Author Spotlight: Joey Paul

Today, I'm happy to introduce you to prolific Young Adult author Joey Paul. Keep reading to the end to see all of her great book covers.

Tell us a little about yourself. Where are you from? What kind of books do you write? How many books have you written? Do you set your stories in the same area you live in?

I'm 35, from the UK and lived in the same town all my life. I write young adult books, usually in the crime/mystery and paranormal genre. I've also written on contemporary romance and one adventure/fantasy book. I've completed 18 books, published 11 and am writing two more right now. The majority of my books are set in unknown place names, but they are usually loosely based on the town where I live. Though one book – Destination: Unknown is set in my town, in fact in my house! The new series I'm working on now is set here too.

 Most writers I know are voracious readers. What kind of books do you like to read? What’s your favorite book?

I read pretty much anything that catches my eye. I love reading, so I'll read adult, young adult, crime/mystery is my usual go-to genre, but I've also read contemporary, romance, historical, dystopian, sci-fi, fantasy, basically if the blurb excites me, I'll read it. My favorite book is a hard one to choose since I have so so many, but my favorite series is the Alphabet series by Sue Grafton, which I'm reading Y is for Yesterday right now and loving it!

 Let’s play a quick game of “This or That”. 

Real books or e-books? E-books – I'm disabled and while I love books, having my Kindle means I can actually hold the book and read and enjoy for longer.

Coffee or tea? Tea – I'm actually allergic to coffee, but I do love me a nice cuppa!

Sweet or savory? Sweet – I have a very big sweet tooth!

Summer or winter? Winter – Simple because my lungs hate summer, and they hate winter too, but I'm usually able to warm up in Winter and cooling down in summer is hard!

Morning or night? Morning – I used to be a big morning person, but with my conditions I usually find that late night works great, but then just makes me feel worse, so I'll stick with morning!

Would you mind telling us about your writing style? Such as: Do have a routine? Do you need complete silence or blaring music? Early morning writing or late nite writing?

I do have a routine. I write two books at once, and here's how I go about it. I'll spend the morning doing admin stuff and then in the afternoon will sit and write. I can't write with music, but some noise is okay. I have been known to do late night writing, but with my conditions, it's harder and harder these days, so I'll sit at my desk and write in the afternoon into the evening. I will usually do two chapters from one book (one a day mostly) and then switch to two of the other. I call those my sets, and after a full set I'll have a day off before starting a new set!

Do you have a favorite “writing” snack?

I don't actually no, I'm usually found writing with tea and if I'm hungry will make some toast or something, but I don't generally snack while writing!

Which do you think is the hardest to write: the first sentence or the last one?

I'm gonna go against the grain here. I actually find these both quite easy. I struggle more with ending a chapter than I do with starting or finishing a book.

What is your biggest distraction while writing?

Probably the internet and other things like that. I usually chat with a friend while doing my daily chapter and that can mean a lot of stopping and starting, but I actually find it works very well for me so it's not as bad as it could be!

What is the best writing advice you’ve ever received?

To keep going. I can't remember who told me that, but I was talking about how I wanted to give it all up. I was in a bad place mentally, physically, emotionally, and I was close to calling it quits. A friend of mine said two things, one was to keep going and the other was “it takes as long as it takes.” and both of those have really stayed with me.

Do you have any advice for new writers?

Probably that you have to remember that it takes time, you will have good days, you will have bad days and they all suck, completely, but keep going and remember that only you can tell your story. That's it, the story can't be told by anyone else, but you!

What’s next for you? What do your readers have to look forward to?

I'm about halfway through two books writing wise. And I'm getting my next two ready to go to the editor and start that process. One is the sixth in the Dying Thoughts series. The other is a standalone called Walk A Mile and I'm really excited about sharing both of those with my readers. I'm hoping to finish the Dying Thoughts series in 2019 and release three books, so it's all a go!

Where can we connect with you? Tell is where to find you online.

Website: http://www.joeypaulonline.com/

Facebook Page: http://bit.ly/1VhLrWj

Twitter: http://bit.ly/1szCNHg

Tumblr: http://bit.ly/1WhMqqE

Instagram: http://bit.ly/2coDWeV

Youtube: http://bit.ly/2mstCH8

Newsletter : http://eepurl.com/cNq35n

Here are Joey's wonderful covers!