Author Spotlight: Interview with Andrea Norwich

Welcome to I Love My Authors Blog!!!

I have the amazing Andrea Norwich here with us. Welcome Andrea!! So nice to have you here. Andrea has graciously agreed to answer my questions. Thank you taking the time out of your busy schedule to be with us today. Before we get to the Interview I wanted to introduce you to Andrea and her debut release Turn of the Lykoi. 

Andrea Norwich is a freelance writer who has always been a fan of werewolves. After reading story after story of the beasts and feeling more and more let down on how most stories portrayed the werewolves, she decided to write her own "short story". Andrea has found it difficult to stop writing.

In addition to writing, Andrea is a photographer and a graphic artist. She is also a wife and a mother.

Sam Harris thought her life couldn't get any worse when she lost her parents at age five, but she never realized how wrong she could be. Sam drifted into adulthood and life finally seemed to settle down. That was until the nightmares began. Secrets that had been kept for so many years are finally revealed as they will be the ultimate key to her survival.

The Trailer 

The Interview

1. When did you start writing?
I have always written poems and short stories. It has been a hobby (or rather an escape) since I was a teen.
As for Turn of the Lykoi, I started writing the story back in 2004.  I shelved the story for about 6 years, with only 3 chapters left to go.  I just couldn't find the proper ending to the story.  I couldn't decide whether I wanted to continue the saga in another installment, or if I wanted to have an actual ending.

2. What inspired you to do it?
It started with the love of Laurell K Hamilton's "Anita Blake" series.  She's an amazing writer.  Her AB series focuses on vampires, werewolves, necromancers and s-e-x and gore.  I couldn't stop reading her novels. One after another, it continued to feed my addiction.  I did find, however, that how I thought about werewolves and how she wrote about werewolves, were just..........different.  It got to the point where it really bothered me that our views were so different. (Yes, I understand that I was having an imaginary disagreement with an author I have only met a couple of times at various book signing).  I just couldn't seem to let it go.  I talked about it to friends and family (well, really anyone who would listen), about my view of werewolves.  I guess people around me got tired of hearing me moan and gripe because I was suddenly flooded with request to "just write the visions down."  Oh gosh. Really?  WHAT A GREAT IDEA!
I started to write a short story about a woman, who was a werewolf, and well-the rest is history!

3. What projects have you done?
Beyond some short stories and poems (and the occasional term paper for pals, lol), Turn of the Lykoi is the first published work that I have.  Well, actually, there is a published short story about a Kender, on the Kencyclopedia website.  I had a run with the Dragon Lance series and Dungeons and Dragons genre.  I still enjoy the fantasy world and might continue the character I wrote about at that time.  But for now, I'm sticking to my beasties.

4. Any new projects coming up?
I'm working on the second installment to the Lykoi Series, called "Chains of the Turned".  It's the continuation of the story.  There will be one more after Chains of the Turned, that will finish the story, though I might actually do a few spin off stories about some of the flavorful characters I've introduced to everyone.

5. Are you an independent artist or are you represented by an agency?
I am an independent artist.  In more than one way.  I'm also a freelance photographer and graphic designer. I even designed my own book cover! Talk about a money saver. Between that and all of the promotional materials that I have created for the novel, I have saved tons!

6. Any favorite bands? Do you use music to inspire you as you write?
OH WOW! I LOVE ALL TYPES OF MUSIC!  Right now, some of my favs to listen to are The Black Keys, Adele, Skrillex, The Prodigy, Snow Patrol, and Alabama Shakes.  Some of my all-time faves are: Sarah McLachlan, Tool, Aerosmith, Black Sabbath, Neil Diamond (hey, don't judge. LOL), Bob Seger, Norah Jones, Rodrigo y Gabriela, Marilyn Manson, and AC/DC.  But I also listen to classical, jazz, new age/meditation music, and country music from the late 70's to the mid-90's.

7. What advice would you give to someone just starting out in your field?
Anyone can write a book, but not everyone can write a book.  Simple as that.  I have seen them all / read only a few.  To be even halfway successful at it, you have to stay dedicated and focused.  You need pre-readers and reviewers as well as a good editor.  And either have the patience and the resilience to deal with multiple rejections by agents and/or publishers, or be able to work as hard as an agent and/or publisher would for you if you were accepted by them.  Just writing the story doesn't automatically gain you some respect in the writing community.

8. Anything you would like to share with readers on a personal note that would allow them to get to know you better?
I'm an open book.  I went through a lot during my childhood, and survived.  I am on my second pacemaker and am currently living with Sjogren's (which is a strain of Lupus).  I am on my second marriage.  The first one might not have worked as I had hoped, but the second one is a bit magical.  I met him on facebook, over the Mafia Wars game.  We will be married 3 years in January!  I have an 8 year old son who is my world.  I'm a lefty.  I'm a girl, as in I'm a big sap.  I can cry at commercials, if they are sweet enough (damn you Sarah McLachlan and your animal rescue commercial! damn you!).  I'm still a tomboy, which makes my relationship with my son that much more enjoyable.  We can sit on the sofa and have a farting/belching contest, or talk about poop and boogers. I hope our relationship will continue to be as close once he's older.  I am a big dreamer. I daydream all of the time.  I think because of that, I have been able to write such an expressive story!

9. Do you find it hard to share your work with others?
Not anymore. I used to.  I was always self-conscious about my work.  I always feared someone finding a mistake, or finding a better way of wording something I wrote.  Well, duh, of course they will.  BUT why is that a bad thing?  OK sure, too many mistakes (grammatically speaking) would kill any book, but even books that have gone through publishers have mistakes.  My story, my mistakes, they are all me.  My story wouldn't be the same without them.

10. Did your writing come from just a need to express yourself or a particular experience that you had?
I believe that I was writing about my own transformation at the time, and didn't know it.  And no, I do NOT believe that I'm a werewolf.  But the message of my story is that there is no monster greater than your own and that if you can conquer that beast, there isn't anything you can't do.  The message read loud and clear once the story was finished.
I feel that everyone has a bit of themselves in the story(ies) that they write.  At least the good ones do.

Here are some things about me and about the book:
www.lykoiseries.wix.com/totl
www.norwichdesigns/portfolio
www.facebook.com/turnofthelykoi
www.facebook.com/norwichdesigns

you can find the book on
Amazon: http://amzn.com/1463745540
B&N: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/turn-of-the-lykoi-andrea-norwich/1032761495?ean=9781463745547
Nook: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/turn-of-the-lykoi-andrea-norwich/1104996462?ean=2940011506710 
Smashwords: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/83654 

Thank you for stopping by and please feel free to leave a comment below!!