Roni Askey-Doran interview
AUTHOR INTERVIEW
A little introduction:
My name is Roni. I was born in Tasmania and spent three and a half decades traveling all over the world. I started my working life as a teenage chef and worked in hotel and restaurant kitchens all around Australia and Europe for thirteen years before changing careers and becoming a journalist, working in the Middle East for twelve years. Fourteen years ago I moved to South America for a change of pace. Life is simpler in the jungle where I live surrounded by native trees, cool wildlife, and my four rescue cats. These days, I write books, run a small bed and breakfast, and host cooking classes.
When did your love of books begin?
I was born to love books. When I was four years old, there was a children's book I made my father read to me every night for months. I loved the story and knew it by heart. If he read one word out of place, I'd correct him. My Dad got so bored with reading that same book over and over that he taught me to read it. Not long afterward, I was writing adventures to read to my teddy bear.
When did you start to have the wish to become an author?
Honestly, I can't remember a time in my life when I didn't want to write. I kept journals for years and wrote the stories of my life in those pages. I wrote my first book in 1993. It was a children's story about animals joining forces to get rid of plastic pollution in their environment. Two years later, I began writing my first semi-autobiographical novel. Since then, I've published nine books and have two current works in progress, one almost finished. I've written a play and three screenplays (all unpublished). I'm also filling notebooks with ideas, plots, and characters for two other books I plan to write in the future.
How have you found the process for becoming an author?
The process itself is easy. All you have to do is write. It's the commitment to write 100,000 or so words that make sense and form a coherent and continuous story that is the hard part. Finding time to write can also be challenging. Most authors will never achieve Steven King's level of success, so we have jobs and lives to live and finding the time to write in the middle of all that is easier for some than it is for others. I go through periods of drought where there is no time at all and periods of flood where I have nothing but time to write. Those are the best times.
What would you say to those wanting to become an author?
Write. Write and write and write. It's like anything, the more you do it, the better you become. Then meticulously proofread and edit. You have to get rid of anything that isn't relevant to the story, no matter how good it sounds. Beta readers are a wealth in themselves if you can find them. Get a good editor. It's so important to publish work that has been polished. Writing is a continuous loop of learning and practicing until you get it down to a fine art.
Tell us about your book/books:
What do you love about the writing/reading community?
The writing community is incredibly diverse and that makes it fascinating. They are also amazingly supportive. On those days when I feel like a fraud or feel like the world is too hard, they're there telling me it's normal, that they feel the same way, or that it's all gonna be okay. I don't get to interact with readers as often as I would like, but I would love to know more about the people reading my books.
If you could say anything to your readers what would it be?
Thank you! Thank you for trusting me. Thank you for your faith in my work. Also, I'd love to meet you all someday. Last year, I zoomed into a book club that had just finished reading Broken. I love book clubs! They're a great place for people to gather and read one of my books together, then discuss it. There were so many different people with incredible perspectives and ideas about what I had written. It was pure joy to experience.
Where can people connect with you?
Twitter: https://twitter.com/booksbyroni
Wordpress: https://booksbyroniaskeydoran.wordpress.com
.jpg)
Comments
Post a Comment