{"id":523,"date":"2020-10-27T13:03:48","date_gmt":"2020-10-27T13:03:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/elizabethhollandauthor.com\/?p=523"},"modified":"2020-10-11T21:21:13","modified_gmt":"2020-10-11T20:21:13","slug":"author-qa-laura-thompson","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/elizabethhollandauthor.com\/?p=523","title":{"rendered":"Author Q&#038;A Laura Thompson"},"content":{"rendered":"<h2 style=\"text-align: center;\">Author Q&amp;A Laura Thompson<\/h2>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">*This post contains affiliate links*<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-medium wp-image-524\" src=\"https:\/\/elizabethhollandauthor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/13613208_1177513778980406_505669077221130284_o-240x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"240\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/elizabethhollandauthor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/13613208_1177513778980406_505669077221130284_o-240x300.jpg 240w, https:\/\/elizabethhollandauthor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/13613208_1177513778980406_505669077221130284_o-820x1024.jpg 820w, https:\/\/elizabethhollandauthor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/13613208_1177513778980406_505669077221130284_o-768x959.jpg 768w, https:\/\/elizabethhollandauthor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/13613208_1177513778980406_505669077221130284_o-1230x1536.jpg 1230w, https:\/\/elizabethhollandauthor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/13613208_1177513778980406_505669077221130284_o-1140x1424.jpg 1140w, https:\/\/elizabethhollandauthor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/13613208_1177513778980406_505669077221130284_o.jpg 1640w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 240px) 100vw, 240px\" \/><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><!--more--><\/p>\n<h3 style=\"text-align: center;\">1. Tell us about your writing\/published book(s).<\/h3>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">Currently I have the first trilogy in the <i>Elven Quest<\/i> series available on Amazon. They are; <i>The Burden of Destiny: Book 1, Elemental\u2019s Favor: Book 2 &amp; The Realization of Truth: Book 3<\/i>. Under the author name Laura E. Thompson. The series is an epic fantasy, following a familiar \u2018hero\u2019s journey\u2019 model. It is a story about a girl named Isobel who comes from a small village and always feels different than her peers. She has extra heightened senses and doesn\u2019t know why. One day she meets an old woman in the woods that knows secrets about her past, including the fact that she is half sea-elf. She discovers that if she practices, she can do magic using a water element.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">As the story moves along Isobel and her best friend Mauve need to leave their comfortable life on a dangerous journey to help stop her evil half-sister, Madeara, (whom she did not know existed) from bringing evil and darkness into the realm.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">The first three are a trilogy of their own, but three others and a prequel have already been written and will be published in the future. And an audible version of <i>The Burden of Destiny<\/i> will be out very soon.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">On top of that series I have written four books in a YA series called <i>Freaks or Unique: <\/i>The first of which, <i>Amity Boppin\u2019s Story<\/i>. I hope to release by Christmas, under the pen name L.E. LaBarge. These stories are each written about and from a different character\u2019s perspective, but they all intertwine. They each feature a tween\/teen struggling with something and learning to cope and overcome that struggle. For each book I will be donating a percent of the profits to different non-profit organizations revolving around those struggles. Amity\u2019s story will provide donations for the Epilepsy Foundation.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><iframe style=\"width: 120px; height: 240px;\" src=\"\/\/ws-eu.amazon-adsystem.com\/widgets\/q?ServiceVersion=20070822&amp;OneJS=1&amp;Operation=GetAdHtml&amp;MarketPlace=GB&amp;source=ac&amp;ref=qf_sp_asin_til&amp;ad_type=product_link&amp;tracking_id=elizabethholl-21&amp;marketplace=amazon&amp;region=GB&amp;placement=B07NTXZDX8&amp;asins=B07NTXZDX8&amp;linkId=d1b7164f25b806f2d16fd29cd4396484&amp;show_border=false&amp;link_opens_in_new_window=true&amp;price_color=333333&amp;title_color=0066c0&amp;bg_color=ffffff\" frameborder=\"0\" marginwidth=\"0\" marginheight=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\"><br \/>\n<\/iframe><iframe style=\"width: 120px; height: 240px;\" src=\"\/\/ws-na.amazon-adsystem.com\/widgets\/q?ServiceVersion=20070822&amp;OneJS=1&amp;Operation=GetAdHtml&amp;MarketPlace=US&amp;source=ac&amp;ref=qf_sp_asin_til&amp;ad_type=product_link&amp;tracking_id=ehollandautho-20&amp;marketplace=amazon&amp;region=US&amp;placement=B07NTXZDX8&amp;asins=B07NTXZDX8&amp;linkId=eebd78d992dcc2597098a49cd7f4aa63&amp;show_border=false&amp;link_opens_in_new_window=false&amp;price_color=333333&amp;title_color=0066c0&amp;bg_color=ffffff\" frameborder=\"0\" marginwidth=\"0\" marginheight=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\"><br \/>\n<\/iframe><\/p>\n<h3 style=\"text-align: center;\">2. How do you approach starting a new book?