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Wednesday, February 20, 2013

The Ugly Stepsister Strikes Back

Welcome to my blog Sariah.  Thank you for taking the time to answer a few questions about yourself, your writing career, and your books.  Congratulations on your latest book 'The Ugly Stepsister Strikes Back'.

Welcome to my blog Sariah .  Thank you for taking the time to answer a few questions about yourself, your book, and your business.

Q. Tell us about your latest work and why you wrote it?
A:  The book is “The Ugly Stepsister Strikes Back,” and it is a sweet, contemporary young adult romance.  I wrote it because in this particular case, I had no choice.  I woke up one night with this snarky voice in my head talking about her oh-so-perfect stepsister, and that was that.  I got out of bed and started writing as fast as I could – and was up the whole night writing everything down. 

Q.  What draws you to your genre(s)? Why is this type of story compelling to you?
A:  I love young adult stuff.  I still watch “teen” shows on TV.  I love YA books.  I think what is compelling to me is that innocence, that falling in love for the first time.  Experiencing those big emotions in a time when your hormones are all over the place and everything is so dramatic and over-the-top – I’m just drawn to it. 

Q.  What is your writing process like? Do you map the whole thing out or do you just let it unfold?
A:  First comes the brainstorming.  This may involve me just mulling things over – other times things just seem to appear in my head and I write it all down.  Then I organize a loose outline.  I figure out in what order I want things to happen, and then any dialogue or scene description gets put in the right place.  As I’m writing sometimes things surprise me, or I may think about something to add in (which sometimes necessitates me going back and reworking earlier chapters).  I do deviate from the outline, but I like knowing where I’m generally going.

Q.  What kind of research was involved in writing your book?
A:   Not a whole lot.  I did have some real places in there – the masquerade ball was at a real hotel, and the sushi restaurant Jake takes Mattie to is also a real place.  I could have made them fictional, but I thought it would be fun to use real places.  It was also helpful to get menus and see pictures to describe them.  I had to do some manga research as well, but one of my brothers is really into it, and he was helpful.

Q.  How much of YOU makes it into your characters?
A:  Probably more than I’d like.  But I’m writing what I know.  They’re not my alter-ego or anything, but they all have parts of me.  Just like all my heroes have pieces of my husband.

Q.  How do you balance the need to have time to write with the needs of family, society, etc.?
 A:  The writing usually comes last.  My little ones won’t be little forever, and my family’s needs matter more to me than my writing. 

Q.  Have there been any authors in particular, that inspired your writing?
 A:  I think every author I’ve ever read has inspired my writing.  Some inspired me because I’m so in awe of their talent or envious of their ideas; others made me think, “I could do better than this!” LOL 

Q.  Is there a story you want to tell behind or about your work(s)?
A:  None that come immediately to mind.  :)

Q. What other projects are you currently working on or about to start?
A:  I have a planned novella for Mattie and Jake at their prom, and a follow up novel that takes place four years later and is Ella’s story.  But lately I’ve been working on a time travel that is the novel of my heart that I’ve wanted to write for years but haven’t.  I’m looking forward to spending more time on that story!

Q. Could you share some of your marketing strategies?  Which ones are the most effective in your opinion?
A:  Honestly, I have no special marketing insight.  I’m attempting this blog tour, and while I’ve had friends who have been very successful with it, that doesn’t necessarily mean everyone will have the same result.  We’ll see.  I’ve also got some free days coming up to see if that helps to bump sales.  But if anyone’s got some good marketing tips, email me.  I’d love to hear them.  :)

Q. What would be the top five, (or 3 or 1 or however many) things you would tell aspiring authors?
 A:   “There’s a word for a writer who never gives up…published.”  J.A. Konrath.  Read early, read often.  Anyone who wants to be a writer who doesn’t spend a lot of time reading is making everything harder on themselves.  I would also recommend going to conferences and joining professional organizations to learn everything you can about writing.  And practice, practice, practice.  Just like we expect a top athlete to train or a concert pianist to practice or a celebrated artist to sketch, you should spend time every day practicing your art form. 

 Again, thanks Sariah for taking the time to share your knowledge with us. We appreciate you and your work.

Good luck with your current and future publications.



Book Description



Everyone knows how all those fairy tales go. The princess gets beautiful, nabs her prince, falls instantly in love, lives happily ever after and leaves her evil stepsisters in the dust.
But what happens when you’re the ugly stepsister and your obnoxiously perfect—read pretty, smart, and, worst of all, sickeningly nice—stepsister is dating the charming, tall, devastatingly handsome guy you’ve had a thing for since you were nine years old?
Quirky, artistic and snarky Mattie Lowe does not lead a charmed life. Her mother is constantly belittling her on Skype. Mercedes, the school mean girl, has made it her personal mission to torment Mattie. But worst of all? Her stepsister Ella is the most beautiful, popular girl in school and is dating Mattie’s secret longtime crush, Jake Kingston. Tired of being left out and done with waiting for her own stupid fairy godmother to show up, Mattie decides to change her life. She’ll start by running for senior class president against wildly popular Jake. Ella can keep her Prince Annoying. Mattie’s going to rule the school. And no one, not even a cute and suddenly flirty Jake, is going to stop her.



                                                              Author Sariah Wilson

Sariah Wilson has never jumped out of an airplane, never climbed Mt. Everest, and is not a former CIA operative. She has, however, been madly, passionately in love with her soulmate and is a fervent believer in happily ever afters—which is why she writes romance. The Ugly Stepsister Strikes Back is her fourth happily ever after novel. She grew up in southern California, graduated from Brigham Young University (go Cougars!) with a semi-useless degree in history, and is the oldest of nine (yes, nine) children. She currently lives with the aforementioned soulmate and their four children in Utah, along with three tiger barb fish, a cat named Tiger, and a recently departed hamster that is buried in the backyard (and has nothing at all to do with tigers).

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