Award winning author. #1 Amazon free book with 2 books. She writes about serial killers, vampires, romance, Young Adult, Witches, and more.

All of Janie Storer’s books and short stories can be found here https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/aw/s/ref=is_pp_2?rh=i%3Aaps%2Ck%3Ajanie+storer&keywords=janie+storer&ie=UTF8&qid=1547229577

 

1.  First I want to thank you for taking the time out of your schedule to do this interview with us. Can you tell us a little bit about your book series and what was it that made you want to tell this story? Have you always been drawn to doing paranormal stories or does your writing span across multiple genres?

So far I’ve written one PNR story, it’s currently a short story but I’m making it into a full length book at the moment. I hope to have that ready to publish by April this year. It started out as an entry for a writing competition, and placed fifth in its category. I was extremely overwhelmed that it did so well. I retained the rights to the story so published it. It’s had some good feedback, and a fellow author said she would love to see it as a full length book.  I’ve always loved reading Paranormal stories, but for some reason I was always afraid of trying to write one myself, thinking I couldn’t do the genre justice.

Other genres I’ve written are romance, young adult vampire, an extremely graphic serial killer book, and my short stories have been serial killers too. Yes I’m a bit obsessed with serial killers!

I’m also planning to work on more paranormal stories after this one, but so far they’re just ideas scribbled on a notepad.

2. When did you know that writing was what you wanted to do with your life? Was there a specific moment in your life that made your passion for writing clearer to you? What do you love most about being a writer?

I clearly remember the day when I said to myself “I’m going to be a writer”.
I was ten years old, and had just written a story as part of an English class in primary school. I wrote fifteen pages of story, whereas most pupils wrote four or five. (It was finished off as homework and I spent hours on it.) I had an amazing teacher at the time, she passed my work onto another teacher, they passed it to another, and by lunch time of the day it was handed in to the headmaster. The next day at the in school assembly it was read out to the whole school, by the head master. I felt so proud, and my teacher said she could see a writer in me. That teacher was my inspiration, and 32 years later she still is. I’ve often wished I could track her down and tell her!

3. What kind of writing routine works for you? Do you have a set time of day in which you write? Do you outline your novels before writing them or just create the story as you go along? How long does it typically take you to complete a novel?

I don’t work, due to various chronic illnesses and disabilities, so I’m able to write whenever the feeling hits me. I tend to do most of my writing during the night, as I rarely sleep much. It’s now become the time of day that I do my best writing. I actually write all my books and stories on my phone, always have. I didn’t have a laptop when I began my first book, and although I have one now I find typing on my phone much easier on my hands.

I always have snacks near by, usually things like fruit and nut mix, or vegetable sticks and dip, or good old fashioned boiled sweets. There has to be coffee too, plenty of coffee! I always have two black pens on my desk, a notebook, a red pen and a green pen. I use the different colors for different notes, picking one color for one character and so on.

I have plotted a few books, but they all actually remain unwritten. I tend to get a spate of ideas, and jot them down. I guess some will never get written.

Usually I just open my books file up, read the last sentence and go from there. But I always end the days work with a half written sentence. It’s just a quirk I have, coming back to a half written sentence just makes it easier for me to pick up from where I left off.

4. What’s the first book you can remember reading as a child that sparked your love of words? Do you have a favorite author that you like to read yourself? What are you currently reading?

It has to be Jane Eyre, which is still a firm favorite of mine. I think it’s because I saw myself as being much like Jane as a child. I tried my best not to get in trouble, but it seemed everything I did lead me into trouble. I often took the blame for others misbehavior, being blamed for things which weren’t my doing. I felt empathy with her childhood struggles and feeling she didn’t fit in anywhere.
I think my life still has some elements of hers in it even now.