<\/h3>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">When I have an idea for a new book, I usually write a paragraph or a few notes about the main idea and characters. Then I begin writing the story. At first, it is always like I am taking a stranger\u2019s hand and trusting them to lead me through a dark tunnel. My characters lead the way and tell me what to write. It\u2019s always a bit uncomfortable and scary at times, not knowing if it will work out. But then, as I go along, I become familiar with the characters and we become friends. Then one day its as though the lights come on and for the rest of the time we are walking and talking together as best friends. I think about them when I\u2019m not writing. I wonder what\u2019s going to happen next in their world and I dream about it. If I have a point along the way where I am growing bored or feel as if I have lost their voice, I take a break. I write something else, or read someone else\u2019s book or do a freelance editing project for another writer, then I go back to the book and that usually that helps to work out the problem.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><iframe style=\"width: 120px; height: 240px;\" src=\"\/\/ws-eu.amazon-adsystem.com\/widgets\/q?ServiceVersion=20070822&amp;OneJS=1&amp;Operation=GetAdHtml&amp;MarketPlace=GB&amp;source=ac&amp;ref=qf_sp_asin_til&amp;ad_type=product_link&amp;tracking_id=elizabethholl-21&amp;marketplace=amazon&amp;region=GB&amp;placement=B07JDKWJSW&amp;asins=B07JDKWJSW&amp;linkId=f3eed067f0ffa15df6128217e2124967&amp;show_border=false&amp;link_opens_in_new_window=true&amp;price_color=333333&amp;title_color=0066c0&amp;bg_color=ffffff\" frameborder=\"0\" marginwidth=\"0\" marginheight=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\"><br \/>\n<\/iframe><iframe style=\"width: 120px; height: 240px;\" src=\"\/\/ws-na.amazon-adsystem.com\/widgets\/q?ServiceVersion=20070822&amp;OneJS=1&amp;Operation=GetAdHtml&amp;MarketPlace=US&amp;source=ac&amp;ref=qf_sp_asin_til&amp;ad_type=product_link&amp;tracking_id=ehollandautho-20&amp;marketplace=amazon&amp;region=US&amp;placement=B07JDKWJSW&amp;asins=B07JDKWJSW&amp;linkId=21ec5b5b268c7ffcba4a4911a9d4974c&amp;show_border=false&amp;link_opens_in_new_window=false&amp;price_color=333333&amp;title_color=0066c0&amp;bg_color=ffffff\" frameborder=\"0\" marginwidth=\"0\" marginheight=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\"><br \/>\n<\/iframe><\/p>\n<h3 style=\"text-align: center;\">3. Have you always wanted to write?<\/h3>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">Absolutely! When I was a kid I loved to read and write and I had a very in-depth imagination. If I was feeling stressed or upset, I often escaped through writing. I very often wrote books about people who struggled with self confidence and learned to overcome it. Hoping that one day, that would be me. I rarely shared my writing with anyone except trusted English teachers. I was given an award in middle-school once for English and my teacher said to me, \u201cI think you have a real gift for writing and if you continue to work at it, I think you could become a published writer one day.\u201d At the time, I didn\u2019t believe her but was grateful for the compliment. In high-school I had a fantastic Creative Writing teacher who pushed me to take my short stories and lengthen them into novel style writing. From then on, I was hooked on writing novels.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">I took a break from writing in college and in my early twenties until a boss that I had in Grad school asked me if I had read Harry Potter. When I told her I hadn\u2019t, she told me I must! When I asked, \u201cAren\u2019t those children\u2019s books?\u201d She was horrified and told me they were not just for children. So, I read them and remembered how much I had loved fantasy as a child. I thought about if I wrote a fantasy novel, what would it be about? That\u2019s when Isobel, Mauve, and the rest of the characters from Elven Quest came to me and insisted I write their story. The rest, as they say, is history.