LACEY WEATHERFORD

AUTHOR INTERVIEW

WITH

LACEY WEATHERFORD

Please welcome the amazingly talented, Lacey.

 

Hello Lacey,How are you, Tell us a little about yourself?

My name is Lacey Weatherford.

I’m a mom of six beautiful children, three boys and three girls,

and wife to one of the most wonderful men on the planet.

I think I was born with romance running through my veins.

I remember swooning over boys, cartoon characters,

 and television stars beginning around the age of five.

I’m definitely a lover, not a fighter.

How would you describe your book(s)?

  I like my stories to have an element of reality to them,

whether I’m writing contemporary or paranormal,

I want my reader to be able to emotionally connect to the book.

My author slogan is, “Bringing Stories to Life.”

I want the reader to be able to feel like they’re living the

 journey with the characters.

What genre is your work mainly? Do you tend to stay in the same vein or are you hoping (if not already) to explore new ventures?

 I write whatever I’m feeling. I currently have books in paranormal,

contemporary, and historical fantasy, genres out.

I’m all about telling any story that hits me.

 

Share with us a quote from one of your

favourite characters?

 “Have you fallen in love with the

 wrong person yet?'

Jace said, "Unfortunately, Lady of the Haven, my one true love remains myself."

..."At least," she said, "you don't have to worry about rejection, Jace Wayland."

"Not necessarily. I turn myself down occasionally,

just to keep it interesting.” ~Jace Wayland, City of Bones

I seriously die laughing at this quote in the book.

So glad it made it into the movie!

Is it hard to come up with new idea's and/or plot's?

Not at all. In fact, I spend more time trying NOT to come

up with new characters and plots! Haha I can’t stay

up with all my story ideas. I have a whole list of

them waiting in the wings and it’s constantly growing.

Who is your favourite actor?

Matt Lanter. He was my muse for my first character,

Vance Mangum. Matt’s a great guy in real life too!

What inspired you to write your book (s)?

 Reading. From the time I was very little, my mom

encouraged me to read. By the age of nine,

I was hooked on Nancy Drew books and I wanted to be

an author too. I wrote my first “story” at that age, called

“The Diamond Caper.” It was a whole 4 chapters, 

and 2 pages long—handwritten, front and back.

Hahahaha I still have it in a box somewhere

of things my mom saved from my childhood.

Who is the easiest character to write and why?  

Hardest and why?

 Easiest for me, the male perspective is easiest to write.

Growing up, I think 95% of my really good friends were guys.

 For some reason, I just seem to be able to slip into

that mentality really well.

Hardest is definitely any villains, or jerk characters,

in my story. As stated before, I’m a lover, not a fighter,

so it’s really hard for me to dip into the well of

darkness that most “bad” characters have inside themselves.

I can do it, I just don’t like bad places and a lot of

times there are backstories of what is really driving those characters.

It can get pretty dark.

Are your characters based on real people? People you

may know on TV / Movie stars?

 Sometimes. My first character, Vance Mangum, from my Of Witches and Warlocks series is based on actor Matt Lanter.

Chase, from my Chase Walker series, is based on Chase Walden,

a local football star who played with my son. Chase also

 co-authored the last book in that series with me.

My Crush series covers feature super model, Sasha Petrovic.

He was very instrumental in my vision of the character.

I adore all these guys. They’re awesome!

Other books I’ve written beside these mentioned

are just visions of delusion dancing inside my own head.

hahaha

Without giving anything away,

what is/are your favourite scenes in your book?

Hahaha! With sixteen books released and six more on the way,

I have way too many favorite scenes. I can tell you I really enjoy when the characters throw unexpected humor into scenes.

I love laughing over those. And I love any scene with swoony romance in it too.

What is up next for you?

 I have several stories in the works, but my next release is

coming very soon, on July 6th. Allureis a New Adult Contemporary Romance, set in the Las Vegas area. It features Six, a 22 year old tattoo artist by day, exotic dancer by night, who falls for the 17 year old sister of a good friend and the drama and trouble  their relationship causes. I’m really excited for it.

