Interview Josie A. Okuly
by
Judith K. Ivie
1) Hi, Josie--and congratulations on your new book, A Mermaid in Paradise! Please give your readers some background about yourself.
I'm a wife, mother, substitute teacher, and writer. I love all of my jobs, and I'm thankful to have each one. History is my serious passion and hobby, and I can't get enough of the History Channel!
2) Is this your first published book?
No, but it's my first paperback, and that makes it so exciting!
3) Do you write under a pen name? If so, how did you decide what it would be?
So far, I haven't used a pen name. It's a possibility in the future when I write in different genres. I've even thought of writing detective novels as a man! It's not out of the question.
4) Do you have a "day job," or is writing your full-time occupation?
I'm a substitute teacher, as well as a mom, so writing is definitely a part-time thing. I squeeze it in whenever I have a chance.
5) Did you always want to be a writer?
I've always been a writer, ever since I started keeping a diary at the age of nine. I never had the desire to see my work published until I was a stay-at-home mom with a small child. That's when I went back to college and won a prize in a writing contest. That gave me the courage to submit my work to publishers.
6) Did someone encourage you to write? If so, please tell me about that.
I wrote a poem about a tree when I was so young I don't even remember it. For the longest time, my sister talked about how much she loved that poem. That was very encouraging to me. I've always had teachers who've praised my writing, but I just assumed they encouraged and praised everyone. The first time I actually believed I had some writing skill was when I was in high school, and this guy paid me to write a college English paper for him. When he got the paper back, the instructor gave him an A+ and wrote across the top: I never knew you could write so well. That was something of a turning point for me.
7) For this book, which came first, the story line or the characters?
Definitely the characters. The character of Devlin was floating around in my brain, and he was so gorgeous and adorable that I had to write a story for him. Then I thought about what kind of woman might be his soul-mate, so I created Angelina as the heroine. My husband and I once visited the Bahamas, and I thought it would make a fantastic setting for a romance. I certainly felt romantic when I was there with hubby!
8) Where do you write… in an office, on a computer, longhand on a lined pad, dictate into a recording device?
I write on a computer, but I have paper with me everywhere I go! Just this week, I had a fantastic idea while I was waiting at the doctor's office. Then an idea came to me in a dream, so I wrote it on the notepad by my bed.
9) How do you go about plotting?
I'm no good at plotting because I write by the seat of my pants. I ask myself, what if I threw this into the mix? What if I did this to a certain character? And then I just do it. I'm not good at outlining, except in a general way, because I feel I lose my enthusiasm and spontaneity the more I plan things down to the smallest detail.
10) Do you have more books under contract, or are any others currently available?
I have two books under contract and awaiting release. At the moment, I also have two e-books available for purchase.
11) Are you working on a new book now?
Yes, I'm halfway finished with a contemporary romance novel. I've also just finished a Gothic historical romance, and I'm in the process of editing it at the moment.
12) Tell your fans something about yourself that they would never guess.
Well, this is kind of embarrassing but... When I love a movie, I really LOVE a movie to the point it's ridiculous! I'll watch a favorite film until I have the dialogue memorized! I've seen “Lord of the Rings: Return of the King” twenty-seven times now, and I just saw “Walk the Line” for the fourteenth time.
13) How has being published changed your life--or has it?
It's definitely changed my life in one way. I feel I've done something I never thought I could (not in a billion years!) and that gives me a sense of accomplishment.
Please visit my website to learn more about my work: http://www.JosieAOkuly.net
To read more about my day-to-day writing life, please visit my blog: http://menfreya.tblog.com. You can also visit my yahoo group: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/JosieAOkuly