A Little Something about Temperance Dawn:
Temperance has combined her love of romance and the supernatural world by writing stories of strong characters overcoming fear, encountering the spiritual unknown, hauntings, ghostly apparitions, and tales of Vampires. In addition to writing paranormal romance, Temperance is also a featured contributor for Paranormal Daily News, where she covers stories of historically haunted locations. Temperance is a wife and mom to two rambunctious, beautiful kids. She recently moved across the country with her family and is enjoying her new life in the southern United States.
Questions and Answers:
1. When did you first realize you wanted to be a writer?
I always knew, it was really just a matter of convincing myself that I was capable of doing it! I stood in my kitchen one day and said, “Why NOT?!” And I sat down to write. It was the hardest thing I’ve ever done, but I pushed through the imposter syndrome and here we are!
2. How long does it take you to write a book?
My first book took me 22 months. Book two will be 11 months. I’m hoping to release at least two books next year.
3. What is your work schedule like when you're writing?
I work around my family. During the school year I wake up with my husband at around 4:30am. My husband and I have our coffee together while we catch up on emails. Once I drop the kids at school I do nothing but work until pick up time. After school it’s a pretty strict schedule of completing any errands, dinner and bedtime routines. We are early to bed people since we get up so early. So by 9:30pm I’ve silenced my phone, read a little bit and it’s light out.
4. What would you say is your unique writing quirk?
I talk to myself. Constantly. I try to envision my characters and actually mimic how they speak and their mannerisms. It’s the only way I can effectively describe what I see in my head.
5. Whether it be traditional, self, or story book apps. How d you find the publishing process?
Nerve wracking! LOL. I’m self published and I wouldn’t have it any other way. But being in charge of everything has its pros and cons. There is literally no one for me to delegate tasks to. It’s all me. On top of navigating the self-publishing world for the first time, it was hard, I’m not gonna lie. But I would do it all over again. I have help this time around from a wonderful assistant.
6. How much of your writing process involves research in your subject matter or plot?
It really depends on what I’m writing. A lot of my stories are taken from my own personal experiences. So those scenes are just me reminiscing. But some require research. I normally put aside a day during the week for research, because I don’t like to stop in the middle of writing to look things up. I also try not to research too much. I write fiction, so I make up my own worlds. But if it involves an aspect of real life, then I’m always sure to get those facts correct.
7. When did you write your first book and how old were you?
I’ve been writing for decades. I wrote a lot after high school. Unfortunately, over the years those stories were lost. So my first complete novel was my first novel. I was in my late 30’s.
8. What do you like to do when you're not writing?
I love documentaries. I don’t watch much TV, and I don’t like reality or prime time TV at all. I’m addicted to Discovery+ at the moment.
9. What does your family think of your writing?
My daughter is so proud. She tells everyone we meet that I’m an author. Now she’s working on her own book. I just bought her her own subscription to some writing software and she’s so excited. My husband is also proud. He’s always trying to give my author copies away to people he knows.
10.What was one of the most surprising things you learned about yourself in creating your books (characters, location, plot)?
I’m a much better writer than I am a speaker. My writing just flows from my fingers. But if you talk to me in real life, I trip over my words like nobody's business.
11.What is it you particularly like about the genre you write?
I have always loved romance. In fact, it’s the genre that helped me fall in love with reading. My grandmother used to keep piles of romance novels in her garage. I remember taking a few home every time I visited her house (which was a few times a week). She always encouraged me to take as many as I wanted =)
12.Do you have any suggestions to help others become writers? If so, what are they?
Just do it. Don’t worry about how terrible you think it is. Don’t listen to the outside noise. And if you need to, keep it a secret. Honestly, it’s no one’s business what makes you happy. In the words of the great Whoppie Goldberg from Sister Act 2, when she quoted ‘Letters To A Young Poet’ by Rainer Maria Rilke, “If you wake up in the morning, and you can’t think about nothing but being a writer, then you supposed to be a writer.” I tell that to myself often, in Whoppie Goldberg’s voice =)
13.Do you hear from your readers much? What kinds of things do they say?
I do, and I love hearing from them. I hear a lot about my book being different, and not what they expected, in a good way. That’s exactly what I was going for.
14.Do you like to create books for your target audience?
I think I’ve found my target audience, LOL. I didn’t want to write a book just to fit in to a particular box and make a lot of money. There isn’t anything wrong with that, I just knew that if I did it, I had to love the story. I also wanted to open people’s eyes up to a different world, I hope I’m accomplishing that.
15.What do you think makes a good story?
Real world personalities. Give the reader something they can connect to and say, “Hey, that’s me!”
16.How do you handle writers block and what do you tell other aspiring authors who may be fighting or fearful about hitting that wall?
It’s going to happen. Embrace it. My husband’s company uses the slogan, “Struggle Well, Stay Productive.” If you’re stuck, then find another way to keep moving without giving up. Read some books that might inspire you. Do some research, or play around with your book’s description. Write a possible ending to the book and see if that sparks anything. You can even start a new story until your inspiration for the previous one comes back. Just don’t give up.
Final Notes:
I simply adore this author. I admire her and I think of her as the kind of writer I myself strive to be. Temperance is hands down one of my favorite indie authors as of recently and I do not see that changing for the foreseeable future. She writes in a genre I love, her narrations are clear and concise throughout her book. She has a great plot and her character building is fast but complete. Like you're not left wondering who this person is. If anything, you're left with wanting to know them on a deeper level. Temperance is an author everyone needs to know about.