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><iframe style=\"width: 120px; height: 240px;\" src=\"\/\/ws-eu.amazon-adsystem.com\/widgets\/q?ServiceVersion=20070822&amp;OneJS=1&amp;Operation=GetAdHtml&amp;MarketPlace=GB&amp;source=ac&amp;ref=qf_sp_asin_til&amp;ad_type=product_link&amp;tracking_id=elizabethholl-21&amp;marketplace=amazon&amp;region=GB&amp;placement=B082TL6GCD&amp;asins=B082TL6GCD&amp;linkId=ba8372de561fdb97d95d53248a166c36&amp;show_border=false&amp;link_opens_in_new_window=true&amp;price_color=333333&amp;title_color=0066c0&amp;bg_color=ffffff\" frameborder=\"0\" marginwidth=\"0\" marginheight=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\"><br \/>\n<\/iframe><iframe style=\"width: 120px; height: 240px;\" src=\"\/\/ws-na.amazon-adsystem.com\/widgets\/q?ServiceVersion=20070822&amp;OneJS=1&amp;Operation=GetAdHtml&amp;MarketPlace=US&amp;source=ac&amp;ref=qf_sp_asin_til&amp;ad_type=product_link&amp;tracking_id=ehollandautho-20&amp;marketplace=amazon&amp;region=US&amp;placement=B082TL6GCD&amp;asins=B082TL6GCD&amp;linkId=c9bd4f802692398561ce7456ff9dacce&amp;show_border=false&amp;link_opens_in_new_window=false&amp;price_color=333333&amp;title_color=0066c0&amp;bg_color=ffffff\" frameborder=\"0\" marginwidth=\"0\" marginheight=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\"><br \/>\n<\/iframe><\/p>\n<h3 style=\"text-align: center;\">4. How do you fit writing into your everyday life?<\/h3>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">Like most authors I have a regular full-time job. Right now, I am lucky enough to work from home, but because it is a full-time job it can be difficult to fit in writing. I am also a mom of a seven-year-old who is always busy with soccer and other things. I often do freelance editing projects on the side for other writers and I also try to buy, read and review other Indie author\u2019s books to support them. Because of all of that I have to be gentle and kind to myself. I can\u2019t always write something. Some days my life just doesn\u2019t allow it. But I try not to beat myself up about that. I don\u2019t give myself deadlines or pay attention to word count. Instead I focus on the joy I feel when I write. I typically write at night, after my son goes to bed. Some nights I am up until 11:30pm writing and write full chapters. Some nights I only write a paragraph or two and then put on TV instead. It is all okay. Often my weekends are less hectic so I do try to write a bit more on Saturday\u2019s or Sunday\u2019s or both. But I really just try to enjoy it.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">\n<div style=\"width: 960px;\" class=\"wp-video\"><video class=\"wp-video-shortcode\" id=\"video-523-1\" width=\"960\" height=\"1389\" preload=\"metadata\" controls=\"controls\"><source type=\"video\/mp4\" src=\"https:\/\/elizabethhollandauthor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/IMG_7700-1.mp4?_=1\" \/><a href=\"https:\/\/elizabethhollandauthor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/IMG_7700-1.mp4\">https:\/\/elizabethhollandauthor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/IMG_7700-1.mp4<\/a><\/video><\/div>\n<h3 style=\"text-align: center;\">5. How do you handle criticism?<\/h3>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">Criticism is always tough to handle, but the way I look at it is by asking, is there merit there? Did that person say something that could honestly be true of my writing? Does what they say make sense? Have I heard it before? Basically, what can I learn from this? Sometimes criticism does not make sense, readers may say they don\u2019t like your characters, or your descriptions or your first person vs. third person style or something of that nature. Those things you may hear and think, well that\u2019s not helpful because that is my style and these things are necessary in the book. For example, one time a person read only the prologue of my book and said, \u201cYou should make her say this or do that. What she says is weird and doesn\u2019t make sense.\u201d I replied with, \u201cdid you read the book?\u201d Because everything in the prologue is explained throughout the series. And the phrases he suggested that I make her say did not match with the person she was or the situation. In that case, like I did, you just shrug it off and figure you can\u2019t please everyone. But if a person makes a comment about how you were always flipping tenses or how you had a ton of grammar mistakes or formatting mistakes. Ask yourself, is that true? And if so, how can I improve? Then work to make those improvements.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">As Indie authors we still live in a world where there is still a stigma about how self-publishing is somehow not as \u2018true\u2019 or \u2018real\u2019 as traditional publishing. This means we have extra pressure to make sure that what we are putting out into the world is as good as it can possibly be. We need to be proud of our work and that means taking the time to do things like edit and format properly and find beta readers. It also at times means paying for those services from someone else. This can be tough I know. But it can be very worthwhile. I am a freelance content editor and coach for other writers. If you are a writer who is interested, I am on Twitter and on Upworks.com, please reach out.