An Interview with April Dawn

I would like to welcome April Dawn today as my blogger for the week. Read how she deals with rejection letters and her advice on how to bag that elusive agent.
Read all about her lastest release and leave her a comment.

The contest on my website www.margaret-west.com is still running. Pop over and enter to win a free copy of my coffeetime break book Two faces One Life. Read about my latest release The Heart of a Warrior. A romance with a twist.

Now, with no further ado, here's a little bit about April.


I live in California with my loving husband and a beautiful baby boy who was born in '08. I enjoy reading, travel, and music. I have always loved to read. I have read voraciously for more than twenty years now. (OOPs, guess I'm showing my age there.) I think I wrote my first official romance scene when I was about fifteen or so. I started writing seriously in 2002, and finished my first novel that year. In the future, I hope to be able to bring more of my characters into the world as I work to finish and publish the other novels that I have begun. Stay tuned to meet all the pirates, gunslingers and thieves that run through my head. Hopefully you will love them as much as I do.
Check out Bound By Love and Crushing Desire from
Breathless Press.

1. What drew you to write in your current genre?

I have always loved historical romance. The stories spoke to me, and their pull was more than I could withstand. I found myself writing scenes on every computer I ever owned. I would even write them out longhand if there were no computer handy. Although, I must say, my most embarrassing moment was when a scene came to me and I was in the car with only a cellphone. I turned on speakerphone and left myself three messages with the story that was playing in my head. lol

2. How many novels have you written to date and are they all in the same genre?

I have written a number of historical romances. Crushing Desire and Bound By Love are available through
Breathless Press.

3. How much time do you spent on plotting etc before you start writing?

I don’t. I’m just as blind as the reader. Things just go, and as they go I start to realize where the story is going. It really is all built by the characters. The only thing I can do is throw obstacles in the way, and even that can often backfire on me. My characters are stubborn and don’t really like to take direction. lol

4. Where do you do most of your writing?

All over the place. We have an office at home, but I have a laptop, and I write whenever I have a free moment. With a two year old, that is often the best you can do.

5. Looking back, what is the worst thing you have ever written?

I can’t write when I’m forced to. I have to have inspiration, or it just doesn’t work. I would say the worst thing I have ever written was a beautiful scene that played out in my head when I had nothing around to write it down with. I tried to recreate it and failed miserably.

6. Tell us about your latest release.

My latest release is Crushing Desire. The story is about a woman who has had a crush on the same man for years, and just when she is starting to give up hope that anything will come of it, she finds it necessary to ask him for help. The help? To pose as her husband. You can find it at
Breathless Press Timeless.

7. How can your readers keep up with your news?
Visit my website or
personal blog
or find me at twitter,
facebook, or
myspace.



8. How do you deal with rejection letters?

I just move on. What else can you do? You can’t fold, or you will never make it in publishing. You can’t beat yourself up, or you will never make it in life. So personally I just take what I can from the notes they provide and resubmit my work. Just because one publisher/agent doesn’t want a manuscript doesn’t mean they all won’t.

9. What do you think about celebrities writing books?

If they have something interesting to say, why not?

10. What do you advise about getting an agent?

Well, I think my advice her is the same as for rejection letters. Just keep trying. Query as many as possible, and if you can meet them in person, do it. You can get the chance to hear some personal advice on your work.

11. What is your favourite part of writing?

There are so many parts of the writing process I enjoy. One of my favorites is the inspiration moment. When you sit down, and the story pours out of you. That is fantastic.

12. How do you get past all the frustrations that come with trying to be a successful writer?

Is there a way to do that? I don’t think there really is a way to get past the frustrations that life itself holds. All you can do is look at the positive, hope for the best, and plan for the worst.

13. What do you like to read?

Everything. I love reading in general.



14. What actor/actress gets your pulses racing?

Mmmm, Johnny Depp… Brad Pitt… How many do I get to pick? Lol


Thank you for having me.