Bobbie J. Shafer Authors Three New Books

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Today we welcome multi-published author, Bobbie J. Shafer. Her three new books were just released September 24, 2018 from DWB Publishing.

Q: You are a multi-published author, Bobbie, what have you learned about the publishing industry since you signed your very first contract?

A: I burst out laughing when I read this question. I didn’t have a clue about the publishing industry when I signed my first contract. In fact, I knew absolutely nothing about the mechanics of writing, publishing, or anything having to do with getting a book on a shelf, much less the editing that has to be done. I was raised on story-telling and when I became “too big” to tell a story to, I would tell myself stories when I went to bed. When I got into school and especially college, I found I could usually pass any class where the quiz required an essay or a report. I’d written things down all my life, but never dreamed of getting published, that is, until I retired and then I decided to write. I still wasn’t thinking of becoming published, at least, not then. Time went on, life passed quickly, making adults out of my four little angels, jobs came and went as did my marriage. Then a second marriage and retirement. I got serious and began to write through thick and thin, (which is another story), and I got my first manuscript accepted.

When I got my first pages of edits back from my editor, I sat down and bawled and squalled. I had allowed my fingers to place words on the page without looking at it with the eye of a reader; the only look I had given it was the writer’s eye and that eye misses all the typos and grammar errors. I knew nothing of the mechanics of writing, but believe me, my lessons were about to commence. I couldn’t believe that nearly everything single thing I had written required correction or changes. I didn’t know how to use MS Office, so I manually changed each error on and every page—I was up into the wee hours of each morning for a month getting it done, but edit after edit, I finished it.

I thought, once you wrote the manuscript, you sent it in, somebody turned it into a book, and you just sat back and watched the copies fly off the shelf, well, maybe not exactly, but close enough. So, you see, I didn’t know doodle-de-squat about the publishing industry when I signed my first contract, but I continue to learn to this day.

Q: What advice do you have for the new author trying to get published?

A: I don’t want anyone to be as uninformed about the business of getting published as I was. I had written approximately ten books before I started submitting, and before I knew anything about the mechanics of writing. When I think back on the manuscripts I first submitted, I am embarrassed beyond words. And so, having said that, I would advise all new writers to join or create a Critique Group.

I also advise that you write lots of short stories and by short, I mean those stories that sell in magazine. I found that having lived in the country while growing up was not only beneficial in experience, but in making money and giving me published work to put on my biography. I feel that editors look twice at work of a writer to has published something and magazine articles certainly fit the bill, plus some magazines pay quite well.

Q: What is the best part of being an author?

A: There is no one thing that is “best” about being an author. I love the friends I’ve made in the publishing and writing business. If you are a writer, you are immersed in the creative world and having other creators around you, stimulates, excites, and satisfied that world. Being an author also means a quest has been reached and you have attained the goal of sharing stories, characters, and the laughter or tears that goes along with it. Another “best” of being a writer is that you have an outlet for all those characters and stories that cry to be “heard” and put on paper.

Being a writer sets you apart and allows you the freedom to disappear from adulthood for hours and be that mysterious “storyteller” that pounds away at the magical keyboard that could produce the greatest adventure ever. Another “best” is that I can slip my computer under my arm and be a writer here, there, over yonder, under that tree, or curled up in bed…what other profession gives you those perks?

Q: You have three new books out this fall. Tell us about them?

A: All my middle grade stories cover fantasy, mystery, or a little supernatural. As you can see by the hero fixation that has ruled since I was a kid and that, dear friend, was a long, long time ago, I find that everybody likes a short vacation from reality now and then. I remember when I was pre-school age, spending my last dime, yes, that’s what they cost back then, to get the latest, Wonder Woman, Superman, or Batman comic book and then spend hours reading, looking, re-reading, re-looking over and over until I knew them by heart. The stories never change…the characters change, the plot changes, the setting changes, and the era might change, but the story is the same. If that sounds confusing it really shouldn’t. There is always the hero or heroine, a problem to solve, the dilemma of solving it, a villain to defeat, and there is always the ending at which we must all arrive. So, there you go, my books are about the good guy, the bad guy, a scary problem, the adventure to solve it and an ending to make you glad you read the book. The trick that every writer must pull off is making their story unique and desirable to the reader.