Growing up Virginia Andrews was my favorite author, well, as a young child I love Enid Blyton books, but by ten it was Virginia Andrews. I was always advanced at reading, after being told in my first year of school I would never learn to read or write properly. I vowed to prove that teacher wrong, so I did just that. I read the full unabridged version of Lorna Doone aged ten, after I’d read every book in the schools library. The teacher I had then wasn’t so nice and didn’t believe me. She dropped Lorna Doone on my desk one day saying “read that if you think you’re so clever.”

I read it from cover to cover. Yes it took me a long time, but I wasn’t going to be proven wrong. Still, not believing I had read the entire book, the teacher flicked to random pages and asked me questions on what happened. Of course, there was no apology afterwards for accusing me of lying about my reading ability. But, in some way, that challenge of my reading just spurned me on even more.

Now I mainly read Dean Koontz and Dan Brown, or Indie author’s books.

5. What has been your most significant achievement as a writer so far? Where do you see yourself within your career as a writer in the next five to ten years?

That’s a close call between coming fourth in an author of the year competition, or having two separate books reach an Amazon ranking of #1 in their category when they were on a free promotion. I also had another book get to #3, and my short stories ranked between #2 and #6 – again all when free.

It was always my dream to be published, so a huge achievement was seeing my first ever book online.

I don’t see myself ever giving up writing completely, and I’d love to one day have had a best seller, either online or in a book store.

6. Which do you prefer traditional publishing houses, small press publishing, or self-publishing? How have you dealt with rejection within your journey to publishing? What advice would you give to other up and coming authors on how to best deal with the sting that tends to come with rejection?

I haven’t faced any rejection from publishers yet, purely because I’ve never sent them any of my work. I’m too scared to! I always doubt my books are any good. I self publish, the internet has been amazing for enabling indie authors to self publish. I dream of one day having a publisher though.

I would say, to authors who face rejection, don’t take it to heart. Take it in, but let it spurn you on to just do better, to keep trying. Just because one publisher says no doesn’t mean another will. And to aspiring authors my best advice would be stop thinking about writing and just write. You’ll never know what you can achieve if you never start!

7. Do you believe that it’s ever too late for an aspiring writer to become successful in this industry? Do you feel a late start would hinder their chances?

I don’t think it’s ever too late to become an author. It’s the sort of industry where age doesn’t matter. It’s all about still having that creative spark inside you. If you have it then go ahead and write, it doesn’t matter if you’re ten or a hundred and ten.  I don’t think a late start would hinder anyone’s chances.

8. Do you ever read your own work or do you just set it free once it’s finished? How does it feel when you’ve stepped away from your story for a while and you come back and read it with fresh eyes? Do you prefer to read a traditional book or ebooks?

I’ve only ever gone back and read one of my books after publication. I don’t know why, but I tend to throw them out there and then leave them floating about cyber space, untouched. I think maybe that’s because ima chronic editor, I’d just want to pull the book and re-write sections of it all the time.

I don’t think anything beats the smell of a bookshop full of old books, so for me paperbacks beat digital books hands down. Having said that, due to arthritis, it’s rare for me to read a paperback now. I find it easier to hold a phone or tablet than a heavy book. 

9. Where can our readers find out more about you and purchase your books? What projects are you currently working on?

Currently my books are only available on Amazon. I don’t have an author webpage either.

I’m working on making my paranormal short into a full length book at the moment, as well having a romance book on the go, and one that hasn’t settled into a genre yet, but is about a near death experience.

10. I feel like writing is a remarkable tool to help people not only express themselves, but also to cope emotionally and mentally. I know for me I write to be and feel more authentic. What unique quality is there about you, about your art, that you feel represents your authenticity? How does writing help you to be more empowered in your purpose?

I put a lot of my heart and soul into my writing. A portion of each book comes from my life, either personal experience, or from talking to others. I people watch too when I’m out and about, so if I hear something that I think would make a good story I use it.

Writing gives me something constructive to do with my spare time. It’s a way of releasing creativity for me. I can’t paint or play an instrument so this is my outlet. I enjoy it immensely, and I’d still write even if nobody ever read my books.