To help promote Indie Authors I am going to start conducting mini interviews. For my first one I chose a friend and mentor of mine, C.M. Rose. She is one of the many authors in the recently released “A Journey of Words,” published by Scout Media.

What made you want to be a writer?

I actually never wanted to be a writer—I wanted to be an archaeologist, excavating ancient tombs. I’ve always had an affinity for the remains of history and bones in particular. Dinosaurs were the obsession when I was very young and that matured into a study of mummies and eventually a career in forensic anthropology. I began writing as a therapeutic outlet for my abusive childhood. It was a coping mechanism— an escape, if you will. After a series of highly praised writing projects in school and a litany of rewards for my writing I realized I was at least passable at it. So I suppose I still have never wanted to be a writer, I have just always been a writer. I am of the opinion if you are going to do something then you should do it to the very best of your ability, so I have worked to perfect my writing ability. It is an ongoing process with a long road ahead.

Most Indie Authors have day jobs beyond their writing. Do you, and if you do, how do you balance writing, work, and life in general?

I used to work as a forensic anthropologist performing skeletal reconstruction and identification services. Now, as something a bit of a departure from the macabre, I hand craft high end jewelry. I don’t balance anything at all. My life is more of a fluid chaos. I have the tendency to put myself— all of myself— into my activities. When I write I neglect virtually everything else, including meals and sleep. I don’t write as often as I would like to, I suppose that is the price of having a job and a demanding little one but I still indulge the muse from time to time. Thankfully I have a very understanding and tolerant spouse who takes care of life while I sleep off an all night writing binge.

In the book A Journey of Words your short story is titled Symphony for the Deaf. What was your inspiration in writing it?

I suppose my son and my own life experiences with disabilities were the inspiration for that one. The idea of conveying the importance of experiences others take for granted— the profound importance, essence of life, type of experiences that some of us never have occasion to know—I wanted to convey how important something mundane could be and how far someone might go to achieve it, not for themselves but for someone they love dearly.

Do you have any projects coming up that we should keep an eye out for?

There are a few projects in the works, for most its probably too early to tell. I’m looking at a series of publications in the coming year.

Do you have any advice for writers that are just starting out?

Read stories you love critically— with an eye for what stylistic elements capture your interest and hold it fast until the end of the tale. Learn from those writers you enjoy reading. Imagination will carry stories a long way but without good technique what you write won’t live up to the story you see in your mind. Learn how to capture what you see in word form. If you can write what you see so that others can see it merely from reading your words then you can tell any story you want to.