Topic: Author Interview
Annette Snyder the person
1. What three words do you think describe you as a human being?
Loyal, Supportive, Colorful
2. How do you think others would describe you?
Loyal, Supportive, Extremely Colorful
3. Please tell us what you are most passionate about outside of writing.
I find being a good person in a world that sometimes seems a little off edge is the best thing any person can accomplish.
4. Do you have any pets? If so, introduce us to them.
I have a thirteen-year-old Weimaraner named Ginger. She's got a beautiful brown coat (because she's mixed with a Chesapeake) and dark eyes. She smiles when she sees me. I also have a five-year-old mix between a Chihuahua and a Pomeranian named Snack, who, incidentally, also smiles when she sees me even though I find her personality a little harsh. And the neighbors Chihuahua, Teddy, squeezed through the gate last week and knocked her up. Anyone want a free puppy?
5. What is your most precious memory?
There's so many, to pick one is impossible but, when I was very small, my grandfather would hoist me up in the air and tell me to hold out my arms. He'd announce that I was his angel. I was lucky enough to have him around until I was twelve.
6. What is your most embarrassing memory?
There's so many, to pick just one is impossible! I got a speeding ticket the other day on my way to take someone to the airport. I had the day off from work and, while the cop had me stopped on the side of the road, my boss drove by. The next day at work there were signs posted everywhere about me being a jailbird and where they were collecting bail money.
7. If you weren't a writer, what would you be doing with your life?
Laundry and dishes-maybe dusting.
8. In two paragraphs or less write your obituary.
I'm going to skip this question for personal reasons. I will say that I want a giant beer party. I want people to join together and remember the good things I did and the people I helped and loved. Cry if you want, but don't cry forever. It wastes precious laughing time.
Annette Snyder the writer:
9. Can you describe the time you realized you were indeed a "real" writer?
When I woke up with an idea in my head about a story, wrote it down and it worked. It surprised me that I could actually write an entire book. Then I wrote fifteen more and I knew.
10. What is going on with your writing these days?
I've got publishers looking at two manuscripts, one book coming out in May, one just released last December and I'm writing an interesting novel where a woman's married lover is killed in a car accident and later she falls in love with a man whose wife was having an affair and was killed in a car accident.
11. What are your future goals for your writing?
I'd like to be able to devote more attention to writing than I do. My goal, and I rarely make goals, is to have more name recognition for my writing self by 2015. That's ten years after the release of my first novel.
12. Can you describe a typical writing day for you?
I get up at five in the morning and write for three hours before I go to work. After work, I answer email and do my writing business. On weekends, when I'm home cleaning and such, I try and write at least four hours a day.
13. Why do you write?
I write to keep the bizarre dreams I usually have down to a minimum. I mean, I dream of weird aliens that resemble Donald Duck and giant lizards terrorizing French restaurants-that sort of bizarre. When I write, I sleep better.
14. What writer most inspires you? Why?
I love the way some authors write with the unexpected twists fit into the story but at the end of the novel, the whole premise of the plot changes. Margaret Mitchell is my favorite author but I don't so much like the sequels to Gone with the Wind. They just aren't the same.
15. How do you define your writing?
Romantically comedic and adventurously real
16. In one sentence-what do you want people to say about your writing in fifty years?
Annette Snyder's timeless writing captures the heart of the nation with its realistic portrayal of midwestern life in small towns.
Annette Snyder the details:
17. Can you tell us where to find more information on you? Website? Blog?
http://annettesnyder.atspace.com/ http://www.growne.com/ http://www.whiskeycreekpress.com/ http://www.westernauthors.com/ http://mockingbird.creighton.edu/NCW/writers.htm
http://www.sewardchapters.com/
Plus google, mobi, fictionwise and affiliates, amazon and a lot more.
18. Is there a place where readers can reach you?
I have a contact link at my website http://annettesndyer.atspace.com/ I also share a myspace with my firefighter hubby. Just search the myspace accounts for ‘firefighter al' and I'll pop up. My publisher Whiskey Creek Press also maintains a myspace page.
19. Can you list all your book titles so people can look for them?
Sally Murphy, Liberty Road, Travis Pass, Rock Creek, Whiskey Shots Volume 1, Albert's Rain, Arpetta Honor-releasing May 2008
20. For new readers-what can they expect when they read your book(s)?
These published novels are historical/adventure/romance based at the turn of the century and during the Civil War periods.
In conclusion:
21. Take as much space as necessary to speak to our readers-what would you like them to know about you and your writing?
I was fortunate to be born third generation American to immigrants who migrated to America from Czechoslovakia, Germany and France while they were very young. They started their families when they were fifteen and sixteen and, when I was young, my great grandparents were really old, but still of sound mind. I sat for hours and listened to their stories of migration and growing up. Visions of harsh blizzards and damaging locust swarms were probably terrible while they occurred, but I found the accounts to be fascinating. I pictured my relatives conquering vast open plains on wagons towed by mismatched horses. I sat enthralled when they told me stories of meeting Indians and how they traded for necessities.
I paid attention to descriptions of staking shelter inside dark caves and caring for sick children--stories of survival in times when medicines, doctors and neighbors were miles away.
While I listened to these ancient people recount their lives, I wondered how on earth anyone could survive during times when grocery stores were non-existent and maps only transpired between passersby and involved landmarks like rocks, trees and creek beds. I wasn't sure why but I had a feeling, someday, all the information I learned would be useful and I needed to pay attention.
Years later, my dearest friend told me the story of how her ancestors migrated to the Dakota's and I got the idea for Travis Pass, the first in my historical series. Not true stories, by any means, but they contain elements of truth from rich history reports I listened to as a child.
Readers tell me my characters are so well developed that they can't help but be caught up in my stories and they envision the struggles faced and the accomplishments gained.
