Stephanie Erickson interview. 6 Weeks Party!

 

Hey, everyone! Is the 2nd week of this PARTY!! Today we have a special interview with our star guest, Stephanie, let's give her a huge welcome!

Hello, Stephanie. Welcome to Passion and Life
Tell us about yourself, when did you decide you wanted to become a writer?

I was very young when I decided I wanted to be a writer. We read Matilda by Roald Dahl in third grade, and that's when I knew I wanted to make people feel the way Dahl made me feel.

Let's talk about your debut novel, The Blackout, what was your inspiration for it?

It was actually my husband's idea! I just took it and ran with it. 

Describe your book in 5 words.

Love story set during apocalypse
Whew! That was hard. 

What was the hardest scene to write?  

The beginning. I always have a hard time hooking readers. Once I'm going with it I'm fine, but staring at that black screen with the blinking cursor is intimidating!
 
Can you share your favorite quote from the book?

"Darkness is a funny thing. The mere absence of light brings uncertainty and fear – the breeding ground for chaos. It is so absolute. And yet, so easily defeated by a single flame, if only someone thinks to light a candle."

I love this because it's so easy to be consumed by bad things that are happening all at once. But if you just think to stop and take a breath maybe, just maybe it won't seem so bad after all. It's something I need to be reminded of regularly. 

What has been the most difficult moment you have had as a new author?

Probably the harsh reviews. Getting those 1 star reviews is really difficult after you've put so much of yourself into something. 

What do you do when you’re not writing?  
 
Read!! 

Favorite book? Favorite movie or series?

I don't have one single favorite, I have several. The Harry Potter series was brilliant, Lord of the Rings, Matilda, and on and on. Movies are the same way. I love Apollo 13, Lord of the Rings (again), Harry Potter (again, haha), and I love things that surprise me like Inception

Are you working on something else? What are your future goals?

I am working on a new novel that I'm hoping to get out this year. My goals include two novels per year (eventually) and two short stories per year. I'm working up to it. 

Thank you, Stephanie for sharing with us! Do you want to add something else? Maybe a secret for readers?

A secret for readers huh? Here's the first line (as it stands for now) from my next novel, The Cure. How's that? 

“I gladly sacrifice my life for the good of others. One life will make the difference, and that life could be mine. For this reason I’m devoted to finding the cure.” I said the words out loud, but I wasn’t thinking about them.


That was amazing, wasn't it? She's lovely! Now, found out more about this new author and her first book!

The Blackout by Stephanie Erickson 

The world is thrust into darkness and silence, but no one knows why.

Molly is an English professor at a local liberal arts college when the world suddenly goes dark. Her husband, Gary, is a corporate pilot on the other side of the country. Grounded by what appears to be a catastrophic power outage, he has no way to communicate with his wife, let alone get home to her.

Not knowing whether her husband is alive or dead, Molly struggles to adapt to her new environment: without power, running water, transportation, a stable food supply, or any long-distance means of communication. Without knowing the cause of the outage, Gary must decide whether to wait for things to go back to normal, or to make the long and dangerous journey home on foot. Both must learn to survive after the Blackout.

You can buy it on AMAZON!

Or

ABOUT THE AMAZING STEPHANIE ERICKSON! 

Let's see.  What do you want to know about me?  I love apocalypse movies like 2012 (which is probably why my first book is sort of apocalyptic), I love to read, I love my fur babies, my husband and my family. 

I'm a graphic designer by trade, but hoping to some day be able to write full time. 

Dan, my husband, and I are expecting our first baby in March, and we're very excited!  

As far as writing goes, The Blackout is my first published novel, but I've been writing for quite awhile.  I won honorable mention in the 72nd Annual Writer's Digest Competition for a short story junior year of college, so that was...awhile ago anyway. Although I published a scholarly paper senior year, fiction writing has always been my passion. Can't wait to see what's next!

You can find her at:

Website

Twitter

Facebook

Goodreads 

Amazon

The schedule!Week 2 Interview
Week 3 Guest Post
Week 4 Review
Week 5 Top 10 list
Week 6 Finale with a spotlight of the companion short story of The Blackout!!

FOR THE GIVEAWAY, JUST CLICK ON THIS IMAGE BELOW! DON'T MISS IT!