LaToya: Hi Ey, thank you for agreeing to this interview. Tell us a little about yourself and your background?
Ey: Knowing me as a writer and author is like cracking an egg’s shell in the air and wondering how far the splatter will spread. Wait, that’s kind of like knowing me as a person. I’m like all over the board and always working on three to five projects at a time. I have no favorite spots to work and my view tends to be pointed at the keyboard. When an idea comes into my head I just flow with it. I haven’t been able to conform my writing to any specific pattern. I am more than often working on one story and the characters from another will just be dying to get my attention and I have to go into their world.
I tend to write in various genres from nonfiction, thrillers, romance, coming of age, women's fiction, to picture books. Using pen (same one for the past sixteen years) and paper, laptop and as a newly favorite the word program on my cell phone. I have found I can write anywhere with that little contraption and my focus is intent. Has to be with those tiny keys, right? And then I just email to myself and copy past into my manuscript.
Before becoming a self-published author, I followed the rules. Wrote outlines, character back stories, did the word counting, queries and everything. I even had an agent once. Unfortunately, he was a horrible choice. Directed me away from Ballantine books (wish I would have known who they were then) who wanted The Perfect Solution and straight into the corrupt hands of Publish America. What a crock. After that fiasco I was so humiliated I couldn’t write. Fought and had my rights returned and now, I am back. I tried the querying again, but became frustrated when it seems the agents’ rules are so varied, too confusing for me. Not to mention the rejection letters can be soul crushing. I received a lot of positive reviews for The Perfect Solution when it was first published and yet when I began querying one agent informed me no one would like the book and yet it deals with negligence in the child care system. So, off I ran on my own. I have put three novels, three picture books and a creative non-fiction book into the systems. I think eBook publishing is one of the greatest inventions God has given to the world. I would advise any author to go that route when they have something they feel strongly about.
Most recently, I’ve left the small publishing company I joined and returned to being an independent publisher. I am extremely happy with this choice. I was lost not having full control and being totally in the mix.
Oh, and to let you know I do have a stable life…I am the (always single) mother of three daughters who are all grown now, and I home schooled them on a string and a prayer. Though it may seem as if I am a bit scattered brained I was able to school them into college by the age of seventeen and sixteen. TheI am the drooling proud ‘Lovey’ of a little boy named Jett Parker Ellington. Before being destroyed by Hurricane Ike, I lived in a nice home and owned a home-based childcare center and that’s me and my writing life in a nutshell.
LaToya: What are your ambitions for your writing career?
Ey: My ambitions are to have the American multi-racial history book, Beads on a String-America's Racially Intertwined Biographical History I've written to make some sort of impact in society. Plus, I would love to be able to write full time and make an income from it.
LaToya: Which writers inspire you?
Ey: The ones who are making it and are going out of their way to share what they have learned with newbies and those of us who just need to constantly learn.
LaToya: What are you working on at the minute?
Ey: I'm working on quit a few books in various genres, but the ones I'm wanting to have out by Mother's Day are two romance novels that deal with pregnancy, father's rights, abortion/ late term abortion, infertility and IVF. The first is titled Ribbon's & Belle with a companion novel Ismet's Honor.
LaToya: What genre are your books and why?
Ey: I write in several genres. From preschool picture books to nonfiction history. I tend to write what I feel and there is no limit to the topic or the people I want to reach.
LaToya: In 10 words or less can you create a quote that describes you and your writing?
Ey: Ey Wade- Entertaining Your World and Designing Eternity
LaToya: Which actor/actress would you like to see playing the lead character from your most recent book?
Ey: Hmmm, I really don't know. Haven't thought about it too hard. Well, not at all.
LaToya: When did you decide to become a writer?
Ey: I've always wanted to be a writer. Pushing to become published was when I was homeschooling my daughters and doing research for Black History month. We wished for a book that included all races/ethnicity and so I wrote one.
LaToya: Do you write full-time or part-time?
Ey: Full time.
LaToya: Do you have a special time to write or how is your day structured?
Ey: Nothing special. I try to get at least an hour or so in before I check email or other social networks.
LaToya: Do you aim for a set amount of words/pages per day?
Ey: No. I just take it as it goes.
LaToya: Where do your ideas come from?
Ey: My ideas tend to come from life and those around me. Everything is fodder
LaToya: Do you work to an outline or plot or do you prefer just see where an idea takes you?
Ey: I tend to go with the flow which is why I keep a tablet in my purse or type in the Word program on my cellphone.
LaToya: How do you think you’ve evolved creatively?
Ey: I believe I have. I no longer have any fear on what's taboo.
LaToya: What is the hardest thing about writing?
Ey: Hmmm, that would be the inability to type as fast as my characters tell there story. When it gets too bad, I go old school, pen and paper.
LaToya: What was the hardest thing about writing your latest book?
Ey: My last book, When Clouds Touch is about a Japanese-American girl with Albinism, a few physical ailments like heart problems and a sucky immune system, but the biggest deterrent in her life are her over protective parents. I had to research the language and all about her challenges. It's gotten some pretty nice reviews.
LaToya: What is the easiest thing about writing?
Ey: That would have to be coming up with topics.
LaToya: How long on average does it take you to write a book?
Ey: Depends on what my goal is. I finished When Clouds Touch within a month and have taken up to a year to finish others. And doesn't count the ones I've put on the sidelines.
LaToya: Where can you see yourself in 5 years’ time?
Ey: I haven't tried envisioning that far. Right now, I want to see myself into two months, finished republishing my books after recently leaving my publisher and having three brand new novels on the market.
LaToya: What advice would you give to your younger self?
Ey: Believe in you.
LaToya: Which famous person, living or dead would you like to meet and why?
Ey: I would love to meet Obama. One because he was lucky enough to have been born on my birthday and Two, because I would love his opinion on my history book.
LaToya: If you could have been the original author of any book, what would it have been and why?
Ey: That would be The Giver. I love that book. The idea of how a society that controls its eole so much that they cant even see color… I'm impressed.
LaToya: What advice would you give to aspiring writers?
Ey: Believe in yourself, learn your craft, and never believe you are so good, so talented, that there is nothing or anyone that can teach you something.
Connect with Ey:
Website: http://wade-inpublishing.com
Twitter: http://twitter.com/jumpouttheboat
LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/eywade
Pinterest: http://pinterest.com/itsmeeywade
Amazon Author Page: http://amazon.com/author/eywade
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/EyWade
Purchase Links
LaToya: Thank you very much for taking the time out of your busy schedule to take part in this interview.
Ey: Thank you for having me
Thanks for the chat,LaToya.
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