 Today, I get the pleasure of introducing you to a girl I met in June at the writers' retreat I attended. I also now get the pleasure of working with her as the developmental editor of the publishing company for my next book. She's a speculative fiction author, a mom of three, and as busy as anyone I know. I know you're going to love getting to know her, too, so let's get to it. I know you're a mom of three, and a development editor, as well as an author. How do you find time to do it all? (I feel it's fair to ask that question since I get asked something similar all the time! Ha!) Caffeine. Ha! But seriously, I couldn’t do it without the help and support from my husband, Jacob, and a detailed schedule. I set aside office hours at home for my editing and writing and I try to honor it just like I would if I was going to work somewhere outside of my home. Sometimes, I have to sneak in writing time, like when we are traveling or late at night. Other times, Jacob will shoo me away, (he’s great at reminding me that I should be writing) so I can get as much done as I can. That is a great husband! And I totally agree about a schedule. My whole family works better with one, too. So, since you're an editor as well as a writer, I want to know: do you prefer writing or editing? Writing will always be my favorite. It was always my dream to become a published author. I’m constantly thinking of new story ideas, and seeing those stories come to life is amazing. I really enjoy editing though, especially being able to help authors with the developmental edit of their books. I get to see firsthand their thoughts, intentions, and vision for their story, and then help them bring the best version of that vision to life. It’s exciting. That is exciting! Tell us a little about writing speculative fiction. Is there a difference between speculative and fantasy or is it just an umbrella heading for fantasy? What draws you to that genre? Speculative fiction is the broad term for Sci Fi and Fantasy writers. Under the Speculative umbrella, you have tons of subgenres. Everything from horror to fairy tale retellings. I’ve always been drawn to speculative fiction. As a teenager, I devoured R.L. Stine’s, Fear Street books, and some of Christopher Pike’s books. As an adult, my tastes changed slightly to more fantasy books like Ted Dekker, and a lot of chick lit. So I started out writing chick lit first, but then finally decided to go back to my roots and wrote The Seer, which is a supernatural fantasy. Is your book set in the real world or did you make one up just for the book? The Seer is an urban fantasy, which is set in the real world but has supernatural, or magical elements in the story. Very cool. Got anything new in the works? Can you tell us anything about it? Yes! I’m currently working on The Soul Searcher, which is book two in The Kalila Chronicles. It releases early next year. Book three will be The Silencer, followed by a prequel for the series. After that, I’ve got several new ideas for other series that I’m thinking about, some supernatural that may connect back to The Kalila Chronicles and some that are dystopian, and possibly some fairy tale retellings. Oh man! I love fairy tale retellings! I noticed we have something else in common besides our love of writing and being a mom. I also love to crochet and dabble in several other crafty endeavors. What is that draws you to crochet and cake decorating? Anything else craft you like to do? I’ve always loved to do anything creative. I’m a Pinterest addict, so I’m constantly trying new ideas. I tend to see something online and then I have to try to make it myself. My favorites are crochet, cake decorating and string art. I’ve just got a wood burning kit for my birthday, so I’m excited to learn how to do that. I owned and operated a retail store that sold handcrafted items and I taught craft classes there before my youngest son was diagnosed with Leukemia. I started crocheting because my Grandmother did, and then fell in love with it. Cake Decorating was something that I wanted to learn so I could make my kids birthday cakes. I think all writers put pieces of themselves in their stories, and it’s no different for me. I want my readers to connect with my characters and so for me, writing drains my creativity. With crochet or other crafts, I don’t have to think. I just sit down and make something, and it recharges me. Wow. And yes, that's a great point. Writing does drain us after a while and those other crafts are like a recharge. And obviously, we need to follow each other on Pinterest so we can support our addictions! Okay, let's wrap up with something fun. Can you tell us one random fact about you that not many people know? My cake students always find it odd that I love decorating cakes, but I really don’t like to eat them. I’ve never liked icing. Even when I was little, I would turn my cake upside down and just eat the cake. I love to decorate them, though! I’m more of a cheesecake or cookie/brownie fan. Triple chocolate cheesecake, brownies, or homemade chocolate chip cookies are my favorite. I have to be careful though because I’m allergic to chocolate. (I usually just sneeze, but the darker it is, the more it goes from sneezing to an itchy face). Okay, now I’m hungry. Me, too! Thanks for coming by for a chat with us, Erin! Thanks for having me on your blog today, Amy! I have really enjoyed it! Isn't she fun? I'm very much enjoying getting to know all these other authors. If you'd like to know more about Erin or her book, see below.  Viktor has one order to follow: Kill the girl before her eyes are opened. For thousands of years, his job has been to torment and kill seers: humans that have the gift of seeing the spiritual realm. So it was no surprise when his brother Matthias was once again sent to stop him and protect the girl. Now the last of the seers’ bloodline hangs in the balance, as the estranged demon and angel brothers are forced to work together to save a girl’s life and escape to the sanctuary city of Bethesda. Erin R. Howard is a Developmental Editor, Fantasy/Speculative Author and has earned a
Bachelor's degree in Creative Writing/English from Southern New Hampshire University. When she's not writing, Erin enjoys spending time with her family, being a youth leader, and teaching crochet and cake decorating classes. Erin resides in Western Kentucky with her husband, three children, and a cantankerous tabby cat named Jack-Jack. Erin is a member of the American Christian Fiction Writers (ACFW) and the KenTen Writers Group. Want to know more? Check out any of these links below: Blog/Wordpress Website
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This is a place for me to tell you about what I'm writing, talk about the process or where some of my ideas came from, or even have other authors come in and talk about their books.
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