Interview with Anna Santos

Hello and welcome to another author interview,

Today, I bring you one of the loveliest people I have had the pleasure of talking with since I joined Wattpad. At first, I didn’t think Anna Santos would agree to this interview since she is always busy with her stories, publishing, and marketing, but, here she is today. So, thank you so much for joining me, Anna.

Let’s get on with the questioning then.

1. You are almost at 50k followers on Wattpad. That’s an amazing achievement. Can you share with the readers some of the techniques you’ve used to gain more followers? Is there some kind of prize if they press that little ‘follow’ button?

Anna: Well, I normally bribe them with cookies and I also leave lame attempts of jokes in my author’s notes. But, I don’t have a formula nor do I know why I have so many followers. I know that some people follow me because of the private chapters, but others, I guess they follow me because I must appear in their list of suggestions. And there are always the ones who follow me because they like what I write and they want to know when I send big and boring messages to my followers! *winks*

May: You’re so humble, Anna. I love you already. They follow you because you write well, you’ve an amazing personality, and you’re eager to help out others. Because of this, you have my utmost respect.

2. Although I have yet to find some time to read your book “Soul-Mate”, can you tell us about your writing process and how you overcome difficulties such as writer’s block or being stuck on a scene/chapter? 

Anna: There are times that I’m bored and I have a lot of things that I have to write in a story, but I may not feel like to write it. What I do is I start a new story or I continue another one. I’m always writing a lot of different stories at the same time. So, changing stories, characters, and worlds helps me remain motivated. I can also stay a whole week or two without writing because I need to live a bit in the real world or just because I have a lot of real life issues to take care of. The suggestion that I can give about other writers when they are stuck, just take a step back, do something else, write something else, and the story will continue inside your head when it’s time. Sometimes, giving a story a break will make you see things clearer and improve the plot.

May: You know, that’s a good advice. I, on the other hand, learned that staring at the wall while listening to music stimulates me. My brain tends to work best when there’s nothing distracting, so I end up watching my own movies. Free TV *laughs*

3. This is your first abstract question; I hope you’ve brought some handkerchiefs as this may make you sweat a bit. What is your favourite supernatural creature and why?

Anna: Witches. I always wanted to have magical powers. Witches are badass creatures and I have a lot of respect for all the women who stand up in times of oppression and used their knowledge to help and fight against injustice. We all know that the majority of women accused of witchcraft were simply women ahead of their time. So, if supernatural creatures existed, I wanted to be the ones who can do magic.

May: Blimey, that was a deep answer. Historically speaking, yes, women were burned at the stake because people in the village or town thought they were different or better at something. For me, I would say it has to be demons. There is a lot of lore about them and they have existed for as long as any and every religion. They are also the toughest characters to write about in my series.

4. Since English is not your first language and you write for the English market, can you tell us about your journey to publishing and what’s it done for you since?

Anna: I started to write and share my stories in English in Wattpad. Two years later, I had a lot of people encouraging me to publish. I did a bit of research and tried to understand how that would work for me since I’m too far from the USA, and I believed that it would make a lot of publishing houses or agents frown upon that factor and not be interested. I researched about self-publishing my work. It was something that I only heard about once I was more familiar with the American publishing market. But, I realized it would be crazy expensive. I didn’t have the money.

Luckily, one of the few publishing houses I had contacted reached out and showed interest in publishing my story “Revenge”. It turned out that “Soul-Mate” would be published sooner than “Revenge”, but I learned a lot since I began working with editors, cover designers, and marketing managers.

Since I published my books, I became less stressed and more confident that I can do this. I can write and publish books. My books sell and the public outside Wattpad likes them. I can’t say that it has changed my life. It didn’t. I guess what publishing did for me was make me believe that all the hours I spent writing were worth it.

May: Somehow you made that sound romantic. Three books in one year is quite an achievement. Just because I’m competitive, I will try to keep up with you. I’m looking forward to having my first book out there next to yours one day.

5. Do you happen to have any advice for the readers in regard to writing and improving their craft?

Anna: Write a lot, rewrite even more, and don’t be afraid to change your story if you aren’t happy with it. Write about what you love. Read books, research for your stories, and just have fun writing. If you love your story and your characters, if writing makes you happy then just write to stay happy.

