Author Genre: Thriller, Suspense
Website: Nicole Wolverton
Twitter: @nicolewolverton
E-Mail: nicole.wolverton@gmail.com
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Author Description:
NICOLE WOLVERTON is the author of the psychological thriller The Trajectory of Dreams (March 2013, Bitingduck Press). Her short fiction has appeared in Black Heart Magazine, The Molotov Cocktail, and Penduline, among others. She writes adult and young adult fiction.
She lives in the Philadelphia area with her husband, two cats, and a dog. She is a freelance writer and editor, and she enjoys running and outrigger canoeing.
SPOTLIGHT Questions and Answers with the Author
First things first. Let’s start with what’s next. Rumor has it that you have another book on the horizon called The Lake. Can you tell us the timeline for its release and give us a little tease?
The Lake is one of two novels I'm working on right now, and both are in the beginning stages of being drafted, so I have no timeline, nor even a tease to give! I can tell you The Lake involves two monsters, one real and one fake, as well as a strange family legacy and a teenage boy who gets caught between the legacy and the monsters.
You have a good following on twitter. How important have your social media relationships been? How did you build your following in your niche? Did you use forums, newsletters and methods like that?
I started blogging long, long ago, and it was always a wonder to me that I could build relationships with new people and make friends across the world. I'm a big fan of Twitter for that reason. My Twitter following is mix of people--folks I've known online and offline for years and years and new friends who come from reading and writing circles, people local to me, or just people that I'm interested in. I've never used any sort of mechanism to attract new followers other than to engage with other Twitter-ers, Tweeps, or whatever. Social media works best when it's used as intended--interacting with people!
Do you do any book signings, interviews, speaking and personal appearances? If so, when and where is the next place where your readers can see you? Where can they keep up with your personal contacts online?
Book signings and appearances are one of the great things about having a book out. The calendar on my website lists all upcoming events. The next book signing I'm doing is at Bethany Beach Books in Bethany Beach, Delaware--that's on Friday, August 8 at 7pm. Bethany Beach Books is a really great independent bookshop right off the beach. I read two of my favorite children's books there this year for Indies First Story Time Day to celebrate Children's Book Week and independent bookstores. I'm a huge fan of independent bookstores and support them as much as possible.
You have written several short stories. Can you tell us if they had an impact on the sales of your novels? Are shorty’s one of your styles of writing or are they created to give readers a sample of your work?
I wrote short stories long before I tackled novel-writing. It's definitely a different kind of writing and plotting--my published shorts are all adult, either horror or literary, while my novels are primarily young adult horror and thrillers or adult thrillers. I think it's hard to tell if my published shorts have had an impact on novel sales. I'd like to think author discovery works that way, though!
I like the idea of bundling a series of writings to gain exposure. Have you considered publishing a set of your short stories?
One day I'd love to do that! Eight of my short stories have been picked up for publication since 2011, and there are at least a dozen more that I've been working on but haven't found placement for yet. Every once in a while I think of putting together a collection, so maybe one day it'll happen.
What writer support groups do you belong to? Do they help with the writing, marketing and the publishing process?
I am a member of the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators and the Horror Writers Association, both of which have programs to help with promotions, mentorship initiatives, and they sponsor various workshops and meetings. I've met a lot of great writers through both groups! I'm also co-founder of This Dark Matter, a collective of writers interested in dark fiction, no matter the genre. It's a really vibrant group, full of curious people who love all things that go bump in the night.
What has been your experience in giving your books away free? Have you been involved in any other type of giveaways and how did that work out? What was your main goal in doing this? Did you run into any obstacles?
Giveaways are always so much fun! The publisher did several during the virtual tour for the book release, as well as through Goodreads and LibraryThing, and through Free Book Friday. It's a great way for a debut author to gain name recognition, and I was so thrilled that many of the people who won copies left reviews at Goodreads and Amazon and recommended the book to friends.
What is the objective for your newsletter? Do you try to build a list of readers? Do you see a carryover to the sales of your novels?
My poor, poor neglected newsletter. I don't send out newsletters regularly--only when there's actual news to share. It drives me nuts to sign up for a newsletter and then get monthly emails that are full of fluff, so I pledged when the sign up for the newsletter went live on my website that it would be an as-needed thing. It's not about building readers, necessarily, but more about getting news to people who love my writing. My readers are amazing!
What is your method of getting reviews for your novels? Do you seek professional reviews, use social media or do you rely on your reading audience to supply them?
In seeking reviews for THE TRAJECTORY OF DREAMS, my publisher and I embraced every imaginable avenue, including professional review journals and book bloggers, giveaways, etc. I'm not a fan of paying for reviews, though, because it defeats the purpose--how can you trust a review that's been purchased?
Tell us about 5 Minute Fiction? How can writers get involved? What is the main objective of the contest?
5 Minute Fiction is a great timed micro fiction contest that's held weekly. All you need to do is show up at the website where it's hosted on Tuesday at the appointed time, get the prompt, and then turn in the resulting flash fiction piece before time is up (15 minutes--5 minutes of thinking, 5 minutes of writing, 5 minutes of proofreading). It's a really great opportunity to write fast, without letting your inner critic be too loud. Leah Peterson, author of the Physics of Falling trilogy, started it in 2010 and passed it to me in 2012. I coordinated it until 2013, at which time I passed it on to writer and editor Wendy Strain.
Author's Book List
The Trajectory of Dreams
It begins with an explosion. Lela White's life hasn't been the same since the space shuttle disintegrated into a bright blue sky when she was a ten year old girl. Since her mother disappeared without a word or explanation. Years later, the world has moved on, but Lela hasn't.
Her precisely-ordered world revolves around both events. She can't forget. She can't let go. She can only prepare for the worst: the day she has to kill to keep the space shuttle from exploding again.
A novel that explores mental illness and the impact of national tragedies, The Trajectory of Dreams is told from the point of view of Lela White, a gravely mentally ill woman whose delusions compel her to break into astronauts' homes to watch them sleep. Only her careful monitoring of their REM cycles and judgments about their fitness for space flight can keep the shuttle program safe. The greater good is the only thing that matters. She can't be found out or have her work interrupted. Lela finds a way to balance her secret mission and her daytime job as a technician in Houston's premiere sleep lab.
When Zory Korchagin, a Russian cosmonaut on loan to the U.S. shuttle program, finds himself drawn to Lela, he puts her carefully-constructed world at risk of an explosion as surely as he does his own upcoming launch. As Lela's universe unravels, no one is safe.
Order the Book From: Amazon
Author Recommended by: HBSystems Publications
Publisher of ebooks, writing industry blogger and the sponsor of the following blogs:
eBook Author’s Corner and
HBS Mystery Reader’s Circle
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