Author Interview: Gippy Adams Henry

 

NOTE: THIS AUTHOR IS NOT AN LV BOOK DESIGN CLIENT AND ALL IMAGES WERE PROVIDED BY THE AUTHOR.

 
  • First, can you give us some background about yourself?
  • When I was grade school and high school ages, I was concentrating on fine art painting. I only began writing in my early 30s, around the time I had my children. I wrote poetry and short stories, but only read non-fiction books at that time. As an adult, I fell in love with fiction--reading and writing.

Not a design by LV Book Design.

  • What have you written?
  • I've written numerous children's stories and some mystery suspense short stories. I'm also a poet, having published in a few places over the years. My most recent work is my first mystery suspense thriller/psychological, Web of Destruction. It takes place in Philadelphia, PA, Cape May in South Jersey, Bar Harbor, Maine, and Mt. Pocono, PA. I am presently working on the sequel at the request of many of my readers anxious to know what happens to the characters after book one.

  • Are you currently working on anything?
  • Yes, as I stated above, I'm working on the Sequel to Web of Destruction on Amazon, and my blogs for the month of August are based on the sequel with a few hints as to how some of the characters from book one have changed outwardly. I'm having fun working on it. I am also back in college for a BS in Criminal Justice and only a year or so from graduating. This degree is to aid me in the criminal aspect of my books.
     
  • How much research do you do for your writing?
  • Even though I write fiction, which is more research in my brain, I do a lot of research for the criminal parts, the medical issues, and locations. I try to write locations in which I am already familiar, but if I am not, I will travel to that location if possible. All of these subjects, even in fiction, must be accurate. I also try to use real businesses, shops, and anything else possible to make the setting more familiar to readers. Only if something bad happens in a restaurant or shop, etc., I will make up a name. I love doing research and just personally have researched so many subjects in my life, and now I definitely do a lot of research in school as well. 

  • What is your process like in the midst of writing a book?
  • I'm mostly a plot person right up front. I have so many plots in my head, I have to write them on little papers and keep them in a box. The one I work on stays in my head for months until I have the beginning of the story, the ending and some of the characters in my head. I then create a huge board I can use chalk on and place all the names of the characters, locations, crimes, and as much detail as possible visually, connecting them according to the storyline so far. Then I try to find either photos I've taken or pictures from magazines of people who I feel my characters may look like and I stick them on my board near their name. It's fun and since I am more visual than anything else, it helps me to study the board and eventually the characters become more real in my mind. Only then do I begin typing the storyline. And it does take twists and turns to which anyone who reads my book can attest.

  • What does your routine look like when you get to the editing process?
  • Oh, wow! This was my first book and boy, did I learn a lot. It was a nightmare. The story went well. I went back and edited it at least 25 times, making changes, adding more detail here and there, etc. Then I had beta readers, as they are called, take over. They loved it from the start, but I told them to be honest and give me feedback, so they did. By the time I made some of those changes--the ones I agreed with, I was mentally exhausted and just wanted to get it out my head. So I finally hired a real editor. I knew with school and writing, I wouldn't have the time to publish it totally myself, so I hired Writer's Relief, who did most of the heavy work and I did the rest. I'm still the publisher, but they were a tremendous help. I couldn't have done it alone. 

  • Do you have any quirks or rituals that help you achieve your writing goals?
  • This is going to sound crazy, but it seems like water affects my brain. Every time I take a shower (and yes, it is more than once a week, haha), I get a great idea to move the plot along. The same goes for doing dishes. I don't believe in dishwashers. I think they are more work setting them up , rinsing the dishes, drying them, and such. I like to stand at the sink and daydream while I wash them. Walah! I end up with another great idea. I know--it's crazy. But it works and I hope we don't run out of water any time soon.

  • Tell us about your work space.
  • Right after I started my first book, we had the attic refinished in our house. The plan was that I would have one side for sleeping and the other side (since it's very long) for my writing and artwork. I love it so much! I put the fan on up there and go to work. It's so quiet, which is how I have to write. It's my getaway for sure.

  • Are there any software or apps that help you in your writing process?
  • There weren't, but I just purchased Scrivener recently and listened to a webinar of the process since it is quite complicated I hear. I do have a relative that is a computer-whiz so I should be okay. I'm excited about being able to finally have my work in one place all the time. It can get confusing otherwise when sometimes I may write a scene way ahead of time and somehow it gets lost in the shuffle of scenes. On Scrivener that should not happen. I can't wait to begin.

  • What do you do when you lose focus? Any tips for getting it back?
  • Not to sound 'different', which I'm sure I'm not, but I rarely lose focus. Once I'm into the book, that is all I think about. Yes, I spend time with my fun-loving, big family and some friends and I do enjoy them, but at times my mind goes off to a character that I might be trying to change or complicate or something. I love writing fiction and creating plots and characters so much that for me it's almost like falling in love. Creative people do sometimes fall in love with their work--painters too. But look out if it's not going well. 

  • Tell us about your publishing process.
  • As I was saying earlier, I went to a business called Writer's Relief. You may have heard of it. I knew about them because I won a box worth $300 of literary works for some little contest blurb they had going a few years back. I couldn't believe how great the publications were (and still are). So I kept up with what they were up to and when I was writing my book, I checked out every single indie publisher out there. It was all so confusing and time-consuming. But I finally settled with Writer's Relief. I felt I had the best in them and that was my choice, and I didn't go wrong. I will go with them again for the sequel. 

  • Where can people find you and your work?
  • http://www.amazon.com/author/gippy-adams-henry
    http://askdavid.com/reviews/book/suspense/13263
    http://www.omne.ws/29hNQBM