Q: How do you choose your heroes and what qualities must they have?

A: My heroes don’t all have to have special abilities, but they have to have heart. Being brave doesn’t always mean being brave like Thor, but brave like going out of your way to stop a bully, doing things that you might rather not do, but can’t walk away from. My hero has to recognize his mistakes, own up to them, step aside when there is another who can do it better, and give credit where credit is due. Although my hero may have the ability to do things that a mere mortal cannot do, he still has to be human, and by that I mean, he has to love, have honor, laugh, mourn, care, and take pride in doing the right thing. I want every young male reader to imagine himself as the hero in the book.

Q: What about your heroines? Do you see yourself in any of them?

A: All my heroines find their bravery and talents as they go day by day into the adventures that life puts before them. As with my young heroes, my heroines, find strength in their friends, family, and in themselves as they face everything from normal problems to defeating demons.

I do not see myself in my heroines, but I wish I did. I wish I had been brave, confident, and independent when I was a child. I know the world is filled with young girls who are shy, sensitive, embarrass easily, and often feel they don’t belong, so if one of my heroines encourage or inspires that girl to stand a little straighter, speak a little louder, or feel a little better about herself, then that heroine is truly the winner of that story.

Q: What inspired you to write these three books?

A: I was going through a rough time, as we all do now and then, and my granddaughter told me I must, must, must read these books she was reading. She is an avid reader, as am I, and we both use books to whisk us away from reality. The books were by an author I had never heard of, J. K. Rowling, who had authored The Harry Potter Books. A couple months later I ran upon an article about J. K. Rowling and when I read it, I became curiously interested in her. She was an unknown writer and with just a couple of books out and was becoming a writing enigma. I immediately bought a copy of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone. I was mesmerized. I loved the story, but what’s more, I loved the style in which J. K. Rowling wrote. It was musical. Each phrase, idea, and scene seemed to appear and disappear as the words wove the tapestry of a delightful story of a young orphan boy and the letter that changed his life.

It wasn’t just that it was a fun story, it was a story written in a way that wasn’t just for children. It was her style, her creations, and her determination that inspired me to try my hand at fantasy and I fell in love with that genre. I find I love creating unusual and delightful worlds, settings, and people. I am happiest making up such far-out situations filled with characters and situations from the impossible.

Q: What is it about your settings that is important to you?

A: From the time I could turn a page, I have been an avid, must-have-an unread-book-nearby, person. Before I began to write, I never gave much thought to all the things to consider in forming a story. For example, if the title was Love During the Civil War, I automatically set my mind to hoop skirts, blue and grey, plantations, and mint julips. It never occurred to me that it was the setting the author chose that allowed me to picture that era in my mind. However, when I began my very first book, which started off in the horse and buggy days and quickly moves into a new, unseen world, I realized that the reader might need a hint of what I saw for him or her to enjoy the story as I wanted them to. When I wrote my first historical, adventure, romance, it took place in the mid-eighteen hundreds. I wanted the reader to be there, to see what I saw, to experience the ambience of each scene and it was in my early writings that I knew without a doubt the importance of describing the setting for each story, whether it be a short story or an epic novel.

Not all readers can picture the story from imagination, so settings are very important to get the reader into the right frame of mind. Even if your reader has a super imagination, it doesn’t hurt to let him or her glimpse your world the way you see it through your description of the setting.

Q: Who is the audience you write these books for? Did you have someone in particular in mind when you wrote them?

A: I wrote these books for all readers of fantasy. As an adult, I loved writing them and I really don’t think they necessarily fit into an age-related bracket. Putting age aside, I wrote these books for all young people who want to explore the unknown, want to see what their dreams are made of, meet fairies, leprechauns, dragons, and see what it’s like to live in a world where coloring outside the lines is encouraged. I believe every single person in this world wants to be loved, wants to be part of a dream, and I write stories for those people— people like you and me.

To learn more about Bobbie, visit these sites:

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To contact Bobbie with questions, comments, or interviews, email her here