❤ Interviewing Writers ❤

SabrinaBlackburry

Intro: I'm Sabrina Blackburry and I'm the author of the Dirty Lying Creatures series as well as the Wylde series and a couple other stand alone books. I'm from Missouri, USA and I stay at home with my toddler, I sew renaissance festival costumes and sell them at the local fair, and I write books. My favorite undertones to focus on in my books are the different kinds of love.

1) When did you write your first book, and how old were you?

"I have been writing creatively since middle school. I would make stories for my little sisters to make them happy. But for all my attempts and failures, I was in my twenties before I actually wrote and finished a book. November 2013 when I was 26."

2) Which of your personality traits has been the most useful when writing?

"I'm a pretty solitary person. That's not to say I don't enjoy going out with friends and family, but in the end I'd rather spend time alone or with a very select number of people. I think being such a homebody has helped me write. Writing is such a solitary act, so I'm lucky that I can sit alone and be content for long stretches."

3) Did you always know that you were destined for literary greatness, or you, as they say, "stumbled" upon it?

"I would never have imagined myself in 'literary greatness' as you put it. In fact, I probably still wouldn't say I've got it. I'm proud of how far I've come in my writing, but I still feel like I have a lifetime of learning ahead of me. I think if I were to say I've hit greatness now, I would be much slower to push myself to grow."

4) How active are you on social media? And how do you think it affects the way you write?

"I'm a lurker on social media haha. I like to be on it, keep up with people, but I don't post as often. I'm trying to be better about that these days. I don't think it's had an effect on my writing too much, I try not to let people's opinions sway my writing, or else I'd lose my voice in it. That's a fear I have. "

5) Did you ever have a rough patch in writing, where nothing in the story seemed to fit or make sense?

"I get rough patches all the time. Smaller ones, nowadays. Or maybe I'm just more lenient on the first draft than I used to be. But believe me, I did have days in my first books where I thought about throwing the whole mess out. I felt like my stories were weak and my characters were bland. But see your drafts through to the end and give yourself the benefit of an edit. You'll feel a lot better."

6) Tell us about your writing style, how is it different from other writers?

"I think it's hard for someone to identify their own style. For me it is at least. If I had to go off of what other people most often tell me stands out to them, I'd say I write with a lot of relatable details. I also get a lot of comments about loving characters, as well as good, healthy relationships. I do hope all those things come through, I feel like a down to earth person who just loves love, and I hope that comes through in my stories."

7) Some writers create a bubble around themselves until they're finished with their project – how true is that in your case?

"I have a toddler, there are no bubbles here. Just kidding. (mostly) But in all seriousness, I don't mind activity around me. In fact, I like to write with someone else in the room. Not talking to me, but each of us doing our own thing."

8) Lots of writers interview their characters, do you do this too and what sort of questions do you ask them?

"I've never really tried to interview a character before. I've made character sheets before I start a story with details that I might add to as I write, but that's as close as I've come. I like them, I guess I've just never tried it before! As for what questions I'd ask, most of them would probably be food related."

9) Which book have you written that you are most proud of?

" I'm most proud of Half Wylde. I love all my books, and that one maybe isn't even my most technically well written book, but the story is magical and my heart is really invested in it. The messages and undertones are good too. Personal growth, self acceptance, and invested relationships. Things I'm passionate about."

10) What advice can you give to frustrated writers who write amazing stories but get hardly any reads?

"This seems more like a question about getting your work seen. I believe there are a bunch of wonderful authors that have this problem. I honestly don't know how I got read in the first place myself. I didn't know what the forums were or how book clubs worked or anything until after I had well over 100k reads on my first Wattpad novel. Sometimes I really think luck is a factor, and that sucks. It's not fair. I want all of the great stories to blow up with love. But now that I'm a little bit older and (arguably) a little bit wiser than when I started out myself, I'd suggest making sure you're using all the tags allowed. The tags do help, and if you haven't been in the community threads, I highly recommend them too. There are far smarter writers than me there with loads of fantastic advice on getting noticed on Wattpad. I wish you the best of luck!"

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I'd just like to say thank you for answering these questions. I find it so interesting learning about other writers and seeing how far they've come on this writing journey. It was so much fun reading your answers and to everybody reading this, I hope you check Sabrina's books!