Here we are again!
Funny seeing you here. Not that I'm arguing!
I love having people here on Mondays, discovering new-to-them authors, or maybe learning more about an author you already follow.
Speaking of authors...
Today I have bestselling author Mariah Ankenman, who lives in the beautiful Rocky Mountains with her two rambunctious children and loving spouse who is her own personal spell checker when her dyslexia gets the best of her.
Mariah loves to lose herself in a world of words. Her favorite thing about writing is when she can make someone’s day a little brighter with one of her books. To learn more about
Mariah and her books, visit her website http://mariahankenman.com/ follow her on social media or sign up for her newsletter.
SOCIAL MEDIA LINKS
Website: https://mariahankenman.com/
Newsletter: https://mariahankenman.com/newsletter-sign-up/
Instagram: https://instagram.com/mariahankenman
Twitter: https://twitter.com/mariahankenman
Firefly – gone too soon or overrated? Gone too soon like a leaf in the wind…
A book you’re looking forward to release (by someone else)? A Legend In The Baking by Jamie Wesley
Coffee, tea, or cacao? Coffee in the morning, herbal tea at night.
What would you say is your interesting writing quirk? I cannot write to music, lyrics or not. It’s far too distracting with my audio processing disorder. I also can’t write in silence for the same reason. I have to write to thunderstorm sounds. It’s the perfect background noise without being distracting.
What do you like to do when you’re not writing? I love doing aerials, bottlewalking, infusing vodka, playing tabletop games, and watching horror movies.
What does your family think of your writing? They’re all super proud of me. My dad reads all my books (even the spicy scenes that I tell him not to reads, lol). My spouse is my biggest fan and my number 1 supporter and my kids love to brag about mommy writing books.
Do you want each book to stand on its own, or are you building a body of work with connections between each book? All of my books are standalones, but most of them are in series. You can read out of order, but it’s more fun to read them in order.
What was the best money you ever spent as a writer? Vellum. If you’re going to self publish I highly reccomens getting Vellum (grab it during Black Friday when it’s on sale). It’s so user friendly for formatting your books. Makes the process go much smoother.
Do you write novels, novellas, short stories, episodic fiction, poems, screenplays, or something else? What is your preferred format? I write novels and novellas. I tend to like writing shorter novels (around 60-70k words), but I also have a few over 80k words. All my respect to the authors who can write 120k+ word books, that’s amazing!
Are you traditionally or self published? Or both? Do you feel there are advantages to one over the other? I am traditionally published with small independent presses and self published so I’m what you would call a hybrid author. There is no one right path to publishing. Every writer has different abilities and desires. No one can tell you the right way to publish for you. My best advice is to research all the avenues and pick the right one or ones for your writing career. All publishing is valid!
How many unpublished and half-finished books do you have? I feel called out, lol. Um, let’s see…I have 7 full length unpublished manuscripts and probably over a dozen started projects. One day I hope to see them all out into the world.
What is the answer to the Ultimate Question of Life, the Universe, and Everything? 42
What’s the best way to market your books? I have no idea, lol. I’ve taken so many classes and workshops, read all the books, but I still am clueless about marketing. I feel like it’s constantly changing and I can never keep up.
What do you have coming next? My next book is my sapphic romcom novella Falling For You where a sunshine aerialist enlists the help of her grumpy neighbor to find the ghost haunting their attic. It comes out 2/13/2024!
