Interview with MiMi Q. Atkins
Published 2016-11-20.
Who are your favorite authors?
Danielle Steel, Nicolas Sparks, Ann M. Martin, Mary Higgins Clark, Stephanie Meyer, Stephen King, Dean Koontz, Maya Angelou, Alice Walker, Terry McMillan, Sister Souljah, Dawnell Jacobs, and myself of course (is that narcissistic, LOL)?
What inspires you to get out of bed each day?
My daughter.
When you're not writing, how do you spend your time?
Traveling to the places I dream of and write about. Thus far, I have been to over 30 states in the U.S., and I have been to Paris, France, Brussels, Belgium, Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, Aracahie and Port Au Prince, Haiti, and Istanbul, Turkey,
How do you discover the ebooks you read?
Amazon, WattPad, friends, and now Smashwords.
Do you remember the first story you ever wrote?
Yes. It was entitled, "Wednesday's Rainbow."
What is your writing process?
I love to listen to music to get in the mood to write. I pull my laptop out and start typing and usually the prose just flows. I usually write at Starbucks (typical writer answer, huh?) or on my deck.
How do you approach cover design?
I create ideas based on popular covers and my ideas or I collaborate with my designer.
What are your five favorite books, and why?
1. Chartotte's Web by E.B. White - the imagery and the imagination and the lessons we learn from a spider and a pig.
2. Full Circle by Daniel Steele - the theme and the boldness of the characters
3. The Autobiography of Malcolm X by Alex Haley - the most beautiful prose is housed in this novel
4.Twilight by Stephanie Meyer - It allowed escapism and helped changed literary genres
5. To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee - Poignant, a literary classic, and timeless
What do you read for pleasure?
Internet articles, blogs, and cereal boxes
What is your e-reading device of choice?
My phone
What book marketing techniques have been most effective for you?
Promotional items, blog reviews, contests, word of mouth, free book offers, and online advertising
Describe your desk
It is clean as a whistle with a bucket of flowers on it.
Where did you grow up, and how did this influence your writing?
Albany, GA. It's a small rural area and being there always made me want to be anywhere but there because it lacks character, so I always write about big cities I envisioned.
When did you first start writing?
At the age of 10.
What's the story behind your latest book?
I am enamored with New York City and Paris. I am also a hopeless romantic.
What motivated you to become an indie author?
Traditional publishing can be very tricky and full of middle persons. They also hinder writers.
Indie publishing gives me total control of the entire process of my book and I love it. This was not possible twenty years ago.
Smashwords Interviews are created by the profiled author or publisher.
