"Taken" Blog Tour w/ Author Felicia Starr

  Author Interview With Felicia Starr

- o How long have you been writing?-

 It depends on what you consider writing. I have been writing poetry and journaling for as long as I can remember. I still have the first book wrote in elementary school. It was a tall tale about a character named Abe Washington. I have always talked about writing a book with one of my closest girl friends, probably since we were around thirteen. Life never really worked out that we ever found the time to make that a reality.

- o What inspired you to become a writer?-

 I would have to answer this question more as what inspired me to become a novelist, because a writer have always been. I did not grow up with the technology that kids are exposed to these days. All the books read were in print up until about two years ago. My husband bought me a Kindle three years ago, it took me almost a year to turn it on.Of course the first thing I read on it was the Hunger Games. I didn't know what to read next. Some how I stumbled on Dannika Dark's book Sterling. I loved it! I was addicted to my kindle and for the first time looked up celebrity on social media. From there and after some very motivating email from her and author Amber Lynn Natusch decided to be true to something I always wanted to do-

o What was your first written work?-

 Well, my fist documented written work is my tall tale I mentioned earlier. My first published book is Taken(Breaking the Darkness #1) published November11,2013-

o How do you come up with your characters?

-  My characters kind of come up with themselves. I draw inspiration from all different places. Sometimes one word in a song or the person on line next to me can spark a character and their personal story

- o Why did you choose to write in your genre?

-  I am not completely sure what my genre is. I think that it rides the lines of several genres. I love most things that are paranormal, fantasy and scifi. I always have. When I was a child and home from school sick loved to watch re-runs of I Dream of Trek fan, of course my favorite was because of my age was Star Trek the Next Generation. I will give most books and shows in the sci-fi/paranorma realm a chance. I do draw the line giant ice spiders-  The funny thing about the genres that I write in is that is that it leaves me with an expectation of the paranormal or supernatural element in everything I read. I forget that not everyone writes or thinks that way- o

As a writer, what have been your three main struggles?-

 *One of the things I have struggles with the most is finding time to write. I am always trying to find different ways to schedule time to get what is in my head on paper-  *Another thing I need to work on as a writer is finding some way of cataloging my characters and their traits so I can easily reference them and make sure that I don't mix them up-  *The third thing I struggle with is finding the right person to bounce ideas off of for my characters. have tried one critique group, but it wasn't for me. I hope to one day find a writing buddy that I can be in sync with for sharing ideas and working out any plot hole we might have in our stories- o

What have been your three inspirations?-

 *There are a hand full of indie authors that have and do inspire me on a daily basis. I do try to remember not to compare myself to any of them because we all walk a different path of course they all have more experience than I do. I try to learn what I can by seeing what works for them-  *One of the biggest inspirations is having someone believe in me and my writing. My sister and husband were of course supportive, but my cousin Amy has been a huge factor in inspiring me to keep pushing my writing and my career as an author-  *The third thing that inspires me is yoga. The teachings of my guru and those that came before him influence everything I do-

o As a writer, how do you deal with negative reviews?-

 So far I have not really had any "bad" reviews. I am sure that it will hurt when they come, and I know they will come. I have never seen a book without bad reviews. I see people give books that I have given a five start to a one. We all come from different places with different views and preferences. We can't all like the same thing, I know that my book(s) won't be everyones cup of tea- o

What new projects are you working on? Do write full time?-

 I am working on a few different projects. I am currently writing book two in the Breaking the Darkness series The book is about half way through the first draft. I also have another series of stand alone paranorma romance's with some steamy high heat content. The first book is written and expected to release early 2014. also have a short story written for the Breaking the Darkness that will be 1.5 in the series. I hope to have it ready to release before spring 2014- o

How did you come up with the concept for your latest work?-

 The concept for Taken developed as wrote it. I did not plan or outline. The core spark was inspired by a question I was left unanswered from a book that I read. My book does not have anything to do with that book, but the one question about a charter is something that readers will be trying to figure out.
- o What advice would you give other aspiring writers?-  Don't give up. Some people start multiple project and never make the commitment to finish one book. Just remember you cannot go back and edit what you don't have written. Keep writing and don't be afraid to ask other authors for help. There may be some that are not interested in taking the time but most will. I have been very fortunate to be surrounded by some amazing authors. I talk a little bit about them in my acknowledgements in the back of Taken-

o What are some things your readers do not know about you?

-  There is so much that readers don't know about me. I am not sure where I would even start. I love my coffee. I love all things coffee. prefer Dunkin Donuts to Starbuck but have my favorite drinks at both. I go through a jar of Hershey's caramel syrup a week-

o Leave our readers with some last words. In addition, can we contact you?-  I am so excited that people are starting to read and enjoy my book That is of course the ultimate goal, to put out a product that is entertaining and leaves the reader.
wanting more. Knowing that readers want more is a huge motivator. Of course want to hear from you. You can find me on Facebook, Twitter, and my website. You can message me through any of those outlets.