A Blog Interview - Check it out!
https://mercedesfoxbooks.com/meet-author-sue-rovens/
Hello my lovelies! Welcome to another edition of Interview FoxSeat featuring author Sue Rovens.
Sue is a horror/suspense writer. She works at Illinois State University as the Stacks Maintenance Manager for Milner Library. In her spare time, she enjoys collecting antique advertising, watching obscure movies, reading, and animals. Sue also runs, but she doesn’t enjoy it. She lives with her significant other, Charlie, and two kitties: Bella, the snooty diva, and Noodle, a big, black fluff ball that loves to hug.
Sue’s brought along her book blurb.
BADFISH IS A TOWN DROWNING IN ITS OWN CIRCLE OF HELL. Misogynist motel owner Karl Demetris has an insatiable desire for money and power. In order to line his pockets, he leads an underground drug ring, but soon discovers a cheaper substance to peddle. The effects on its victims are ghastly and horrifying. Strip club owner and public masturbator extraordinaire, Donald Bickley, is the only person in a position to stop this atrocity. Though he has his own demons to battle, the future of Badfish rests in his sticky hands. Donald will need to pull himself together long enough to save the town. WHO AND WHAT WILL BE LEFT STANDING WHEN EVERYTHING COMES TO AN UGLY HEAD?
What genre are your books/What draws you to this genre? At this point, everything that I have written and am currently writing is somewhere on the horror/suspense continuum. Some things are a bit more horrific, while other pieces are more in line with suspense/thrillers.
I think I am drawn to this area because I find weirdness fascinating. There is something about old-school terrors that are so compelling, I can’t turn away. I once read this brief synopsis of a short story from waaaay back – I believe it was about a monk who went into the catacombs to visit the graves of the deceased monks. Once there, he finds that the dead have come back to life and they refuse to let him return.
How can you NOT be creeped out by something like that?
How do you think you’ve evolved creatively? When I first started writing seriously, back in 2009, I was very impatient. I wanted to get my stories out there as fast as possible because I thought the concepts of what I was writing was the only important thing, not necessarily the technical aspects of it. Since then (and after publishing two books of short stories), I have “calmed down” so to speak, and take my time to really try and formulate the best prose and plotlines I can muster. So, overall, I do believe in the quality of my writing in Badfish (my first novel out in October 2015). I think it is better than my previous work. I still stand behind my other books (of short stories), but I have become a better writer over the past few years.
How do you market your books? I’ve been trying different things. I publicize on Facebook, of course, but how many times can you showcase one novel to the same group of people? I’ve recently tried a Goodreads advertising campaign as well as an Amazon campaign. So far, the results have been pretty mediocre. I don’t think I would do those again. Maybe I’m just not well-known enough, but I didn’t see results enough to justify spending money for those particular marketing venues for a second time. I might try some others this spring.
Did you make any marketing mistakes or is there anything you would avoid in the future? I don’t know if there’s such a thing as a marketing mistake unless you spend a ton of money and get zero results. Anything to get your name/book title in front of people is a positive thing. I suppose the one thing that I did early on was classify my writing as strictly horror. Over time, I would say it’s really a combination of horror and suspense. What I write and how I write isn’t slasher/zombie/gore-fest types of things. I would say it’s more odd/eerie/disturbing and thought provoking.
Where do your ideas come from? I would guess, like most writers, the proper answer would be “everywhere”. But more specifically, I pull from either dreams I’ve had or personal experiences. I’ll take a shred of something real and write a fictional story around it. I would say that all of the characters are completely fictional too – there might be a personality trait or behavior pulled from a real person, but overall, the character is totally made up.
What do you do to get book reviews? Ask people. Seriously. I have been contacting book bloggers and asking them to write an honest review in exchange for me sending them my book. I’ve had a few gracious people take the opportunity. It’s really hard to get people that you already know to write an “honest” review because they don’t want to hurt your feelings. So, I really enjoy having people that don’t know me read my book and write something.
You mentioned you’re writing a new story. How about a teaser? It’s called Track Nine and it’s a suspense/horror story. Basically, it’s about a couple trapped in a haunted train station in Germany.
What is one great lesson you have learned as a writer? That there is usually a better way to say something…the first and second draft might be close, but it won’t necessarily make the final cut.
What is one thing you hate about being a writer? Naysayers. People who don’t think I’m serious about writing – probably because I’m not famous and it’s not the way I make a living. Therefore, to them, they see it as a hobby. While it’s true that I have a regular job and my writing does not pay my bills, it doesn’t mean that I’m not invested in what I am working on. My goal is to write solid, well-crafted stories that entertain readers.
How can readers discover more about you and you work? Readers can visit me at my blog page: inacornerdarkly.blogspot.com. They can find my book(s) on amazon.com as well as bn.com. Badfish and In A Corner, Darkly: Volume 1 is available on Kindle as well as in paperback. In A Corner, Darkly: Volume 2 is only available in paperback at this time.
Very interesting, thanks Sue! I do hope you stop in again.
