Greetings riders! It's Sunday our last day of bookish posts for this weekend. I am featuring an author interview with author Stephanie Clemens. She is going to answer questions about her journey as an author and about her now live Kickstarter. Make sure to check everything out and follow her on her social media accounts. This way you can see what she has in store for you all to enjoy for the coming months. I hope you enjoy this post and look forward to another author showcase. Happy reading everyone :).
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AUTHOR INTERVIEW WITH STEPHANIE CLEMENS
Hello Stephanie, can you please introduce yourself to our readers…
Hi! I’m Stephanie. Dog mom, Swiftie, and Obsessed Traveler.
Tell us three things you love about your career as an author…
I love coming up with stories. My favorite thing to do is ask wouldn’t it be funny if . . . and see where it takes me. I love creating characters people can relate to. I love taking well known tales, like Cinderella and making it into something new and familiar all at the same time.
What genres of books do you usually write?
I write cozy romantasy/fantasy and murder mysteries.
How many books have you published? And where can our readers find them?
I have 8 books out now with a new one available 9/3. My books are available on my website, Yearn, Bookshop.org, Amazon and some bookstores like Romantic Roots in Olympia, WA, Bundok Books in Puyallup, WA, and Rebel Reads bookmobile in Redlands, CA. www.stephaniekclemens.com
You have a Kickstarter Campaign live right now for your book “Side Quest: A Cozy Chaotic Fantasy.” Can you share some details about the story?
Side Quest is about an assassin who just needs to kill the king, but gets pulled into everyone else’s drama instead. That drama involves a fire breathing rooster, magical sourdough starter, and a lot of goats. If you like Princess Bride, Jumanji (with Jack Black) and My Lady Jane (on Amazon Prime) I think you’ll like this book.
Can you tell us why you have done Kickstarters in the present and in the past?
Kickstarter is such a great way to reach individuals that appreciate the art of books. It allows me to create special editions, the shelf trophies I know I want, as well as book boxes and extra special things I want to have available to my readers. This is my third Kickstarter campaign, and honestly, it’s my favorite way to put out a book.
What are the benefits for readers that purchase your books over on Kickstarter?
I offer special content to my Kickstarter backers. This could be exclusive eBook content, extra art work and stickers, the chance to name a character in the next book in the series, or a short story that takes place in this world that the reader gets to shape. I’m honestly so excited for each and every reward tier and what it offers.
What is your most popular tier and what do you get in it?
The most popular tier is the Hero Guild tier. It comes with the eBook, audiobook, artwork, and the special edition hardback. My favorite tier is probably The Legendary Adventurer, it has everything in the Hero Guild tier, plus an interactive book box, a deck of cards and card game I created, a hoodie, and a customized Side Quest Checklist. Check out all the tiers HERE.
Do you always feature your books in some form or other on Kickstarter as a selling strategy?
I do not always put my books up on Kickstarter. I have some books I published before I knew that Kickstarter was a thing and I want to finish the series before I launch a project for those books. And I have another series that I can’t decide on the perfect cover for them for a special edition.
Can you share some of your stretch goals that you are offering to your backers so far?
I have not reached any stretch goals yet. I’m 80% funded at the moment and hoping to be fully funded soon. My first stretch goal would be a ribbon book mark in the hardback if the project gets to 10k. Fingers crossed that it happens.
Do you usually write works of fantasy or do you dabble in other genres also? Please specific which ones.
I normally do write fantasy, specifically cozy fantasy. I also dabble in murder mysteries, I’m working on a thriller, and I have some romcoms in my head I want to write too.
When you sit down to write do you work at a neat desk or messy desk?
I write on the couch with my laptop in my lap and it’s messy.
Take us through a day in the life of you as an author?
I do have a full time job. So if I’m working it’s a 10 hour day at work, followed by another 3-4 hours of writing. If I’m between projects. life is much more interesting. I start my day by taking my dogs on a 2-4 mile walk. Then I read for a little while. Sometime around lunch I get my laptop out and start writing, if it’s going well I could write for 8 or so hours, if not then I work on other aspects of author life like planning out marketing, contacting bookstores, planning kickstarters, or outlining books I want to write but I’m not there yet.
Do you have any side hustles that you do on the side besides your writing?
I used to do photography, I also have done some travel influencing, especially traveling with your pets. I’m a lawyer by day, but I would rather that be my side hustle with authoring being my main job.
Do you have any furry friends that help you write at your side?
YES!!!! Frankie and Storm are my two dogs. They inspire all the animal companions in my books. They are both husky mixes and the loves of my life.
Can you describe the main characters in your Kickstarter campaign for “Side Quest?”
Kaelin is an orphaned assassin with the emotional availability of a scorched cabbage. She’s secretly very sentimental, but would deny it if confronted.
Tobias is a mage who loves to expound on his feelings and his knowledge. He’s also a total golden retriever.
Brug is a non-binary bardic orc. They love a tragic tale they can turn into a song and are in love with love.
Timber is the dog. She’s the smartest of the lot, loves cheese, and judging the humans.
What would be three things you would suggest for new authors to Kickstarter?
Don’t buy things until your project funds. I love book boxes and still have items from my first kickstarter.
I think it’s important to set the funding goal you really need to make the project happen as your goal. It’s easy to put $500 and be excited that it funds, but is that really enough money to get all the things you need for the kickstarter.
Set a reasonable fulfillment schedule for yourself, which means knowing how long it will take the books to get to you once you order them, and how long you need to pack them up. While a lot of backers don’t mind things taking longer, I really like having everything shipped when I say it will be shipped.
What would you like to share with readers that never experienced purchasing books through Kickstarter before?
I think it’s both exciting and confusing. As someone backing a project, you don’t pay until the project is done and funded. For my project, that means August 13th (assuming it funds). This means you need to budget for the money coming out then, not now. And you might be in a situation where the project doesn’t happen at all, and you pay nothing.
What advice could you share that you found important throughout your career with new budding authors?
Finish your second book before publishing your first. I have never taken my advice, but I would love to have a book almost ready to go at all times.
Tell us three things about yourself that you believe shapes you as a person…
I was a competitive figure skater for all of my childhood. I think the dedication and work ethic it required helps me finish writing the books I write even when it gets hard. I have the best parents in the world that are super supportive and believe in me. This really set the stage for me believing in myself. I’m a bit of a rebel when it comes to art, and I believe writing is an art, this means I don’t really write to genre, I don’t like being told there’s a right way to do things, and it means I really push myself to succeed to prove people wrong. And an extra one, I grew up reading. My parents taught me to read when I was 3, I’ve been reading ever since, I think that’s why I find story telling to be an essential part of who I am.
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Thank you Stephanie for sitting down with us and answering our questions. I would like to thank all the readers that have read through her interview to this point. If you haven't check out her Kickstarter Camapaign that is coming to an end soon. Please head over to her page and considering backing her project HERE. Don't miss out on all the goodies and the books themselves. Help her fund her project and get her books off the ground before they even hit the stores.
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Stephanie K Clemens is known for many things: an author, photographer, dog mom, instagrammer, adventurer, teacher, lawyer, and more. When she’s not sitting behind her laptop she can be found on some adventure. Most of the time it’s a road trip with her two doggos, but recently it has been in the pages of a book.
Learn more about Stephanie...
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~ Katie
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