**INTERVIEW #2 with Author ANN GIMPEL

It is a Pleasure and a Great honor to bring back Author Ann Gimpel. Author of: 'PSYCHE'S PROPHECY' 5 Star Review, And Author of: 'PSYCHE'S SEARCH.' Thank you Ann for today's Interview. I wish you much Success in your writing endeavors.


http://www.amazon.com
http://www.barnesandnoble.com
http://www.GypsyShadow.com
http://www.anngimpel.com
http://anngimpel.blogspot.com

~~~Author Interview #2~~~


Has a movie ever inspired you to write a story?
I'd love to say it has, but since my husband is hard of hearing, we don't see very many movies in theaters. Though, we certainly could watch DVDs at home. It always seems there's something else we'd rather do.


Have you ever experienced writer's block?
I almost hate to say not yet, because it may turn around and jinx me. So far, the ideas keep coming. Like anything else, practice is important. Rather than waiting for inspiration, I sometimes force myself to write. Something always comes. An online critique group that I belong to has something called 'short story in a week.' This group, known as SSIAW, is something we do twice a year. There's a list of words for a prompt, and I write a story, using all the words. Over the course of a month, there are four opportunities to write something. Many of my published shorts started out as SSIAWs that were polished and reworked.




Describe your perfect reading location?
That's easy. In my tent, after a long day on the trail, curled-up in a warm down sleeping bag. E-readers, like my Kindle, are perfect because I'm a fast reader, and that way I can bring several books for long back-country trips. So far, the only glitch has been that Kindles are very temperature sensitive. They do not like being cold. So, I have to drape the down bag over the Kindle to be able to keep clicking the pages. The iPad isn't nearly as devastated by cold, which is too bad, since it's too heavy to backpack with.




What does it take to become successful?

A thick skin, and the ability to be persistent. Other than the odd author, like Diana Gabaldon, who had 'OUTLANDER' sold before she was done writing it, just about everyone else has a wall of rejection emails or letters. Native writing helps too. There's a beauty and cadence to the English language that you either have an ear for, or you don't.




How important is a book cover?

Very! It's the first decision point for a reader, where they decide if they want to read the blurb. The cover of my first book was one of my photographs. There's a story behind the cover for the second one, 'PSYCHE'S SEARCH.' I couldn't find a photograph that felt right, and I had a specific scene from the book in mind for the cover. My publisher provides covers, but they're so busy, I don't like to bother them. In any event, I hired a fellow who shall remain nameless. He was a pretty big name in the cover design business for science fiction and fantasy books. We had a contract. He was supposed to send me a sketch to comment on. A couple of weeks went by, and he sent me something. I didn't like it, because it had a barely clad woman on a raised platform in chains. Not the feel that I wanted at all. When I asked him to change it, he refused. A pitched email battle ensued. Eventually, I got most of my money back, probably because he'd broken the terms of our agreement. I found another cover artist in Florida, and she did the cover with lots of feedback back-and-forth. I learned a lot from experience. Now, I ask a lot more questions up front.