Theresa Snyder was the very first author to be featured here on One Thousand Worlds, and I'm delighted to welcome her back today.
Click here to read Theresa's original feature:
The Interview
Tell us about your latest book.
My latest publication is ‘The Malefactors” Vol. 4 of the Star Traveler Series. This volume is a bit darker in subject than the previous three, but I think my readers will find it very exciting. The main story arch finds Captain Targus of MT 2424 making a trip home. We get to see and experience his planet and home. They are very different from anything we have seen before in the series. The second story arch (as my readers know, I always have two) concerns Garrett and Pon’s developing relationship as husband and wife, pilot and co-pilot, aboard the Sunbird.
How many books have your written?
All together I have written 12 books if you don’t count the one I wrote in middle-school during my lunch hours. My memoir “We 3”, four middle-school fantasy books “The Farloft Chronicles,” and four science fiction “The Star Traveler Series,” are on Amazon-Kindle currently. I hope to have the last fantasy, and the last two scifi up before the end of the year.
What are you working on at the moment?
I am currently working on the 7th volume of my Star Traveler Series, ‘The Beast Within.’ It continues with the same characters you have grown to love in the other Star Traveler volumes and expands on Coal’s background before he became MT 2424 Galactic Computer Expert.
What are the most important attributes to remaining sane as a writer?
Chocolate…Lots of chocolate…No really, I think patience is a virtue. Whether you are dealing with publishers or doing the indie route on your own, it all takes time and focus. Patience and persistence are what get the job done.
How much impact does your childhood have on your writing?
I’ve been writing since I can remember and before that, I entertained myself by telling myself stories. I was raised in a large loving household with up to eight foster kids in the house at one time. You learned about different personalities and how they view the same circumstances differently based on upbringing. We also moved around a lot when I was a child. My mom thought we should visit the museums of every city we lived in and my father thought we should visit the factories. I have seen everything from paper, to screws, to candy made. So I guess what I am saying is my writing is a part of all that I have learned during, and from, my childhood. Without that impact, I wouldn’t be a writer.
What was the greatest thing you learned at school?
The greatest thing I learned in school was to read. You might laugh at that, but you see, I was a really sick little kid. Never went to Kindergarten, 1st or 2nd grade. By the time I was well enough for school the authorities thought I was too tall to be put in 1st grade (it would give me a complex), so they threw me into 3rd. I didn’t ‘swim’ well. By the time I entered high school I was still reading out loud, one word at a time. The librarian caught me reading out loud in her sanctuary and told me to ‘shhh.’ I waited until she passed and then went back to doing my homework – mumbling to myself – reading out loud. Librarians have extremely astute hearing. Miss Keeting called me into her office. When she found out I couldn’t read to myself she made me her personal project. She found out I had a great ability to retain what I read and she built on that. To this day, I bless that woman. Without her patience and caring I would still be that poor child in the corner, sitting in the dark. She opened the world to me.
If you could meet any of your own characters, who would it be?
That would be a toss-up. To meet a dragon would be the ultimate, so Farloft from my fantasy books would be my first choice, but…Arr is one incredible alien. He learns to speak languages just by listening to them. He purrs to keep warm and for comfort. He has cool, deep blue, cat eyes. And, he is one of the kindest, gentlest people I know. Maybe I could run into Arr riding Farloft through a scifi/fantasy smashup.
Do you have a favorite character among the ones you've invented?
I really love Garrett from my scifi series. He shows up in volume 3, “Old Friends/New Enemies.” If he was around in person, I’d date him. Of course, his wife may have something to say about that…In fact, she would kick my butt!
What do you want to be when you grow up?
I’d love to be a dragon rider, but since that is somewhat unobtainable, I would settle for being an old lady that young folks love to come visit in order to sit around drinking tea, eating cookies and listening to me tell stories of my past lives in my many wonderful worlds.
If you could trade places with any other person for a week, famous or not famous, living or dead, real or fictional, with whom would it be?
I would love to be Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III because he gets to train and ‘ride’ a dragon.
Where do you get the ideas for your books?
Most of my ideas come from contemporary issues that I see in our own world. Like Michael Crichton with his observation that someone might just find some dinosaur DNA, I find things I think will lead to other interesting plots and stories.
Bio:
Theresa has worked as restaurant hostess, zoo keeper, dog groomer, professional make-up artist, legal assistant, retail manager, marketing coordinator and print shop supervisor among other things. She used to say, “The only thing I haven’t done is go to jail and be a nun.” A few years ago she did make up for a documentary in the state penitentiary. At this stage of her life, she feels it is more likely she will be a renowned author then become a nun. She hopes you all follow her on her quest to fulfill that dream.
Connections:
Thank you for the opportunity to tell folks about my writing. You and your site are really a gift to struggling authors :)
ReplyDeleteYou're welcome, Theresa. As a struggling author myself, I know how difficult and frustrating it can be. I hope that in some small way, One Thousand Worlds has helped you and all the other featured authors.
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