May: Aww. I think my heart just exploded here. I am dying over the editing of Russian Roulette right now. And, it seems like the end of it is at the top of Everest. *shivers* I hate cold. But, nevertheless, it has to be done, as much for myself as for my precious future readers. I want them to be happily engrossed in the story and not finding spelling errors everywhere.

6. Breathe in and then out, Anna. Now, on a man, do you prefer briefs or boxer shorts?

Anna: Boxer briefs? I don’t like boxer shorts, and briefs are not that appealing, but boxer briefs (also known as tight boxers) are cool! ^_^

May: I know! Boxer shorts are just so baggy – depending on the material. So, I’m with you on that one. I am tempted to put up pictures for the readers…I think I will. Starting with boxer shorts, boxer briefs, and onto briefs, check out the difference below! What’s your favourite?

7. Hypothetically speaking, if you had a chance to jump into one of your stories and slap one character, which character and story would it be?

Anna: Philippe, just to touch him *laughs*. Damn, that sounded pervy! Seriously, I would choose Philippe and slap some sense into him in the early chapters of ‘Captive’. All my other characters are safe – well the bad guys aren’t – but the rest can carry on with their lives.

May: ‘just to touch him’, oh my, Anna. I know how you feel. I got a crush on my own character, too. It’s hilarious.

Humm, with my characters, I have to thread carefully on this one. I would pick Alexander. He really needs a slap sometimes for flirting with all those readers during his Q&A event. He even said he liked having Indian women with chocolate. -.- That man…

8. This is very important. Ketchup or Mayo?

Anna: Ketchup, though Ketchup with mayo and mustard tastes amazing in a hotdog.

May: Omg! Hot dogs. I love them. Urgh. I really want one now… Must…refrain. Since I can’t, the readers will suffer also. Yeah. You guys get to drool over a hot dog with us.

9. What do you usually do when you run out of ideas? Or is there a specific ritual you do to keep your mind busy conjuring stories?

Anna: Well, until now I haven’t run out of ideas. I have too many ideas, so I hope I can live for a long time until I can write a lot of books. It scares me to think that I may leave an unfinished book behind! I would be a restless ghost going around and haunting people because of unfinished business in this realm!

May: That’s the fear many of us share. I feel like I’m abandoning a baby somewhere if I don’t finish a book.

10. Please go ahead and tell us about your upcoming projects and books.

Anna: I’m planning to publish at least 3 books this year. I have book two and three from the ‘Immortal Love Series’ in the process of being edited. And, I’m planning to improve “His Beloved” so I can publish it and hopefully make some fans happy.

May: I’m glad that you’re putting in so much effort for your fans. I’m sure they’re itching for a new book or two…or ten.

As always I am posting the blurb to one of her stories below.

Soul-mate by Anna Santos

Annabel is a bad-ass hybrid hunter, seeking revenge from the vampire who killed her parents and put her brother in a coma. Arriving in a new town with an undercover identity to protect and the mission to find a pureblood vampire to save her brother’s life, the last thing Annabel needs is to fall in love with the sexy, persistent werewolf who thinks she’s a helpless human in need of a knight in shining armor.

Shane is a dominant werewolf who also happens to be the local sheriff. He has almost lost hope of finding his better half. So when his beautiful soul-mate shows up and rogue vampires try to kill her, he does what any smart wolf would do: he saves her and takes her home, hoping to convince her that they belong together.

When sparks fly between them, Annabel has to decide if she tells him who she really is or runs the other way to protect her secrets.

 

 ***Author Bio***

Anna Santos is currently an International Bestselling Author with her paranormal romance story: “Soul-Mate”. Meanwhile, she has another series released, being “Revenge” the first book of The Chronicles of the Eylones.

She likes to write steamy and happily ever after romances with magical and complex characters. All her books feature clever, witty, and strong heroines and dominant males who either get what they want or get what they deserve.
When she isn’t writing, Anna is considering plot twists for her next novel or delving into the world of her favorite authors.

You can join her at:

Website: http://annesaint90.wix.com/annasantosauthor

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AnnaSantosAuthor

Twitter: https://twitter.com/AnneSaint90

Instagram: https://instagram.com/annasantosauthor/

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/23301866-anna-santos

Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/author/annasantosauthor  

Wattpad: https://www.wattpad.com/user/AnnaSantos5