Blakely’s Friday Interview with Ann B. Harrison

Please give a warm welcome to Ann B. Harrison, author of Outback Gold.

054A3757_pp_1Tell us a bit about yourself and what you’re currently working on or promoting.
I live in the beautiful Hunter Valley wine region of Australia. It’s hard but someone has to live here and I wouldn’t change it for the world. Currently I’m working on another rural romance which I should have available in a few weeks. In the meantime, Outback Gold is my latest rural book.

What genre is your book? Do you write in other genres as well?
I mainly write rural romance because that is what I know. Growing up on farms instilled a great love of the outback in me and it remains my favorite genre. I also write YA as Ari Harper and have another release on Halloween called Changling.

Who or what inspires you?
It can be a song, something I see when I’m walking (that is where my head seems to go into ideas mode the most) or a song I hear.

Has a dream every inspired any of your stories?
Yes definitely. I had a dream last year and quickly wrote it down, something I normally forget to do thinking I will remember, and I’m working on that book now. Its another YA called The Book Exchange.

Do you have an agent and/or publisher or are you self-published? If self-published, do you use a professional editor? If traditionally published, who is your publisher?
With my first few books I went the publisher route, mainly to prove to myself that I was good enough to snaffle a contract or two. Now I like to self publish my rural romances and I always use an editor for that. Its amazing how often you can look at your work and not see the mistakes.

Do you use test readers? If so, how many?
I have a couple of CP’s who give me great feedback before I do my last draft and then once its all edited I send out to my street team.

What advice do you have for writer’s just starting out?
If it is the stuff your dreams are made of, don’t give up, ever! Learn your craft and don’t be too precious to take criticism. We all did the hard yards and took a heap of rejections before we were ready. Its like anything worth having in life, you have to practice and then practice some more.

Do you outline your stories or just go with the flow?
I just go with the flow. I’ve tried to plot and plan and it doesn’t work for me as I don’t know what is going to happen until it does. My readers get as surprised as I do.

What does your writing space look like?
An absolute mess. My desk is tiny at the moment because we aren’t in our forever house yet. I have a lovely antique desk in storage a friend gave me that is the size of a large dining table and that is great. It has room for my two computers and all my bits of research and photos. Until I move into my next house I have to work in a small space but I manage.

What project are you currently working on?
I’m working on my latest rural romance From the Outback and a YA The Book Exchange.

Is being an author your dream job? If so, how long have you been chasing the dream? If not, what would be your dream job?
Most definitely it is. I started writing seriously about six years ago and now I write full time. I couldn’t think of anything I would rather do.

What has been your best moment as a writer?
Getting my first contract. That is such a buzz and something you don’t forget in a hurry.

I have found the writer’s community to be very supportive and welcoming.  Please share three writers that you recommend for us to check out.

  1. Téa Cooper, author of Matilda’s Freedom
  2. Annie Seaton, author of Italian Affair: An Affair Series Book 
  3. Susanne Bellamy, author of White Ginger

You can find Ann on Facebook, her website and Amazon.

Click on the cover below to buy Outback Gold:

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2 thoughts on “Blakely’s Friday Interview with Ann B. Harrison

  1. Great interview, Ann. I enjoyed learning more about you especially interested in the street team concept. I’ve heard of it but know little about it. Good luck with your forthcoming releases – hope they sell like wildfire.

  2. I’ll second that – The beautiful Hunter Valley is a really tough place to live and so many wonderful places for inspiration! Thanks for mentioning Matilda’s Freedom!

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