Sarah Jane Butfield interview
AUTHOR INTERVIEW
A little introduction:
My name is
Sarah Jane Butfield, aka The Accidental Author! My journaling, which became a
cathartic exercise after we lost our home during the Brisbane floods in 2011, helped
to launch my blogging and writing career and as they say, the rest is history.
A travel memoirs series, nursing memoir series and an author self-help series.
When did your love of books begin?
I have always
loved reading; however, my love of true stories and memoirs was triggered after
reading Driving Over Lemons by Chris Stewart. I enjoy reading a book that is
written from the heart with honesty and transparency enabling the reader to
relate to the story and experience the journey with the author. I am also a
huge fan of romance novels, especially those with a happy ever after. I read a
lot of books for other authors for reviews and critique and therefore I read
across all genres, I am a bit of book nerd to be honest.
When did you start to have the wish to become an author?
We had
relocated to Tasmania to live with family after we lost our home, business, and
our belongings in the 2011 Brisbane floods. I started a new job to help restart
our life in Australia and I was telling my colleagues about how we came to be
in Australia and how our dream of a new life had been washed away literally by
the floods. My friend and work colleague Jenny said, “you can’t make this stuff
up, you should write about it for your friends and family back in the UK”, so I
did. My first unedited version with a very basic cover made from a photograph
in Picasa quickly became a bestseller on Amazon. This led to a second edition
professionally edited and with photographs added which again was a best seller.
I was shocked and humbled by the emails and offers of help that I received from
readers, authors and publishing professionals reading about our story.
How have you found the process for becoming an author?
It has been a
huge learning curve, and I have made many amazing friends along the way. I had
to learn ‘on the go’ as I had already published my first book with no preparation,
and it was the information that I learned during this period that I compiled
into the author self-help series which starts with The Accidental Author. This
series aims to help aspiring and debut authors get started without a marketing
budget and without making all the mistakes I made.
What would you say to those wanting to become an author?
Just do it.
I believe we
all have a story to tell, it could be an experience we have had, or learned
from; skillset we can share our knowledge of, or a fictional story created in
our minds that needs to be shared. There are so many and varied writing opportunities
now, whether it is blogs, short stories, magazine articles or writing books.
The writing world is your oyster you have nothing to lose other than the time
it takes to write.
Tell us about your book/books:
My travel
memoir series consists of:
Glass Half
Full Our Australian Adventure
Two Dogs and
a Suitcase Clueless in Charente
Our Frugal
Summer in Charente
The Nomadic
Nurse Series consists of:
Ooh Matron!
Bedpans to
Boardrooms
Book 3 due
for release in 2022
The author self-help
series:
The What, Why, Where, When, Who & How
Book Promotion
The
Accidental Author (FREE at all online bookstores)
The Amateur
Authorpreneur
The
intermediate Authorpreneur
I also ghost
write and co-write with, and for, other authors on Amazon.
What do you love about the writing/reading community?
This will
sound corny and cliché, but it’s the friendliest group of people I have ever
encountered. There is no personal competition as everyone’s story or writing
direction is different and this lends itself to everyone helping one another.
If you could say anything to your readers what would it be?
A huge ‘Thank
you’.
I published
my first book in 2013 and since then I have accrued thousands of followers on
social media, my blogs, and websites. I receive hundreds of emails from
parents, expats and aspiring authors and I feel grateful that people choose to
buy and read my books.
Where can people connect with you?
My books are
available at all good online stores via Books2read or Amazon
https://books2read.com/GlassHalfFull
https://books2read.com/TwoDogs
https://books2read.com/ourfrugalsummer
https://books2read.com/OohMatron
https://books2read.com/Bedpanstoboardrooms
Facebook
Author Sarah Jane Butfield | Facebook
Two Dogs and a Suitcase Facebook page
Our Frugal Summer in Charente
Facebook page
Ooh Matron (The Nomadic
Nurse series) Facebook page
Support and
networking for authors provided by Sarah Jane:
https://www.facebook.com/RukiaPublishing
https://www.facebook.com/promotingauthors
Instagram:
Sarah Jane Butfield Rukia Publishing
Twitter:
Websites:
Blogs:
Sarah Jane Butfield Author blog
Email:
Subscribe to
my personal newsletter for updates, competitions, and
sneak previews
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Thank you so much for the feature and the social media coverage.
ReplyDeleteAbsolutely amazing to read your story and your 'why'
ReplyDeleteYou have been through through much and to write about it too is just amazing.
Thank you so much for reading and commenting.
DeleteThis was a lovely read, very honest and clearly shows passion for writing. Definitely going to have a look and read some of your books
ReplyDelete