Author Spotlight: Angela Snyder

After being left for dead in the woods, a woman wakes up from a coma. With no memory of her past, she is given the name Jane Doe. While trying to adjust to her new life, tragedy strikes again. However, this time a mysterious and handsome next-door neighbor is there to help her pick up the pieces. But is he really a stranger, or does he hold the key to unlocking her past and finding out who wants her dead?

Today’s Author Spotlight is on author Angela Snyder and her first novel The Vampire Next Door. We had the opportunity to chat with Angela about her book and her writing and publishing experiences.

AW: Tell us a little bit about your book.

Angela: The Vampire Next Door is a romantic suspense novel with a little bit of everything.  The book starts out with a woman being found in the woods barely alive.  When she wakes up from a coma, she has no memory of her past and is given the name Jane Doe.  The book follows Jane’s path through love, tragedy and her struggle to find out who she once was and who wants her dead.

AW: Who is your intended audience and why should they read your book?

Angela: My intended audience would be adults, and mainly women.  I think almost every woman out there would swoon over the main character, Sebastian Alexander, who is a vampire.  He is definitely “book boyfriend” material.  I think the book has action, romance, suspense and a little bit of everything in between, and that would make a lot of people want to read this book.

AW: How did you come up with the title for your book/series?

Angela: It was a working title that just stuck.  When I sat down and tried to come up with a better title, I couldn’t.  And so I just went with Vampire Next Door, and I’m glad that I did.

AW: Tell us a bit about your cover design? Who designed it and did you have a lot of input into the design?

Angela: Vampire Next Door’s cover has recently been revamped.  The cover was designed by Cheryl Ramirez at http://ccrpredesignedbookcovers.com.

AW: How long did it take to complete your novel?

Angela: I worked on it off and on for several months.  The last three months was when I really gained momentum on the story, and it really just seemed to write itself toward the end.

AW: Did you ever experience writer’s block? If so, what did you do to get out of the funk?

Angela: I experience writer’s block whenever I am trying to force myself to write.  Usually I just take a break and either work on a different chapter or walk away from the book completely until the creative juices begin to flow once again.

AW: Tell us about the challenges of getting your first novel published? About how long did it take?

Angela: I self-published my first novel.  It was relatively easy and did not take that long at all.

AW: Who is your favorite character from your book and why?

Angela: My favorite character would be Sebastian Alexander.  He is a vampire and very complex.  I just loved writing in his state of mind and trying to figure him out, what he would say or what he would do in certain situations.  He was so interesting to me.

AW: Who is your least favorite character and what makes them less appealing to you?

Angela: My least favorite character was the antagonist in my book.  I just wanted the character to come across so loathsome that I found myself loathing him as well as I was writing about him.

AW: If you could change only one thing about your novel, what would it be?

Angela: I think I would have left a cliffhanger, because I eventually want to write a sequel.  I left the ending open that there could be a sequel, but I just wish I would have left a killer cliffhanger to keep the readers’ anticipation of the sequel on a higher level.

AW: Give us an interesting or fun fact about your book/series.

Angela: Sebastian Alexander’s appearance is based off of actor Colin Egglesfield.

AW: What other books are similar to your own? What makes them alike? Did they inspire you?

Angela: I haven’t read any books that are similar to my own.  However, a vampire novel that inspired me would be one that I read as a teenager — The Last Vampire series by Christopher Pike.  He fueled my desire to write about vampires.

AW: What made you decide to become an author?

Angela: I have wanted to write ever since I could hold a pencil.  Being an author was the one dream I have always had, and I am making that dream come true every single day that I write.

AW: What is the toughest criticism that you have received as an author?

Angela: I think every author goes through tough criticism at one point or another.  You can’t please everybody, and I just really take that into account when a get a sub-par review.

AW: What is the best compliment?

Angela: The best compliment I get is when someone tells me they stayed up all night and/or couldn’t put my book down.

AW: Do you have another job or are you a full-time author?

Angela: I have a full–time job aside from being an author, and a lot of times it feels like I have two full-time jobs.

AW: What can we expect from you in the future? Do you have a new novel or project that you are working on?

Angela: I have several novels I’m working on simultaneously.  I have a new adult romance novella that will be published next.  Then I am going to be publishing a young adult paranormal series and then a paranormal detective series.

AW: Do you have any tips for readers or advice for other writers trying to get published?

Angela: My advice for readers would be to leave a review for a book that you read.  It is so helpful to authors, especially indie authors. My advice to other writers would be don’t give up.  If you want to write, then write.  You only live once, and you have to make it count.  Even the best authors out there have editors that make their mediocre book seem amazing, so don’t ever think that you aren’t good enough.

AW: How do you market your book?

Angela: The biggest marketing tool I use is social media.  Word of mouth is great too.  I spend a lot of time on Twitter and Facebook interacting with fans and other authors.  There is a comradery between authors.   We are all in the same boat, and we just want to help each other. You can find my Facebook page at www.facebook.com/AuthorAngelaSnyder. You can also follow me on Twitter at @AuthorAngelaS