One of the awesome things about being a writer is the #writingcommunity, which really is the most friendly and supportive community I've stumbled across online.
And one of the things you so when you find yourself in a community that loves you is love them back, so I'm going to run the occasional post highlighting one of the awesome indie authors I know :)
But, seeing as this is a new blog and there's going to be people reading this who don't now me yet, I'm going to share my own author interview with you first, becuase it'll also serve as an About Me kinda thing.
So, off we go...
1. Please introduce yourself, and tell us a little about your books.
Hello! My name is Saffron Amatti, I live in Derbyshire, UK, and I write the Lucas Rathbone Mysteries, a series of historical murder mysteries with a paranormal twist.
The twist is that Lucas can see and speak to spirits - which should make solving their murders easier, but this rarely happens!
In fact, ghosts generally make his life more difficult, but at least he's got a rather more enthusiastic sidekick in the form of his girlfriend, Clara Jenkins, who loves all this mystery and adventure stuff.
2. Why did you start writing?
The very first thing I wrote (a paranormal alt-history where Henry VIII was secretly a vampire) I wrote because I thought of the story idea and wanted to read it. I figured it probably didn't exist, so decided to write it. It's technically still available on Kindle under a different pen name, but is probably riddled with mistakes and could use another edit with the benefit of a few years writing experience! One day, I might get around doing that and republishing.
I started writing mysteries because I read a few lacklustre ones back to back - the characters were flat, the solution unbelievable, that sort of thing - and it basically annoyed me into trying my hand at it, figuring that it was unfair to criticise someone else's work if I wasn't prepared to at least try doing it myself.
It also meant I could write a mystery I enjoyed solving which characters I loved :)
3. Which is your favourite of the books you’ve written so far, and why?
Oh, tough question! I love them all in different ways.
The Problem With Dead People is where I met Lucas and co and learned I could actually write a mystery, so that's always going to be special to me. It also has five mysteries to solve, and the more mysteries, the merrier as far as I'm concerned!
Sins of the Father deals mainly with Tommy's backstory, and is slightly darker in tone, which I enjoyed writing.
Grave Secrets is good. Like, really good. It feels special in some way I can't quite explain, and I feel like a right bighead praising my own work. And I know, I'm biased, of course I'm going to say it's good, but ask any writer and they'll tell you, when you can read your own work a million times and still enjoy it, that's a pretty special thing. I'm really proud of it, and it's the first time anyone has called my writing "art" - which two people have done so far!
Festively Fatal is the first book I've written where I felt like I kinda knew what I was doing. That was nice. Might not last, though…
And Delicious But Deadly was fun because it was short and dealt with some of Lucas and Clara's relationship stuff, which was fun to dig into a bit!
Oh, and the free book on my website, A Fuhrer-ious Raven, I wrote with my friend Jennifer Brasington-Crowley, and that was the most fun I’ve had writing so far. Seriously, I laughed until I cried with every draft she sent. It involves time travel, ugly babies, and a hard-drinking, sweary, tatted-up Disney princess of a rockstar (and obviously isn’t canon - we basically wrote fanfic for each other's characters) and it won’t be everyone’s cup of tea, but I seriously love it.
So, in sum, they're all my favourite, in different ways.
Which isn't really a proper answer, I know, but it’s the one I’m giving ;)
4. Where do you get your ideas?
Here, there, and everywhere. It can come from something I'm watching or reading, or from some research I've done, or a combination of things that might not be intersting on their own, but put together makes something more unusual.
I have five pieces of my story puzzle: the murder method, the murderer, the victim, the motive, and why the spirit can't/won't just tell Lucas whodunnit. I start with one and brainstorm all the different ways the other pieces could fit in around it, and pick the most interesting pieces to put into a story. It doesn't always turn out like I expect, but it's a fairly solid way to start generating ideas!
5. What’s your favourite thing about writing?
Working out the mystery. It's so much fun to create a puzzle then try to solve it - and also to try and help/hinder readers in solving the mystery.
Oh, and I'm weird in that I like editing. Taking something and making it better than it was is really satisfying.
6. What’s your least favourite thing about writing?
Not technically a writing thing, but I loathe promoting my books. I love writing them, I love people reading them, but telling people about them and asking for a sale? That's really uncomfortable.
7. You’re an indie author. Why did you choose that route?
Honestly, I initially chose to self publish because I didn't think anyone would be interested in publishing my weird little murder mysteries - especially as I was writing novellas rather than full-length novels at the start.
I also looked into both self-publishing and treaditional publishing and discovered that, even as a traditionally published author, you had to do a lot of the promotional stuff yourself anyway. I figured, if I had to do the bit I hated most either way, I might as well take the route that pays the most and lets me do what I want in terms of artistic control!
8. How can readers and friends support indie authors?
Buy their books, read their books, review their books, recommend their books.
Also, a constant supply of coffee/tea and snacks, plus leaving them in peace when they're writing/editing!
9. What are you working on at the moment?
I'm currently writing the first draft of the fourth book in the series, currently titled The Ghost Who Wasn't Dead, which I'm hoping to have published in Autumn/Winter 2022
10. What are your favourite writing resources?
They kinda deal more with the “business” side of self publishing than writing, but The Indie Author Mindset by Adam Croft was a real eye-opener for me, as was Strangers To Superfans by David Gaughran. I'm currently reading Amazon Decoded, also by David Gaughran.
My absolute favourite writing "resource" though is the writing community on Instagram. They're such a wonderful, encouraging, supportive, friendly, hilarous bunch of people, and there's a real attitude of "we're all in this togther", which I love. If you're a writer and not currently on there, I'd highly recommend it (make sure to look me up @saffron.amatt so I can say hi!)
11. What advice would you give to an aspiring author?
It sounds trite, but just write!
Preferably as quickly as possible. I don't mean typing hundreds of words a minute, I mean just get it out of your head as fast as you can.
Don't worry if it's any good or not (that’s what editing is for), just get the words out of your head and onto the page. Don't know something? Put a placehlolder there and keep writing.
Stuck on a bit? Placeholder it, you'll probably work it out later anyway.
Don't get hung up on making every sentence perfect from the start (most of my sentences aren't even spelled correctly in the first draft) just keep moving forward with your writing until it's all out your head an on a page or screen.
Just. Write.
12. What real-life references have made it into your books?
Lucas shares my aversion to blood (admittedly not a great trait for someone who writes about murders), there's a scene near the end of The Problem With Dead People where Lucas walks into a room full of ghosts (which is one of my better ghostly experience stories, although I changed a lot of details), and Clara being a bit of a tomboy is kinda me. I'm nowhere near as daring as she is though!
13. Which of your books would you recommend people start with?
The Problem With Dead People is the first in the series, so that’s a great place to stary. You'll meet Lucas and co, learn a little about them, and get the start of the story that links the series together.
Although, if you want to check my books out without starting a series, Festively Fatal is completely standalone and will give you a good introduction to the characters.
14. Where can people find you online?
My website is saffron-amatti.co.uk, and my main social media hangout is Instagram, although technically I'm also on Twitter, Facebook, Goodreads, and Pinterest. I just don't spend much time there!
You can also find all my books on Kindle right here
15. Any last thoughts?
Thank you so much for reading! If you have any questions, please email me at saffron.amatti@gmail.com
Oh, and if you're an author and would like to be interviewd for my newsletter and blog, please hit reply to this message and I'll send you the questions over :)