Welcome to E.B. Black, this week’s Blog Ring of Power guest. She lives in southern California with her family and two dogs. She spends her time daydreaming about the worlds she will throw her characters into next and what it would be like to dress up as a necromancer for Halloween.
Part 1 @ Terri Bruce – Wednesday, April 3
Part 3 @ Emily LaBonte – Friday, April 5
Part 4 @ Sandra Ulbrich Almazon – Monday, April 8
Part 5 @ Dean C. Rich – Tuesday, April 9
PART 2: THE WRITING LIFE
What is your writing process? Do you follow a regular routine? Do you use pen and paper or computer? Work at home or at the library/Starbucks, etc. I sit on my bed and type on my laptop. Sometimes my dogs are laying around me.
How do you balance writing with other aspects of your life? I’m still learning how to balance my life. There’s so much I always want to do in a day that it’s next to impossible to squeeze it all in.
When do you write? I try to set aside a time daily to work on writing, but I’ve learned lately that some days, it’s okay to take a break because too much is happening. It varies what time of the day I write, but it’s usually in the early afternoon.
How much time per day do you spend on your writing? I try to spend at least an hour. Because I am a self-published author, I have to spend a lot of my time working on various aspects of writing, including critiquing other people’s stories, networking and promotion, creating covers, working on my web-sites, formatting my manuscripts, and more.
What has been the most surprising reaction to something you’ve written? I’m shocked when strangers read my book and love it. One reviewer once said that they cried three times while reading my novel and had strong emotional reactions to it. It surprised me, but made my day.
What is the strongest criticism you’ve ever received as an author? The best compliment? The hardest criticisms for me to receive are those from my peers. You expect the bad reviews from readers and for some of the people in your life not to understand why you write the things you do, but when a fellow author gets angry with you, someone who is in the same position you are, it’s very difficult to handle. The best compliment I think I ever received was when my best friend read my entire novel in three days and told me she loved it. She didn’t do it just because we were friends. I told her she didn’t have to read anything I’ve written. She chose to do so on her own.
Other than your family, what has been your greatest source of support? My fiance-he even gave me money to help pay for my editors, book covers, and web-site.
How do you deal with rejection and/or negative reviews? If an author is very upset about a negative review or a rejection, it can help to talk to supportive people offline about your feelings towards it. Negative reviews don’t bother me anymore though. In fact, I created a story in my mind that I hope to one day write based on one negative review that complained about one of my characters not being developed enough.
What format is your book(s) available in (print, e-book, audio book, etc.)? E-book
Please let us know where your readers can stalk you:
Website: http://www.ebblack.com/
Blog: http://deathauthor.blogspot.com/
Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/ebblackauthor
Goodreads author page: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6586070.E_B_Black
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/writerblack
Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/E.B.-Black/e/B00ABPR6L0/