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<div style=\"width: 960px;\" class=\"wp-video\"><video class=\"wp-video-shortcode\" id=\"video-523-2\" width=\"960\" height=\"1407\" preload=\"metadata\" controls=\"controls\"><source type=\"video\/mp4\" src=\"https:\/\/elizabethhollandauthor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/IMG_7701.mp4?_=2\" \/><a href=\"https:\/\/elizabethhollandauthor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/IMG_7701.mp4\">https:\/\/elizabethhollandauthor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/IMG_7701.mp4<\/a><\/video><\/div>\n<h3 style=\"text-align: center;\">6. What advice would you give someone wanting to write their first book?<\/h3>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">Be true to who you are. Write because you want your story told or because you want to read a book about that subject. Trust yourself but be open to help, guidance and even constructive criticism. That all can make you a better writer. Read a lot! Support other authors and find an author community. Learn and research about the publishing industry and the different types of publishing. Many people think that traditional publishing is the <i>only <\/i>way to go. But there are a lot of pros and cons to each type. I was published through a publisher previously and after some learning, growing and changing, I decided to self-publish instead. It has been the best decision for me. We are all different. Lastly, we are all busy, but if you want to write you have to make the time and do it in whatever way works best for you. You got this!<\/p>\n<div style=\"width: 960px;\" class=\"wp-video\"><video class=\"wp-video-shortcode\" id=\"video-523-3\" width=\"960\" height=\"1458\" preload=\"metadata\" controls=\"controls\"><source type=\"video\/mp4\" src=\"https:\/\/elizabethhollandauthor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/IMG_7702.mp4?_=3\" \/><a href=\"https:\/\/elizabethhollandauthor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/IMG_7702.mp4\">https:\/\/elizabethhollandauthor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/IMG_7702.mp4<\/a><\/video><\/div>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/LauraEThompson6\">You can find Laura on Twitter.<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Author Q&amp;A Laura Thompson *This post contains affiliate links*<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":112,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"Author Q&A @LauraEThompson6","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_wpscppro_dont_share_socialmedia":false,"_wpscppro_custom_social_share_image":0,"_facebook_share_type":"","_twitter_share_type":"","_linkedin_share_type":"","_pinterest_share_type":"","_linkedin_share_type_page":"","_instagram_share_type":"","_medium_share_type":"","_threads_share_type":"","_google_business_share_type":"","_selected_social_profile":[],"_wpsp_enable_custom_social_template":false,"_wpsp_social_scheduling":{"enabled":false,"datetime":null,"platforms":[],"status":"template_only","dateOption":"today","timeOption":"now","customDays":"","customHours":"","customDate":"","customTime":"","schedulingType":"absolute"},"_wpsp_active_default_template":true},"categories":[14],"tags":[9,13],"class_list":["post-523","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-author-interviews","tag-book","tag-indie-author"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/elizabethhollandauthor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/Black-and-White-Beauty-Quote-Pinterest-Graphic.png","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/elizabethhollandauthor.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/523","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/elizabethhollandauthor.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/elizabethhollandauthor.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/elizabethhollandauthor.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/elizabethhollandauthor.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=523"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/elizabethhollandauthor.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/523\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":539,"href":"https:\/\/elizabethhollandauthor.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/523\/revisions\/539"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/elizabethhollandauthor.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/112"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/elizabethhollandauthor.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=523"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/elizabethhollandauthor.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=523"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/elizabethhollandauthor.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=523"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}