Welcome all.
Today I’m very lucky to be
interviewing Anne Stone author of:
Life’s
Forever Changed: The Show Me Series – The Prequel
Links:
Life’s Second Chances: The Show Me Series #1
Links:
Life’s Gateway to Happiness: The Show Me Series #2
Links:
Life’s Turned Upside Down: The Show Me Series #3
Links:
Never Lose Hope: Williams & Company #1
Links:
The Show Me Series Boxed Set: Volume 1 (Books 1-3)
Link:
ME: Hi Anne Stone, thank you for agreeing to this interview. Tell
us a little about yourself and your background?
ANNE STONE: I was born and raised in St. Louis, Missouri but now
live in the cold state of Wisconsin with my faithful Cavalier King Charles
Spaniel. I write heartfelt sweet contemporary romance and I am the author of
the Show Me and Williams & Company series.
I love to tell a story and that’s what you’ll definitely get in an Anne
Stone novel.
My degree is in education, but
I've worked in the corporate sector managing a large number of staff. Now, I work from home where part of my day is
still spent in the corporate world and the other part is dreaming of my heroes
and heroines.
ME: What genre do you write?
ANNE STONE: Sweet Contemporary Romance
ME: What are you working on at the minute?
ANNE STONE: I have started a new sports romance series. I’ve completed the first book and am
three-fourths of the way through the second book.
ME: Can you share a little of your current work with us?
ANNE STONE: Here’s a sneak peek at a portion of the Prologue to
Life’s Forever Changed that was released on October 22nd.
It was a warm summer day in St.
Louis—hotter than all get out, the last day before Alejandro left for the
University of Wisconsin. He’d
procrastinated all summer with this visit, but he needed to accomplish it
before heading home for his going away party.
It was one of the hardest things he’d done in a long, long time.
He made a left turn and entered
the one place he had avoided for more than two years. The vivid green grass surprised him as he
came to the fork in the road. After a
long, hot summer, most everything was brown, but not here. The fresh growth made him feel a bit
brighter as he made his journey. He
wound his way through the various roads, all the while hoping he wouldn’t get
lost. He’d been here only the one time,
and he recalled that winter day in vivid detail. It had been bitter cold. He remembered walking into church for the
funeral mass beside his mother and friends and then driving the lonely miles
that led to him
saying a final goodbye to his best friend. Today as he drove along, he shivered,
recalling the bitter wind as it had whipped through the pin oak trees, rattling
the last of the leaves that still hung on their branches as he rounded the bend
that led to Jacob. 
Jacob and he had become best
friends in kindergarten and had experienced everything together from learning
how to tie their shoes to the big day when they crossed over from Cub Scouts to
Boy Scouts. They’d even held a joint
Court of Honor when they received their Eagle Scout Awards. They were like two peas in a pod. Wherever Jacob was, Alejandro wasn’t far behind,
and vice versa.
Alejandro slowed the car as he
approached the section he’d committed to memory— section fifteen. He remembered the number because they were
both fifteen when he’d lost his friend.
ME: Which actor/actress would you like to see playing the lead
character from your most recent book?
ANNE STONE: My latest release is Life’s Forever Changed which is
the
Prequel to The Show Me series. I
went back and wrote this after writing half of the series. When I originally wrote Life’s Second Chances
the first book in The Show Me series, I envisioned Shawn Christian as Alejandro
Alvarez and Kelly Monaco as Angelina Samuels.
ME: While you were writing, do you ever feel as if you were one of
the characters?
ANNE STONE: No, I can’t say that I have.
ME: When did you decide to become a writer?
ANNE STONE: I started writing in college and then put it
aside. I started back up after my father
died. Right before his death, he made me
promise to publish my books, so I did. I
owe this journey to my father. He had a
lot of confidence in me and knew I would give it my all to succeed.
ME: Which writers inspire you?
ANNE STONE: I follow Jeannie Moon, Jennifer Bernard and quite a few
more.
ME: Do you write on a typewriter, computer, dictate or longhand?
ANNE STONE: I write using a computer, but I have been known to
write an entire book longhand.
ME: Do you work to an outline or plot or do you prefer to just see
where an idea takes you?