To learn more about Sue follow the links below:
<br />
Blog / Facebook / Twitter / Goodreads / Amazon / CreateSpace
Mercedes Fox ~ Author
My Writing Blog
Sue is a horror/suspense writer. She works at Illinois State University as the Stacks Maintenance Manager for Milner Library. In her spare time, she enjoys collecting antique advertising, watching obscure movies, reading, and animals. Sue also runs, but she doesn’t enjoy it. She lives with her significant other, Charlie, and two kitties: Bella, the snooty diva, and Noodle, a big, black fluff ball that loves to hug.
Sue’s brought along her book blurb.
BADFISH IS A TOWN DROWNING IN ITS OWN CIRCLE OF HELL. Misogynist motel owner Karl Demetris has an insatiable desire for money and power. In order to line his pockets, he leads an underground drug ring, but soon discovers a cheaper substance to peddle. The effects on its victims are ghastly and horrifying. Strip club owner and public masturbator extraordinaire, Donald Bickley, is the only person in a position to stop this atrocity. Though he has his own demons to battle, the future of Badfish rests in his sticky hands. Donald will need to pull himself together long enough to save the town. WHO AND WHAT WILL BE LEFT STANDING WHEN EVERYTHING COMES TO AN UGLY HEAD?
What genre are your books/What draws you to this genre? At this point, everything that I have written and am currently writing is somewhere on the horror/suspense continuum. Some things are a bit more horrific, while other pieces are more in line with suspense/thrillers.
I think I am drawn to this area because I find weirdness fascinating. There is something about old-school terrors that are so compelling, I can’t turn away. I once read this brief synopsis of a short story from waaaay back – I believe it was about a monk who went into the catacombs to visit the graves of the deceased monks. Once there, he finds that the dead have come back to life and they refuse to let him return.
How can you NOT be creeped out by something like that?How do you think you’ve evolved creatively? When I first started writing seriously, back in 2009, I was very impatient. I wanted to get my stories out there as fast as possible because I thought the concepts of what I was writing was the only important thing, not necessarily the technical aspects of it. Since then (and after publishing two books of short stories), I have “calmed down” so to speak, and take my time to really try and formulate the best prose and plotlines I can muster. So, overall, I do believe in the quality of my writing in Badfish (my first novel out in October 2015). I think it is better than my previous work. I still stand behind my other books (of short stories), but I have become a better writer over the past few years.
How do you market your books? I’ve been trying different things. I publicize on Facebook, of course, but how many times can you showcase one novel to the same group of people? I’ve recently tried a Goodreads advertising campaign as well as an Amazon campaign. So far, the results have been pretty mediocre. I don’t think I would do those again. Maybe I’m just not well-known enough, but I didn’t see results enough to justify spending money for those particular marketing venues for a second time. I might try some others this spring.
Did you make any marketing mistakes or is there anything you would avoid in the future? I don’t know if there’s such a thing as a marketing mistake unless you spend a ton of money and get zero results. Anything to get your name/book title in front of people is a positive thing. I suppose the one thing that I did early on was classify my writing as strictly horror. Over time, I would say it’s really a combination of horror and suspense. What I write and how I write isn’t slasher/zombie/gore-fest types of things. I would say it’s more odd/eerie/disturbing and thought provoking.
Where do your ideas come from? I would guess, like most writers, the proper answer would be “everywhere”. But more specifically, I pull from either dreams I’ve had or personal experiences. I’ll take a shred of something real and write a fictional story around it. I would say that all of the characters are completely fictional too – there might be a personality trait or behavior pulled from a real person, but overall, the character is totally made up.
What do you do to get book reviews? Ask people. Seriously. I have been contacting book bloggers and asking them to write an honest review in exchange for me sending them my book. I’ve had a few gracious people take the opportunity. It’s really hard to get people that you already know to write an “honest” review because they don’t want to hurt your feelings. So, I really enjoy having people that don’t know me read my book and write something.
You mentioned you’re writing a new story. How about a teaser? It’s called Track Nine and it’s a suspense/horror story. Basically, it’s about a couple trapped in a haunted train station in Germany.
What is one great lesson you have learned as a writer? That there is usually a better way to say something…the first and second draft might be close, but it won’t necessarily make the final cut.
What is one thing you hate about being a writer? Naysayers. People who don’t think I’m serious about writing – probably because I’m not famous and it’s not the way I make a living. Therefore, to them, they see it as a hobby. While it’s true that I have a regular job and my writing does not pay my bills, it doesn’t mean that I’m not invested in what I am working on. My goal is to write solid, well-crafted stories that entertain readers.
How can readers discover more about you and you work? Readers can visit me at my blog page: inacornerdarkly.blogspot.com. They can find my book(s) on amazon.com as well as bn.com. Badfish and In A Corner, Darkly: Volume 1 is available on Kindle as well as in paperback. In A Corner, Darkly: Volume 2 is only available in paperback at this time.
Very interesting, thanks Sue! I do hope you stop in again.
To learn more about Sue follow the links below:
<br />
Blog / Facebook / Twitter / Goodreads / Amazon / CreateSpace
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