Author Interview - Faith Simone

Greetings!! Today I get to share my interview with Faith Simone. Read below to learn all about her and her wonderful books!!

LaToya: Where are you from? Where do you live now?

Faith: This shouldn't be a complicated answer, but for me it kind of is…I was born in Mississippi, but when I was three years old my mama decided to drive west until she hit water. Which is how I ended up being raised in Long Beach, CA, where I stayed until my late twenties. Now I live in Memphis, TN.

LaToya: Did you always know you wanted to be a writer?

Faith: Yes, I’ve wanted to be a writer since I was old enough to understand that it was a profession. But I let practicality get in the way of pursuing my dreams. I really limited myself by buying into the mentality that writing could not pay the bills. Had I pursued my passion when I was much younger, I know I would be a lot farther along in my writing career.

When did you first start writing and when did you finish your first book?

I started my first novel when I was about 21 with a working title of ‘Many Waters’. I finished the first draft in about a year, then left it to sit for over a decade. I picked it back up about a year ago and now I’m finally publishing it! ‘Many Waters’ became ‘When the Real Thing Comes Along’.

LaToya: How did you choose the genre you write in?

Faith: I decided to write my first novel because I was tired of reading subpar Christian fiction. I would finish a book in that genre and think, “I could do so much better than that!” Yeah, I had an ego on me when I was younger, lol. I also read some really good Christian fiction that was not only entertaining but edifying. Three of those books are ‘Redeeming Love’ and ‘Atonement Child’ by Francine Rivers, and ‘Boaz Brown’ by Michelle Stimpson.  Whether you’re a fan of this genre or new to it I highly recommend those books!

 I really want to create quality realistic faith based fiction. Life is messy, even when you have faith. Maybe even especially when you have faith. I want to portray that in my writing.

LaToya:  Where do you get your ideas?

Faith: I get a lot of my ideas from current events, watching movies and simply observing life. It’s really true that the truth is often better than fiction!

LaToya: Name one book that you would categorize as a life changing read.

Faith: The first answer that pops into my mind is the Bible, and that’s true, but to avoid being a cliché I’ll also add ‘I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings’ by Maya Angelou. She told the story of her life with such astute honesty and poetic language that the book affirmed my belief in the power of words and the importance of telling character driven realistic stories.

LaToya: Who is your favorite author?

Faith: Take a wild guess? Yep, Maya Angelou. I suppose that wasn’t such a wild guess after all!

LaToya: Name one book you wish you’d written.

Faith: Mmmhhh… that’s a difficult question. I’m not in the habit of coveting another writer’s style or work. So I can’t say that there’s a book that I wish I’d written. I will say that there’s a book that I love that I would like to emulate: ‘Little Women’ by Louisa May Alcott. It’s such a timeless story about family, loyalty and sisterhood. I’d love to one day write a book that people can relate to for centuries like that.

LaToya: Tell us about your latest book (include blurb and/or excerpt).

Faith: My eyes were wide open the night I invited Taylor into my life. It was at the end of one of those parties that starts out with what seems like hundreds of people, but turns mellow before midnight. I was ready to go but my best friend, Kim, wasn’t. She was trying to finalize the hook up with a guy from her history class. Meanwhile, I was waiting on a ratty couch in the dark living room with a guy I knew I would never see again, wishing that I was at home watching Lifetime movies. That’s when I saw him. 

He walked past me through the sliding glass doors into the backyard. Something about the gracefulness of his long strides, made me get up and follow him while the guy on the couch was still running his mouth.

The sound of Usher singing about how to tell if you got it bad muffled to a slow thumping bass as I closed the patio doors behind me. I waved away the sweet smell of weed as I stepped around a few people smoking and lounging on the mismatched patio furniture.

I trailed him across the large backyard where the only sound was the loud swishing of the dozen or so palm trees waltzing in the fall winds. Both of our steps were silent in the soft mushy grass. I felt strange following him without saying anything, but I wanted him to sense me behind him. I wanted to know if the crazy magnetism I was feeling was working on him too. But there was a different force drawing him that night. One that I would contend with at a later time, in another place, with a lot more to lose.

LaToya: How can readers connect with you?

Faith: I love hearing from readers! Connect with me via any of the channels below.

Website: http://www.faithsimone.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Author-Faith-Simone/392241397545150

Twitter: @FaithSimone2011

Amazon Author Page: http://www.amazon.com/Faith-Simone/e/B00J1QMWBE

LaToya: What advice would you give to aspiring authors?

Faith: Start now! Don’t wait until you feel good enough, or experienced enough or until the stars all align. If you want to be a writer then write. It’s that simple. Study the craft, learn all you can, but when it comes down to it put your butt in a chair and write.