Interview with Christine Pope with My Books-My World

Tell me about how the idea for this book / series came about?

I think the idea first came about when I was watching The Conjuring (although I read the Warrens’ The Demonologist all the way back in high school…and proceeded to scare the heck out of my friends by quoting choice bits from it). Anyway, I wondered how they had met, how they had started working together on various supernatural investigations. And I thought it would be fun to write a series that explores a similar premise, although my characters and circumstances are very different.

Do you have any quirks/habits that you do when writing?

I like to have a custom playlist for each book I write, and I listen to that as I work (all instrumental soundtracks…people singing is distracting to me). I also tend to be an afternoon writer; it’s harder for me to engage that part of my brain before lunch.

What other authors are you friends with, and how do they help you become a better writer?

I’m friends with a lot of urban fantasy and paranormal romance authors, and it really helps to bounce story ideas off them, or to get their feedback on covers I’ve commissioned, that kind of thing.

If you could tell your younger writing self-anything, what would it be?

Just keep going. The indie publishing world didn’t exist when I first started writing, and the whole process of submitting to agents, etc. was pretty demoralizing. And although I started out with a small press, I’ve been far more successful as an indie.

What was the best money you ever spent as a writer?

First, my MacBook Air. I love writing on that thing. After that, buying Scrivener for actual writing (although I don’t use anywhere close to all its bells and whistles), and Vellum to format my books. All of them were worth every cent.

What kind of research do you do, and how long do you spend researching before beginning a book?

It really depends on the book. I’m a seat-of-the-pants kind of writer, so I do a lot of my research on the fly as I come across details I need for a scene I’m working on. Also, since most of my books are set in the southwest part of the country (Arizona, New Mexico, California), I tend to do short road trips if I need to research a place before I start working on a project.

How many hours a day do you write?

Usually, around 4. Most of the time, I can get 4-5 thousand words written in an afternoon.

What did you edit out of this book?

Nothing, really. I tend to write lean and then add as I go back and do multiple editing passes.

Do you read your book reviews? How do you deal with bad or good ones?

I’ll look the first week a book is out, but after that, I don’t check. Reviews are for other readers to decide if they want to read a particular book or not. Good reviews are always nice, of course, but if there’s valuable critical commentary in a negative review (and not someone reviewing it poorly because it’s just not their cup of tea), then I’ll try to see if the criticism is something I can use to improve my writing.

Do you hide any secrets in your books that only a few people will find?

I wouldn’t call them secrets, exactly, but there tends to be lots of foreshadowing if you’re paying attention.

What was the hardest scene in this book to write?

Mmm…probably the battle with the demons in the basement of the haunted mansion. Action scenes tend to be tough for me.

Have you ever Googled yourself? What did you find?

Oh, no. I don’t do that. 😛

If there was a book about your life what would it be titled?

Keep Swimming! 😉