Please welcome to my blog today. We have Author Danielle D Smith as a featured author.
Can you tell us a little bit about yourself?
I am an author, filmmaker, speaker and advocate for survivors of abuse, most importantly I am a mother of a beautiful teen girl.
What do you do when you are not writing?
I love to watch movies!
Do you have a day job as well?
Yes, I am a Recruiting Manager for a third-party call center
When did you first start writing and when did you finish your first book?
I started writing short stories and poems in middle school. For some reason I still found it odd that God wanted me to write a book to tell my story. I completed my first book, Yesterday’s Tomorrow in December 2016.
How did you choose the genre you write in?
Fiction
Where do you get your ideas?
The idea for my book, Yesterday’s Tomorrow came from my own life experience of dealing with child abuse and neglect.
Do you ever experience writer’s block?
Yes, I experience writer’s block. When I first started writing I found that it was from fear. Fear of completing something new.
Do you work with an outline, or just write?
The outline I used was a note to self to jog my memories.
Is there any author or book that influenced you in any way either growing up or as an adult?
The book that influenced me was, From the Extreme by Renea Moon.
Can you tell us about your challenges in getting your first book published?
I did not have any challenges getting my book published. I worked with literary consultant, Joylynn Ross who helped to ease my mind every step of the way.
If you had to go back and do it all over, is there any aspect of your novel or getting it published that you would change?
I would not change anything I went through while getting my book published.
How do you market your work? What avenues have you found to work best for your genre?
I use social media mostly. While posting I give snippets of my book, taglines as well as I copy reviews on my page.
Have you written a book you love that you have not been able to get published?
No, I have not.
Can you tell us about your upcoming book?
My upcoming book is the sequel to, Yesterday’s Tomorrow. It will take the reader on a journey to show how Alyx survived child abuse and how she is surviving different relationships in her life.
Child abuse and child trauma can affect every relationship in their adulthood. Resulting in abuse of other things such as alcohol, drugs or sex.
Is anything in your book based on real life experiences or purely all imagination?
My book is based on my life.
What was your favorite chapter (or part) to write and why?
My favorite part of the book is the end of this book when I find out I was pregnant and the liberty I had of wanting a child.
How did you come up with the title?
Honestly my editor, Joylynn Ross and I were meeting together. She was helping me get my thoughts out and God gave her the title for me.
What project are you working on now?
Currently I am working on my short film, Don’t Be Quiet, which is the visual to my book. I show the place where I was abused.
Will you have a new book coming out soon?
I will have the sequel to, Yesterday’s Tomorrow out in 2019.
