Welcome Author Anne Conley, we are so glad to have you here today.
Please tell us a bit about yourself and your books.
When
did you first realize you wanted to be a writer?
I’ve
written stories, poems, and in journals since I was a child. It was
only about four years ago, when I found myself at a personal crisis
point with my ‘self’ that I began writing for public
consumption.
How
long does it take you to write a book?
If
I have the idea totally gelled in my head, and a good outline to work
with, it only takes a couple of weeks to bang out a rough draft. It
takes months, however, to revise and make palatable for readers. All
in all, about a year—from idea to sending to editor. I typically
have about four books in various stages in the process.
What
is your work schedule like when you're writing?
I
get up at 5:15 and take care of social media stuff until I take my
kids to school. Then I write until 2:00 when I pick them up. If
it’s a rough draft, I’m consumed by getting the story out, and
nothing can happen until that’s done. If it’s revisions,
sometimes I have a hard time focusing and do a lot of wandering
around my house.
What
would you say is your interesting writing quirk?
When I’m writing, I’m
listening to a loop of DVBBS and Borgeous Tsunami over and over.
I’ve been writing to that piece of music for over a year, listened
to it countless times, and written over half a million words to
it.How do your
books get published?
I’m
an Indie Author, meaning I publish them all myself on Amazon and
Draft 2 Digital.
Where
do you get your information or ideas for your books?
Most
of my ideas come to me in the most random places, usually in my car.
I do a lot of driving when I get stuck on something. I get a clean
notebook and drive the backroads. I’ve gotten adept at writing
without looking at my paper, although, reading what I’ve written
later can sometimes be a challenge.
When
did you write your first book and how old were you?
I
actually wrote a small book for my College Algebra final project.
The idea of making all the graphs and stuff was painful to me, so I
wrote a mystery about Matthew Mattox, PI, a sort of noir thing,
complete with weeping damsel in distress and Bogart-like hero. It
helped my sucky graphing skills translate to an A in the class. I
was twenty, and that was twenty years ago.
What
do you like to do when you're not writing?
Reading,
spending time with my family.
What
does your family think of your writing?
They
think it’s awesome when I’m having a great month, but they could
care less when I’m not, treating it like some sort of hobby. My
husband is the best, though. He’s extremely supportive of my
writing, no matter.
What
was one of the most surprising things you learned in creating your
books?
That
I can’t do it alone, no matter how solitary an occupation writing
is. Haha. I have a great team that I work with as far as editing,
formatting, cover design, and promotion. They’ve all become really
good friends.
How
many books have you written? Which is your favorite?
I’ve
written sixteen books, and my favorite is Hot Mess. That was the one
in which I finally found my voice as a writer, and a purpose for
writing in general.
Do
you have any suggestions to help me become a better writer? If so,
what are they?
Learn
everything you can about the craft. Keep writing, even when you are
discouraged. Take breaks as needed, but always go back. Draw
support where you can, but ignore the negative people.
Do
you hear from your readers much? What kinds of things do they say?
I
do, and it’s one of my favorite things. They are usually
complimentary, telling me they are reading or just finished one of my
books and loved it. I appreciate hearing that. Although, I’ve
gotten the rare email from the reader who didn’t much care for
them, and why. Those are okay, too. I don’t love them as much,
for obvious reasons, but I’m glad they reached out to me.
Do
you like to create books for adults?
Yes,
I do. All of my books are for adults. One of these days, I’m
going to write a YA book for my children. It’s started, but it’s
not finished yet.
What
do you think makes a good story?
Great
Characters, intense conflict. Readers want characters they can
relate to, and situations they can root for.
As
a child, what did you want to do when you grew up?
Either
an English teacher, like Robin Williams on the Dead Poets Society, or
an LA Actress. After three years in college as a drama major, I
learned that the movie business wasn’t where I wanted to spend my
life, after which I tried the teacher thing, which I failed at
miserably.
Anne
has written her entire life and has the boxes of angst-filled
journals and poetry to prove it. She's been writing for public
consumption for the last four years. Currently she is the author of
three romance series. In Stories of Serendipity, she explores real
people living real lives in small town Texas in a contemporary
romance setting. In The Four Winds, she chronicles God's four closest
archangels, Uriel, Gabriel, Raphael, and Michael, falling in love and
becoming human. In Pierce Securities, she gives us Ryan, Evan,
Miriam, Zack, Quinten, and Simon. She lives in rural East Texas with
her husband and children in her own private oasis, where she prides
herself in her complete lack of social skills, choosing instead to
live with the people inside her head.
Pierce
Securities Series - a few misfits and their office manager band
together to get into more trouble than they anticipate, in this new
series by Anne Conley. The first in the series, Craze, is out
NOW!
When
Krista catches her boss doing the unthinkable, the only thing she can
do is run. Straight into the arms of the eye-candy she’s been
trying not to flirt with on her lunch break. But whose side is he
on?
Ryan’s
security firm is having a hard time getting off the ground, and this
may be just the job to help the company out. But pseudo-bounty hunter
isn’t really what Pierce Securities is trying to get a name for.
When he finds out their target is the classy lady from the park, all
of his senses go on high alert. What do these men want with her?
When
Krista is forced into Ryan’s sanctuary in the woods, she realizes
just how wild he is, and that she doesn’t want to tame him. He may
feel his methods of protection endangered her, but without Krista in
his life, Ryan is crazed.
Stories
of Serendipity-- Escape to a small town in Texas with real
people, real jobs, and real problems. The Stories of
Serendipity are a series of stand-alone novels you can read in order
or not, depending on how you feel. They all have happily ever
after endings, and are cliff-hanger free. Tired of reading
about twenty something year old jet-setters who wear shoes that cost
more than you make in a month? Are you over the billionaire
playboy sweeping the virgin off her feet? Sick of serial
romances that cost .99 each, and by the time you've read the whole
story, you've invested ten bucks? Or more? I'm not
knocking those books, I read them and enjoy them, but every now and
then I want to take a trip to Serendipity, Texas.
FIRST
IN SERIES IS FREE!
Claire
moves into a house that she inherited from her Uncle Eddie. Her
entire life, she has heard the stories of the gold that is hidden
there. Dreaming of finding the gold, and opening a Bed and Breakfast,
she starts fixing it up with her meager resources. Enter the hunky
next door neighbor, who has every intention of helping her, but she
doesn't trust him. Is he trying to find her treasure?
Other
Books in the series:
Dream On
Chef’s
Delight
Hot Mess
Falling
for Him
Gambling
on Love
My
Mistake
Wrecked
Saving
Charlie
The
Four Winds series are Paranormal Romances dealing with the
Archangels. They are the biblical archangels, so there are
aspects of Christianity in them. But the conflict in the
stories are about the archangels falling in love and turning human,
so they are dealing with human emotions and feelings. Due to
various reactions of shock and outrage, I feel the need to put the
spoiler out there: These books have sex in them, but also
Christianity. So if either of those bother you, please don't
buy these books.
Uriel
is one of God's Four Winds, the Archangel of Destiny. He has helped
thousands of people throughout the ages find their destiny according
to His will. This time however, what he doesn't realize, is that it's
his own destiny he's supposed to fulfill.
Heather
is an exotic dancer, who's stage name is Heaven. It's not that that's
what she's always wanted to do, it's just that it helps her pay the
bills, and she's got a lot of bills, with taking care of her mother
and her sister. When the mysterious Uriel comes into the club, she
can tell he's different, just how different will rock her world...
FIRST
IN SERIES IS FREE!!
Other
books in series:
Falling
for Grace
Falling
for Hope
Falling
for Faith
Falling
for Cyn (coming this summer)
Anne’s
standalones
The
Fixer Upper:
James,
a UK based chef, has tried to make a career with EAT-TV, but his
womanizing ways aren’t what they’re looking for with their
wholesome family style image. However, the producers of a new reality
show about single life, The Fixer Upper, think he’s perfect.
Against his wishes his agent convinces him to give it a shot. His
overpriced bachelor pad is needing a mortgage payment, and he needs a
job to support the tween-aged daughter that’s recently been dumped
in his lap.
Margaret
Dumas is control freak who has micromanaged her marriage to shambles.
When she makes a deal with her mother to quit fixing her up if she’ll
do this new reality show, she thinks she’s won. No more blind
dates, no more friendly advice, no more “chance meetings” with
her Mother’s friends’ sons. The only catch is she’s got to go
on detestable reality television and expose her dating habits to a
total stranger who is supposed to “fix” her and make her a dating
machine. As if.
When
Margaret meets James, they clash on the surface, but deep down they
recognize something in the other that they want. Redemption.
The
Best Laid Plans of Boys and Men:
The
Best Laid Plans of Boys and Men tells the story of the whirlwind
May/December romance between Taylor and Alexander. While Taylor is
completely caught off guard by Alexander’s maturity and the
difference between him and every other boy she’s dated, Alexander’s
busy trying to figure out how to tell her he’s the lawyer suing her
pants off.
This
is a standalone story of approximately 30 thousand words, not part of
any of Anne Conley’s series.
Stalker
Links:
@anneconley10
- Twitter
Amazon:
http://www.amazon.com/Craze-Pierce-Securities-Book-1-ebook/dp/B00WNHAEO0/ref=asap_bc?ie=UTF8
I self-publish all of my books.
I self-publish all of my books.
