AUTHOR INTERVIEW - NATALIE DAMSCHRODER

1. What is your name, where were you born and where do you live now?

My name is Natalie J. Damschroder. I was born in South Ruislip, England, where my father was stationed in the Air Force. I grew up in Massachusetts, and now I live in south central Pennsylvania.

2. Do you work another job as well as your writing work?

Unfortunately, yes! LOL I do freelance work as an editor and proofreader, and I work part time for a very busy chiropractic office. If I can’t make a full-time living with my fiction yet, these two jobs are good ones to have. I work with some great people, and enjoy the work itself a great deal.

3. Do you gift books to readers to do reviews?

I often do giveaways as a thank you to readers for their interest in my books. I never attach a review requirement to it, though I’m always grateful if a reader feels like posting their opinion somewhere. My publishers do also send out my books for review, as well.

4. Do you read all the reviews of your book/books?

I do! I guess I shouldn’t. Conventional wisdom says it’s better not to, because negative ones can hurt. And they do, at least for a little while. But I’ve never had a review, positive or negative, that wasn’t an honest assessment by the reviewer, and that’s all that’s important. I don’t like every book I read, so I can’t expect everyone who reads my books to like them. The bottom line is that the joy I get from a really good review is worth the bad feelings of a negative one.

5. What do you think makes a book a really good/bestseller ?

If anyone knew, we’d all be doing it! LOL That’s the beauty of any form of entertainment. We all have our own individual tastes, and I think more and more they overlap less and less. What I mean is that there’s so much variety out there, whether it’s genres of books or types of TV shows, that any of us can find what we want to see. We don’t all have to watch the same things. So it’s harder for stuff that’s well done to get blockbuster acclaim. Good writing, interesting characters, and a strong, exciting plot don’t always make it happen. The one thing that does is giving readers something to talk about. When they love a book so much they want to talk about it, it will be a bestseller.

6. What do you do to unwind and relax?

I loooove putting on my comfy lounging pants, wrapping up in my fluffy blanket, and watching TV with a cat on my lap. When I get overwhelmed and take a forced day off, I spend most of it reading (my vacations are loaded with reading, too!). When I need to physically get away from everything, I go out for dinner with my closest friends. We usually end up standing on the sidewalk talking for even longer than we were in the restaurant. :) And for the really big escapes, we drive to a nearby city to watch Jason Manns perform.

7. Have you ever based characters on people you know or based events on things that have happened to you?

I don’t think I’ve based anything on actual events, but a lot of my characters and their actions are influenced by things that exist or happened in real life. In Under the Moon, my most recent release, I chose settings important to me, and referenced things from my past, like Sarett Nature Center and Tommy’s restaurant in Fairfield, Connecticut.

8. Which format of book do you prefer, ebook, hardback, or paperback?

I like them all! If a book is only available in hardback and it’s one of my favorite authors, I’ll buy it or get it from the library and carry it around, reading it in one hand, the same way I do paperbacks or books on my Kindle. I love browsing the bookstore, so I have a full bookshelf of to-be-read books, but I also love the instant gratification of getting stuff on my Kindle, and the convenience of having another book to go to if I finish one somewhere away from my bookshelf.

9. What is your favourite book and Why? Have you read it more than once?

This might be a boring answer, but it’s Harry Potter. Every year, after the New England Patriots are knocked out of the playoffs, I drown my sorrows in the absolutely incredible audio performances by Jim Dale. I’ve never actually read the series, only listened to it, but I love it like crazy.

10. Do you think books transfer to movies well? Which is you favourite/worst book to movie transfer?

Almost always no, I don’t think they transfer well. The Lord of the Rings is the big exception, because the books are so dense and have so many pages where nothing is happening. I was very disappointed in the movie adaptation of Clive Cussler’s Sahara, but I really liked the movie version of The Hunt for Red October, better than the book. I’m very excited about The Hunger Games, and I think that series has potential to be even better than the books. We’ll see.

11. Do you think ebooks will ever totally replace printed books?

I don’t think they will in my lifetime, simply because there’s practical need for print books (like when you run out of electricity or aren’t allowed to have electronic devices on), and there will always be people who either can’t afford an e-reader, or don’t see the need for one. And some kinds of books will never do well digitally. But I think the shift is her to a majority e-book world.

12. Do you think children at schools these days are encouraged enough to read? and/or do Imaginative writing?

I’m sure it varies from school to school, but in my kids’ school, that’s a definite yes. They’re required to have a book with them at all times for pleasure reading, and they are given written assignments in all subjects, not just the “word-based” ones. Whether the “imaginative” factor sticks as they get older is up for debate, but my high-schooler has far more options in her class choices than I ever did.

Where can readers follow you?

Website: http://bit.ly/gQCCuF

Twitter: @NJDamschroder

Facebook: /nataliedamschroder

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