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An Interview With Allison Whitehead

Tell us a bit about yourself. What would you like us to know about you?

I'm 34, and I've been writing for as long as I can remember. I took a creative writing course sixteen years ago and haven't looked back. I live in Kent, England with my partner, and I love reading, writing, ebaying, surfing the net, doing boot fairs, and watching films and television.

What are you doing now? (Career? Married? Single? Children? Pets?)

My partner and I have just set up our own business, under the name of Smoo (which is our nicknames combined - I'm the Moo part, unfortunately!). Smoo Publishing covers all my writing ventures, which are mainly concentrated on ebooks, although I also write regularly for the website Wise Orb, and have a lot of articles on Constant Content too. Shop Smoo is our eBid store (and will also be the name of our upcoming eBay store too. Check us out under the name smudgie_and_moo
We don't have kids or pets, although I think the cat next door has adopted us...

What is your favourite food?

Uh... chocolate. Cadbury's Dairy Milk... Er, where's the nearest shop?? Back soon...

What is your favourite colour?

Definitely blue.

What is your favourite sound?

The sound of a bar of Cadbury's Dairy Milk being opened...

Who is your favourite person?

Me! No maybe not. I would have to say my partner, otherwise I'll be sleeping on the sofa tonight!

What is your favourite place?

Home...

What is your favourite memory?

Making cakes with my mum when I was about five or six. I love cooking, and I learned everything I know from mum. Bless her.

What is your favourite article of clothing?

My jeans. And I have a Moo t-shirt that goes with them. It's almost become my uniform!

What is your favourite word?

Chocolate.

What is your favourite writers' quote and why?

"It's not the money."

That's Stephen King, in my favourite short story collection of his (I'm reading it again now, for about the fifth time).

He's talking about how he just has to write, because 'to not do it is suicide'. That says it all for me. I get really miserable and frustrated if I can't write. It's almost like a drug.

What is your most favourite quality about yourself?

The fact that I don't give up, even when things aren't going well. I always see the glass as half full, and have total faith that things will get better.

What is the least favourite quality about yourself?

I give in too easily to eating loads of chocolate.

If you could go anywhere in the world right now, where would it be and why?

To the Lake District - my partner and I went there on holiday last year and it's the most peaceful place on earth. I recommend it to anyone - it's beautiful.

What inspires you to write and why?

I've thought about this and I really don't know. There wasn't a single event that inspired me to write. I just love doing it.

What is your favourite book and why?

I think it's the one I'm reading now - 'Skeleton Crew' by Stephen King. There's some fabulous stories in there - 'Mrs Todd's Shortcut' and 'The Ballad of the Flexible Bullet' are my top favourites.

What is your favourite genre and why?

Probably horror. I like the fact that if it's done well, it preys on your own worst nightmares. That's hard to pull off in a novel.

List your three favourite authors (any genre) and why?

Stephen King - he's the only author I can think of that's given me sleepless nights.

Minette Walters - she writes fantastic crime novels. I like a good whodunit.

Agatha Christie - the ultimate thriller writer. I love the Miss Marple and Poirot stories because they take you back to a different era.

What do you think makes a writer successful?

Perseverance. That's the most important thing to have to become successful as a writer.

Whta is it that makes you successful as a writer?

Perseverance. It's the only way you can improve your writing and get as good as you want to be.

What are your goals as a writer?

To continue writing and publishing ebooks; to develop my online writing and be published on more sites; to continue to be happy with what I've achieved.

What is the best tip you can give to fellow writers?

Keep everything you write. Whenever you get dejected, re-read old stuff you've written. You'll be amazed at how you've improved.

What do you hope to provide your readers with through your writing?

Knowledge, insight and advice. I hope that anyone who reads my ebooks or articles comes away feeling that they've learned something, and that the experience was worthwhile.

List your three favourite online writer-resource sites and why (include URLS).

www.writergazette.com - this one speaks for itself. It's excellent.

www.newbie-writers.com - the editor is really nice and the site is packed with info for anyone just starting out.

www.filbertpublishing.com - sign up to get the freebie 'Power Queries'. Then explore the vaults...

If you have published a book, tell us about your publishing success (title, publishing date and company, where it is available to purcahse).

I've got two ebooks under my belt - the first is a writing guide called 'Hey! I Really CAN Sell My Articles!'. It's distilled from my sixteen years experience at selling hundreds of articles to countless magazines. There's a free preview available if you visit www.lulu.com/content/321972

I've also published 'The 5 Secrets of Successful Goal Setting', which reveals everything you need to know to set goals and achieve them. The techniques in this ebook can be applied to every area of your life, and once again there's a free preview available at www.lulu.com/content/301705

How long did it take you to write your book(s)?

I did an outline for each one before I actually started writing, so I always knew where I was headed. The goal setting book took around three weeks from start to finish, and the article writing one took about two, I think. It just poured out! Very enjoyable to write.

What would you do differently if you could repeat the same publishing experience?

I think with self publishing you need to really get your skates on with the marketing side of things. The marketing for both is going really well now, but in future I would make sure I started that side of things earlier, so it coincided with publication better. The experience I've had this time has been so valuable - I've learned a lot in a very short time, and I will definitely put that to good use in the future.

What have you learned about the publishing world?

I've learned that with the internet and self publishing, there's room for everyone. You're not dependent on having a big publishing house saying yes or no to you like you were in the past. That's really good news for writers everywhere, but it does mean we have to get involved in the business and marketing side of things much more.

This is your chance to 'Talk Back' to your readers. What would you like to say to them?

I hope you'll benefit from reading my ebooks and articles - if you can take away one extra piece of knowledge or advice that makes a difference to you in some way, then I've done my job correctly. And I'm always trying to improve.

What's the one thing that you want them to know about your writing?

It comes from the heart. That sounds so corny! But I really get passionate about my writing. And do you know what the ironic thing about that is? I can't write romantic stories to save my life!

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