Back to School Blog Tour Sept. 2-6 Featured Author: Victoria Jeffrey

For a list and link to all the authors participating and tour giveaway, link to the Back To School Blog Tour Page here.

Today’s featured author is Victoria Jeffrey. She has always had an interest in writing fairy tales. Influenced by authors from Tolkien to Shakespeare, Victoria shares some of her role models, inspirations, and how she writes her fantastic tales.

Victoria Jeffery is the author of the book, The Green Tree.

1) Who was your favorite teacher, and how did they influence your writing?

Mr. Jones. He was my English teacher. Also, he was my Japanese language teacher. He expected excellence from everyone in class and did not allow me to get away with slacking off. He loved the English language and he loved books and this love came through in how he taught the class. Of course we read some of the classics but it was never boring, stilted or dreary because he had interesting and sometimes divergent insights on the authors who wrote the classics we read or the history and lore surrounding the books we read in his class. Classics came alive in Mr. Jones’s class.

2) What advice would you give children for the beginning of school?

View each day as an adventure! View each teacher as someone who has something important to give you. Often in stories when a hero goes on an adventure there is a sage old character who has wisdom or a wondrous device that the hero needs in his or her quest. View your teacher as that sage imparting wisdom or giving an important gift for the journey and your whole outlook in school should be a positive one.

3) Did you have any role models growing up? Who were they? Why did you admire them?

My mother for one. But there was also Anne McCaffrey and her Dragonriders series and Margaret Weiss and the Dragonlance Chronicles. When I was a kid I didn’t know that women wrote fantasy or science fiction. Seeing women writers in those fields who wrote books that so many people loved was a huge inspiration for me as a girl who loved speculative fiction. I only wished that I had known about Octavia Butler when I was a girl.

4) Do you do anything to help organize your writing or inspire a story?

The single best thing that has helped me when writing a story is creating an outline. Once I started making outlines (and mine are not long or highly detailed) Writer’s Block went away. I stopped writing myself into corners or starting a story and then getting bored midway through and leaving it to start on another. Outlines help me organize my thoughts and how I am going to plot the story. It’s a roadmap that shines light on where you are going and it prevents my writing time from being wasted. It makes writing the actual story quite easy and enjoyable instead of a chore.

5) What is the kernel of wisdom you have learned about writing?

Outlining as well as reading good books – mostly books you love to read. I grew up reading Tolkien, Herbert, Grimms’ fairytales. I write the kinds of books that I like to read. Good writing starts with reading lots of good books. That is one of the best places to get new ideas for your own stories and how to plot and create interesting characters, all the basics of storytelling. You learn from other more experienced storytellers. Like with any craft, you learn from those that are more experienced.

6) What other projects or books are you working on right now?

Currently I am working on a science fiction short story and the Red World trilogy, the last book, Rise of the Red King. After this, I plan to work on a steampunk science fiction series.

As an added bonus, Ms. Jeffrey has agreed to a special coupon on Smashwords of her first three books in her secret Doorway Tales series! The special runs for this week only!

The Green Door is available on Amazon and Smashwords as a free ebook.

The Winter Wolves (Flesch-Kincaid reading ease: 88.6, Average grade level: 4.6)
Coupon code for The Winter Wolves: XC55L

**For more information on Victoria Jeffery, please visit her website at: http://epistlepublishing.com/.

Plus, we are having a giveaway for a bundle of featured books donated by the participating authors. Below is the link to enter through Rafflecopter.com.

The 2013 Back To School Blog Tour Big Book Giveaway

Included in the bundle are:
1) A Paperback signed set of the Crystal Keeper Chronicles
(3 paperbacks)
2) YN Hanna: Big Honey Dog New Book (Ebook or Paperback)
3) Ebook: It’s a Castrophe by Sibel Hodge
4) EBook: The Night Clock by W.N. Rae
5) Book: Dragons and Dreams Bedtime Stories

***For all of the featured author blog links and blog tour giveaway information, link to the Back to School Blog Tour 2013 Page.