Dianne Astle/Eliza Broughton interview

AUTHOR INTERVIEW

A little introduction:

Always seek the treasure of your own true self. These words guide my work with other people and show up in my writing. I live in beautiful British Columbia with my two dogs, my husband, and his two cats. As well as writing, I enjoy playing in mud. I have a potter’s wheel and kiln in my shop. When not writing, playing in mud, or doing house or garden work, I enjoy fishing. A year ago, I was diagnosed with cancer and given less than a year to live. I am delighted to say that the prediction was off by several years. The cancer has responded very well to chemo.

When did your love of books begin?

I’ve always enjoyed reading books and would often read a new book every two or three days. Although there was a stent in adulthood when I decided that mature adults did not read fiction. I avoided fiction for a couple of years, but it became clear to me that people needed a little fantasy in their life for mental balance.

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

I never dreamed of being an author, partly because my writing skills were so poor. I left high school unable to write a letter I was proud of. When I started university as a mature student, I sat with a dictionary on my lap to look up words like their.  Was it ie or ei? I had a Master’s degree before I turned my attention to writing a novel. My writing skills were better, but not perfect.

I was inspired to write after spending a week taking a long fiction writing course, which I only took because I thought it would be easy. It wasn’t, but the idea for Ben the Dragonborn came into my mind as I drove home. Once I started, I felt an obligation to my characters to keep writing.

How have you found the process for becoming an author?

After self-publishing my first book, I learned how important it was to hire an editor. Since then, I’ve also learned how beneficial a writing critique group can be. While my writing skills have improved, they are not good enough to publish without someone else’s eyes on my work.

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

I have a great deal of advice for new writers. First of all, don’t be sucked into paying a publisher to produce your book. If you can’t find someone to pay you for the privilege, then self-publish. If you can’t produce a good cover, hire someone else to do it. Join a critique group. The one I am part of now meets on Zoom. We have people that are separated from one another by an ocean. The other thing you need to do, even if you have a critique group, is hire an editor. You can put a crappy book out there, but when you do, you make all self-published authors look bad. If I start reading a book and find too many mistakes, I stop reading. It doesn’t matter how intriguing the story is. If you want an audiobook, learn how to produce your own. I spent seventeen hundred dollars on a narrator over a year ago, and I’ve made less than one hundred.

Tell us about your book/books:

I have written five Ben the Dragonborn stories, four novels, and one short story. I’ve also written a time-traveling historical romance entitled Larkin’s Choice, based on the life of a relative who fought in the revolutionary war. I am a daughter of the revolution. My latest work is entitled ‘The Redemption of Ozzie Brown.’  It is the story of a 58-year-old alcoholic jail guard with a history of racism. That one is out to literary agents at the moment. I doubt very much that it will be picked up by anyone. In June or July, I will likely self-publish this story. At the moment, I am working on a memoir that starts with me as a pregnant unmarried eighteen-year-old with my first welfare check in hand. The teller asks me if I am stupid or something and tells me I can’t cash that cheque in her bank.

What do you love about the writing/reading community?

I really appreciate the connections I’ve made. I’m part of a Facebook writer’s group where there is always good advice to be found. I have made some friends that continue to enrich my life through social media.

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

If I could say anything to my readers it would be thank you. Thank you for taking the time to read in a world that offers so many other ways to entertain yourself. Then I would ask very politely if they would consider leaving a review. Some of my favorite reviews are only one of two sentences.

Where can people connect with you?

If people are interested in history, I have a FB page under the name Eliza Broughton. I also have a Ben the Dragonborn page. I have two FB pages. One has a picture of my face. It is my sanitized page and has no politics or religion posted by me on it. I spend very little time there. The other FB page has a picture of me fishing. I post politics and religion on that page. If someone wants to connect with me in a more personal way, they can send an email to astled60@gmail.com.  Please put the book you are interested in talking about in the subject line. If a teacher wants to read Ben the Dragonborn to her class, I would be pleased to meet with the class over Zoom for a conversation. One of the reviews for Ben the Dragonborn is from a teacher who says she is going to keep the book in her class for students to read.