Welcome to After Dark Reading Nook’s interview with author Lee-Ann Wallace. I hope you enjoy reading more about this talented writer who wrote the Dream Scribe Series, Amber Dreams Books 1-3. So let’s get this interview started.

About Lee-Ann Wallace

Born in Brisbane, Australia, Lee-Ann Wallace spent some of her early years in New Zealand before her family settled in Palm Beach on the Gold Coast where she spent most weekends at the beach. Discovering a love of reading at an early age, she started to devour her mother’s romances as a way to keep herself entertained. She knew from an early age that she wanted to do something creative and tried her hand at being a pastry chef and fashion designer, with a multitude of hand crafts taking up her spare time before she finally gave in to the characters who always seemed to make a racket every time she sat down to read a book. Creativity seems to be in her blood. Now based in Brisbane, Australia she lives with her patient husband and three children. When she’s not looking after her family you can find her at her computer dreaming up the next set of characters and their story. Fascinated by the process of writing and how a story starts as a tiny idea, or a single character and then grows and evolves to eventually become a fully fleshed book, Lee-Ann loves to watch settings take shape, conflict develop and characters interact to become a story worth telling.

Tell us about yourself & your background

I always thought I would end up doing something creative, I spent most of my teenage years focusing on cooking and sewing. I spent two years in college studying fashion design before I had my first child. It wasn’t until I spent three weeks in hospital a few years ago that I became serious about writing, something I’d only spent time doing as a hobby and purely for enjoyments sake. Now I wouldn’t go back, writing is such an integral part of my life, it lets me be creative and delve into the world of my imagination every day.

 

Are you working on another book at the moment? If so tell us about it?

I’m currently working on book 4 of a series of novellas about space pirates. Romances of course!

 

Where do your ideas for your books come from?

Oh all over the place! The idea for the first book of the space pirate series actually came from my doctor, we were talking about Amber Dreams and he said the only shape shifters he’d seen was the one from Deep Space Nine, the Star Trek series. I thought it would be cool to have a shape shifter that wasn’t your normal animal shape shifter and Tor’Arr was born.

 

Who is your favorite author? And why?

Nalini Singh, she drags you into the worlds of her characters on the first page and doesn’t let you go until the last.

 

Have you always wanted to be a writer? Why?

No, I always knew I’d do something creative, but most of my skills revolve around sewing. Writing was more of a hobby that I did when I had time.

 

What books are you currently reading?

Creating Character by William Bernhardt, there’s always more to learn.

 

Where do you gain inspiration to write from?

By reading books by other authors and wanting to tell the stories that inevitably pop into my head while I’m reading. Inspiration can come from all over the place, a character might start to develop in my head who won’t quiet down or a scene plays out that I just know I have to write. Once the idea starts to form it’s like a free for all until I can get words on the page!

What made you decide to write romance?

Romance is my go to genre, so it was natural for me to write in that category. Even if I decided to write something else I think it would still have romantic elements. There’s something about a good love story that sucks you in and won’t let go until you get to the happily ever after.

 

How do you relax?

By listening to music and watching movies with my other half.

 

Where do you see yourself in 5 years?

Still writing. I’d like to have a substantial backlist and millions of fans. Haha we can all dream can’t we!

 

How did you come up with your latest book?

Actually it was supposed to be book five, but turned into book 4, the characters pushed their way into my head while I was planning book 4 of the Fallen Star series and wouldn’t give me a moments peace. Once I started planning, things just fell into place and the characters and plot came together.

 

How did you come up with your latest book title?

The story I’m writing at the moment doesn’t have a title yet, but usually I take a look at the broad story and see if anything resonates with me, if that doesn’t work I start to look at individual scenes and see if there’s anything that jumps out at me that would make a good title.

 

Did you learn anything from writing your latest book?

I’ve learnt something from every book I’ve written so far. Usually it’s when I revise that I discover things that worked and things that didn’t. Which makes every first draft a little better than the last.

 

Can you tell us a little about your future projects?

I’m working on the Fallen Star series a the moment, I’m not sure how many books that will end up being, and after that I have a dragon series that I’ve started planning and of course there’s the next story in the Dream Scribe series to write as well.

 

Is there anything you would like to say to inspiring writers?

Write every day. Even if it’s only ten minutes. Set aside a little time to put words on the page. And leave the editing until you have a finished first draft. It’s all to easy to spend your writing time revising what you wrote the day before and not write anything new. First drafts are always broken, well mine are, so revision is a must.

 

How can your readers follow you?

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/LeeAnnWallaceAuthor

Blog: http://www.leeannwallace.wordpress.com