Buccaneer Blogfest - DAY THREE - An Interview with Sharon Bayliss

An Interview with Sharon Bayliss

I'm so excited to get to interview Sharon for the BUCCANEER BLOGFEST! (If you don't know, we are supposed to be interviewing the person who signed up after us.)

Not only is she one of the co-hosts of the blogfest, but I have personal reasons for being excited as well. As some of you may know, she's a HUGE reason I have a publishing contract! It was her blog that hosted the WILDE'S FIRE Contest with Krystal Wade, who eventually became my editor and offered publication for EVER via Curiosity Quills Press. So I owe IMMENSE GRATITUDE to Sharon!  

*showers Sharon with ALL the confetti and gratitude*

I used questions from the "getting to know the judge" questions that I give to the winners of my flash contests because I like them, and well, its my interview, so I did what I wanted. ;-) 

Here are Sharon's answers to the questions. Links to her social media sites are below. Enjoy! 

Thanks Sharon!

Since your debut New Adult novel, THE CHARGE, is coming out soon with Curiosity Quills Press, please tell us about the next project you are working on. 

I actually have a project that's pretty much complete, just needs some final polishing. But right now I'm just sitting on it because I want to give it the time it deserves! I think I'll submit it to CQ after I have my baby. It's rather different from The Charge and I'm quite proud of it. It's a fantasy drama about a man named David who finds his children after they have been missing for twelve years. They had been kept by a man the kids claim is a dark wizard. The social worker says it's all part of a "magical narrative" they use to cope with the years of abuse they've suffered. But as the story unfolds, David learns that dark magic is very real and a bigger part of who he is than he would have ever imagined.

How long have you been writing?

For as long as I can remember. :) I wrote a novel in high school, then again in college, then spent some time in the "real" world for a while, and in 2009 I got back into it again and I have been writing intensively since then.

Tell us about your writing style. Are you a plotter/outliner, or do you fly by the seat of your pants? 

I fly by the seat of my pants. I have never just sat down and thought, "hmmm...what should I write a novel about?" Or at least, I haven't had any success with that strategy. I prefer to just entertain myself with stories in my head and when one comes together that really interests me, I might start thinking of ways to convert it into a novel. I generally keep notes about where I want the plot to go, but it's very high-level, and I usually end up changing it anyway. I love the feeling that you have to keep writing because YOU want to know what happens next.

What is one piece of advice you would give new writers? 

As great as it would be to experience over-night success, that's not very common. Most people write a few projects before they find what works. And a lot of their first attempts may really suck. ;) So if your first novel goes down in flames, it doesn't mean your dream of becoming a writer is dead. The people who find success are the ones who stick with it.

If you could save the life of any one fictional character who would it be and why? (Stolen from Feaky Snucker's idea for Janet Reid's Pay It Forward contest.) 

I love this question! No doubt in my mind, it would be Dobby from Harry Potter. (I would say spoiler alert, but if you haven't read the last Harry Potter book yet, something is wrong with you.) I have read Deathly Hallows multiple times and I have yet to make it through that part without crying. It always gets me when Harry engraves the stone with, "Here lies Dobby, a free elf." So simple, but oh my god, I'm getting teary just thinking about it.

Is there one book from your childhood that sticks out more than the others? Why? 

From a young age, I was attracted to science fiction and fantasy more than anything else. So, I remember liking The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe and A Wrinkle In Time. I also liked the paranormal spin-offs of The Babysitter's Club and the Sweet Valley Twins, and when I was a little older, The Vampire Diaries. Yes, that was around LONG before the TV show. :)

BLOG: http://sharonbayliss.blogspot.com/ 

FACEBOOK: http://www.facebook.com/authorsharonbayliss 

TWITTER: https://twitter.com/SharonBayliss