Author Interview with Lisa Rusczyk

Lisa was one of the winners from my 100 followers contest and here is her interview as her prize.

So, Lisa, could you please share with us your latest news.

My book, Chasing the Dark, has been released by Passionate Writer Publishing.

That's wonderful! When did you first consider yourself a writer?

When I got a job at Demand Studios writing articles for eHow and earned my first paycheck from writing.

Ah, Demand Studios. I write for them too. Sadly I make more money from them than my fiction writing, which is my first true love. Hopefully that'll change soon. Anyhow, what inspired you to write Chasing the Dark?

I saw an ambulance pass one day and wondered if there were people who followed them to see the gore.

Oh, now that's interesting. Love the concept. Do you have a specific writing style?

I change it up for each book I write. It depends on the genre and story.

How did you come up with the title, Chasing the Dark? I love the title!

It had another name originally, but my editor said we should rename it. She gave some suggestions and I took the one I liked best.

Is there a message in your novel that you want readers to grasp?

Not really. I just hope people enjoy it.

That's all any writer can want. What books have most influenced your life most?

Watership Down, John Steinbeck books, Stephen King books, Pillars of the Earth... I could go on and on.

Spoken like a true reader! lol I'm the same way. If you had to choose, which writer would you consider a mentor?

My brother.

Aw, that's so sweet. What book are you reading now?

A Bitch Named Karma. A fellow blogger wrote it and I am reading it to review on Raven and the Writing Desk, a blog I do with a couple of other writers, Cherie Reich and Aubrie Dionne.

Oh, I love Steph! She's awesome. (Steph Haefner is the author of A Bitch Named Karma) Are there any new authors that have grasped your interest?

There are a ton of new writers I'm being exposed to through my job. They are all really good and I love reading new things.

So many good books to read, so little time.... What are your current projects?

I have three that I'm working on right now. One is middle grade, about cats. The second is a scifi. The third is a thriller.

Is there anything you find particularly challenging in your writing?

Motivation. I have a hard time sitting down to do it. Once I spend some time with writing, I get into the groove, but getting started is always hard.

Mine is finding the time, but motivation is up there too. Sometimes I just feel like there is so many other things I could do and writing gets shove aside. Who is your favorite author and what is it that really strikes you about their work?

That's too tough to nail down. The authors I like the most make everything exciting, even when I'm not reading the book.

What a great answer. What was the hardest part of writing your book?

The first draft was really rough. It took a long time to fix my errors and make the book more cohesive. I wrote it in six days and that first draft showed it.

You wrote a book in 6 days?! Wow, that's incredible! Do you have anything specific that you want to say to your readers?

Check out Hazard Cat, the blog I edit for cat fiction, poetry and art. 

Does it normally only take you a week to write a book?

This one took a week, but usually it takes a year or more. The Blue Pen took five years.

Oh, ok. At first I thought you were a crazy superspeedy writer. What is your work schedule like when you're writing?

I try to write 2000 words in every sitting, so usually 2000 words a day when I'm at it.

That's not shabby at all! What would you say is your interesting writing quirk?

I usually read everything I've written on a story before starting each time I write, unless I'm pretty far into it. Then I will read about 20 pages back to the starting point for the day.

Thank you so much for joining us today, Lisa, and wishing you many sales!