Interview with Annie Arcane

Annie, thank you for stopping by my corner of the internet.  Though romance isn’t my usual genre, I appreciate the unique spin you have on it and what you try to do with your work.  You’ve done something few authors have, put a fresh new spin on an old idea and most of all, made me laugh throughout this interview!

1. In general, what type of books do you write?
Well, I’ve only published adult contemporary romance so far but since I write everything I love to read, you can most definitely expect some dark romance in the future. The very near future. Hint, hint. Oh, I also whip up a flash fiction online each week for my readers and have made all of those into an ever-growing book too. Does that count? It does? Yay!!

2. What is your general theme?
Wounded/damaged alpha heroes with a healthy (or unhealthy, depending who you ask haha) dose of angst.

3. What drew you to that genre and theme?
Honestly? I haven’t a darn clue. I’ve pretty much been writing disabled heroes for as long as I’ve been writing romance. Which has been since for-ev-er ago.

With that said, what draws me to the genre now is how under/misrepresented PWDs are in fiction. I love the challenge of writing disabilities accurately AND keeping it sexy at the same time. I just wanna murder all the stereotypes, ya know? My longterm vision is to collaborate with related charity foundations and increase awareness with my writing. The Wounded Warrior Project is first on my list.

4. If you could give a message to all your readers, what would it be?
Thank you, thank you, and thank you.

I have the best readers ever. Yeah, I realize all authors say that about their readership but mine is seriously, legitimately, unequivocally THE BEST. I’m both grateful for and humbled by their crazy support. Like, let’s be real here, shall we? I’m a complete unknown who’s done everything herself and not all that well either haha! So, yeah, I owe everything to my readers.

5. Since our readers are dying to know, tell us a little about your background.
Ah, the boring stuff…

Hmm. I’m a Vietnamese-Canadian with a B.Sc. in Biology with a minor in English. I work in the fitness industry and am a total tomboy. Shooting guns? Rockclimbing? Driving/modeling import cars? UFC? Yes, please! I’m also a self-proclaimed nerd. Disney? Anime? Crunching numbers for no good reason? Just hook it up to my veins, baby!!

6. What made you realize you could write?
Huh? Whoever said I could write?

Kidding. I can’t remember a time when I wasn’t writing. I was obsessed with R.L Stine when I was a kid and ended up running out of Fear Street books to read the summer I was 9 years old cuz, well, I’d read them ALL. So my sister, who’s 11 years older, took me to the public library, introduced me to my first romance novel (Silver Angel by Johanna Lindsey) annnd…

A romance-writing monster was born. Dun dun dun.

7. How hard or easy was it to write your first book?
Very, veeery easy because I never intended to publish at all.

Yeah, I’m totally an “accidental” author. I literally sat down one day in 2015 and started typing up this story. No outline, no gameplan, no direction whatsoever (I believe the official term is “panster”). About 8 weeks later I was like, “Huh. I’ve written over 40K words. Maybe I should share this crap somewhere, eh?” So with the help of Google, I found an established fiction blog and started serializing chapters. A few weeks later, I moved to my own site cuz…reasons. Okay, fine. I’m a full-fledged control freak. Don’t judge me. Unless you want to.

Anyhoo, by the time I finished Queen of Harts (original title for Hart Broken) roughly 9 months later, my very humble following of insanely loyal readers asked me to release an ebook version for them. Well, I absolutely adore those buggers and can never say no to them so 3 weeks later…

Voila! A (poorly edited) book was born!!

8. What advice would you give to someone who wanted to write one?
To quote a multi-billion dollar corporation? Just do it. Thanks, Nike!

Seriously, though, I’m a shoot-for-moon-to-land-amongst-the-stars type of person and tend to leap before I look (no typo). While I admit that being impulsive and reckless has gotten me into trouble before, it’s also opened so many doors in my life. Writing has proven to be no different in my limited experience.

9. Is there one thing in particular that inspires you more than anything else?
Hmm, I don’t consider myself a very “inspired” writer, which sounds pretty bad, eh? But to actually answer the question, I draw a lot from real-life experience. Take my first book, for example…

Mickey is me in a nutshell right down to her personal style, weird quirks, bad habits, and tomboy hobbies. Emotionally, Cale is pretty much every man I’ve ever loved in my entire life all rolled into one. He’s an self-made alpha male with a chip on his shoulder who’s vulnerable for only one person – his woman. Yep. That’s my men. Physically, Cale is still based on my men from the waist up, but from the waist down…

Cale is based on the four paraplegics who were sweet enough to answer all my disability-related questions. And since I’ve never actually been with a disabled man myself, you’d better believe I did a ton of research and asked a ton of highly inappropriate questions.

*shifty eyes*

10. Do you have any tips for overcoming writer’s block?
Well, I’ve never experienced writer’s block in the traditional sense since I’m the master of brain vomit and can whip up a random scene on demand. No joke. My only guess is to keep on writing even if it’s something totally irrelvant to your WIP. Yeah, I’m not very helpful. Meh.

11. If you could choose a legacy and be remembered by something, what would it be?

I’ve worked with a ton of charity foundations through my fitness company and plan on using my writing to do the exact same thing.

A charity foundation for disabled children in 3rd world countries is on the horizon. I don’t need to be remembered for it but I sure as heck want it to continue on after I’m dead and gone.

12. What is your latest book about? (feel free to be as detailed as you want)
Author: You wanna answer this question?
Cale: Sure. It’s all about me.
A: (laughs) You’re so full of yourself.
C: (shrugs) You asked.
A: Isn’t the book about Mickey too?
C: (frowns) Yeah, but I don’t like sharing her.
A: Even with readers?
C: (shrugs again)
A: You’re a bit too possessive, buddy.
C: Hey, you wrote me that way.
A: (giggles) True enough.

13. If people want to learn more about you, where can they go?
I can be easily stalked on my author website, http://www.anniearcane.com. I’m also known for being the most approachable author ever (no exaggeration) so people are welcome to contact me personally as well. I read and answer every single email, so yep! Contact away!!

14. What’s the secret recipe for indie author success?
Limited amounts of sleep, a regular coffee drip (black with a touch of vanilla powder), and lots of cookies. Lots and lots of cookies.

Okay, I don’t consider myself “successful” yet. Just wanted to talk about cookies.

SOCIAL MEDIA LINKS:

Website: https://www.anniearcane.com/
Books page: https://www.anniearcane.com/books/
Amazon: http://amazon.com/author/anniearcane
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/anniearcane
Facebook: http://facebook.com/annietheauthor/
Twitter: http://twitter.com/annietheauthor

BOOK LINKS:

Cale & Mickey Series
Hart Broken, Book 1: https://www.anniearcane.com/book/hart-broken/
Hart of His, Book 2: https://www.anniearcane.com/book/hart-of-his/
Hart of Hers, Book 3: https://www.anniearcane.com/book/hart-of-hers/
Hart of Mine, Book 4: https://www.anniearcane.com/book/hart-of-mine/

FREE Book
In a Flash: https://www.anniearcane.com/book/in-a-flash/

100% Proceeds to Charity
Dare to Love: https://www.anniearcane.com/book/dare-to-love/