Ask the Author: Beth Andrews
Answered Questions (5)
Beth Andrews
I'm tempted to say that I wring my hands and cry, "Why me?" The real cure for me is to try writing something else. Last year, when I hit a blank wall after Chapter Five of my current book, I decided to write song lyrics--and I'm still doing so. They're not great, but the exercise forced me to concentrate on telling stories and expressing emotions with a minimal amount of words (and in rhyme, no less), which got my creative juices flowing. I then edited some old short stores, wrote one or two more, and suddenly I knew the direction I had to take with my book.
Beth Andrews
For me, the best thing about being a writer is that it's something I can do anytime, anywhere. A lot of people are working from home these days, but writers have always had that luxury. I wrote my first novel in cursive in a notebook--mostly while lying in bed! That was a LONG time ago, of course. But I still keep a small notebook near my bed in case a scathingly brilliant idea should strike in the middle of the night--which is not at all unusual.
Beth Andrews
The most important requirements to be a writer (especially a novelist) are surely patience, courage and endurance. You need infinite patience to get those pages and chapters done, endurance to see a project through over months or even years, and courage to keep submitting when you've been rejected too many times to count! Even if you self-publish, you need the courage to face the daunting task of promoting your work and accepting that not everyone (perhaps hardly anyone) will like it.
Beth Andrews
I'm working on what I hope will be the third book in my Regency mystery series, which began with "Hidden in the Heart" and went on to "The Unforgiving Eye." The working title is "The Lying Lips," but that is subject to change! This time the setting is the city of Bath--forever linked to Jane Austen, of course.
Beth Andrews
I've been writing since I was a child, and there's really no hard-and-fast rule about what inspires me. I've been inspired by dreams, by other books, and sometimes by a chance remark or something seen on TV. Whatever it is, I tend to toss ideas around in my mind--sometimes for months or years--before I actually sit down to my keyboard.
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