Interview with Liz Chukwu
Published 2013-12-27.
What motivated you to become an indie author?
I wanted the freedom to explore my own support team that have similarly aligned values and the freedom to write and publish when it felt instinctively and intuitively right for me.
How has Smashwords contributed to your success?
I am yet to explore the amazing world of smashwords that I have heard and read so much about.
What is the greatest joy of writing for you?
Creative expression of my own thoughts and my own world.
What do your fans mean to you?
They mean the world to me :-)
What are you working on next?
I have quite a few books coming up in 2014. The 2nd and 3rd volumes of poetry are almost ready to go, once I give my editor the go ahead as these are poems I've been writing for the last 10 years. I've just finished writing my first of 6 (I think) children's book and I'm currently looking out for an illustrator/artist to work with before editing and publishing this book. Children's poetry has also been on my 2013 radar and I've completed nearly 50 poems, which is a target I set for myself by the end of September 2013 to complete :-)
And the Piece de resistance is my very first novel - I will be offering up extracts from this book over 2014 :-)
Who are your favorite authors?
Jane Austen, Paulo Cuelho, Isabelle Allende, Gabriel Garcia Marquez, Tolkien, Dickens, Harper Lee, C.S.Lewis, Ernest Hemmingway, Mark Twain, Sylvia Plath, Virginia Woolf, Alice Walker - the list is endless but these are a few of my favourites.
What inspires you to get out of bed each day?
Following my soul's purpose and search for purpose
When you're not writing, how do you spend your time?
At the moment, working full time as a nurse :-)
How do you discover the ebooks you read?
Usually word of mouth or through friends on facebook recommending a good read.
Do you remember the first story you ever wrote?
Yes :-) It was about a lady in a red dress.
What is your writing process?
My process is writing everyday and not necessarily poetry or prose. Its sometimes letters and comments on pages of social media. Answers to questions that I'm asked directly.
When I'm actually writing poetry, its mostly inspiration. It may be a thought or a conversation that inspired me, a story I've heard or read and then I just write. Often the spurts of inspiration come when I'm deeply moved by something. Other times the poem or story or thought is just there for me and I let it and my pen or fingers (on my laptop) take me away to distant lands and places in my imagination.
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