Smashwords Interview

by Joelle Steele, Updated 2024

What are you working on next?
It's July of 2024 and I'm currently working on "Devl's Garden," a mystery set in 1920 in Monterey, California where I used to live. I'm also writing another genealogical history book for one of my clients.

What are your latest books?
My latest book was a mystery/ghost story, "The Bones of Creed Howlett," which I just released last February, 2024.

How many books have you written so far?
I generally write at least one or two books per year. As of 2024, I have written 60 books: 34 currently in print. I write fiction and non-fiction. I also write histories for my genealogy clients, so that's about another 40 or so.

What is your e-reading device of choice?
I used to have a Nook GlowLight and then a Nook Tablet to which I downloaded the Kindle app. But, I wanted a better tablet in general, so in October of 2020 I bought a Lenovo 10.3" Tab M10 FHD Plus 128GB Tablet. It is absolutely fantastic. I downloaded the Kindle and Nook aps to it and they both work perfectly.

How do you discover the ebooks you read?
I have a very long and ever-growing list of books that I want to read, some that are recommended by people I know, and some that are referenced in books I've read. So, I am always looking to see if any of them are available in ebook editions. But, since I do a lot of research work for everything I write, and since some of it is very specific and not readily available for purchase or in ebook format, I frequently download PDFs from sources such as the Internet Archive.

What do you read for pleasure?
In fiction I mostly prefer mystery, suspense, historic fiction, and sci-fi. I especially like old novels that are really well-written, and fortunately many of those are now in the public domain and are available as free ebooks, so I'm never at a loss for something to read. In non-fiction I've read all kinds of books, but my main preferences are for art/design/photography and art history; bios of artists, photographers, musicians, and writers; science/technology/medicine/computers; and marketing/business management.

Who are your favorite authors?
I can't really say that I have favorite authors, but more like favorite books by authors I like. So, the authors I like, among many, many authors, are Thomas Hardy, Stephen King, Charles Dickens, Marcel Proust, and almost any author who knows how to create an interesting character and create a sense of place. I enjoyed the series by Winston Graham, Jean-François Parot, and Diana Gabaldon -- great authors, well-researched stories. And I like Paula McLain, Sarah Smith, and Charles Palliser, and the list goes on and on ...

Do you remember the first story you ever read, and the impact it had on you?
Not the first, but the first that mattered. It was "A Tale of Two Cities" by Charles Dickens. I read it the summer before 5th grade. It took me to another time and place and it felt so very real. I have always been heavily influenced by authors like Dickens, who create such complex, struggling characters.

Where did you grow up, and how did this influence your writing?
I mainly grew up in Monterey, California, near Carmel, which was a much greater artists' community at the time. I think the quiet environment probably inspired me to be creative, since I need absolute silence for my writing and my art. But I was born in San Francisco, lived in the Bay Area for many years, then lived in Venice Beach for several years, then back to Monterey, and now I've been in Lacey, Washington since 2005. I live in a very quiet, forested neighborhood, and I have never been more creative in my life than I am here in the Pacific Northwest.

When did you first start writing?
I learned to read very early, so that led me to writing early as well. I was always writing something, but the landmarks were: my first poem at age 6 (about Candy, my cat), my first short story at age 8 (very short, about a fairy named Daisy), my first and only adaptation of a play from a book at age 10 ("Little Witch"), my first and only play at age 13 (about the daughter of a migrant farm worker), my first novel at age 16 (sci-fi about an alien living on earth), three more awful novels (at age 18, 20, and 23 -- all just part of the learning experience!) A book of poetry published in 1975 at age 24, and two novels now out of print in 1980 and 1982. But I write more than books, and not just fiction. I've written 800+ articles, 100s of poems and song lyrics, 100+ contract templates, numerous sales and marketing pieces, and 50+ short stories.

What is your writing process?
With anything I write, fiction or non-fiction, my very first step is always research, research, and more research. In my mind, you just can't research enough. It's really the best way to ensure accuracy or to make an interesting story even more interesting and authentic. With my non-fiction, it's a pretty straight-forward process of outlining, writing the content, assembling glossaries and bibliographies, and indexing. With fiction, I develop a very strong, fully fleshed-out character ... or two ... or three. If I can't make my characters real, they will not fit well into any story I write because they'll be shallow and superficial, and that means they won't be believable. I find far too many books these days rely on the same stereotypical characters, and that's just plain boring to me. So I write a detailed character summary, and I don't work on much of anything else until that summary is as thorough as it can be. I often include a family tree and a list of friends and acquaintances to go with the summary. I probably have at least 50 or more of these summaries for different characters that I'd like to write for (I should live that long ...). Next, I do a plot chart so that I can see where characters should be introduced and how the plot and subplots should be revealed, always looking for where the climax should occur and how the denouement should unfold. Once the plot chart is done, I then write an outline based on it. My outlines are sometimes extremely detailed, sometimes just brief notes, and others are a combination of both. Once all of this pre-planning is done, I write the first draft. I generally write it right into the outline. I don't go for a lot of details at this point. I'm mainly just trying to get the story told and to make it flow out in a spontaneous way. However, that said, I sometimes write out of sequence and not always starting with Chapter 1. I may feel more motivated to write Chapter 6, then Chapter 3, then Chapter 11, etc. Just depends on the story. After I finish the first draft, I begin the process of fleshing it out by adding description, constructing dialogue, etc. From then on, it's just a lot of rewriting and editing. I have generally rewritten and edited a manuscript at least five times before I send it to my content editor. When it comes back from her, there's usually at least a little more editing to do -- so far only one manuscript required reconstruction, and that was truly agony and all due to working with a shaky outline. My bad, as they say. After that, I proof it myself at least twice, and then I have my proofer go through it before I make it into an ebook and then typeset it for print.

