About the Author:
I grew up in the Deep South, in Memphis, Tennessee, but now live in Malibu, California with my husband, two German shepherds, and one black cat. I love the outdoors and have a particular affinity for wooded areas and coastal climates with room to roam. These past five years, I’ve devoted myself to writing. It was a steady build which got me to where I am now. I am the author of two published novels with Vinspire Publishing and I recently completed a third manuscript. I’ve been published in multiple magazines, some international, and 5 times in the Chicken Soup for the Soul book series. I am also a four time award winning essayist. All in all, my days are self-motivated and devoted to some form of writing or another, which suits me, and for which I am very grateful.

*Have you always wanted to be a writer? Why?
I don’t know that I wanted to be a writer as much as I woke up to the fact that I am one. I felt the need to keep a journal from a very young age, and I believe to this day that the practice developed what I now see as my way of being in the world. I’m in love with language and the artful use of words. To me, it is a high art; one of which I never tire. Communication is important to me, the attempt at explaining things with insight. This is what I strive for because I think it’s one of the handful of ways people connect.

*When your writing where do you draw inspiration from?
I draw inspiration from human interaction because it shapes lives. I am fascinated by people’s stories, the way they live and how they came to live that way.

*What interested you to write the genre you write?
I am partial to literary fiction, which basically means “true to life” or representative of life. I think all people have interesting subtexts, and that we are more alike than we are different. At the foundation of my inspiration for writing is the desire to point this out!I

*What else have you written?
I wrote a paranormal mystery entitled “A Portal in Time.” It was published in 2013. It was my first attempt at writing in the third person, and I wrote the book in two time periods that fit together like pieces of a puzzle. “A Portal in Time” raises the question of past lives, and is suspenseful all the way through with plenty of foreshadow and innuendo, which the reader may not detect until they finish the book. The setting is Carmel-by-the-Sea, which is a hauntingly beautiful village on California’s Monterey Peninsula. Beyond this, I once had my own weekly newspaper column in Malibu. I have written for and continue to write for magazines, all first person narratives, and I have entered and continue to enter literary contests with either a short story or essay.

*What is your method for getting around writers block?
I’ve never wrestled with writer’s block. I suspect writer’s block is as real as people want to make it. My experience is to follow through, to continue with the body of work, whether it be an essay or a novel. Belief, persistence, commitment, and tenacity go a long way to averting the threat of writer’s block. That said, there is nothing wrong with breathing room and taking a little break.

*Do you have any advice or words of wisdom for aspiring writers?
I think if one desires to write and actually follows through and completes a project, then they are a writer. There is no there to get to, there is only the task of writing. What one does with their work is another story, but one doesn’t have to achieve a certain stature to be able to call themselves a writer. This is the beauty of writing! No badge need be bestowed for one to enter the ranks of the field. My advice for new writers is create, submit, and repeat!

*Where do you see yourself in five years?
I would be very surprised if I were not living, in five years time, much as I am now, although it may be in a different location!

*How can your readers follow you and find out about your books?
I’m all over the internet, so I’ll mention first my website, http://www.clairefullerton.com My author FB page: https://www.facebook.com/clairefullertonauthor?ref=hl

Twitter handle is @cfullerton3

and I’m on Google+, LinkedIn, About.me, Pinterest, The BingBing, and on and on. I am easy to find, and all direct links can be found on my website.

*What is your newest release? Is there anything you would like to say about it to your readers?
My newest release is “Dancing to an Irish Reel,” which is literary fiction set on the western coast of Ireland. A twenty-five year old woman leaves the record business in Los Angeles and takes a trip to rural Ireland, where she is offered a job at the Galway Music Center that is too good to turn down. She finds a great group of Irish friends who explain the surrounding Irish social nuances, and when an intriguing Irish musician comes into her life, this same group of friends help her understand him! This book is about what REALLY happens on the road to love, with its excitement, hope, and often times fears and unpredictability. In my opinion, new love, or attraction, is not always so neat and clear! I once lived in Ireland, and know of which I write! One reviewer called the book “A sensitive and lyrical tribute to Ireland and the wonders of falling in love.”