K Dawn Byrd is the author of "Queen of Hearts," a release with Desert Breeze Publishing this month. She also participated in NaNoWriMo last year along with me. NaNoWriMo was a challenge and I wanted to talk to her about it. Welcome, K Dawn.
STEPH: How did "Queen of Hearts" become your NaNoWriMo project?
K DAWN: When I decided I'd do NaNoWriMo, I'd just finished two romantic suspense books and wanted to do something different. I'm a WWII buff and thought a historical would be fun. I e-mailed Gail Delaney at Desert Breeze Publishing and asked if she'd be interested in my project. Queen of Hearts was born.
STEPH: Did you have to research the topic before starting NaNoWriMo?
K DAWN: I did very little research because I was familiar with the era. I post on a couple of loops and ask questions about New York during WWII.
STEPH: Was this your first NaNoWriMo?
K DAWN: This was my first NaNoWriMo and won't be my last.
STEPH: Did you find that your writing friends were very supportive of the project?
K DAWN: Did you receive support and encouragement from your NaNoWriMo Friends?
I did receive support from my NaNo friends. I would suggest that you find one special friend who will check in on you every day and encourage you on the journey. This friend for me was ACFW member Kristine Pratt. She's a great encourager.
STEPH: How many words did you type, generally, a day? What was your ending word count?
K DAWN: My ending word count was almost 5000 words over the 50,000 required for the challenge. My daily goal was 2000 words even though the NaNo average is 1667 words per day. Writing 2000 words per day allowed me to take a day off occasionally.
STEPH: Was the story finished by the end of NaNoWriMo?
K DAWN: The story was finished by the end of NaNoWriMo meaning that I'd won the NaNo challenge, but the story needed a couple of good edits. It was no where near to go to copy.
STEPH: Would you do it again? Why or why not?
K DAWN: I'll definitely do it again. I recommend it for every author. It'll change the way you write forever.
STEPH: Was the experience rewarding or enriching to you?
K DAWN: The best part of the experience was the feeling of accomplishment in the end.
STEPH: Did you feel a lot of pressure while working on the project?
K DAWN: There were a couple of days I felt pressured because I hit writers block and couldn't move forward. I stood back and took a long, hard look at my plot before resuming. The pressure to catch up was pretty intense.
STEPH: Do you have any words for those writers considering doing NaNoWriMo?
K DAWN: Find a NaNo partner who's excited about taking the journey with you. Encourage each other and never give up!
Here's a link to K Dawn Byrd's Book Trailer on You Tube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=grqPjGvfRa0
You purchase Queen of Hearts from the Desert Breeze Publishing website, All Romance Books, and Amazon for Kindle. Good luck with sales, K Dawn!
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