Please give a warm welcome to author Emmy Dee

Tell us a bit about yourself…

I’m just a small-town girl. Hailing from Arkansas, I spend most of my time wrangling my two toddlers and hanging out with my mom. I’m a firm believer in the use of finger guns and the phrase “cool beans.” I am definitely hip with all the cool kids. If you want to befriend me, I can be bribed with Dr. Pepper and gummy candies. I’ve always loved books and the side character Biff Hooper from the Hardy boys series was my first book boyfriend. I have plans to write in multiple genres, but the people in my head are crazy, so I’ll have to see where they take me

Have you always wanted to become an author?

I don’t think I have always wanted to be an author. I always hated writing essays in school, and my high school English teachers never really had a lot of faith in me. I have always loved reading though and I thought that people that wrote books were amazing. I was first struck with the inspiration to write in 2018. I went to my first ever book convention. Penned Con in St. Louis. I met several of my favorite authors and the author that got me into Indie books. I am normally very shy, but I felt so comfortable with all of the people I met and talked to. I instantly wanted to immerse myself in this community. On the way home after the convention, I told my husband that I wanted to write a book. It took me a couple of years to get going. I would have an idea, but wouldn’t write it down and then forget. Or I would write something down, and then stop because I didn’t want to make time to develop it. It wasn’t until late last year that things changed.

What was your inspiration for your current book/series?

I saw the 13th jewel contest in Silver Springs and I almost decided to enter, but I didn’t have any confidence in myself. After it was over, and they announced the winner, I felt regret. Then the Moon Dust Library contest came up. I thought about skipping it too. I waited until right at the deadline and I told myself “If you do this and don’t get picked, then so what? Nothing in your life will change and you at least tried. But what if you do get chosen?”  I didn’t even read all the rules. (oops, sorry guys) I just jumped right in. I wrote almost four thousand words in almost four hours and submitted my info. When I got the message that my entry had been selected, I believe my exact words were “I think I’m going to throw up.” The MDL ladies have been my inspiration. They’ve helped me find myself. I am more confident in who I am now than I was when I started this journey, and I think they play a large part in that. 

What are you working on now?

Right now I am working on my short story for the Fearless Anthology. It’s an amazing anthology about strong women who struggled, fought, and survived. My story will be a prequel to my Moonlit Falls book. I also have Citrine’s second book mostly planned out and would like to release it around Christmas time. I have another anthology scheduled for next May ( it will definitely be paranormal but I haven’t decided if it’s gonna be RH or not.) and I have a couple of other projects that are in their very beginning phases. One is another paranormal reverse harem and the other is MF contemporary rom-com. Next year is looking pretty busy!

Do you have any quirks while working?

HAHAHA! Yes! A few. I have eaten a crap-ton of candy since January. If I’m writing, I’m probably snacking on some sort of gummy candy. My current favorite is sour lifesavers, but I’ll probably burn out on them soon if I keep eating them at this rate. I get distracted easily, and eating helps me focus. While I’m on the subject of distractions, I have to put my phone away and I can’t have any noise while I’m working. I also write the best at my desk staring at a blank wall. It’s all or nothing with this brain. Also, when I’m stuck on something or having problems with a character or scene, I take a shower. Shower thoughts with Emmy should be a podcast. I actually completely rewrote Citrine three times because of ideas I had in the shower. It looks nothing like my original entry, and the MDL ladies have banned me from taking showers more than once. (Don’t worry, I didn’t quit taking showers. I love them too much.) 

What are your hopes for the future?

I don’t know what the future holds, but I really hope this writing thing works out for me. I hope people love Citrine as much as I do and they feel like they can follow me on my new journey. I’ve discovered a new love, and I don’t really want to stop. I think I’ve found my calling.

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

I am not good at giving advice, but I will say this. Find your crew. Doing this is so much better with other people. I don’t think I would have been able to finish Citrine’s story so quickly if it wasn’t for my girls. They pushed me and helped me when I wanted to give up. I don’t know a lot about the publishing world yet, but I’m not as scared as I would be if I was doing this completely alone. 

Do you have anything to say to your followers?

If I have any… No, I’m kidding. Seriously, I love you guys. This community is the reason I even wanted to be an author. Don’t quit being you, because you are the best dang group of people in the world!