Evelyn Winters interview

AUTHOR INTERVIEW

A little introduction:

My pen name is Evelyn Winters and I self-published my first book in 2014. I live in the beautiful walled city of Chester close to the border of Wales in the UK. It was founded as a Roman fortress in the 1st century AD. It is known for its walls, shopping rows, Tudor-style half-timber buildings and Roman amphitheatre. It has a lot of history and stories to tell. I like to read about the interesting landmarks which gives me the inspiration for my stories. I also have a YouTube channel called The Evelyn Winters Adventure with a playlist to help support new authors with self-publishing and a children’s zone with stories and guides to help with story-writing which includes free resources from my website for parents and teachers.

When did your love of books begin?

​As a child, I grew up with and loved reading Enid Blyton books and the ‘What Katy Did’ series by Susan Coolidge which is a Penguin classic as well as my Mandy magazines! As I got older, I discovered I enjoyed creative writing and used to swap stories with friends who had similar interests. We even recorded made-up stories with funny voices on our old cassette recorders! We used to love swopping and listening to them. I would love to have been able to listen to them again to see what they sounded like now. Funny enough, I still do that now on my story time videos for my YouTube channel!

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

When I was a teenager, I always thought I might write a book one day. Then when I had my daughter, I started to dabble again. ​​The idea for my first novel popped into my head in 2006. I started writing it and then took a break. When I finally decided to finish it, it took me about 6 years! It is not an easy task, but I feel I know all my characters now like they are real people!

How have you found the process for becoming an author?

The process of becoming an author requires a lot of self-discipline and motivation. I won’t lie, it is a huge learning curve and then when you have learnt to write more professionally, and written and edited your book, you then have the task of getting it into print! So, you have two options, traditional publishing or self-publishing which is a lot easier these days. But both come with their disadvantages. Traditional, spending hours, days, years querying agents and publishers; self-publishing, doing all the editing, artwork (unless you pay someone) and the marketing yourself.

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

Learn from others, read a lot, watch movies, and take note of plot structures. Also, keep a notebook, paper or electronic, where you can jot thoughts down, store things to use in the future and inspiring ideas. People watch as well! You will be surprised how that can help. Also, don’t expect your first draft to be brilliant, it is a work in progress! On a positive note, writing is a way of escaping, like being in a movie, your movie, and can be therapeutic. 

Tell us about your book/books:

I have currently published 9 books which are available on Amazon, and most are available in paperback, Kindle and audio. Turning the books into audio was a lot of fun. I also love animating my book covers which you will see on my social media and YouTube. Most of the stories were inspired by Chester’s landmarks and history, so for instance, An Imp Called Boo is based on a read imp known as The Chester Imp and lives in Chester Cathedral. He is a stone calving, and he is very hard to see, high up on the clerestory windows of the nave. The story is that a monk thought he saw the devil looking in through the window and told the abbot. The abbot had the carving made of a devil in chains to warn the devil he would be put in chains if he dared to return. Another story, The Blessington Dolls, is written in a pied piper style and the doll shop really does exist but as a toy and doll museum. It has a collection of dolls which were made between 1860-1950 and I believe it is has the largest collection of Matchbox model cars in the world! Passing this little building and seeing the dolls in the window gave me inspiration for the story. I had to also include Ye Old Kings Head which is a real pub just across the road. This is a very old pub built around 1208 and is believed to be one of the most haunted in Chester.

What do you love about the writing/reading community?

It is the best creative writing school you could ever ask for! You learn best from other authors and readers, and if someone is creatively criticising your work, don’t be offended. Take on board what they show/tell you and use it to improve your writing.

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

Reading is the best form of escapism and I feel honoured you have chosen my books to do that. If you enjoyed any of my books, then please be kind enough to leave a review. It is very much appreciated!

Where can people connect with you?

This is my Amazon author page: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Evelyn-Winters/e/B00LT4N66Q/ref=dp_byline_cont_pop_ebooks_1

You can connect and be my friend here:

On my website: www.evelynwinters.co.uk

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCsR73NVDLPOvmyMcSY2rshQ

Twitter: https://twitter.com/Evelyn_Winters

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/evelynwintersauthor

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theauthoress_/

Tiktok: https://www.tiktok.com/@theauthoress?lang=en