I'm very pleased to have multi-published author, Ann Gimpel, visiting with me today! She took time to answer all of my rather long questions and I'm happy we crossed paths. Following her short bio is the interview, and then we'll be treated to a glimpse of one of her novellas, "Destiny's Shadow," so grab a cup of tea or coffee or maybe hot chocolate and sit with us a while :-)
Ann Gimpel is a clinical psychologist, with a Jungian
bent. Avocations include mountaineering, skiing, wilderness
photography and, of course, writing. A lifelong aficionado of the
unusual, she began writing speculative fiction a few years ago. Since then her
short fiction has appeared in a number of webzines and anthologies. Two
novels, Psyche’s Prophecy, and its sequel, Psyche’s
Search, have been published by Gypsy Shadow Publishing, a small press.
A husband, grown children, grandchildren and three wolf hybrids round out her
family.
About the Author

@AnnGimpel (for Twitter)
Interview with Ann Gimpel
When I had more time, I did quite a bit of
editing to help people. I still do some, but it’s very time consuming and as
I’ve written more, my time has shrunk to nearly nothing.
Thanks so much for hosting
me! What great questions! They really required some thought.
1.
When did you know
you wanted to be a writer? What were some of your first steps toward making
your dream a reality? How would you say most of your stories are conceived?
Dreams? Research? Experience?
I’ve always
written, but for most of my life it was report-type things or research
documents. I spend a lot of time in the backcountry, which means hours of
“alone time.” Stories always ran around in my head on those trips. I can’t tell
you exactly why, but after a Labor Day trip in 2008 to climb Bear Creek Spire,
I came home, sat at the keyboard, and began writing. Three months later I had a
novel. It wasn’t very good, but it was a start. Somewhere between writing that
novel—which has been totally retooled and will be released by Desert Breeze
Publishing this July as Fortune’s Scion—
and its sequel, the reality that I might be able to be a writer took root. I
was still working full time, so I sandwiched writing in between things, but I
wrote every day I wasn’t in the backcountry.
My stories
come to me from the imaginal world, so either sleeping or waking dreams. I do a
lot of research, though, to make certain what I write is accurate.
2.
What 3 things
would you like readers to know about you?
I’ve spent
thousands of days with a pack on my back in the mountains. I’m a psychologist
by trade. I have grown children and grandchildren.
3.
Tell us about
your books. Genre, titles, any favorite characters? What can we look forward to
from you in the near future? WIP’s, upcoming releases? Tell us a bit about your
wolf hybrids. In your opinion do you need special skills to raise them? Any
were or shifter stories on the horizon?
Wow! You
worked a whole bunch of questions into number three! Okay, here goes. I started
out writing science fiction and fantasy. I still do. I have two novels coming
soon. Fortune’s Scion, is a Young
Adult/New Adult urban fantasy and Earth’s
Requiem (Musa Publishing) is urban fantasy. I just had a science fiction
short, Three Into Two Won’t Go, in
Perihelion SF Webzine and I have a weird west short, Child’s Play, coming in Aoife’s Kiss in September.
Moving on to
paranormal romance: I’ve always loved reading romance, so to be able to blend
fantasy elements with romance works for me as a writer. I’ve had three
novellas, A Time for Everything, Gabrielle’s Cauldron, and Destiny’s Shadow, published by Liquid
Silver Books. Out of the Shadows, a
shifter tale set in 1700s Salem releases March 4th. I have three more paranormal romance novellas
contracted with LSB and two more shifter tales under consideration. Like I
said, it’s a fun genre to write in.
I raised
German Shepherds for years. The wolf hybrids are actually easier. Not as
aggressive. Whether it’s shepherds or hybrids, they require lots of time and
patience. I spend a couple hours a day running with them (or skiing/snowshoeing
in the winter). These aren’t breeds that wait patiently at home all day until
their owners get home.
4.
Is there a common
thread in your books? How do your values show up in your writing? Jungian
philosophy? What do you want readers to take from your writing?
There
are several common threads in my books. One is environmental. It just can’t be
accidental I have so many dystopian worlds as backdrops for my stories. In my
Psyche books (The Transformation Series), the protag is a Jungian analyst. I
use psychological principles to build and maintain my story characters, but
it’s not a conscious process. The characters live in my head. They tell me what
they’re going to do next and I go with the flow. Once I have a first draft,
I’ll sometimes change things, but not often.
