Today’s interview is with Adrianne Lemke. Welcome to the blog, Adrianne. Tell us something about yourself.
I live in rural Wisconsin on a little hobby farm. We have two dogs, a bunch of chickens, several barn cats, a house cat, and two horses.
By day I am a Veterinary Assistant. By night, an author. I am part of a large family, but have no significant other. What I do have are three brothers, two sisters, two brothers-in-law, and two sisters-in-law. And with the married pairs, I have ten nieces and nephews and one more on the way.
I love horseback riding. I have been riding longer than I’ve been writing.
At what point did you know you wanted to be a writer?
When I went to college I saw the beginning of a story I had started writing in high school (at the request of a friend) and decided to continue writing it. Since then I have written several other novels, and have self-published four of them so far.
Tell us about your writing process.
I usually write with the TV on in the background. It usually works best to have something I’ve seen several times, so I don’t have to pay attention to it. I almost never plan what is going to happen, and when I try, the story usually goes in its own direction anyway.
Normally I don’t let anyone read my work until the full story is complete. Most of the time I end up writing a pretty decent chunk of the book, then decide I don’t like it, or it could be better, and I start it over from the beginning. Sometimes I wonder how those aborted efforts would have ended…
I have a similar writing process. What is your favorite genre … to read … to write?
So many favorites…I think fantasy is probably the one I most enjoy reading. For writing, I enjoy Paranormal/suspense.
When you are not writing, what do you do?
When I’m not writing, I am usually reading. I also spend time with my various pets, and do some horseback riding (when the weather cooperates). I also enjoy watching TV and movies.
My most recent hobby is making wire-wrapped trees and some jewelry items. I have an etsy store (Craftree Treasures) and hope others can enjoy the items I’ve made.
Are you a plot driven or character driven writer? Why?
I think more character driven. I am of the opinion that if people enjoy the characters, they will accept the situations the characters are in. That said, I don’t put much superfluous detail into my books. Most of the events and situations the characters find themselves in help to drive the plot forward.
Do you write from an outline or are you a discovery writer? Why?
I am a discover writer. Planning has never been my strong suit. Also, I always feel like if I don’t know how a certain situation is going to end, then the reader won’t necessarily know either. J
What point of view do you prefer to write, and why?
I enjoy writing in first person. I love being able to get in a character’s head and explore how they would react in any situation.
I’m going to drop you in a remote Alaska cabin for a month. It’s summer so you don’t have worry about freezing to death. I’ll supply the food and the mosquito spray. What do you do while you’re there and what do you bring with you? If you’re bringing books, what are they?
I would love to explore the area. I would bring my horses and ride all over the place. I would bring my computers and journals so I can keep up with my writing. (Can’t tell you how much I’d love that kind of uninterrupted writing time! J)
I would also bring my kindle so I could read in the time I’m not writing or riding around. I think it would be a very relaxing and productive month.
Talk about your books individually.
So far I have four novels I have self-published. Three of them are part of the same series. The Earthshaker Series starts with Tracker.
Tracker introduces Jason, a street kid with a dangerous secret; he has the power to control the ground. In Tracker, the main ‘big bad’ is Trevor Mason. He is a criminal who discovers Jason’s power, and wants to use it for his own gain.
Kindred is book two and continues Jason’s story. After the events in Tracker, he wants time to recuperate and get back to normal. One person prevents him from doing so; Kindred. Kindred is an assassin who worked with Trevor Mason, and now won’t leave Jason alone.
Hunter is book three. Two years after Kindred, Jason is working as a Private Investigator. He gets involved with a case that hits close to home.
The Earthshaker Series is a paranormal/suspense series, and I have two more books planned: Oblivion (book four) and Earthshaker (book five). As of right now Earthshaker is planned to be the final book in the series, but if more ideas hit, I am definitely willing to stay in Jason’s world a bit longer. J
The other book I have out is a Mystery/Thriller: Fear.
Fear is a novel I wrote as my undergraduate research project at Wisconsin Lutheran College. After a couple major revisions and editing, I decided to share it with the world. Fear is written in third person and tells Ryan Parker’s story. Ryan lost his parents as a child, and became a police officer to find their killer. The case is made more difficult by the fact that the killer has been stalking Ryan since the murders.
What do you want readers to think or feel after reading one of your books?
Mostly I simply hope they enjoy the story. I enjoyed writing them, and I would love to know that people are liking them.
What influenced your decision to self-publish?
I did attempt to go through traditional publishing first. I sent out several query letters, got a couple nibbles and chapter requests, but nothing panned out. After some encouragement from my family, I decided to self-publish.
What do you find to be the greatest advantage of self-publishing?
I get to keep all the rights to my books.
That is a great advantage. What do you think self-published authors might be missing out on?
There are a lot of people who won’t spend money on self-published books. So we’re missing out on some potential sales to readers who would most likely enjoy the books, but won’t take a chance. We also don’t have big-name publishers behind us to help with publicity and to help readers take us seriously.
I tend to agree that reader perception of self-published books is a problem for us. With the number of self-published books increasing by such a huge rate, it is really difficult for authors to make their books stand out. How do you go about this?
I use Twitter, Pinterest, Facebook, my blog (adrianne-lemke.blogspot.com ) Instagram, and my website (adrilemke.com) to help promote my novels. I have also joined in a couple short story anthologies (Bite-Sized Offerings: Tales and Legends of the Zombie Apocalypse, and When Disasters Strike)
Who designed your book cover/s?
I have used two designers so far: David McGlumphy (designed the cover for Fear and the cover for Secret Power– a fantasy coming soon. He also designed the original covers for the first three Earthshaker series books)
Christian Bentulan is doing the redesigns on the Earthshaker series. I have had him re-do the first two covers so far.
Do you believe that self-published authors can produce books as high-quality as the traditional published? If so, how do you think we should go about that?
I do. I think self-published authors need to make sure their work is completely edited and as smooth as possible, get the best covers they can, and work with people to help market their work and get it out to the general public.
Do you write specifically for a Christian audience? Why or why not?
I do not. The stories I write are (mostly) clean, but I don’t want to limit my pool of potential readers. Eventually I may write a more Christian novel, but for now I am writing for everyone.
You and I are kindred spirits on that topic. What are some of the special challenges of being a Christian writer?
I want to make sure I don’t glamorize things that go against my faith. I don’t want to make it sound like I’m okay with things that are not okay with God.
Christians are told to be “in the world, but not of it.” As a Christian writer, how do you write to conform to that scripture?
I have my characters in situations that test their desire to remain good people. They have to fight desires for revenge, their fear, and other problems in order to stay good.
Where do readers find you and your books?
aurorawatcherak 
Reblogged this on Daermad Cycle.
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