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Tell us about you:
How long have you been writing?
I began writing poetry at the age of eight, and spent all of my high school years taking creative writing classes, but when I went to college, I studied science. Being a writer was always the dream job, but I had to make a living. After finishing my Ph.D., I picked up the pen again and wrote my first book, To My Senses, at age thirty-five. I guess you can say writing has always been a work in progress for me.
How did you get started? Tell us about your journey to publishing.
After writing To My Senses, I sent it around to a few agents and got some good feed back, but it did not quite fit into the pure genre romance mold. I put it away and after going through the trials of hurricane Katrina decided I had better pursue my dreams and not wait for someone else to make them come true. I self-published To My Senses in 2007, but I did not publish the follow-up to that novel, Recovery, until 2011. Since then I’ve been writing nonstop, found a publisher and have forged ahead with my writing career.
Tell us about your book(s). What inspired you to write it/them?
My current novel, Acadian Waltz, was inspired by my experience of being raised by a Cajun family and to highlight the not so well known world of the Cajun culture in the backwaters of Louisiana.
Inspiration for my all my books comes from the stories floating around in my head. I base characters on bits and pieces of people I know or have known, but many times the stories just write themselves. I am just as surprised as the reader by where a story will take me. I don’t call it writing anymore; I call it channeling.
What inspires you to write? Do you have a particular song or mood that carries you through?
I just write. The stories and characters are the inspiration. I love to get lost in writing my books. When I am driving, working out, feeding my animals or just trying to sleep, I am always working a story out in my head.
Who is your favorite character and why?
I think that changes with every book you write. Some characters stay with you longer than other, but if I had to choose at this moment, I really love Jean Marc Gaspard from my current novel, Acadian Waltz. He’s sexy, mysterious and was a lot of fun to write. Another character running a close second to him for my affection is coming in my next novel, The Satyr’s Curse. Julian Devereau is charming, sexually alluring, and very cunning.
What made you decide to write a book?
I wish I could discover why, but it was more a question of I had to. It was a voice inside me that needed to come out, and consumed me until the very last word was written of my first novel. After that, writing became a necessity.
Who are the writers that inspire you the most?
Mary Renault and Ian Fleming because of the way they developed characters in a story.
Where do you get your inspiration?
My imagination. I think of a character or storyline and it just goes from there.
Women’s History Month Questions:
Who are your favorite women authors and how do they inspire you as a writer?
Mary Renault was a master of building characters in a story. Her trilogy on Alexander the Great mixed fact and fiction into a believable tale. I love combining historical fact with fiction. It allows the author to educate the reader and inspire them.
Tell us about the women who have shaped your world., whether it be a family member, teacher, friend, or celebrity.
My greatest female influence as a writer was June Wells, my high school English teacher. She told me from day one that she thought I was going to be a writer. She nurtured me as a writer and enrolled me in creative writing classes for all four years of high school. She always believed in me and taught me to believe in myself. I have never forgotten her.
What is the one writing tip you want to pass on to others?
Just write. Write what you want and what lies beneath. Don’t listen to anyone because no one is right in this business. It is too dynamic to predict, and you never know when what you are writing will strike a chord with readers.
Just for fun
Are you a night owl or early bird? What time of the day works best for your muse?
If I am into a book, I am writing at all hours, and not sleeping very much.
If you were an animal what would you be and why?
A horse, because of their beauty and powerful grace.
Favorites: color, food, season, music, movies, books.
Color-Red
Food-french fries
Season-fall
Music-Sting
Movies-Ben Hur (that chariot race is the best), Cleopatra (1964), Somewhere in Time, and quite a few others.
Books-too many to mention.
Links where you can be found?
World Castle : http://www.worldcastlepublishing.com
Author Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Alexandrea-Weis/e/B0028OJO6C/ref=sr_tc_2_0?qid=1345901735&sr=1-2-ent
FB https://www.facebook.com/pages/To-My-Senses/113609858681394
Twitter: https://twitter.com/alexandreaweis
B&N: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/s/alexandrea-weis?keyword=alexandrea+weis&store=book&iehack=%E2%98%A0
My website: http://www.alexandreaweis.com/index.html
Author Elissa Daye 