I
don’t know that I have a conscious “take home” message for my readers. Of
course, I hope they enjoy my books. Most of my stories have hopeful, though not
necessarily cheerful, endings. Life is like that, though. We take the good with
the bad; the bitter makes the sweet that much more welcome.
5.
What do you look
for in a good book? In what ways would you say your books exhibit these
qualities?
Plot and
characterization make books for me. I look for three dimensional, believable
characters and plots that feel natural, rather than contrived. I would hope my
writing exemplifies those qualities.
6.
What are some of
the best social media, marketing, and publicity tips you’ve come across?
Awk!
Marketing has truly been my nemesis. The very best tip I came across was
someone telling me to write, that a new writer needs a body of work. I think
the thing that comes into play for writers, most of whom are introverts (it’s
how we can spend so long alone at our keyboards) is that marketing requires an
extravert skillset. So it doesn’t feel easy or natural. Once upon a time I was
a very private person. It’s been hard to splash myself across the internet.
Still is.
Another good
tip was you can’t possibly do everything, so pick a few social media sites and
work with them. For me, they’ve been Twitter, FB, and Goodreads. I also keep up
my website and blog. Sometimes I’m amazed I have any time at all to write. Oh
yes, I also use Bewitching Book Tours. I write an advice column for their
monthly magazine and have them tour my books.
7.
What are some
things you know now about writing and being an author that you wish someone had
told you at the very beginning?
Back at the
beginning, I believed if I built it, they would come. Not true. People have to
find out about a writer. I’m competing with hundreds of thousands of other
people, many of whom self publish so they can offer their work for free or for
99 cents. One of my less than stellar reviews drove that point home. The
reviewer liked my story and “would have rated it higher if it were free.” It’s
hard not to apologize all over the place, but on the other hand, free’s not
much of a marketing strategy since the writer (and publisher if there is one)
get nothing but goodwill. Even if they liked a teaser book, readers do not
necessarily run right out and buy more from that writer.
The other
hard truth is probably less than five percent of good writers will find an
audience. The reading public is fickle and there are very few JK Rowlings and
Stephen Kings out there. I’m okay with that. I write because I enjoy the
process. I’d love it if I attracted a fan base, but that’s not the driving
force behind my writing.
8.
Along that same
line, what are some of your favorite resources?
The Internet
has just about everything I need to research my stories. Between looking things
up and buying source materials from Amazon, I’m pretty much set. I have some
old books from the early nineteen hundreds with Scottish and Irish ghost
stories. Another favorite is Women in
Celtic Myth. I also have all my psychology source materials and Jungian
texts.
9.
What lifts your
spirits when you’re discouraged?
Being
outside. No matter what the weather, I spend at least an hour out of doors
every day. I live in the mountains at 8000’. Someday I’ll be too old to live
here because of the shoveling snow problem, but that day hasn’t come yet.
10.
What tips can you
offer towards building and maintaining a strong support system as a writer?
Get to know
other writers. No matter what happens, never say an ill word about anyone.
Pay it
forward. Do as much as you can to help your writer friends promote their work.
It will come back tenfold. Host writers on your blog. Take part in blog hops.
Show up in chat streams on Goodreads as a human, not just as a promotional
machine.
Destiny’s Shadow
Ann Gimpel
Release Date:
February 18, 2013
Book
Description:
A ranger for the
U.S. Park Service, strong, competent Moira Shaughnessy is in serious trouble.
Fleeing from her cheating husband, a Native American shaman, she stumbles into the
arms of a man she never thought she’d see again. He hurt her once by choosing
his druid heritage over her. Can she take a chance on him now?
Pursuing very
different motives, both men follow her deep into the backcountry. Moira is
caught in the crossfire between Celtic magic and Native American shamanism. A
freak blizzard compounds her problems, taxing her survival skills to the max.
Against the specter of almost-certain death, the sweetest, purest love she’s
ever known rises to the fore, engulfing her in unbelievable passion.
Comments
Thanks so much for inviting me to interview on your blog today. It's a pleasure to be here. I've already found some books to add to my TBR stack!