, INDIE WRITING, INTERVIEW, MARKETING,SELF-PUBLISHING
2 Responses to Cindy Sprigg
- Tammy Vreeland says:
March 7, 2012 at 8:10 am
I’ve read several of Cindy Sprigg’s book and have enjoyed them immensely. She has the capability of catching your interest right from the beginning and from then on she has you! This was a very honest interview which I think helps people understand what goes on with the mechanics of writing. Congratulations to you both, excellent interview
http://www.chathamdailynews.ca/2008/10/04/a-good-bet-for-local-author
ENTERTAINMENT
'A good bet' for local author
By Ellwood Shreve, Chatham Daily News
Saturday, October 4, 2008 9:00:00 EDT AM
What started out as dare has grown into a budding writing career for a Chatham woman.
Cindy Sprigg began writing a book on April 24 -- her birthday -- after her 15-year-old son Damien bet she couldn't do it.
"(Damien) said you'll never get past chapter three," Sprigg said.
Before she knew it, Sprigg had finished her science fiction fantasy book, titled Galaxy Zoo: Dragons and Unicorns and Aliens, Oh My!
Sprigg said she started writing the story just to show her son she could do it "then it started taking over my life."
By June, she had signed a book deal with online publishing company PublishAmerica. Sprigg said her book is slated to be released for widespread distribution on Nov. 15.
"It's gone so quickly," she said.
In fact, Sprigg didn't believe
it when PublishAmerica called to say they wanted to publish her book, noting she hung up on them, because she thought someone was playing a joke on her.
Becoming an author is something she never imagined would happen many years ago when she dropped out of high school in Grade 10, barely able to read and write.
By 17 she was already pregnant and divorced.
However, she discovered the joy of literature when she met Richard, who she has been married to for the past 28 years.
Noting her husband used to read to her, she said, "he taught me to read and write."
Richard Sprigg, who went to private school in England, is an obvious aficionado of literature.
He deflected credit for teaching his wife to read, by stating: "It's really a dream to teach someone to read if they want to learn."
Sprigg is currently working on a sequel for Galaxy Zoo, which tells the story of Jeff Williams, the clone of a slave working on a starship, as he seeks freedom.
She said Galaxy Zoo and sequels will explore the origins of human myths, adding she has ideas for up to six or seven books if the demand is there.
Sprigg is also currently working on a children's book, doing both the writing and illustrating.
Writing has become an addiction for Sprigg, who said she often writes 2,000-3000 words a night on her laptop computer, which is never far away.
"It has opened a door," she said.
Galaxy Zoo: Dragons and Unicorns and Aliens, Oh My! is available online at publishamerica.com.