Interview with Mindy Hardwick
Published 2016-01-17.
How do you discover the ebooks you read?
I read blogs, attend two book groups, read RWA member books and take friend and family recommendations.
When you're not writing, how do you spend your time?
I enjoy art journaling, going to flea markets to search for new items to repurpose and taking long walks on the beach with my dog.
Do you remember the first story you ever wrote?
It was a picture book story about my cat, Sunshine. I show pictures of this story in school and author visits.
What is your writing process?
I begin by brainstorming character. I spend a lot of time getting to know my characters through interviews, looking at archetypes, and doing collages about the character. After, I feel like I have a handle on my character, I write down the major plot points in the story. This way I have a general map to follow. Then, I write a really bad first draft! I let the draft sit for awhile--sometimes weeks, sometimes months--and then I start the revision process. It's in the revision process that the story really comes alive. The revision process may last anywhere from one month to three years with multiple passes through a manuscript.
Do you remember the first story you ever read, and the impact it had on you?
My parents always read to me as a child. I remember my Dad reading Black Beauty and my Mom reading Little Women and the Little House on the Prairie Books.
How do you approach cover design?
My publishers all provide a cover. I fill out a questionnaire about the story and then the cover artist designs something fabulous!
What do you read for pleasure?
I read a lot of sweet, contemporary romance, inspirational romance and memoirs.
What is your e-reading device of choice?
Kindle
What book marketing techniques have been most effective for you?
Blog hops are the most fun and the most effective. They are easy to set up and I get a chance to learn about other authors at the same time that I am promoting. School visits and talking to kids about writing is the best way to market my children's stories.
Describe your desk
It's usually very clean. I tend to do most of my writing in other places--sitting at a dinning room table, on the couch, or in a coffee shop. I have a lot of manilla folders in baskets on bookshelves around my desk. Each manilla folder has a current writing project--or a writing project I'm hoping to get to soon.
When did you first start writing?
I first began writing when I was seven and wrote the picture book story.
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