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Website: www.susanwingate.comBlog: www.susanwingate.com/blog
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As a book bloggin’ and book luvin’ Princess, I’m always curious to find out how authors got the ideas for their books. Can you tell us how you got the idea to write your book?
Can you tell us a little about the main characters of your book?
If you could tell your younger writing self anything, what would that be?
What would you say is one of your interesting writing quirks?
Do you hear from your readers? What do they say?
What is the toughest criticism given to you as an author?
What has been your best accomplishment?
Do you Google yourself?
How many unpublished and half-finished books do you have?
Fun question – if you were princess or prince, what’s one thing you would do to make your kingdom a better place?
Do you have anything specific that you would like to say to your readers?
I’d love to. My husband, Bob and I took an evening walk. We don’t typically walk in the evenings but for some reason decided to just take off from the house, to take a stroll west on a road that wraps around a slice of water in North Puget Sound called the Olympic Straits. We were heading back east on that same road when the moon decided to make an appearance. It was as full and yellow as I’ve ever seen. That’s when MacKenzie Fraser rode by me. Figuratively, that is, in my mind. She and her sister Tessa were racing down the hill in the direction of the moon when Tessa skidded to a stop nearly making Mac run over her. Their discourse was excited and intimate. I mean, I was listening in, eavesdropping on what they were saying. And when the scene played out for me, I knew I had to write their novel.
Can you tell us a little about the main characters of your book?
MacKenzie Fraser is a sixteen-year-old girl, the older sibling of Tessa who is killed by a drunk driver. This is a sister story at the start but due to Tessa’s death, leaves us only memories of the two girls and how they got along. Mac is thinking of getting into college. She’s a whiz kid at math along with her best friend, Gemma Pointer. But things go wrong and Mac’s dreams are side swiped.
If you could tell your younger writing self anything, what would that be?
Slow down. Be patient. Don’t push…on so many points it would be, simply, cruel to you to list them all here.
What would you say is one of your interesting writing quirks?
I need tea first. God second. Sorry, God. NY Times Spelling Bee third. Russian Solitaire fourth and then away I go into fiction land.
Do you hear from your readers? What do they say?
I do! They are so kind to me. They tell me things that every writer longs to hear. They are all so diverse and genuine that it makes my heart swell with happiness.
What is the toughest criticism given to you as an author?
Something’s wrong with you. That’s what another writer told me so take it for what it’s worth. We were at a writing bootcamp so everything we thought, spoke, and acted on was writing related. She said these words to me eleven years ago and they still haunt me. And I still don’t know what she was referring to. Sort of great fodder, don’t you think, for the internal conflict or flaw of a character?
What has been your best accomplishment?
I’ve gotten awards and Amazon bestseller status on several of my books, but those things are fleeting. What I feel is my best accomplishment is that I get up every day, write and produce, and keep getting out novels. Novel writing isn’t for wimps. It can be very difficult at times so I think that I persevere and keep writing is a major accomplishment and something that, at the end of my life, I can look back on and say to myself, “Well done, Sus.”
Do you Google yourself?
I did just recently but here’s why!!! LOL. Because I was trying to find reviews. I googled Susan Wingate book reviews. Please don’t judge me! LOL.
How many unpublished and half-finished books do you have?
OMGee. Tons. Too many to believe. I do have three half-finished books that are going to be finished this year. We’ve had a few setbacks since my mother got sick and died. Life rolls, a writer (the same woman who said something was wrong with me!) calls personal problems. We’ve had three major life rolls since 2015. But I still wrote four books during those times.
Fun question – if you were princess or prince, what’s one thing you would do to make your kingdom a better place?
If I told you, I would lose a third of your audience! So, I’m not going to say. Okay, one thing. Make peanut butter cookies required daily food by the US Surgeon General.
Do you have anything specific that you would like to say to your readers?
Well, thank you for one. But also, I hope you fall in love with all the characters (even the not-so-great ones) in HOW THE DEER MOON HUNGERS. They are all special and need your love.
Thank you for the fun questions. I hope I did okay. Much love, Susan Wingate.
For those who enjoy reading books like Where the Crawdads Sing and My Sister’s Keeper
MACKENZIE FRASER witnesses a drunk driver mow down her seven-year-old sister and her mother blames her. Then she ends up in juvie on a trumped-up drug charge. Now she’s in the fight of her life…on the inside! And she’s losing.
HOW THE DEER MOON HUNGERS is a coming of age story about loss, grief, and the power of love.
ORDER YOUR COPY
Amazon → https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08676VMT3
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