Vicky Ball interview

 AUTHOR INTERVIEW

A little introduction:
 
I am a teacher from Essex. Originally, I taught Religious Education but have recently started teaching English which I am loving. It is great to share my love of books and creative writing with young people. I, fortunately, work part-time which allows me more time for writing and reading. I am married to David and have two teenage daughters, Hannah and Megan. They are very supportive of me and have been so helpful in the process of becoming an author.  
 

When did your love of books begin?  

I have always enjoyed reading from a very young age. When I was a child I used to love Enid Blyton books, in particular, Mallory Towers or any other books set in a boarding school. I also liked Famous Five and later on Sweet Valley Twins. Over the years my taste in books has changed and now I love thrillers and crime dramas but will read a variety of other genres as well.  
 

When did you start to have the wish to become an author?  

From a young age, I dreamed of being a published author but I didn’t believe it was possible until recently. About five years ago I started writing a novel which I thought might have some potential to make more sense than previous ones I had written. Last year I attended a creative writing course called ‘Progressing your novel’. This gave me the knowledge and confidence to move forward with it.  
 

How have you found the process for becoming an author?  

I have learnt a huge amount in the whole process. Before I started it I think I had this naive idea in my head that you would send your book to a publisher, they would say ‘that’s great’ then publish it. Easy. But there is so much more to it than that. To start with the publisher who expressed interest suggested major changes at the outset which I was happy to do as I could see it would make it better. I also wasn’t prepared for the detailed feedback given to me by beta readers. I am indebted to them, their feedback helped a lot. They helped it become a polished novel. Editing took up a lot of time which I was fortunately able to do in my summer holidays. I found that part quite stressful as I wanted to get it right. Since then it has slowly started to sink in that this is really happening, I am actually getting a novel published. It’s pretty unbelievable! I am very excited for the launch.  
 

What would you say to those wanting to become an author?  

Find some friends/writers who will give you honest and constructive feedback. I found nine amazing beta readers of different ages who gave different perspectives and helped to fix different problems. Join a writing group. The writing group I have been going to has been running for about twelve years. It keeps me motivated and I value the feedback I receive from others as well as getting to hear other styles of writing. Keep going. It’s a long process and takes a lot of hard work but you will get there in the end.  
 

Tell us about your book/books:  

My debut novel, Powerless, is a thriller about two sisters. The eldest sister disappears as a teenager and returns seven years later much to the initial displeasure of her younger sister. It explores the effects of grooming on the victims and their families. It has been described by reviewers as gripping, exciting, and full of twists and turns.  Powerless will be out on 12th November but is available to pre-order now on Amazon.
 

What do you love about the writing/reading community?  

The writing community is amazing, full of hugely supportive and talented writers. I am inspired by them every day and learned so much from them about promoting your book as well as making some great friends. Being a book lover, I also enjoy hearing about new books and it has challenged me to read books that I wouldn’t normally read.  
 

If you could say anything to your readers what would it be?  

Thank you for reading my book and I really hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I did writing it. Reviews are so important for authors especially ones starting out. So I would appreciate it a lot if you left a review on Amazon or Goodreads.  
 

Where can people connect with you?  

I am very active on Twitter - VickyBall3 and Instagram and Tik Tok as vickyballauthor. I am also on Goodreads if you would like to follow my book reading journey. I have a website that contains book reviews of books I’ve read as well as updates on what I’m writing. vickylball.wixsite.com/author