ANNE STONE: I plot out some scenes, not many. I basically write down events that I’d like
to see happen. Sometimes they make it
into my book and sometimes not. On quite
a few occasions a thought pops into my mind out of nowhere and changes the
direction of the book. That happened
with the book I’m working on right now.
One thought changed the entire direction of the book.
ME: Do you read much and if so who are your favorite authors.
ANNE STONE: I read way too much!
Some of my favorite authors are: Jeannie Moon, Jennifer Bernard, Lindsay
McKenna, Bernadette Marie and way too many more to list….
ME: What book are you reading now?
ANNE STONE: I am reading In Too Deep by Kimberly Kincaid.
ME: Do you think that giving books away free works and why?
ANNE STONE: I do. I have to
say I’ve developed a wonderful following by doing this. Many have become some of my best fans. In today’s world, people don’t want to take a
chance on an unproven writer and definitely don’t want to spend their hard-earned
money on an unheard-of author.
ME: How do you relax?
ANNE STONE: When the weather is nice, I work outside. Otherwise, read or do some type of craft.
ME: What is your favorite quote?
ANNE STONE: “Far away there in the sunshine are my highest
aspirations, I may not reach them, but I can look up and see their beauty,
believe in them, and try to follow where they may lead” Louisa May Alcott
ME: What advice would you give to aspiring writers?
ANNE STONE: Write, write, write!
I was told to have several books ready for publication before publishing
my first book live. I actually had three
written, and I have slowly released them.
I currently have two completed books and a third almost done. I just need to complete the editing
process. In fact, I stopped on my
current work-in-process to write The Prequel to The Show Me series. Soon, I will have three in various stages
waiting for publication.
ME: What does your writing process look like?
ANNE STONE: I draft my idea and then start writing. Nothing particularly special.
ME: What is your least favorite part of the publishing / writing
process?
ANNE STONE: I do the majority of the marketing myself. I find that social media consumes my
day. Hopefully, I’ll be able to pass a
little bit of that off to someone someday.
ME: Is there a certain type of scene that's harder for you to write
than others? Love? Action? Racy?
ANNE STONE: I write sweet, clean romance. Sometimes, I think the emotion is hard to
write and other times not.
ME: Did you learn anything from writing your book(s) and what was
it?
ANNE STONE: I love all of my characters and some more than
others. I’ve been surprised to see
readers not particularly care for some of my main characters. I’ve learned that not everyone is going to
enjoy my stories as much as I do.
ME: Name one entity that you feel supported you outside of family
members.
ANNE STONE: I have a writer friend that helped me find my first
editor. I’ve also had quite a few of my
writer friends share with their followers my books which especially helped when
I was first starting out.
ME: Which famous person, living or dead would you like to meet and
why?
ANNE STONE: I’d love to meet several of the U.S Presidents and ask
them how they led our nation through the various challenges faced while
president.
I’d also like to meet Anya Seton
as her writings influenced me so much.
ME: What is your favorite theme/genre to write about?
ANNE STONE: I write sweet contemporary mainly because I want to
appeal to a wide audience from young to old.
I love writing family based stories.
ME: What is your favorite theme/genre to read?
ANNE STONE: I read pretty much everything. I love second chance romance.
ME: What secret talents do you have?
ANNE STONE: I don’t think I have any.
ME: If you had a superpower, what would it be?
ANNE STONE: I’d love to see into the future.
ME: Where is one place you want to visit that you haven't been
before?
ANNE STONE: My number one bucket list item is visiting Antigua and
has been for many years. Right behind
that is Bora Bora.
ME: How can readers discover more about you and you work? i.e.
Website: Blog: Facebook: Twitter: Lnkedin: Pinterest: Amazon Author Page:
Smashwords: Book Links: (* American, UK, etc.) Goodreads.
ANNE STONE:
ME: Is there anything else you would like to add that I haven’t
included?
ANNE STONE: I think you’ve pretty much covered a lot of ground
here. Thank you for allowing me to share
a little bit of Anne Stone with you and your followers.
ME: Thank you very much for taking the time out of your busy
schedule to take part in this interview.
ANNE STONE: Thank you allowing to share myself with you and your
followers
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