Hey Everyone!! :-)
Bambi Sommers is here with us today, and she'd like you all to know that she now taking submissions for copy/line editing. Pricing and other information can be found on her website at www.bambisommers.com. Now on to the interview questions. Bambi, can you please tell us about yourself and how many books you've written?
Bambi: My name is Bambi Sommers and I write romance thrillers. I have written a trilogy, a duo, and just finished book 3 of my new series. This brings my total to 8 books. I haven’t published the last one yet because I am in the editing stage. I intend for my current work-in-progress to be a series of 4-5, but don’t hold me to that!
Me: Busy, busy, busy! :-) What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
Bambi: My latest WIP is Gabe, book 3 of Hart Investigations Romance. Gabe and his brothers, Diesel (book 1) and Cody (book 2) were undercover agents with the DEA, but they tired of the travel so when Diesel met the woman he wanted to marry, he and his brothers settled down in the small town where she lived and opened their own PI business. The books have romance, villains, suspense and adventure!
Me: Sounds like a fun read! What are you working on now?
Bambi: What inspired me to write? During the Thanksgiving weekend of 2017, I received an email from Simon & Schuster asking if I would like to enter a romance writers contest. I had been reading romance novels for the past year or so, so I thought, why not? I busied myself with writing Justice Prevails, book 1 of the IMPS trilogy during the month of December and submitted it mid-January of 2018. The contest winner was to be drawn on Valentine’s day. I had no thought of winning, but I found as I wrote that I loved it and wanted to continue. By the time Valentine’s day rolled around, I had researched everything I could to learn the differences between traditional and self-publishing. I decided to self-publish after the announcement of the winner. Plus, I had written Phantom Rising, book 2 of the IMPS trilogy immediately after. So, in February, I self-published (through Amazon) my first 2 books, one week apart. I thought marketing would be a breeze because I had worked as promotions director for a major radio station for years. However, those years were prior to the explosion of social media and marketing is not the same game as it used to be. So, I dove in and learned everything I could and between writing and marketing, it has kept me busy up to now.
Me: It's really cool that you persisted even though you didn't win the contest. Being an indie author is a lot of work, as I'm sure you've learned, but it's great that you persisted. :-) What authors, or books, have influenced you?
Bambi: I love to read and I can devour 3-5 books per week, depending on where I am in my own writing, so it’s hard to name just one author or book that has had any real influence, but I’ll try. Favorite authors would include Darynda Jones, Lauren Layne, Marie Force plus there are thousands of wonderful indie authors like J.C. Paulson, Sean Erik, Trey Stone, Jason Stokes. I’m glossing over these lists because there are just so many! As for books? I can’t tell you which books made me feel like I could do this because I read A LOT before I decided to write. I am a fan of Harry Potter and even Dr. Seuss!
Me: Cool! I'm a Harry Potter fan too. What are you reading now?
Bambi: Right now, I’m reading the first in the series by J.C. Paulson, Adam’s Witness, and I have already bought the 2nd one in the series so that will be next. I went on a little buying spree from indie writers in April and have read many that I’ve loved. And, my to be read pile is growing! These have included Watcher by Jason Stokes, No One Dies in the Garden of Syn by Michael Seidelman, Brick by Jen Davis, Girl, Repurposed by Meaghan Curley, No Soul No Service by Sean Erik, The Consequence of Loyalty by Trey Stone. I hope I haven’t left anyone out. These are some great authors and there are so many more of us out there!
Me: There definitely are! For those who might consider reading your book, what would you tell them to expect?
Bambi: My books are definitely for adults. They are books about love and hope. Sounds mushy, but they’re not. In each book, there is a problem to be solved, such as someone might get kidnapped, shot or worse. My trilogy involves three men who were spec-ops. When they “retired”, two go in together as co-owners of a local pub and the other manages a rock band. These may be thrillers so to speak, but I hope you find the everyday living and sense of humor I try to bring to the table. My duo is Firebird (1&2). This is the rock band you’ll meet in the trilogy. And I’ve already explained my newest series above. A reader once told me how much she liked the strength I give the women in my books. This made me laugh, because I didn’t know that I did. It’s just the way my brain works.
Me: Strong female protagonists are something I look for in books too. :-) What's your favorite part of being an author?
Bambi: My favorite part of being an author is that I get to tell you a story. A story where I get to make up the people and places. I also enjoy working on my own and from anywhere I choose. So many times, while driving somewhere, I’m working, thinking a certain scenario out in my brain, “percolating” my next idea.
Me: Story-telling is definitely fun. Do you have a day job as well?
Bambi: I do have a day job. I didn’t start writing until I had “semi-retired” from my full-time job and taken a part-time one. I worked in management most of my adult life and so I wanted a nice receptionist position where I didn’t have to be the “boss” anymore. I work approx. 15 hours a week, leaving me with plenty of time for writing.
Me: Lucky you! :-) What are the hardest and easiest parts about being a writer?
Bambi: I have been very fortunate not to have suffered from writer’s block, yet. I still have ideas and storylines waiting for me in my head. I still have characters waiting for their turn to speak. I believe the hardest part of being a writer is marketing. If you listen to everything that’s out there on this subject, you will be paralyzed and do nothing. I’ve found it easier to concentrate on one thing until you learn it fairly well (like amazon ads) then move on and add one more, etc. With the popularity of self-publishing, there are hundreds of us pouring literally thousands of new books into the system each day. It’s hard to get your voice heard above the din of noise. If you follow a book “guru” and do what they tell you, soon that’s what everyone else is doing, too. So once again, you don’t stand out.
Me: That's good advice. And I think most indie authors would agree with you about marketing. What genre do you place your book in?
Bambi: I write what I’ve always called romance thrillers. Romantic suspense would also work. But it seems the more I write, the more the romance part has taken a back seat. It’s not that there isn’t romance, but I don’t seem to write the sex parts as often and the thriller part, or the villain part, is getting more attention from me. Perhaps, at some point, I may just write thrillers. But please, don’t hold me to that, either!
Me: Well, the more hooks in your stories, the more likely you'll capture the interest of different readers. Speaking of reaching out to new audiences, is there anything else you'd like to tell people?
Bambi: I have recently branched out into editing. When I first published my IMPS trilogy, I found, especially in my first book, more mistakes than I was willing to put out there. So, I learned to edit and got good at it. Then I re-edited my first book, changed the covers on the entire trilogy, made the font bigger and re-published. (The reason for the cover change was because I needed readers to be able to recognize the genre by just looking at the cover. And now, they sure can! The font change was because there are a lot of tired eyes out there, and it’s easier to read with a larger print!) I feel that indie authors usually are people like me who are writing on the side and can’t afford to spend big bucks on getting their book or blog ready to publish. In fact, I was really disgusted one day when I saw an editor on Twitter tell a writer to take out a loan for editing. What??? So, I looked around at prices and what you get for it, and posted what I believe is a very reasonable price along with the other information on my website at bambisommers.com. I’m hoping to be able to help other authors have pride in what they publish.
Me: Awesome! And so these fine folks can check out your work, are there any links you'd like me to post?
Bambi:
Website: www.bambisommers.com
Amazon: https://amazon.com/author/bambisommers
Twitter: https://twitter.com/BambiSommers1
Facebook: www.facebook.com/bambisommersauthor
Me: Perfect! Thank you so much for stopping by today, Bambi, and thank you to everyone else who joined us, as well. Don't forget to check back tomorrow for the latest in Mistral Dawn's Musings! :-)
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