Please give a warm welcome to author M.F. Moody

Tell us a bit about yourself…

Well, I’m a wife and Mum, ex-high school teacher, with a boy-child as well as 3 fur-babies. I’m Australian, but moved over to the UK back in 2015 due to my hubby’s work (he’s British, although we met and married in Australia).
I’ve lived up and down the east coast of Australia, and love to travel. I’ve been to every state (except for Western Australia) back home, have visited both islands of New Zealand, and have travelled to South Korea, France, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland, and Eire (Republic of Ireland).
I’m the youngest of 3 girls, am a natural red-head, a typical Sagittarius and a typical Goat/Ram/Sheep (Chinese Zodiac), and I have absolutely *no* filter. I love reading, coffee, wine, reading, baking, sleeping, reading, writing, watching movies, and did I mention reading?

Have you always wanted to become an author?

In some shape or form, yes. I would love to write stories as a child, and my sisters and I would often make up our own little skits and stories and perform them. I wrote poetry and short stories as a teen, and have had several published in various places. I also wrote a blog when I first moved to the UK.

What was your inspiration for your current book/series?

A dream. Quite a few of the stories I’ve written or have in my ‘to be written’ pile are from dreams I’ve had. It came to me about 2 years ago, when there were a lot of the RH Academy/Bully books being written. I love shifters, always have, and I wanted to put my own twist on things – the characters are all adults (even if only by a year or so), there is a fated-mate rejection, and it’s a reverse-harem. Unfortunately for me, the book I was working on at that point in time (‘Disconnect’) wouldn’t let me write anything that wasn’t related to it. I wasn’t able to start writing my ‘Altered Shifters Universe’ books until August of last year.

What are you working on now?

I’m working on 2 projects at the moment. I’m going through the final edits for ‘Altered: Part Two’, in the hopes I can release it in May – it’s currently scheduled for a May 1st release, but I might need to push it back depending on how much work it needs. I’m also writing the first draft for ‘Mythic’, which was *supposed* to be the second book in that interlinked universe, but then ‘Altered’ was split into a duet rather than a standalone.

Do you have any quirks while working?

Music and coffee. I have several rather large mugs that I will guzzle from as I write, and I also have a pair of Razer Kraken (Kitty Edition) headphones that I wear while writing. They light up. I create a playlist for each major book/series I write, and at the moment, my Spotify playlist for my ‘Altered Shifters Universe’ has around 180 songs on it. Probably closer to 200, if I’m honest. I will zone out completely, and get *very* irritated if I’m interrupted, although I will stop fairly frequently for coffee and toilet breaks.

What are your hopes for the future?

I hope to be able to continue writing. I also hope that more people will find and enjoy my stories. I’d *love* to attend one of the big book events as an author, rather than as an attendeee, but at the same time, I don’t know if I’d ever be considered good enough to be invited. It’s a dream, a nice dream, but (at least in my mind) unlikely to be anything more than that.
I’d also love for one of my books/series to be picked up and gushed over by Ruby Dixon, Tiffany Roberts, Lillian Lark, Tate James, or a number of other authors I admire. Their opinion matters to readers, and if they comment on a book’s readability/enjoyment on their platforms, then that book is likely to see a spike in interest. Oh, and if I can get one of those mythical orange banners on Amazon, or even hit the NYT best-seller list, that would be a miracle, lol…

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

Find your people. Find other authors who are like you, and support and uplift each other. Do not, I repeat, DO NOT compare your journey to theirs, and vice versa. Encourage, uplift, share resources, leave reviews, promote yourself and each other. I was lucky enough to stumble on a wonderful group of authors who have encouraged, uplifted, advised, critiqued, sympathised, and just loved me for being me. There are enough haters out there who will try to tear you down (and unfortunately, some of them may even be other authors), but if you find your people, lick them. Slobber all over them and make them yours.
Also, not every negative comment is meant in a destructive way. Constructive criticism, while pointing out your mistakes/flaws, is meant to help you grow as a writer. Don’t just focus on the negative comments, look for that silver lining that a lot (but not all) will be trying to push. If you open yourself up to *constructive* criticism, and actually *listen* to the feedback and positive information someone is trying to impart, you’ll find yourself growing as an author. My books would be a lot crappier if I had ignored the constructive criticism I received when I first wrote them.

Do you have anything to say to your followers?

Thank you. From the dark and depraved depths of my black and shrivelled little soul, thank you. Without you, without my readers, without all of your support, I’d still be sitting there wondering if I’d ever get around to publishing that book. So thank you.