This Week’s Feature Author Interview with
Sarah Sanchez
Hi Sarah Sanchez, welcome to the Indie Publishing Group website. Introduce yourself to us. Tell everyone who you are, where you’re from, what do you enjoy doing, hobbies and interests.
I am first and foremost a mother. I have three beautiful children and they are growing up fast. However, I am also a writer. I want my children to learn to work towards their dream and to be passionate about them. I have a degree in Spanish. My husband is from Mexico and it is my second home. I don’t get to visit as much as I like due to safety concerns surrounding the area where he is from. I am a lunch lady by day. It gives me the perfect schedule. I work when my kids are in school. I get summers and holidays off, leaving me more time to write, than most. My head is constantly swirling with ideas, so I plan on writing until the ideas stop.
When did you start writing and why?
I was never a very a good writer in school. Analyzing and writing papers about poems and books I had read wasn’t anything I enjoyed. I was in honors English but I typically came away with C’s. Until after I graduated high school, I had never thought about becoming a writer. In my mind I linked my English grades to my writing ability. Which looking back on is silly. Writing to me is more about imagination and storytelling. Grammar can be edited.
About a year into college I just had a though one day. I wondered if I could write a paragraph that was really descriptive and enticing. From there I wrote my first story. I found it was fun and that ideas flowed. I wrote a middle grade novel called grounded. That is beyond cheesy, and it is tucked away in a drawer somewhere never to be seen again. But it gave me the confidence to see that I could write a story and everything went from there.
Which is your favorite book you have written and what gave you the idea for it?
Sunwalker is my first published work, so it is probably my favorite. Although I do have more coming soon. I have read a lot of books about vampires and watched a lot of TV shows and movies. I never really thought any one delved into the origin of vampires. So I had an idea I think is unique and went with it.
How did you come up with the title for your book?
I wanted something that fit in with the story, and was simple. I have always found one word titles catchy. Sunwalker is also part of a trilogy, so I wanted to make sure I could come up with catchy titles for the second and third volume that went together. Finally I sent them off to friends and family and polled their opinions. Then I picked.
Who helped you with the cover? Or did you design it yourself? What was your inspiration for your cover design?
I’d like to say it was a joint effort but that would be very misleading. Courtney Johansson designed my cover. She is an editor and cover designer. I sent her a rough draft of a cover that looked something very much like what a kindergartner would color. She sent me back several amazing covers. The hard part was choosing one. I can’t wait to see what she comes up with for the next one. You can contact her at cjohanssonedits@gmail.com, she is amazing and she edits too.
What are some of the themes of your story?
I think there are probably lots of themes you can pull from the book while reading it. Most were probably unintentional and just happen as you write a story. There are the obvious ones, I think. Good triumphs Evil. Love conquers all. The message I’d like readers to pull out of it, as they are hopefully caught up and enjoying the story, is not to judge people before you know them. Just because you may have had a bad interaction with one person, don’t lump the whole, race, religion or nationality in that group. Get to know an individual before you make up your mind about that person. And, people can change. I don’t know that it happens very often, but it can happen.
What’s your process when you sit down and decide to start writing a book? What is your process and do you have a system?
I am very erratic when I write. I don’t start out with outlines, (at least not on the first book of a series). Normally I take an idea, and I see if I can hammer out a few chapters. If I end up with a three or four chapters I feel are solid and interesting, then I go from there. I’ll do research, then I will do an outline.
Other than that I need noise when I write. Whether it’s music or a TV show. I don’t listen to anything loud. I just need a quiet hum of something going on in the background. Throw in some chocolate and I’m golden.
Who are some of your favorite characters and why?
Really only one jumps out in my head. His name is Kvothe, or Kote, depending on where you are in the story. His character has more depth than any I’ve ever read. I don’t think an author has ever pulled you in as much as Patrick Rothfuss can. I cringe when bad things happen to Kvothe. Smile when he has some luck, which doesn’t happen very often. And I’ve been waiting I believe six years for the last installment, so I can finally see what happens to Kvothe. I may have to wait another six more who knows, but I know it will be worth the wait.
Who are some of your favorite authors?
Besides Patrick, who I’ve already mentioned. I adore Brandon Mull. He has sucked me into the world of fantasy. Fablehaven, The Beyonders, The Five Kingdoms, are all fantastic series. I have read them out loud to my children, and Yes, I will confess, I read ahead when they were sleeping.
Have you got anything you’re working on now?
I am working on several projects at the moment. I jump around a lot. (Like I said lots of ideas swirling around in here) The two frontrunners at the moment are Nightwalker, the sequel to Sunwalker, set to come out Spring 2018, and Charlie Tanner and the Piranha, an action/suspense novel set to debut in December 2017. Both are in the hands of my beta readers right now.
If you could have any super powers what would they be?
I have actually thought about this question a lot. And although flying would be cool, what I would really like is to be able to speak every language. I think that would be amazing. I would love to be able to connect with people around the world in every culture. After learning Spanish, I have come to realize how much gets lost in translation. Everything can’t be translated exactly.
If you could travel to any location in the world where would you go?
Italy. I want to see the Coliseum, I want to go to Florence and Venice, try real Italian food. Although my brother lived in Italy for two years so I get pretty close. He is an amazing cook.
Where do you hope to be in 5 years’ time?
I hope to be writing full time by then. I hope to be at my daughter’s high school graduation. I hope readers have fallen in love with my characters as much as I have. And I hope to have inspired others to follow their dreams.
Thanks so much for taking the time to do an author interview. Take a minute and check Sarah Sanchez out on the links below. Sarah Sanchez’s book, Sunwalker, is available now on Amazon!
Sarah Sanchez Twitter
Sarah Sanchez Goodreads Author Page
Sarah Sanchez Facebook Page
