1. Tell us a little about yourself
SciFi & Fantasy Author – Joyce Reynolds-Ward brings us into her world by sharing a little about her life.
I have always loved mountains, especially high desert mountains. So it’s not surprising that mountains and wide-open spaces often show up in my work, whether it’s on Earth or a different world. Horses have been a lifelong passion and I’m aging along with my twenty-one-year-old Quarter Horse mare, Mocha. She’s been the horse of my heart and I’ve worked out a lot of issues while riding her. Besides horses, I enjoy reading, being outside, and quilting.
2. Why Do you write?
I like to tell stories. When I was younger, I used to tell them just to myself. Now I like to share them with others.
3. What genre do you write and Why did you pick this genre?
I write science fiction and fantasy. I bring a regional perspective to the genre as well as an awareness that just about anything you write with a contemporary setting can be reworked and set either in the future or in a created world of my own. Deep conflicts, mysteries, relationships, comedy, tragedy–it all can fit into something besides the here and now. People still love in alternative settings. Mysteries, heists, and murders still happen in alternative settings. I like to look at the world as it is and wonder–“what if?”
4. Tell us about your book
Broken Angel: The Lost Years of Gabriel Martiniere is, first and foremost, one of those books that grabbed my heart while writing it. It is my heart book, in part because Gabe as a character was so skittish about revealing his hidden history. We get some hints of what happened to Gabe before the opening of Inheritance, the first book of the core trilogy in The Martiniere Legacy, throughout the trilogy. But it isn’t until Broken Angel that we really learn about the thirty years between the time that he goes into witness protection as a result of his testimony about abuses done by the family corporation, the Martiniere Group, and when he finally manages to challenge his nemesis, Philip Martiniere. Gabe lives, loves, and loses during those thirty years. But he never gives up. He keeps fighting for what is right, and for his family. Sometimes that focus causes problems for him, and his greatest mistakes have come about because he’s trying to protect those he loves.
5. How much time do you dedicate to your author career?
Pretty much full-time.
Scifi & Fantasy Author – Joyce Reynolds-Ward wrote a fantastic piece to help authors learn about her writing process in Issue #1 of The Authors Porch Magazine. Available now on Amazon.
6. How long on average does it take you to write your books?
First drafts usually take me 2-3 months. I then spend another 1-2 months on revisions and corrections, longer if I’m working on multiple projects.
7. What is the best money you have ever spent on your author career?
Good-quality computer equipment and software. Vellum for book formatting has saved me so much time and anguish. I love it. Scrivener for organizing my writing. I draft and edit in Word, but I’ve moved a lot of my note-taking to Scrivener. I use Apple hardware...yes, I could find less-expensive computers, but over the years I’ve found that it fits my methods so much better. And that’s the thing. I take my writing seriously, which means I need to have the appropriate tools to do it without making my tools a challenge.
8. What is the most difficult part of being an author?
Marketing and promotion. I have met very few authors who really enjoy that aspect of the work.
9. What is the best piece of advice you have for other authors?
Keep writing, and manage your writing like a business.
10. What is your favorite book?
Oh, I don’t know. I have so many that I really love!