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Interviewing Author Julie Gilbert



Interviewing Author Julie Gilbert 


Q1. Tell me about yourself?


A.  My personal tag is Writer. Teacher. Believer.

 That about sums me up. I write in several genres, including sci-fi, fantasy, and mystery. Every one of my books is kid-safe in terms of language and adult content, but a few are a bit more intense than others. Beyond Broken Pencils is probably something students should read, but it’s about a school shooting.

 

I’m also a high school chemistry teacher, so some of the writer-ly stuff is taking a backseat as I get myself used to hybrid teaching.

 

I’m also a Christian. That flavors my writing and teaching no matter what I’m doing.

Q2.What are your favorite books to read?

A. I’m a fan of Brandon Sanderson, but I don’t love all his series. Mistborn was awesome. Couldn’t get into Stormlight Archives. The Cry of the Icemark by Stuart Hill is one of my favorite books.

Q3. When did you decide you were going to write a book?

A. As I was finishing high school, I had some time on my hands and decided to give it a shot.

Q4. How did you come up with the name of your book?

A.Which one? Ashlynn’s Dreams came from the main character being a Dream Shaper with a project name of Ashlynn, which means dream. Money Makes it Deadlier sort of fit the vibe I was going for. I patterned the rest of that series off the first title, so the series turned out with Revenge Makes it Sweeter, Christmas Makes it Chaos, and Treachery Makes it Tense. Several series have patterns.

 

Most of the time, the title comes first and shapes the book that comes.

Q5. What are you working on for 2021?

A. My current WIP is the 5th in the Devya’s Children series. It’s looking to be the final in that series. I may still write books with those characters, but I will create a new series with a time jump. Will likely publish that in 2021.

 

After that, I’m not sure what I’ll work on. I may wish to start a completely new series or try a new genre. I love mystery, thriller, SciFi, and fantasy, but it may be time for a longer dystopia or something.

Q6. How long have you been writing?

A. Probably about 19 years. I fumbled around and almost got scammed twice. I did use a vanity press before amazon and draft2ditigal made it easy to self-publish. I eventually got my rights back and moved on.


Q7. What advice would you give other authors?

A. Get unbiased opinions on your work and at the very least get a few proofreaders to help you. Read the work aloud. That can help a lot with flow and readability. When writing dialogue, try to make it as natural as possible. Too much formality makes it stiff and hard to read.

 

The best thing I did for my writing career though is getting into audiobooks. It’s been awesome to work with highly talented actors/actresses to bring the stories to life in a new way. If you have the option, get your book in shipshape, then seek a narrator.

Q8. Where can people find you online?

A. Website: juliecgilbert.com

Instagram: @juliecgilbert_writer

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/JulieCGilbert2013

Twitter: @authorgilbert

Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/juliecgilbert?fan_landing=true

Email: Devyaschildren@gmail.com

Q9. What is your favorite coffee drink?

A.Depends on the company. Dunkin = decaf light and sweet. Starbucks = decaf caramel Frappuccino.

Q10. What is your favorite coffee shop?

A. Depends on the occasion. Starbucks for foofy drinks or Dunkin for coffee.

Q11. Do you plan on making a new book in the future?

A. Hybrid teaching is kind of murdering me slowly right now, but once I get a handle on that, yes, I will get back into writing. Not sure which genre I’ll hit up next, but there are a lot of untold stories out there.

Q12. How many books have you written?

A. I’d say 45+. It’s hard to say because many are novellas that are combined into novels. So there are 3 or 4 titles that are included in certain combo volumes. Some of the short stories are published separately and included in anthologies (so they’re kind of double-counted).

Q13. Did you go to college to be a writer?

A. No. I went to college to study Biology and ended up teaching Chemistry. I took a creative writing class in college, but it was awful. Most of what I learned about writing, I learned by doing.

 

Thanks for having me.


 

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