Hi April! Thanks for allowing me
to interview you. I really admire your work, as well as your style. I feel honored to be able to ask you a few
questions.
Thank you for having me featured on your wonderful website. I am
honored to be here.
You started off writing poems as
a teen and later in life went after your dream and started writing novels. I
had a very similar experience. Do you ever wish you had started writing right
after college or do you think that waiting made you relish this opportunity
more, thus allowing you to really put your heart and soul into it?
I’ve always loved writing. For me, I think everything happened the way
it should have. One thing I never do is look back and wish I had done something
differently. If I second-guess my decisions and myself then it stops me from
appreciating the moment. Therefore, I’d have to say that waiting made me relish
the experience of it that much more.
Which came first, novels or short
stories?
In my early twenties, I started writing short stories. None of them
were published though.
You are a prolific writer, with
quite a lot of work out. Are you a multi-tasker, who works on several projects
at a time, or do you stick with your work in progress?
Oh, I try to multi-task, but I always fall short of deadlines. When
that happens, I pull back the reins on all the extra projects and focus solely
on the main book that I’m writing. It’s a continually changing process for me.
I’m always working on streamlining the method around my own personal way of
doing things.
You spent a good deal of time
working the corporate world, in the law field. Which is more demanding, writing
legal documents or fiction?
Both are demanding because they both come with deadlines. Although,
most of my deadlines are self-imposed, they are also calculated around my
readers. Needless to say, that alone puts more pressure on me.
You’re a So-Cal girl that spent some
quality time on the beach, and in the water, surfing. That must’ve been a
sensational experience growing up. Describe for us who’ve never been surfing,
what the first time on a board meant to you?
My first time on a surfboard, I was ten years old. My father took me to
San Clemente Beach. With his longboard under his arm and me at his side, we hit
the water. He first had me lie on my stomach and use the whitewash of a wave to
practice standing on the board. Being a tiny ten year old, on a fifteen-foot
surfboard, it was easy to stand and ride the whitewash in toward the shore. It
was also an exhilarating experience. My family and I went to the beach often.
Each trip to the beach included the surfboards and a surf lesson. By my teenage
years, I was riding on a shorter board, feeling the seawater splashing my face,
the breeze caressing my skin and the excitement of challenging a wave that I
never thought I’d be able to ride. Every crash and burn, every bruise my body
took from hitting the bottom of the ocean floor and every tumble against a wild
wave that sent my head somersaulting over my feet was worth that one moment
when you ride the perfect wave—when you glide along the ocean’s surface in a
euphoric state of bravado and skill.
Obviously family means a lot to
you. You’ve sacrificed a lot being a single parent. Kudos to you for that,
coming from a fellow single parent. Have your kids read your works and how do
they feel about them?
No, my kids have not read my books. Although my sons are avid readers,
they have their favorite authors and I think they stick pretty close to them.
For years, I wouldn’t let them read my work because the subject matter wasn’t
for their age group.
You stated in your biography that
you’re close to your parents and your sisters are your best friends. That’s
pretty awesome! Give them a shout out and tell us about how they have supported
you in your path to being a dark fiction author?
A big hello to my family! They are each supportive in their own ways.
My mom has a tendency to call me when she has a dream that she thinks could be
a story. I take those dreams, sometimes a paragraph in length in her
explanation, and I create a story from them. Dividing Destiny and Torn by Fate
are both stories that started with a concept that my mother gave me.
My sister, Kathy, is one of my beta readers. I trust her opinion
because she’s blunt and honest and doesn’t know how to hold back punches. J
That’s what I want in a beta reader. The rest of my family reads my books and
listens to me talk about my writing career almost nonstop. For that, I am so
thankful to have such an amazing support system.
As an indie author, one of the
toughest things is building a fan base from scratch. Fans are very loyal to
their favorite authors. How much do you consider your fans feedback in
determining future projects?
I always listen to my fans. I may not be able to do exactly what they
want me to do, but I consider their comments. When I started writing Disciples of the Damned, it was
supposed to be similar to a television series with ten short stories (one a
month) and a season finale novel. The readers wanted the books to be longer and
they voiced it in almost every review that I received. Because of that, I
created the series as four short stories and a season finale novel. So yes, I
do take their comments and suggestions into consideration.
Enticing the Moon was your first title. Is it your favorite, or has
another stolen your heart?
All of my books have a place in my heart. Because Enticing the Moon was my first book, it knows my blood, sweat and
tears the best. However, I have fallen in love with each book I’ve ever
written. There really is no favorite, but if I had to choose the character who
really grabs me, it would be Dhellia in Witch
Road to Take.
What is your most recent work?
Tell us why we should buy it.
I just finished Vampire
Vengeance, which is the third book in The
Turning Series. If you’ve read and enjoyed book one and two then I know
you’ll enjoy the third book. Here’s the book description:
“His sister is in the hands of the enemy.
The town where he lives claims that the woman he loves is dead.
The Sanguis clan leader has disappeared.
And Apollo is running out of time.
In a harrowing attempt to find the woman he loves, Apollo confronts his
adversaries and the dark secrets of his birthplace. One clue leads to another
until he runs into a dead end. As the clock to rescue his sister runs out of
time, Apollo leads the remaining Sanguis clan to the werewolf compound in
Spain. Once inside and behind enemy lines, he will come face to face with his
most dangerous enemies, unravel family secrets and discover an heirloom with
powers far stronger than he knew existed. As he leaves one life behind, he will
discover another, where he will be forced to choose between good and evil,
family and solitude.”
You are very experienced in
martial arts. How much did you accomplish in karate and what is your favorite
experience?
I stopped just shy of taking my brown belt test. I started out with
Kenpo and did that for many years but then moved into doing Taekwondo. My
favorite experience would be the years that my family and I attended the
international tournaments in Long Beach. Martial artists from around the world
came out to this tournament to compete. It was a huge event and being that my
entire family was in karate together; we would cheer each other on during our
competitions. It’s one of my fondest memories.
Have you ever had to use your skills
in karate in real-life self-defense?
No! Thank God. The confidence of knowing that I can protect myself
against an attacker is worth its weight in gold. Let’s hope I never have to use
my training.
What does the future hold for Ms.
April Reign?
Well, in 2014, I will be releasing nine new novels, including a new
series and sixteen short stories. I plan to write, travel, share my time with
family and friends and continue to get to know my readers and assist my peers
with their own writing endeavors. My youngest son has just finished his first
Sci-Fi romance novel and I hope to assist him with the creative process of
getting his book out to readers as well. It’s a fun time in the publishing
world and I’m so happy to be a part of it.
Thanks April, for taking part in
Ominous 13! Congrats to your son, we wish you and him the best and hope that
you both take over the writing world with fantastic stories! Any closing
thoughts?
Thank you so much, Paul. I want to thank you for giving me this
opportunity. I’d also like to thank your fans and readers for checking out this
interview and I’d like to thank my own readers for stopping by. I can be found
at the following links:
