Interview with S R Silcox

Published 2014-06-02.
What's the story behind your latest book?
Sunday - fish was originally written as an entry for a short story competition, but after careful (and long) consideration, I decided against entering the competition and published it instead. You can find the full story on my blog - http://srsilcox.com/2014/05/how-hugh-howey-changed-my-mind/
What is the greatest joy of writing for you?
Sharing my stories, although it can be very daunting at first. Once I realised that I won't ever be able to please everybody with everything I write, it freed me up to concentrate on writing the stories I love to read.
What are you working on next?
As of June 2014, I'm working on 3 series ideas - a near-future crime series, a small-town cozy mystery series, and a YA romance series focusing on teen lesbian characters. They're all exciting prospects, and I wish I had more hours in the day to write them all at the same time!
When you're not writing, how do you spend your time?
Watching crime shows on TV - I love Rizzoli & Isles, Blue Bloods and Elementary at the moment. I also love home improvement and lifestyle type shows. I also try to read as much as I can when I'm not writing, both for enjoyment and to see what other authors are doing in the genres I write in.
How do you discover the ebooks you read?
Normally through browsing on ebook sites like Smashwords and Amazon, but also through recommendations from authors and people I follow and connect with on social media. I also listen to a lot of podcasts on writing and publishing, so I check out featured authors to see if they write in genres I might enjoy reading.
Do you remember the first story you ever wrote?
Yes and it was very cool! In 7th grade, my class was split into groups to write, illustrate and publish a book. My group, being a little nerdy, wrote an Astro Boy fan fic. I was one of the story writers on the project. I wish I'd kept that book, but one of the other group members took it home and never brought it back.
What is your e-reading device of choice?
I use a kindle, but I also read on my phone using the kindle app. I also have a kobo account and sometimes read on my laptop.
What motivated you to become an indie author?
When I first started writing, I knew I wanted to write strong lesbian characters, and at the time (around 20 years ago), there weren't many avenues to get published with those sorts of stories, and writers were still submitting manuscripts on paper. By the time I took up writing seriously, there was already a shift starting towards self-publishing, though it was also a time of the vanity press, so there were a lot of unsuspecting writers getting ripped off. I then stumbled across JA Konrath's blog, and he was predicting the changes in the industry and advocating for self-publishing, and then the kindle arrived, which made digital publishing so much easier. I knew I didn't ever want to submit to a trad publisher from that point, though now, I would consider it if I knew it was something I couldn't do better with myself.
I love the freedom I have to either publish or not; to set my own prices; to pick my own covers, and to connect directly with readers.
How do you approach cover design?
I know what I want, but I'm terrible with graphic design, so I use www.goonwrite.com for my cover designs at the moment, though I am considering 99 Designs for my series covers in the future.
What do you read for pleasure?
I'm a pretty eclectic reader. At the moment, I'm reading "in genre", which means I'm checking out cozy mysteries as well as lesbian fiction to get a handle on what's out there, and to see if there are any niches that I could write some stories in.
I've also been enjoying shorter fiction since my reading time is limited, and I think short stories and novellas are making a comeback of sorts due to us being time-poor. I love Hugh Howey's Silo Saga series of books, and I'm also loving Layce Gardner for lesbian romcom. They both write characters extremely well.
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Books by This Author

Sunday Fish
Price: $0.99 USD. Words: 2,280. Language: English. Published: June 2, 2014 . Categories: Fiction » Literature » Plays & Screenplays, Fiction » Literature » Literary
All Frank wanted was to catch a fish for dinner. He got a little more than he bargained for. Sunday - fish is a 2,000 word short story.
Three Wishes
Price: $1.99 USD. Words: 9,810. Language: English. Published: December 15, 2013 . Categories: Fiction » Holiday » Christmas, Fiction » LGBTQ+ » Lesbian
(5.00 from 1 review)
Sophie surprises her friends, Kate and Mac, with her confession that she still believes in Santa. Despite their teasing, Sophie vows to prove that Santa exists. Will an unforeseen disaster derail Sophie's plans? Can Kate get her priorities right? And can unbeliever Mac deliver the Christmas gift Sophie never knew she wanted? Three Wishes is a 10,000 word novella.