I’ve borrowed and blended, exaggerated and embellished, from real world people and myself.
June Rollins 31 March 2021
The Back Flap
Poppy believes she’s a nobody without Meagan, her best friend since childhood.
They’re college roommates, majoring in fine art with high aspirations of becoming successful artists. But Poppy’s world shatters when she’s suspended one semester before graduating.
Her controlling father, Pastor Wayne, sends her away to live in her mother’s abandoned, soon to be condemned, homeplace while it’s being repaired.The same homeplace he’s forbidden his wife to visit, except for funerals, since they’ve been married.
Alone in a new town, in the rural mountains of North Carolina, Poppy struggles to begin again. She convinces her reserved mother to share stories about her family’s past. She visits a nearby art gallery and develops a schoolgirl crush on the owner. She attends a local watercolor class, makes new artist friends and is dismayed by the instructor. She tells no one of her reoccurring dreams, but with the help of Liam, the town handyman, she begins to face issues leading to her own healing.
Will Poppy have the courage to stop living in Meagan’s shadow, develop her own beliefs and accept her true muse hidden away in long-buried family secrets?
About the book
What is the book about?
She Lost Her Muse is about a twenty-year old art student’s struggles within a codependent friendship and a religiously conservative upbringing in a southern small town setting. College suspension and being sent to her mother’s abandoned homeplace pave the way for Poppy meeting new friends and adversaries that are instrumental in her facing fears and anger, building courage and compassion and developing a beginning awareness of family secrets.
When did you start writing the book?
2010.
How long did it take you to write it?
Eleven years went by from beginning to publication, but eight of those years, the manuscript lay hidden in a file cabinet drawer.
Where did you get the idea from?
It’s a blend of my life experiences and imagination.
Were there any parts of the book where you struggled?
Continuing after 40,000 words and an eight year pause.
What came easily?
Beginning. I have a file cabinet of beginnings.
Are your characters entirely fictitious or have you borrowed from real world people you know?
I’ve borrowed and blended, exaggerated and embellished, from real world people and myself.
We all know how important it is for writers to read. Are there any particular authors that have influenced how you write and, if so, how have they influenced you?
Anne Lamont, Natalie Goldberg, Donald Mass, John Truby and Jerome Stern have influenced me with inspiration and sound, practical advice.
Do you have a target reader?
Women who doubt themselves, especially those who have wanted to pursue art.
About Writing
Do you have a writing process? If so can you please describe it?
I’m learning to trust the story is being worked out even when I feel stuck for days. Frustrated, I’ll go for a walk and out of no where an idea will flutter by like an unexpected butterfly in winter.
Do you outline? If so, do you do so extensively or just chapter headings and a couple of sentences?
I don’t outline, but a loose concept develops from characters interacting. Chapter headings identify different scenes.
Do you edit as you go or wait until you’ve finished?
Both, more extensively near the end. And then again after it’s finished, six or seven more times.
Did you hire a professional editor?
Yes, developmental and copy/proofreading.
Do you listen to music while you write? If yes, what gets the fingers tapping?
No, prefer silence.
About Publishing
Did you submit your work to Agents?
No.
What made you decide to go Indie, whether self-publishing or with an indie publisher? Was it a particular event or a gradual process?
I was encouraged by my experience of self-publishing Alcohol Ink Dreamscaping Quick Reference Guide in 2013.
Did you get your book cover professionally done or did you do it yourself?
Because I’m an artist, I came close to doing it myself or having a professional incorporate my art. When a cover designer, I hired, presented me with options, I fell in love with her interpretation and cast my own ideas aside.
Do you have a marketing plan for the book or are you just winging it?
I’ve researched and am following recommended strategies and timelines.
Any advice that you would like to give to other newbies considering becoming Indie authors?
Don’t rush the writing revision process.
About You
Where did you grow up?
South Central Virginia.
Where do you live now?
North Georgia Mountains.
What would you like readers to know about you?
My writing is layered with easter eggs scattered throughout.
What are you working on now?
She Held The Key, book two of The Maypole Artists series.
End of Interview:
For more from June visit her website.
Get your copy of She Lost Her Muse from Amazon US or Amazon UK.