Do you have any hobbies?

I do! I used to have a lot more, but writing fills almost all my time

these days. I really love photography and photoshop.

I’ve been taking pictures since I was a teen. It’s just something I fell in love with.

 I do almost all my own covers and promo graphics, just because I like it.

I also love reading, of course, though I don’t have nearly enough time for it these days with my schedule.

 

Is there anyone besides you in your family who writes?

 Yes! My oldest daughter, Kamery Solomon, is a bestselling published author.

 She has four full length books out, Zeus, Poseidon, & Hades, in her God Chronicles,and Big Apple Dreams which is contemporary. She has a Fae fantasy novella,Forever, and she will soon be releasing the first book in her Titan series, Adrastia, featuring Cristos. She’s an amazing author that’s really starting to take off recently, building the nice fan base of her own. Check her out!

(My shameless pimp moment! Haha)

When did you start writing? What was your first piece?

First published piece?

The first story I ever wrote was a fantasy novel called Castle in the Clouds.

 It took me 14 years to write it and it’s never been published.

Immediately upon finishing that story, I came up with the idea for Of Witches and Warlocks.

 I refused to write it though, because it had taken me so long to write the first one.

I didn’t want to do any more. The idea wouldn’t go away though and kept nagging at me, so I finally decided to write the idea down, just in case I wanted to do it later on.

Six weeks later, the book was finished and signed by a publisher a week or two after that.

Everything escalated from there.

Do you have any favourite books? Authors ? Movies?

 Haha! Again, lots! Right now, I really love The Mortal

Instruments series by Cassandra Clare. I’m halfway through

the last book in that series, but I’ve been too busy to have

the time to finish it. LOL An indie author I’ve been

reading a ton of lately is Cambria Hebert. She’s simply fabulous.

And, of course, I adore my BFF, author Belinda Boring.

Her Mystic Wolves series has readers forming lynch mobs

and begging for more. All great authors and great books!

As far as movies, my all time favorite is probably Phantom

of the Opera with Gerard Butler. I love Anne of Green Gables

and Gone with the Wind too. I have tons of romance ones I love like Ever After, The Wedding Date, Under the Tuscan Sun, A Walk to Remember, and anyone who’s listened to me rave about movies recently, knows I also love Divergent! There’s a billion more,

but those are the first off the top of my head.

Do you have a favourite character in your books?

I always say this question kills me, because it’s like asking me to choose between my children and pick a favorite. I love them all! If I HAD to choose, I would probably say Vance Mangum, from Of Witches and Warlocks, simply because he was my first and he was the one who made everything explode for me.

What is your favourite genre to write?

 I don’t know that I have a favorite. Paranormal can be a lot more involved with all the world building and rules the author needs to set up for the storyline to follow.

Things need to make sense and not be willy nilly all over the place. So for that reason, contemporary seems a little easier to me, just because it’s reality based. I do have some ideas for a paranormal historical though. I have all the research books I need for it,

but I haven’t had time to actually do the research. Haha So hopefully it will get out there at some point. I think my favorite genre is whatever I’m working on at the moment.

What is your favourite genre to read?

 I love several genres, but I started out reading a LOT of historical romance.

I love things set back in time. History has always fascinated me,

and I love movies in the same setting too.

I also read a lot of YA paranormal and adult contemporary.

How long have you been writing?

 I’ve been writing most of my life with tiny little stories for fun or personalized romances for friends when I was in high school.

I’ve been published since 2009.

Who or what has been your biggest literary influence?

 I think L.M. Montgomery has been my biggest influence.

I fell in love with her Anne of Green Gables and Avonlea books.

I could get totally lost in her writing and the way she brings the world to life around the reader. At times, I swear I can smell the very air in her books.

Her description is wonderful. Every time I read something of hers it makes me want to write! She had such an amazing talent.

