New Interview With Ireland Gill - Author

New Interview With Ireland Gill - Author

Q1. Tell me about yourself: What are your favorite books to read? 

A. I’ve been happily married for over 17 years. Brian and I have three girls who keep us extremely busy. (16, 14, and 10) I am an MS warrior (diagnosed 9/13/13) and am very stubborn because of it. LOL. Tell me I can’t… and then I will. 

Books? Oh, man. I am all over the board. I am a fan of urban fantasy, paranormal romance, dystopian, post-apoc, memoirs, and lately – I’m all about any non-fiction books on marketing and mindset for indie authors. I try to learn all that I can to improve my journey as an indie.

Q2. When did you decide you were going to write a book?

A. I’ve always loved writing. But in the 9th grade, I turned in the most spectacular story I’d ever written at the time to my AP English teacher. It was an assignment we were given after reading one of my favorite books, The Catcher in the Rye. I was enthralled. We were instructed to write a full chapter told by Holden Caulfield that continues his life, either right after the book ended or much further into the future. I don’t have that chapter I wrote any longer because that English teacher refused to give it back to me: She kept it for future students. LOL That was it – the validation – that was when I knew I had something, and I would run with it.

Q3. How did you come up with the name of your books? 

A. Soldier of Light Chronicles: Negative Zero, Absolute Zero, Zero Rising, and Hidden Zero all stand for something in each of the books. My MC, Evika Stormer, has a birthmark on her right wrist that resembles a “negative zero.” 

Since I was a teenager, I always used to doodle with pen on my skin - particularly on my wrists - daydreaming about a cool tattoo I’d get one day. At most jobs, I had to cover the doodles up, so I used pony-tail holders. (LOTS of them! LOL) Skip forward to the present day: When I was thinking of something to stand out in my MC of this series, I thought about the temporary doodles I used to draw as a kid. I created a “negative zero,” and that was how the titles came about. (BTW, I still wear a plethora of pony-tail holders on my right wrist. eye roll I’m a creature of habit. haha)

Q4. What are you working on for 2019? 

A. Oh, boy. Other than my speed at writing and working on fitting that in on top of a full-time job, I’m working on finalizing book 3 (Zero Rising) of the series and then getting book 4 (Hidden Zero) completed. I really want to push myself so I don’t have to keep fans waiting!

Q5. How long have you been writing? 

A. I’ve been writing since I learned how to write. I still have really old stories I wrote when I was a kid. I’ve always been an artist as well, so I’d draw pictures too. I do have plans to one day organize some of my old stuff to publish a few children’s books under another pseudonym. One thing at a time, though. Ha-ha

Q6. What advice would you give other authors? 

A. As authors, we have slumps/bad days. Learn from the mistakes you make along your author journey, but don’t let those define you. If you focus too much on what you’ve done wrong, you will lose sight of all of the things you’ve been doing right! Keep track of your successes, even the little things. Write them down so you can reference them on those bad days.

Oh, and networking/socializing. As authors, most of us are hardcore introverts. But, get out there and shake hands with or send a virtual “wave” to other authors you admire. We are all human, and most of us love to help one another. The author's community is full of amazing people. 

Lastly - you will find that your writing may not appeal to everyone out there, and that’s okay. That’s why we all have tastes, personalities, etc. Don’t sweat it if you get a bad review. You can’t please everyone. Once you build a fanbase (which takes some time and, for a while, may only be three people) – be personable with your fans. Just be you, be real, and stay humble.

Q7. Where can people find you online? 

A. You can find me on my website: www.irelandgill.com or you can find me on Facebook, Instagram, Amazon, Bookbub, etc by going to just one link: https://myurls.co/irelandgill

Q8. Do you plan on making more books in the future? 

A.Oh, Jeez. I am itching to get so many of these stories out of my head. I have piles and piles of journals and post-its of scenes written for my next books. I want to tackle those once I am done with the Soldier of Light Chronicles

Q9. How many books have you written? 

A.So far, I’ve written 3 full novels. (And a children’s book that is unpublished)  Many more books in the future though!

Q10 Did you go to college to be a writer? 

A. I went to college for about 3 years for art and dabbled in creative writing. I never finished – lost direction and ran out of money. (Gotta love debt)  In the end, I am achieving all of the things I’ve always wanted anyway: I am an author, and I’m also an artist. I do acrylic paintings on the side.