Author Miki Ward #interview

Please give a warm welcome to author Miki Ward Tell us a bit about yourself

I’m older than most of the authors that I’m friends with and am a grandmother. That’s actually a plus because I use my fantastic grandchildren as inspiration and ask them lots of questions about teens and young people’s behavior. I grew up in Carlsbad, NM, a small town in the dead middle of nowhere. It was a close-knit community and close to the Carlsbad Caverns also great inspiration for the books that I write with my brother Garrett Ward. Living in a small town we had to find stuff to do for fun and once… do you know that scene in Footloose when the female lead jumped from one moving truck to anther? They copied me. I really did that, and it was easy, again great inspiration. I’m married to a wonderful man who loves me so much I never have to question it. I’ve been a carhop, a fountain girl, a secretary, a welder, a quality control engineer, a non-destructive testing inspector, and a lead nuclear auditor. Now I have my dream job as an author. I’m not perfect and work on myself constantly. One thing I really like to do is build others up and I try hard to remember to do that instead of thinking of myself all the time.

Have you always wanted to become an author?

Since I was in junior high and read SE Hinton. My brothers and I used to say constantly as kids we should write the stuff we made up down, yet never did until we got older.

What was your inspiration for your current book/series?

Like most of my books it is based on my own experiences and family life. Many of the things in those stories are something we’ve seen first-hand or heard from passed down stories. In fact, all of our stories have a lot of real experiences in them just changed to fit in the story lines.

What are you working on now?

Four different books at once. Our Shivers series is about teens facing the paranormal and we have finished the first draft of book two and are cleaning it up for the editor. It won’t publish until September if it is still acceptable for Covey Publishing to be added to the Falling for Them anthology. I’m also finishing a short story for my own anthology called Celebration of Love. It will publish for the fourth of July and includes two wonderful new authors and a couple that are seasoned. The third is the third book in our Ceorfan Gargoyles Series called Hewn. I’m just getting into it and it will take me a while to finish. The last is a surprise anthology that I have a story I cowrote with another author friend.

Do you have any quirks while writing?

I go to bed thinking of the book I’m on and dream about it. Then I get up and write the chapters I dreamed with lots of coffee and music.

What are your hopes for the future?

I have so many, but writing has changed my little brother’s life I want to keep him busy. He finds purpose in our writing. Also, if I can touch just one person and make them have a better day or rest and if they remember to love themselves I’ll be happy.

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

So much! Do your own thing and don’t pattern yourself after anyone else, be original, and write what you know. Yes, you will need examples and mentors but be yourself. When you get a nasty review understand that the reader is usually writing about themselves. If they have had a circumstance that makes them hate chocolate and your whole book is about chocolate and they say they hated it, that comes from their own likes and really has little to do with you. There are a few reviewers who see art for art and gauge that way if they say something you can learn from use it, but the fact is you can’t please everyone. Everyone has different tastes and it’s best not to let a bad review hurt you. Rant at me for a while if you need a shoulder until you get over it. If you like your book that’s what counts. The more you write the bigger your writing muscles will be. One more thing don’t be afraid to try something new. It might surprise you that you enjoy something you didn’t think you would.

Do you have anything to say to your readers?

I say it in my books and I mean it. You are my prize. You prop me up constantly when I need a lift. I love you and pray for you all. One day maybe I can meet a few of you in person and tell you, ‘Wings Up!’