Saturday, October 14, 2017

Pamela Ackerson Interview


H. Schussman interviews Pamela Ackerson:

Heidi~
First, Pamela, I have to say I am excited about this interview. You are a tremendous help to the writing community. So, tell us a little about yourself.
Pamela~
I'm a wife, mother, bestselling author, and time traveler. Living on the Space Coast of Florida, I follow the areas mantra "Reach for the Stars." I'm also the V.P. Marketing and Advertising director at Affaire de Coeur Magazine.

Heidi~
What genre do you write?
Pamela~
I'm a multi-genre author. I love history, so almost all of my books have historically accurate information. I write sci-fi, time travel, historical fiction, non-fiction, and children's stories.

Heidi~
When did you start writing?
Pamela~
I started writing at a very young age. I entered a short story contest at the age of sixteen. It took first place in my age category and was published in a sci-fi magazine. I took a short break from writing and about twenty years ago I decided I wanted to write books.

Heidi~
What are you working on now?
Pamela~
I'm writing a time travel stand alone which has a small, wet your appetite taste of romance to it. It's a bit of a cozy mystery with the two main characters searching for a serial murderer.

Heidi~
Who is your favorite character in your stories?
Pamela~
My favorite character is from the Wilderness series and is actually a real person, Sitting Bull. The other would be Jennifer Standing Deer from book 5 of the Wilderness series. I still shake my head at her and face-palm. She's a trip. LOL

Heidi~
Do you see yourself in any of your characters?
Pamela~
I think there's a little bit of me in all my characters.

Heidi~
Where do you write? Describe your workspace?
Pamela~
I write best on my screen porch. We're surrounded by trees and have a 3 acre property full of animals. I do have an office that I write in, especially when I need to get lost in the story and seriously concentrate without interruptions.

Heidi~
Who are your all-time favorite authors?
Pamela~
Oh boy, so many... Ms. Rowling. Isaac Asimov, M. Night Shyamalan, Jude Devereaux, Catherine Kean, Kat Martin, Jodi Thomas ( I really could keep going)

Heidi~
Did you find writing a query letter a challenge? If so, how did you overcome it? Do you think there was a key phrase or idea in your query letter?
Pamela~
Oh dear. The dreaded query letter. It's my kryptonite.  Fortunately, I had someone take my query letters that I had been sending to publishers, destroy them, rewrote them for me and tada, I was with a publisher. Now, years later, honestly, I'm still horrible at it.

Heidi~
What advice do you have for a writer aspiring to be published?
Pamela~
Don't give up. Start working on promoting yourself as soon as you decide you want to publish. If you can, attend workshops and small conferences. Get it professionally edited before you send it out. The publisher will still edit it, but as an aspiring author, you need to stand out and look as professional as possible.

Heidi~
Would you like to acknowledge someone for their help/assistance/faith in you/etc?
Pamela~
My husband. He's cheered me on and encouraged me from the very beginning.

Heidi~
How can your readers learn more about you and your books?
Pamela~
There are several places where you can find me. I love hearing from my readers.
home page:  www.PamelaAckerson.com

The magazine: www.AffairedeCoeur.com

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