Blog Ring of Power Presents: Susan Kaye Quinn

It's another Blog Ring of Power Friday, hold onto your hats as we welcome Susan Quinn to the Realm. 

You can find the other parts of the interview on my fellow BRoP host blogs

Part 1 T.W.

Part 2  um Me! tehehe

Part 3 with Sandra

Part 4 with Dean

Part 5 with Terri

Susan Kaye Quinn, Author

Susan Kaye Quinn grew up in California, where she wrote snippets of stories and passed them to her friends during class. She pursued a bunch of engineering degrees and worked a lot of geeky jobs, including turns at GE Aircraft Engines, NASA, and NCAR. Now that she writes novels, her business card says "Author and Rocket Scientist" and she doesn't have to sneak her notes anymore. All that engineering comes in handy when dreaming up paranormal powers in future worlds or mixing science with fantasy to conjure slightly plausible inventions. Susan writes from the Chicago suburbs with her three boys, two cats, and one husband. Which, it turns out, is exactly as much as she can handle.

Section #2: The Writing Life

BRoP:  What is your writing process? Do you follow a regular routine? Do you use pen and paper or computer? Work at home or at the library/Starbucks, etc.

SKQ: One of my favorite quotes on writing goes something like, “I don’t know where inspiration comes from, but I know where it comes to: my chair, 9am, every morning.” I can’t remember who said it, but that is definitely me. I write every day (if possible). The closest I come to writer’s block is not exactly knowing what will happen next, and I just keep writing until I do. I bang out first drafts in a fast-writing frenzy, then spend months and months revising. I work at home, at the park, at the library, at a hotel on retreat with my friends. I write on my desktop, my laptop, one of a half dozen moleskin notebooks, and occasionally on the back of a Panda Express receipt. Although I set aside certain times of the day to write, in a way, I’m always writing (or thinking about it).

 BRoP: How much time per day do you spend on your writing?

SKQ:  I write when my kids are in school, so in theory I have about 6 hours a day to write during the school year (summer is much trickier, since all three of my boys are home). In reality, I write all the time (see above), as well as blog, market my books, write interviews (like this one), and the sundry other things demanded of a modern published author. But I’m trying to make sure 1) I make writing the highest priority, and spend the most time on that, and 2) I write without distraction during my “writing hours.” It’s amazing how easy it is to lose sight of those two things!

BRoP:  How do you balance writing with other aspects of your life?

It’s very difficult for me to balance, because I love writing so much – it’s like some kind of crazed addiction. On the one hand, any start-up business (especially one you love) is going to be like this—an intense investment of time and energy into getting it off the ground. On the other hand (as I recently discussed with my husband), sustainability is key for any business you want to grow beyond the initial stages. So, right now, I’m focusing on finding sustainable ways to keep writing, keep pushing my writing to higher levels, keep producing product that people will want to read, while at the same time, making sure my family (and other important things in my life) get taken care of. It’s not easy, but I’m committed to making it all work, because I want to keep writing as long as my fingers can still type (and possibly beyond that, once we get the brain-computer interface hookup figured out). J

BRoP: Other than your family, what has been your greatest source of support?

SKQ: My fellow writers, without question. Their encouragement, feedback, and general cheering on, not to mention the vast amount I’ve learned from them … I honestly can’t imagine doing what I do without that support system.

BRoP:  How do you deal with rejection and/or negative reviews?

SKQ: I’ve often said that reviews are for the readers, not the writer. And I believe this is mostly true – reviews help readers decide if a particular work is something they would enjoy or not. For the writer, the work is finished – I’m immersed in the next story already. I do read my reviews, and I value each one, even the negative ones (although I’ve been lucky to have very few). Anytime someone spends money on one of my books, spend hours reading it, then takes more time to write paragraphs and paragraphs about it… well, whether they liked the book or not, they believed my words were worth their time, and that’s extremely gratifying for a writer.

Please let us know where your readers can stalk you: 
Website: http://www.mindjacktrilogy.com

Blog: http://www.susankayequinn.com
Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/susankayequinnauthor
Goodreads author page: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/4094557.Susan_Kaye_Quinn
Twitter: https://twitter.com/#!/susankayequinn
Amazon:  http://www.amazon.com/Susan-Kaye-Quinn/e/B003TTJRXU/ref=ntt_athr_dp_pel_pop_1
Smashwords: https://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/SusanKayeQuinn
Other: http://pinterest.com/susankayequinn/

What format is your book(s) available in (print, e-book, audio book, etc.)? Print and ebook.