Happy Friday you remarkable TWPeeps you! Today’s #fridayguestinterview is with Sky Boivin, author of the freshly published Their Hope Within the Flames. I can’t wait any longer to share her with all of you so let’s dive right into the interview.

 

Sky, can you tell us a little about yourself?

 

Sky:

Gosh! I am never good at when it comes to talking about myself! LOL. Let's start with this, I am what would be considered a Boston gal born and raised! Actually, I grew up in the heart of Massachusetts, which is Worcester and then moved to Boylston.  I went to the same high school my mother went to and even had half of the same teachers!

 

I am the oldest of 2 kids/9 grand babies.  I am a mother of 2 kids, yes 2! And 1 is, are you ready? 16 years old! Haha I know, I don't look like I am going to be 37 this year, but it's true! ^_^

 

The Writing Piazza:

Wow! You definitely don’t look old enough to have a 16 year old! And that’s so fun that you have some of the same teachers that your mother had. Thanks for giving us that glimpse of your life!

 

Can you tell us a little bit about your life as a writer? How did you get started, what inspires you, that kind of thing?

 

Sky:

Writing is just a thing that I always did. All through junior high and high school you would see me sitting off in a corner somewhere just scribbling away for hours on end. I was never without a journal and a pen.

 

One of my good friends from school recently told me that his first day with us he asked what was up with me sitting away from everyone. They all answered: "oh that's just what she does, she's shy." He knew from that day, writing was my thing and knew my path would lead me down this road. I loved reading Stephen King and Anne Rice in high school, and still do today ;) They are my favorites and are the reason why I kept going.

 

The Writing Piazza:

I think many authors are the same way, they just have to write. I think that helps in this industry. Those who write for the sole purpose of making money are most often completely disappointed. But those who write for the love of writing and because they have a story in them that they just HAVE to get out. Those are the ones who can really go the distances that is required in this field.

 

Now you have published through CreateSpace. What led you to choose that path?

Sky:

I tried going the traditional publishing route and found they wanted me to pay to be published. I discovered Kindle and CreateSpace and tested the waters. It was so easy to do! And they take their cut as you sell! I saw a "big brother" publishing his own works this way and thought, "if he can do it, why not me?" So while I was laid up recovering from having my gall bladder removed, I set myself to work on my first poetry book An Assortment of Poetry.  Not real original of a title, I know, but you start somewhere, right? It was a lot of work learning to navigate it all. But once I got that first milestone done, I banged out two more! Before it knew it, I had Scattered Emotions up and running. Then shortly after I had Inspired Thoughts.

 

The Writing Piazza:

Usually when a publisher requires you to pay to get published, those are vanity presses. You are typically better off publishing yourself like you did on CreateSpace. I’ve heard far too many horror stories about vanity presses, I hate to see new authors sucked into bad deals. I always encourage writers to do thorough research on publishers, agents or contracts before signing up for something. It will save you potential heartache and legal issues down the road.

 

It’s great that you were able to learn the ins and outs of CreateSpace so you could publish your work through them. In addition to your poetry, you’ve also written a full length novel, can you tell us about that?

 

Sky:

Their Hope Within the Flames is about a family of three sister witches, Emy, Sarah, and Cloe, in the puritan era. There is a new brother in the church who has arrived to their village. He has taken their cousin Tabitha under his control and making her pick out women for a witch hunt. With the help of their other cousin Lord and a young girl they rescue from such a fate, they must stop Orthus from destroying them and their village. Can they do so? Or will they die trying?

 

The Writing Piazza:

Sounds intense! For those who would like to pick up a copy you may do so here:

(I’ll put in a link for your book on Amazon here.)

 

Tell us a little about what the process was like for getting this book ready for publication.

 

Sky:

I had help polishing up this book. I had a referral from Becket (another writer) who is the assistant of Anne Rice!  I was so excited when I got this referral!  It was the editor, Todd Barselow that I was referred to. And with the help of some twitter family, I was able to raise the money to get my baby edited! Going over the edits I think was the most work out of the entire process because now you need to go over it with a fine tooth comb and make sure you don't miss anything the editor caught.

 

The Writing Piazza:

Yeah, that editing step is the bane of many an author’s existence. But having a really great editor is so important. Especially when you self-publish, you need to find someone who can make your book shine. I hate to see the sefl-pubbed stuff riddled with errors. It gives other self-published authors a bad name. It gives my heart great joy that you were able to get such an incredible editor to work with you on your book.

 

Before we wrap things up, can you tell the readers of The Writing Piazza blog where they can find your books? And also how they can connect with you online.

 

Sky:

This is the link to all of my books on amazon

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/s//ref=mw_dp_a_s?ie=UTF8&i=books&k=Sky+Boivin (I will clean this link up a bit so it is consistent with the other links on my blog. If you’d prefer I not do that for some reason please let me know.)

 

I am @SkyBoivin on both instagram and twitter

And @skyboivinwritefanpage on facebook

 

I also have a shop for my artwork! zazzle.com/Sky_boivin (I’ll clean this link up too if that’s alright with you. It makes the page look a bit neater and makes it easier to read.)

You can find art in buttons , posters, bags, and so much more!

 

The Writing Piazza:

Last but not least, are you currently working on another book?

 

Sky:

I am currently working a 4th poetry book and another secret project as well. I am not sure if the second will ever be published as of yet. I am testing the waters right now on it. 

 

The Writing Piazza:

Well this brings us to the conclusion of another FUNtastic author interview. Thanks for tuning in, we can hardly wait to bring you the next one. In the meantime, feel free to roam about the blog, we have a lot of entertaining and helpful content for you throughout the site.

 

You can take a look at more Interviews. Or you can check out our Book Reviews. We also have a writing Contest currently going on, you can check that out. There are also a ton of articles that offer a great Resource For Authors both new and experienced so peruse those carefully, you won’t want to miss them. We also have videos coming soon so check back often, we are always adding new, quality content!

 

Until we meet again.