What kind of people do you write books for?
I write my novels for readers who enjoy complex characters, interwoven plots, and an abundance of detailed trivia. My non-fiction books are written for people who have an interest in technical material, such as astrology, biometrics, forgery, forensics, and horticulture.

Do you find it difficult to switch between writing fiction and non-fiction?
Actually, not at all. I have been writing for my entire life, and I have written just about everything imaginable, so I'm used to changing gears on a moment's notice.

What's the story behind your novels?
I have always had an interest in the psychological make-up of people, and I've also always had an interest in mysteries and ghosts and the supernatural. But most ghost stories are too much of the same thing for me -- same old story told again and again. I'm a lot more interested in the psychology of my characters, their development, their beliefs, their struggles, etc. So they are the dominant part ofmy books, and I just set some of them into a ghost/supernatural/mystery storyline.

Are your characters related to each other from one novel to the next?
Yes, they are, but my novels are not a series and they take place today and also at different times in history. I love genealogy, and I like to show my readers how a character's ancestry affects who they are. When I was writing "The Rosary Bed" (1982, out of print), I decided that I would create a big family tree from which I would draw my characters. My main character was Mariah King, and she was a descendant of the Ardens, the main family in that family tree. In "Shades" (2014), Michael Grainger is a ghost hunter investigating the Arden estate, Redthorn Hall, and but he doesn't know he is a distant descendant. In "Delusions" (2015), Rhoda is a member of the Arden family, and "Reflections" (2016) is full of Arden characters. Every novel I write has a character or two that are somehow related to or descended from the Ardens, and the characters from one novel are mentioned in others. In "Spider in the Attic," my character, Irene Arden, mentions Mariah King from "The Rosary Bed." My latest books, "Buried in the Peat" (2022, in both English and French), features Frederica Brahms, an Arden on her mother's side of the family. And both "The Man in the Drawer" and "Death by Orchid" feature Ardens.

How do you approach cover design?
I am the writer and the cover designer, so I know what the imagery is that goes with the story. From there it is about painting or in some way creating the art, or finding a piece of art, and then finding an appropriate typeface to go with it. Because books are now sold mostly online instead of in bookstores, I'm not as attentive to the cover, as long as the title is readable. I can't even tell you what the covers look like on the books and ebooks I buy. When I buy an ebook, I could care less what the cover looks like. I am only interested in one thing: the blurb. If there isn't a really, really good, thorough blurb that adequately describes what the story is about I don't buy.

Describe your desk
L-shaped, heavy-duty, neat, clean, organized, with desktop computer, dictionary, manuals, a plant, a swing lamp, cell phone, scanner, printer, and a cup with writing utensils in it. Usually one or two cats sitting in the middle of it. Also a lovely, peaceful view out the window onto a large front yard in a beautiful forested neighborhood.

When you're not writing, how do you spend your time?
I have a lot of hobbies and interests, but mostly painting or doing photography. I've been an artist and photographer as long as I've been a writer. I also collect antique etchings, rocks/fossils, and pottery. Of course, I love to read, usually about two books a week, fiction and non-fiction. I also like crossword puzzles, pyramid solitaire games, listening to music, and watching international TV shows and movies. I also like to spend time with my husband hiking in the beautiful Pacific Northwest, gardening, and playing Qwirkle.

What motivated you to become an indie author?
I think I've always been moving in that direction, and the progression of technology has spurred me along over the years. I've been in the publishing industry since the early 1970s when I worked first as a copywriter (and illustrator) at an advertising agency and then as a creative director for a book publisher. In the 1980s, I had two novels published along with several non-fiction books. After that,I started my own publishing business and edited and published books and periodicals through the 1990s. In the early 2000s, I began updating, revising, and publishing some of my previously-published non-fiction books. Then, in early 2014, I decided to again update and revise some of those books and publish them as ebooks. At the same time, I decided to start publishing some of my own fiction in ebook format as well, although I also published print versions. Today, I publish my fiction only in ebook format.

What inspires you to get out of bed each day?
I'm still breathing and my cats need to be fed.

What book marketing techniques have been most effective for you?
I think it's a combination of techniques. For ebook versions I put a few plugs for each new book in my feeds on Facebook, LinkedIn, and Goodreads. I sell directly from my own website and also via smashwords, amazon, and a variety of other online booksellers. For print versions, I have them for sale on my website. I used to sell my print books on amazon.com but they don't offer my print books anymore, just my ebooks. I also sell on alibris.com (for domestic and international sales). I send sample copies to libraries throughout the United States; I pass out copies to friends, relatives, and people I know in stores, etc.; and I also leave copies in coffee shops and in the post office.

How has Smashwords contributed to your success?
This is probably obvious to anyone who has used smashwords. It's the incredible ease of creating the ebook and then having it distributed to so many online sellers.

Why do you write short novels?
I don't specifically write them to be short. I just write for however long it takes for me to tell the story. And I tend to write the kinds of books that I like to read, and most of them can be read in the space of 4-6 hours.

Why don't you write in series?
I don't really like to read books in series. I am usually bored by the third book, if not sooner. So when I write, I like to start with a clean slate on every book, with all new characters doing different things in different places at different times in history.