Author interview with Andrea Dean Van Scoyoc

Andrea is our guest author today.  She is the creator of Dante’s Diary.
Here is the Goodreads blurb: Ivana Morriander has lived life to its fullest. She has seen and done things that most people could only imagine doing. To the unsuspecting person she is beautiful, smart and taking each day by the hand to enjoy all it has to offer.
But, "life," when describing Ivana, is an interesting oxymoron; Ivana is not alive and hasn't been for a very long time. A woman with everything, she freely mingles with humans - as one of them - and enjoys their company, preferring to leave what she is and the baleful tale of how she came to be, within the pages of her beloved diary.
One of the few humans to know what Ivana actually is, Dante Compegna, her best friend, chronicles this amazing woman's journey through life, in the form of matching diary entries, based on Ivana's own records. It is within those pages that he learns the true secret of his friend's existence ... and the real story of the oftentimes sad and lonely tragedy of what it means to be one of the living dead ... But it is within those same pages that he is suddenly privy to a mind-numbing discovery and the shocking truth about himself and his family when he realizes that meeting Ivana may not have simply been coincidence ... after all!

Andrea, tell us a little about yourself. When did you start writing?
I have been crafting stories since I was a small child. In my little world, I travelled to lands far and away and everywhere in between.
Being a storyteller is just natural to me. I guess becoming an author was simply the next logical step.

Does your family support you in your writing?
Oh yes, although I make suggestions to my parents of what and what not to read. Ha ha.
My husband wasn’t always so sure I’d have an audience (how many women write some of the twisted and sadistically sick things I have?) but he’s proud of me.

How long does it usually take you to write a book?
It used to take me up to two years and I’d work on three books at a time. Now I can hammer out a book in about a month.

What would be able to distract you from your goal?
Moving to the Cotswolds and into my dream cottage. Nothing short of that. ;)

What inspired you to write this book?
Nothing inspires me to write. It’s just natural for me.
Now…some of my short stories, weird things inspire me at times…but not my novels. I write just because that’s what I do.

What kind of research did you have to do?
I’ve had to do loads of research over the years. Many of my novels have a historical base to them, so I have to make sure of locales (what they were named 8 or 900 years ago) and even more specific research for locales, what kind of clothes people used to wear during a certain era, what they were made of, etc.
This is especially prevalent in my pirate series, The Grounds of Nachmasheeghan. I had to do a LOAD of research for that book because it starts in 1756 Scotland.

Who designed cover?
I do most of my own covers. You gotta love istockphoto.com, but for my Dante’s Diary Vampire series, being as I have newly signed with Helm Publishing, Dianne is going to handle the new cover design for Dante’s Diary and the next two books in the series, The Lost Memories of Ivana Morriander – Vampire and The Estate of Barren Hill – Pennings By Ivana Morriander – Vampire.
There are other “diaries” in negotiations, as well, so just subscribe – by e-mail – to my blog on my website so you don’t miss news.

What is your next project?
Well, I just finished up book 3 of the Dante’s Diary Vampire series and my writing partner, Yvonne Mason and I have just finished up the only comedy series I’ve ever written, book 2 of When Fates Collide – Mardi Gras Bound.
Just awaiting the proof and once we have it, it’ll be on the market in no time, joining book 1, When Fates Collide – A Morgan and Harrington Mystery.

A typical day in your life would be . . .
Writing, working full time, juggling submissions for my VERY busy magazine, running my topsite and working with my publicist.

What is the hardest thing about being an author?Networking and being recognized as a professional. The world of writing is awash with people who think they can write (when they really can’t) and those who think everything should be handed to them with no work on their part.
It’s a monumental task for the pros in the business who are looking to network, to weed through all the slackers to reach the fellow pros.
Just myself, I constantly run into people who have no clue what it means to seriously network and that really gets infuriating.

Do you hear from your readers much? What do they say?
I hear from them all the time and I get everything from, “You’re the best author on the planet, why aren’t you in the news like the others and have all the fame they do?” to, “You’re a sick freak and should be locked up.”
Ha ha!

Wow, that is a harsh commenter!! LoL

Who are some of the authors that inspire you?
No authors inspire me. I can’t stand the thought of my work being compared to anyone else’s and prefer stand on my own…though the comparisons have happened…especially when I first blazed onto the scene six years ago and took it by storm.
It’s not that I don’t like the authors I have been compared to, it’s not that – at all – but there is too much of the same thing already drowning the market…the same story, just different names and locations, etc and I want to offer something different.

What is in your own TBR pile?
Nothing now. I’m caught up…finally! Whew!!!

Wow, you are the first person that could say that – I don’t think I will EVER catch up with my TBR pile.

Author bio:
Critically Acclaimed Best Selling Horror Sinisteria Author of "The Two"...Winner of the 2005 Preditors and Editors Horror Novel of The Year For "A Man of Two Worlds"...2006 Second Place Finisher in the E Readers Poll for "Michael"...2007 3rd Place Finisher E Polls Author of The Year Owner of Twisted Dreams and Worlds Within Worlds Beyond Magazines.


Thank you for visiting with us today, Andrea.  Good luck for your future writings!