WRITE STAR
DELLANI OAKES
Knoxville, Tennessee, USA
Author Bio:
Dellani is a former A.P. English teacher, and photo-journalist. She’s a published author who avidly reads and reviews the work of others. She hosts two shows on Blog Talk Radio for the Red River Radio Network – Dellani’s Tea Time and What’s Write for Me.
Join Dellani as she interviews different authors the second Monday @ 4:00 PM Eastern and fourth Wednesday @ 3:00 PM Eastern of each month on Blog Talk Radio.
Dellani has two books coming out this fall. First, “The Ninja Tattoo” (see book icon below to read more) – romantic suspense published by Tirgearr Publishing. Next, “Shakazhan” – book two in her sci-fi series published by Second Wind Publishing. These two novels are in addition to “Indian Summer” – historical romance and “The Lone Wolf” – sci-fi adventure. Writing Genre: Historical Fiction, Mystery & Thrillers, Romance
A little Q & A with the WRITE STAR Dellani:
1. What was your favorite chapter to write and why?
I enjoy writing hot, steamy love scenes, but I think what I like more is writing the scenes where they almost get together and don’t quite make it. Someone calls, or there is a knock at the door. Those are fun because the tension is high, the horomones have kicked in, but the timing isn’t quite right.
2. What old/new author has garnered your attention the most?
I’ve encountered dozens of authors from doing my shows. I’m impressed with all of them. I don’t know if I could pick just one. In fact, I’m pretty sure I couldn’t pick less than 50.
3. Which author do you feel your stories are most like?
To be honest, I haven’t read an author whose stories are like mine. I don’t know.
4. Did you learn anything from writing your book(s) and what was it?
I learned that I have this little switch in my brain that seems to be in the ON position all the time. There’s no OFF switch, it just keeps running, rather like Niagra Falls.
5. What is your writing process? Do you follow a regular routine?
Is chaos a process? I don’t really follow a routine. I seem to get distracted by many things (including Facebook) and don’t get as much writing done as I should. When I do write, I will grab time in little bits, or big chunks, depending upon what’s available. During NaNoWriMo, I take bigger slices of time and God help anyone who gets between me and my book.
6. Tell me about your muse?
My Muse is a blabbermouth and she suffers from A.D.H.D. She hops around like a lunatic grasshopper on crack. I get inspired to write a little here and a little there, as it suits her. The only time she behaves is during NaNoWriMo because she knows I’ll tie her up and gag her if she doesn’t. She’s amazing and creative, always coming up with good plot twists, but her idea of fun is to leave me hanging in the middle of a story and not come back for a long, long time — as evidenced by the fact that I have more unfinished stories than I do finished.
7. What was the hardest part of writing your book?
FINISHING! Sometimes, I labor over getting to the end. There are sometimes slow spots in the middle that I have to force myself past. Other times, I seem to keep writing long after the story should be done. Those times, I go back, reread it and hack at the excess growth until it behaves.
8. Do you have any advice for other writers?
Don’t ignore the voice in your head telling you what to write. That inner voice is what keeps you going. Listen to it and trust it. It’s when you try to impose your will that you come to the realization that you really can’t write a lick.
9. Are there certain characters you would like to work with again, or a theme/idea you’d love to work with?
I have several characters that I like working with. One reason I kept up my sci-fi series is because of the characters. Yes, there was still more of the tale to tell, but I absolutely fell in love with Wil and Matilda and the rest.
I also love the lead from “The Ninja Tattoo”. Teague is a fascinating character. I’ve gotten such great feed back on him, I decided to write a second book with him in it. He’s not the main love interest, but he’s certainly a focal point of the action.
10. What has been the toughest criticism given to you as an author? What has been the best compliment?
I had a friend tell me, “You write like an author, then you turn around and write like an English teacher.” It took some talking to her and reading through my work to realize she was right. (Not that I doubted her.) I found the areas that caused her the most distress and reworked them so they weren’t as stilted.
The best compliment I ever got was from someone I barely knew. She loved Teague (The Ninja Tattoo) so much, she begged me to do a sequel. Later, she helped me with promoting my work, out of the kindness of her heart. To thank her, I wrote her in as a character – the first time I’ve ever done that.
Find this WRITE STAR at these places:
Website: http://dellanioakes.wordpress.com/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/DellaniOakes
GoodReads: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/2013144.Dellani_Oakes
To read more and purchase Dellani Oakes latest book,
Click the book icon below:
Please VISIT these other blogs today. Dellani has a different interview with each one on the hop. While you’re there take a moment to LIKE their page. They are all WRITE STARS in my book. 🙂 ENJOY
Juli Page Morgan: www.julipagemorgan.com/blog
Ruth Davis Hays: http://jorthusbooks.wordpress.com/
Dellani Oakes: http://writersanctuary.blogspot.com/
Rachel Rueben: http://www.rachelrueben.com
Karina Gioertz: www.friedgatortail.wordpress.com
Karen Vaughan:www.karenwritesmurder.com
Kristen Duvall: www.kristenduvall.com/blog
Crimson Kildare and Kat Marlow: www.thrutheglass.net
Check back tomorrow as the FABULOUS BLOG HOP stops in here with two more authors to be premiered: Crimson Kildare and Kat Monroe
S. A. Hussey 