Monday, March 30, 2015

Get to know me with Ember Shane

Where do you live?
I'm currently living in Franklin, OH (Southern OH), though I hope to return home to Tennessee this summer.

Can you tell me about yourself?
I'm a single mom with an associate’s degree in nursing.  I work two jobs, homeschool my 9 year old, and occasionally homemake newborn photography props to sell in my spare time.  When I'm not working or writing, I like to read, knit, and crochet.  What I really stink at is home repairs and cooking.  If I ever had an excess of free time, I'd take some classes to learn the basics.

Why and when did you begin to write?
I can remember being in kindergarten and falling in love with books.  I would take every book I could get my hands on and stow them away in my cheap, plastic tent I used as a hideaway in the corner of my room, and I'd stay in there for hours.  Becoming an author is just something I always knew I wanted to do.  I wanted to weave that kind of magic for other readers too.

How long each day/week do you dedicate to writing?
I don't set any specific writing times, but if I go a couple days without writing anything, it affects me.  I won't be able to concentrate on other things properly, and I'll feel a little ill.  These days, it seems like I've been averaging a chapter every week or two.  I look forward to summer break just as much as my son does because my time spent writing shoots through the roof.

What has been the best compliment and worst criticism given to you as an author?
The best compliment I've ever received was from a former English composition college professor.  I did well in his class, but I always wondered why my paper would inevitably be in the last batch of papers he would return after handing in an assignment.  For me, I would think that if I really liked someone's work, I'd be super excited to get it and read it first.  Which is why I'm among the first ones in line at the bookstore when an anticipated book finally releases.  So, I just assumed that he didn't feel that way about my reading.  At the end of the year, each student had to have a one on one conference with him to discuss their work and the previous semester.  During my conference, he told me that he really loved reading my writing.  In fact, he enjoyed it so much, that he would always save my papers for last to give him something to look forward to.  He has no idea how much that meant to me.
The worst criticism?  That's one harder to answer.  I think it would probably be that I sometimes include too many benign details.  But, I appreciated that feedback.  That's something I watch out more closely for now.

If you were shipwrecked on a desert island what book, author and item would you take? Assuming the parameters are for a fictional book, I would say Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice.  And for the item, I'd say a machete, just to be on the practical side.  I'd need something to crack open those coconuts with. 

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