Fictitious Chronicles: Interview with author T.M. Souders

T.M. Souders, author of Waiting on Hope.
Huge day today, guys! T.M. Souders, the amazing author of Waiting on Hope,is here with us today! She was awesome enough to take time out to answer a few of my questions!

So, sit back, enjoy the interview and don't forget to check her great books out!

Guys, please give a warm welcome to T.M. Souders!

How long have you been writing?

I started writing mid-way through college (about 7 years ago now, eek!) and have been writing on and off ever since. After the birth of my son is when I got really serious about my writing, however. I committed myself to it and wrote my first novel worthy of reading but not quite worthy of publishing. I then went on to write several others leading up to my first published novel, Waiting On Hope.

Who is your favorite character from your books? And why?

I have two published works of fiction, Waiting On Hope and Dashing Through The Snow (a novelette). It's so hard to pick a favorite character! It's like picking between children! I suppose though that Lexie (from WOH), because of her sheer strength and will to survive through tragedy, makes her on the top of my list. I also love Gemma from Dashing- because of her tell-it-like-it-is attitude. I would love to have a friend like Gemma.

What is the most difficult for you when writing?

I think the most difficult thing for me is clearing my mind and avoiding distraction. I have two young children, ages 3 and 18 mos., so they consume most of my time and make it extremely difficult to shell out quality writing time. By the end of the night, I'm usually exhausted, so being able to find time to write and truly focus on it is challenging.

Do you have any words of advice for writers?

Three very important things: Be patient. Don't put too much pressure on yourself. And don't compare yourself to other authors. These are very difficult things to do--things that I struggle with myself--but are SO important.

What are three interesting facts about you?

Interesting? Did I mention I have two small children? I'm pretty boring now-a-days, but let me see... My absolute, favorite place in the world is the Outer Banks of North Carolina. Give me a house there and I'd be in heaven. I was an addiction counselor for two years where I counseled opiate addicts. And supposedly, I had an ancestor that was on the Titanic, whom I'm sure did not survive because they would have definately been in Steerage.

Just one more question, I was reading your questions back and I was curious, What is something you don't think you could write about? (genre, topic etc)

Hmmm...good question. I know I couldn't write horror because I'm a chicken and would creep myself out, lol. As far as topics go, the only thing, as of now, I think I would have trouble with is writing any sort of scenes where a child is being harmed. If it's backstory, then maybe I could do it. But ever since I've had children myself, I have a really hard time hearing about incidents of abuse or the like in regards to children. It kills me and I prefer not to think about it, which is why I know I would be unable to write a scene like that effectively. It would be too emotional for me. When I write an emotional scene for a character, I have to feel what they feel, all of their emotions--the fear, the pain. And so, something concerning a child would be too awful for me to imagine and feel like that. I would also have a hard time not thinking of my own children.

And last tell us about any new or upcoming books to look forward to.

I am working on massive rewrites for a novel I wrote over a year ago titled, Freedom Road. It is going to be a YA/Crossover novel and I hope to have it out by the beginning of February. Rejected by everyone and everything, the main character, Samantha, turns to music. She is a guitarist with a dream of Juliard. But her father and friends have other plans for her...

For more info on T.M. Souders