Lauren Klever is the author of The Secret Watchers series, a
young adult action/ adventure tale featuring Owen Ryer and White Eagle, his
mentor. Hold on to your seat as you join
Owen when his life takes a spin to the darker side of life where he is pursued
relentlessly by dark watchers. Do they
want to kill Owen or turn him to their side of evil and chaos… as if school
wasn’t hard enough.
Q? Tell us a little bit about
you.
Lauren: I dream of
writing full time but until that day arrives… I’m a pre-kindergarten through
twelfth grade substitute teacher. My
favorite grades are anything above first!
If not that, then I’m doing administrative work for a small company
where they think I’m their computer guru which if you know me – should cause a
huge belly laugh! I’m more techy than my
seventy-plus year old boss, but guru… not even a little bit. I’m also mom to two, step-mom to four,
step-grandma to one and a lover of black labs (we have one and a half – I bet
you wanna know how that works!). We also
have two cats but we don’t have much to do with each other. I do miss my little black cat who used to
help me write – now HE, had a personality.
The two lady cats who live with me think I’m their servant and nothing
more.
Q? Your Secret Watchers series is gaining in popularity. Tell us about it so far and what we might
expect from Book 3 that is due out soon.
Lauren: Book 3 will be out soon. You can almost… hold your breath. How does this summer grab you? It’s going through final edits and books 4
and 5 are in my computer, on paper and in my head. The series begins with our protagonist in
eighth grade, wishing his boring life away.
One day he stumbles across a watch that unlocks a gift he never realized
he had. Suddenly people are trying to kill
him and he can see darkly evil things that have or will happen. In books 1 and 2 he is mastering his new
abilities and evading the darkness that relentlessly pursues him. Readers get to watch Owen grow as he moves
through high school and becomes a force to be reckoned with. Right now my fan base is mostly local. They have been pretty excited about my tale
because they recognize the places my characters visit. I was thrilled to learn this week of a book
group in the UK that has chosen to read my first book, Visions.
Q? As an indie
author, how do you reach out to fans?
Lauren: I celebrate
every achievement with my fans and thank them for it. My website has had over 600,000 visits AND seriously,
I have to say… what an honor! If I could
hug all my fans I would. I feel truly
blessed! Each stage of this project has
brought its own joys. I feel excitement
every time something new happens and I hope I never lose that. My family, friends and fans have been very
supportive and I truly appreciate every beta-reader (prerelease reader), tweet,
favorite, like, comment and review.
These folks have gifted me with their time, so you bet I tell them over
and over again how wonderful they are!
People who feel appreciated come back for more. I feel that people have been incredibly
gracious. I’ve had students and adults
shyly ask me to sign a book or even run up and hug me at the grocery
store. I am touched each and every time
by their positive energy and passion for this project. They make me want to keep writing! Now if I could convert those 600,000 plus hits
on my website into book sales – that would be something!
Q? How does that
translate into what other authors can do?
Lauren: I have
written several blogs about this because I find it fascinating and in the
beginning I knew nothing. I have many
little bits of advice to share and I have shamelessly pirated every one of them
and twisted them to meet my needs. I
have chosen to be on Social Media every single day. I try really hard to answer all my fans
within 48 hours. I also work hard to
educate myself. I follow several folks
who are social media experts and I watch my Twitter and Facebook feeds for
tips, tricks and ideas several times a week.
I believe that you widen your fan base by reaching out. Talk to people and make them feel
invited. Post great content so that
folks want to follow you. Add pictures
when it’s appropriate because they are a big draw. Weekends and evenings are a good time to post
content because that’s when many people have time to check their email, and
social media of choice.
Q? Along the same
lines, what advice do you have for writers about the writing process and their
development?
Lauren: I think this
is different for everyone. I am only an
expert on me. As a kid I always hated
writing at school. Then one day I was
introduced to a free write. Suddenly I
found that if I could write what I wanted to it was actually fun. Now I love to write. I use it as an escape. I also believe that part of what builds a
good writer is being an avid reader, so never stop reading. When you get stuck – take a break, visit with
your buddies, go for walk or look at some good imagery. I love to listen to music when I write – I
find it very motivational. I’ve even
been known to loop one song over and over as I write a particular scene.
Q? What are the top 3
tools you would recommend every writer takes a peek at right now?
Lauren: Do you have a
website? Are you on Twitter? AND are you
on Facebook? Pinterest and LinkedIn are
growing in popularity too. (Whoops, that’s five) Get friendly with social media
and your fans. Be yourself or make
someone up, but be outgoing and courteous even if you don’t think you are. Fake it till you make it, if you’re a grouchy
old curmudgeon; otherwise be yourself. Humor
is good too but I believe that the key is to be warm, friendly and
welcoming. If you are, then people want
to be around you. Be positive; not only
does negativity suck but people don’t want to hear it. (That’s what the news is for.)
Q? What is the most
frustrating thing you have had to deal with as a writer?
Lauren: Lack of
time! Some days I get cranky because I
just don’t have time to write. During
those times I remind myself that people, especially family, have to come first. If people don’t come first, then who are we
writing for? We would have no audience.
Q? What is the most
exciting part about being an author?
Lauren: Really? You’re going to make me pick? Wow…
How about my top 10? The day my
first beta reader shared with me how much they loved my book, the day I
finished each book, the day I finished editing each book, my first book
signing, my first sales report from BookBaby, the first fan that called me
because they didn’t think it was their kind of book and they loved it anyway,
and the day I was offered my first contact.
Lauren: Top 10?
1. City of Glass (The
Mortal Instruments, #3) by Cassandra Clare (I’m currently reading City of
Bones)
2. The rest of the
Alex Rider series by Anthony Horowitz (I’m on #5 Scorpia)
3. Anything by Rick
Riordan. I love his Percy Jackson and
the Olympians series and he is one of my influences for great young adult
heroes.
4. The Harry Potter
series. I have read it about four times
but I keep going back. J.K. Rowling’s
series was another big influence.
5. Cleo Coyle’s A
Brew to a Kill (Coffeehouse Mystery, #11)
6. Janet Evanovich’s Notorious
Nineteen (Yep, I’ve read them all.)
7. The Help by
Kathryn Stockett
8. Insurgent
(Divergent #2) by Veronica Roth
9. Young adult stories that move right along and have some
good action in them or a cozy mysery.
10. I’m also looking
forward to D.C. and Michael McGannon’s third book in their series. I read the first book and was invited to be a
beta reader for book two. The trouble
with being a beta reader means that it’s a long wait for the next book!
Q? If you had parting thoughts for us, readers and/or
writers, what would they be?
Lauren: Go about your
life as if you have nothing to lose.
Share what you are passionate about and don’t take your critics too
seriously. Any advice you get, take a
few days to just let it sit. The good
bits will float to the top and then you can throw out the rest. There is always some truth in what people
share, just don’t let negative opinions overly influence you or bring you
down. It takes tremendous courage to
write a book and share it with the world (never forget that!). It also takes courage to promote and blog
about your books. If a writer’s life is
what you want, then go for it because if you do what you love, then you’ll love
what you do! I believe in you!
Where To Visit Lauren Klever and The Secret Watchers
Website http://thesecretwatchers.com
Facebook http://facebook.com/OwenRyerseries
Pinterest http://pinterest.com/kleverl/
Thanks so much for the wonderful opportunity to be interviewed! Have a wonderful week and may the muses be extra good to you.
ReplyDeleteThanks so much for the wonderful opportunity to be interviewed! Have a wonderful week and may the muses be extra good to you.
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