Author Steffanie Holmes #interview & #review

Please give a warm welcome to author Steffanie Holmes

Tell us a bit about yourself

My real name is Steff Green, and I’m a 30-something writer living in New Zealand. My husband and I built our own home on a slice of rural paradise, and we currently live there with our horde of cats and our medieval sword collection.

When I’m not writing, I love to travel, tear up the mosh pit at a metal show, and brew my own wine and mead.

Have you always wanted to become an author?

Pretty much! I was going to be a writer and an archaeologist from the age of about 7. I went to university to study archaeology, and even participated in digs and conservation work all over New Zealand, but because of my eyesight (I’m legally-blind) I couldn’t convince anyone to hire me. I turned to writing instead.

What was your inspiration for your current book/series?

Books! I love all things books, so it’s been so much fun incorporating that into the Nevermore Bookshop series. My husband and I visited this beautiful old bookshop in York in England last time we were there that we still talk about, and I always thought it would be a great setting for a series. I’ve been reading a lot of cozy mysteries lately and watching a lot of Midsomer Murders. And I kept seeing people talking about their “book boyfriends” online and decided it would be super fun to create a harem of book boyfriends and what it would be like if they came to life. Add a dash of Black Books-esque humour and you have the Nevermore Bookshop Mysteries!

What are you working on now?

I’ve just finished the first draft of book 2 in the Nevermore Bookshop series, OF MICE AND MURDER. After that’s been edited, I’ll be starting book 3, which is themed around Jane Austen, and I can’t wait!

Do you have any quirks while writing?

Because of my eyesight, I write with my screen contrast reversed – so black background with white letters.

What are your hopes for the future?

Selling millions of books, travel the world, learn how to pilot a plane… you know, the usual sort of thing 🙂

Do you have any advice for new authors about the publishing world?

Your first book is your experiment book. It’s where you make a lot of your beginner mistakes. It’s perfectly okay that it’s not perfect – the important thing is that you write it and get it out there!