How about characters?  Are they easily born and developed? 


 Same with storylines, characters are very easily born and developed.

They come quickly and without any warning. I pull up my notes app on my phone and write them down as soon as I get them as continue to add to them as more thoughts come. The list grows ever longer.

Do you ever find yourself a struggling writer?

 Only once, and thankfully that wasn’t really me, but medication

and health related. I had a life threatening allergic reaction and was put on several medications as a result. They knocked me completely flat.

I could hardly write a paragraph. It was like the writer switch in my head had been  flipped off and I couldn’t get it to turn back on. I simply could not write. I would open my computer and stare at the screen and there was nothing there.

Even if I tried to force it, I just couldn’t do it. It was kind of scary.

Haha I finally realized the connection with the meds after about 3 months and I went and talked to my doctor. She agreed that it sounded medication related and changed my prescriptions and BAM—within 24 hours I was a writing fiend!.

Haha I don’t EVER want to experience that again. It was awful!

How about how long does it take for you to complete a novel,

from concept to completion?

 That depends on how busy my schedule is.

The longest book I ever wrote was written entirely in 7 days flat. Let me tell you, that was some hardcore writing, averaging at 12,300 words a day.

That was before everything exploded though, so I wasn’t involved in heavy marketing, formatting, and traveling to signings, etc.

Now, I run about 7 weeks from starting to write, to release date.

 Have you ever trashed a novel or story before or after

finishing it, feeling it wasn't turning out as you planned?

Once. I started writing a sequel series to my Of Witches and Warlocks series and I did not care at all for the feel of the book and the direction the storyline was turning after the first few chapters. I apologized to my readers and cancelled the project because I didn’t want to write something I didn’t like.

Just this year, I recently came up with a new storyline for that series that I’m LOVING so far.

The first two books in that series, Of Witches and Demons, Craft and Coven, are available on preorder. It was worth the wait for the right storyline and my readers are super excited it’s finally coming.

Do you have a special time or place to write?

 I can write any time, anywhere. I am a full time writer,

so I do treat it just like a job. I get up and go to “work”

first thing in the morning, sitting in my office or my recliner, and get to it.

I take a lunch break for an hour to rest my mind, and then

 I go back at it again. I try to do 9-4 every day, but it usually ends up being like 9-11pm.

Hahaha I have so much stuff to do!

Any funny experiences or quirks you'd like to share

 with your readers?

Hmmm. The first time I was recognized in a hotel by readers I’d never met before was pretty insane. Two ladies screamed my name and ran up and threw their arms around me and I had NO IDEA who they were! Hahaha I also had another reader ask me if I was dating one of my cover models, which totally made me die laughing. He’s young enough to be my son and he is LIKE a son to me. I was like, "Ummm, no. I don’t think my husband would appreciate that.”

LOL People think crazy things sometimes!!

Which of your books would you like to see made in to a movie?

All of them! I currently have my Of Witches and Warlocks series in the hands of a movie producer right this minute. He’s reading them and looking around for funding, so we will see if anything materializes out of that!

 What was it like to publish your first book?

 Surreal. I sent out query letters to 20 different agencies.

About three quarters of them responded back asking for more material.

In my naivety and excitement, I signed with the first one who asked, (a mistake) and about four months later, I was published. I was very excited to hold that first book, but I did spend the next year trying to get out of that contract, which thankfully I was able to buy out. I’d learned enough about the business that I decided to go the indie route after that, though I do have an agent and am traditionally published overseas, too.

What advice would you give to others who want to make

writing their career?

 1. Just write. Don’t put it off. Don’t worry that it isn’t good enough.

Don’t worry about plot flaws. Just write. That’s what editing is for.

You can fix all that stuff later, just lay your idea down on paper.

If you keep waiting until you have it just perfect in your head,

you will NEVER get it done.

2. If you decide to go with a traditional agent/publisher,

look up their reputation on the website Predators and Editors.

This can save you a WHOLE lot of heartache.

There are definitely some people out there who want to take advantage of you and your hard work. Don’t fall victim to those people!

What is the worst job that you have ever done and why?

 My worst job was also one of my best and most rewarding jobs.

I worked for six years for ambulance, fire, and emergency room departments.

I loved the job, but I also saw some of the most heinous,

heartbreaking things you can imagine. I still cry over some of the calls I ran on.

They were traumatizing. I left the emergency services after my asthma got to such a bad point, I couldn’t handle being around the diesel fumes of the rigs. It was a great job, and I loved being able to help the public, but there are scars on my heart that will never heal from it.

Do you ever get ideas at random moments, and if so how do you hang on to them?

 Always. And I always write them down, in case there’s

 a future for them.

How do you overcome writers block?

 In most case, writing overcomes writer’s block. I know that sounds dumb, but even if you’re having a hard time, just putting words on paper will spark something and give you a new idea to move forward with. I found that pondering only leads to more writer’s block. If it’s really bad, usually talking the storyline out

 with someone will almost always lead to a way to fix whatever the problem is.

Just keep that story actively moving in your mind.

Can you write on demand and under pressure, or do you need time

 and space before the creativity starts to flow?

 I answered this earlier, I think in another question, but yes,

I can write on demand…any time, anywhere, no matter how many distractions.

I have six kids, so I’ve learned to tune out noise. Hahah

How supportive are your family of your work?

 Very supportive! In the beginning they were skeptical. All they could see was me putting in a massive amount of work effort with zero to little pay off. But then things exploded and when my checks were suddenly more in one month than most people make in a year…yeah, they all commended me for sticking with it even when they discouraged me and told me to quit. They’re all firm believers and supporters now. My dad used to tell me books were a waste of time and money, so it’s funny to see him lying on the floor reading one of my books now. hahah No one says that to me anymore!

Are there any places in the world you would love to do a book tour

 that you have not yet had a chance?

Italy! I’ve always wanted to go to Italy! I have a book set in Scotland, so I want to go there as well. And I’m traditionally published in Hungary, so I’d like to go meet the awesome readers over there. I also have a larger readership in Australia and New Zealand. I’m attending a signing in Australia next year, so that will be awesome. I have a lot of readers in Canada that keep asking me to come there too, so that would be nice also. Haha I’m pretty much game for going anywhere to meet readers! I’ve loved all the events I’ve been able to attend all over the United States. I’ve met so many amazing people! It really is a wonderful experience!

What is your favourite food?

 Anything Italian or Mexican. I’m a big fan of pizza and fettuccini, and tacos!

Is there a place you would love to do a book event that you

 haven't already been to?

 New Orleans! I’ve always wanted to go there and I haven’t been able to clear my schedule enough to attend recent events that were held there. Hopefully, someday!

How supportive are your family when you travel the world to do book signings?

 Very supportive. My husband travels with me to everything and acts as my personal assistant. He helps haul everything from place to place and he takes good care of me, making sure I get time to eat and rest properly. I love having him with me. When school doesn’t conflict, I try to take my kids to events as well. They love it when I do signings at Disneyland, Universal Studios, or Disney World, etc., and they get to go too.

What are you afraid of?

 I’m totally Indiana Jones when it comes to fears. “Snakes. Why’d it have to be snakes?” I can’t think of any good reason to be friends with a snake. Hahahaha My son had one as a pet.

I say HAD because it got loose in our house somewhere. No one has seen it since.

At night, I imagine it slithering inside the walls of my house growing bigger and bigger until one day it’s going to pop out of the wall and go all Harry Potter on us.

You can bet I’ll be sending my son in to fight it, too! He lost it—he can battle it! Hahahah

THANK YOU LACEY FOR A FANTASTIC INTERVIEW

  

Thanks for having me!

 

GO TO AMAZON NOW TO CHECK OUT ALL OF LACEY'S BOOKS

 

INCLUDING HER NEWEST RELEASE