Introducing Cherie…

Cherie Colyer is the author of  YA paranormal thriller/romance, EMBRACE (available now), and HOLD TIGHT (August 2013), from Omnific Publishing. Check out her website and blog for news on her books and bonus material. Follow Cherie on Twitter and/or Facebook for updates on writing, book and special offers. 

Quirky Questions 

If you were a cartoon, who would you be? 

Candace from Phineas and Ferb. She’s fun, determined, and doesn’t take herself seriously.  

If you could eliminate one thing from your daily schedule, what would it be? 

I answer this at the risk that my boss or co-workers may read this, but my pesky day job. It’s not that I don’t like the people I work with or because I dislike the job, but if I didn’t have a day job, I’d have more time to write.

Crayon or paintbrush?

Crayon.

Name one thing that drives you crazy.

People who don’t use their turn single. The blinking light is there for a reason!

Name one thing you can’t live without.

Coffee, I’m addicted.

As a child, what did you wish to become when you grew up?

A witch or a world traveler. Actually, I wanted to be a witch so that I could twitch my nose and transport myself anywhere in the world and to a few fictional places too.

What’s your motto in life?

You can’t live a positive life with a negative mind.

What’s the naughtiest thing you did in school?

Skip class.

Describe your ideal day.  

A day with no agenda so that I can do whatever whim strikes me at the moment.

What song best describes your work ethic?

Ain’t No Rest for the Wicked.

If you were a road sign, what would you be? 

A detour sign—you can find the coolest things by taking a different route.

What is one quality that you really appreciate in a person?

Compassion.

Writing Questions 

What initially inspired you to pursue a career in writing?

My honey. We’d go for long walks and I’d start talking about ideas I had. One day he said, why don’t you write it down? Actually, he said this several times. Finally, I did.

What books are you reading right now?

City of Ashes by Cassandra Clare, and Hold Still by Nina LaCour

What’s your favorite writing quote? 

“What would ten-year-old Tony want that old Tony can now make?” Tony Diterlizzi at the 2012 SCBWI Summer Conference.

Do you have any advice for other writers?

Never give up. Read everything. Join a critique group. Revise, revise, revise.

What do you think you do best in your writing? Bragging is encouraged.

I think I do a good job showing instead of telling. I’m able to paint a clear picture of where my characters are and what they are doing without actually saying things like “we walked over the frozen grass” or “her expression turned sad”. I also think my teen voice is strong. I know I don’t use a lot of slang in my novels, but I do that on purpose. Slang changes too quickly and can date a book.

If you had to do it all over again, would you change anything in your latest book?

A few reviewers have felt that there is an instant love in Embrace, and that’s not what I meant to convey. It was supposed to be an instant attraction, and there is a very good reason for it which the reader learns later in the book. If I were to revise that novel now, I’d reword a few sentences at the beginning of the book, toning down some of Madison’s internal thoughts.

Is there anything you find particularly challenging in writing? And what comes easily?

It’s always a challenge to explain the rules of the supernatural creatures in my stories without using an info dump, and I’ve noticed I have a habit of making the rules a bit too complicated. I end up going back and cutting anything that turned out to be unimportant to the plot. Thankfully this isn’t too hard to do, although sometimes I chop scenes or unique abilities that I really liked.

As far as what comes easy, being back with the cast of Embrace was like returning home after a long vacation. I already knew most of the characters and their world, so I was able to jump right into the story.