Author Interview: Caitlin Hensley {+ Giveaway!}

Tell us a little about yourself first.
Hi, everybody! *waves* I’m Caitlin, I’m 19, and I live in a little community in rural Oklahoma. When I’m not writing, I’m usually clogging, catching up on reruns of my favorite TV shows, or getting lost in a book. By day, I’m currently attending a two-year course to become certified in graphic design, which is loads of fun, and at night, I teach blogging classes at a nearby vo-tech.

When did you first realize you wanted to write books?
I don’t think there was really a certain moment in time when I realized, hey, I should write a bunch of books and become an author! For as long as I can remember, basically, I’ve been scribbling down stories on bits of notebook paper and reading them out loud to my sister. As I got older, I switched to a laptop, and now I make my sister read my books on her own, but the general principle’s the same. ;)

What is your writing process? Do you write regularly at certain times or just when inspiration hits?
I try to write at least 1,000 words every day, but I don’t always meet that goal. I’ve been struggling with some serious writer’s block now that NaNoWriMo’s over, actually. But I’m determined to keep writing and work my way through the block. I have a book to finish!


I know the feeling! Although I abstained from NaNo this year... anyway, moving on. How many books have you written?
I’ve finished thirteen books, and I have about five others that are in various stages of being written. Once I finish my NaNo novel, I guess my total will jump to fourteen completed novels. (My math skills are simply astounding, right?)

Here's a fun one! Indie publishing or traditional publishing?
Indie, definitely. I love being able to design my own covers and format the interior pages of my books to look the way I want them to. I just wish I had the opportunity to reach as many people as traditionally-published authors can. Since I’m self-published, not many people know my books exist, which is kinda sad.

That's probably going to be my biggest problem, too, once Sixteen comes out.

What’s your latest book about? Target age range?
My latest book is called Beast Within, and it’s the third book in The Inhuman Chronicles. It’s YA paranormal-fantasy. In the book, the main character Haily experiences a series of psychic visions that star her boyfriend’s brother––and he’s dead in her arms. Not good, right? And then she’s also got to deal with an evil dragon and the arrival of her boyfriend’s snarky ex-girlfriend.

Oh my. I gotta say - glad I'm not in that book! (But snarky ex-girlfriends and evil dragons in the same book sounds totally awesome.) Now, a harder question: if you couldn’t be an author, what would your ideal career be?
I’d love to be a graphic designer! The class I’ve been taking has opened my eyes to so many possibilities. I’m thinking about starting an online business to design book covers for other indies, which would be so much fun. :D

With the booming self-publishing world, I don't doubt it would make a good career! 

Now, as a writer, we do a lot of less-than-normal things. One of the more generally-accepted of these is last-minute internet research - particularly during NaNo! So I was wondering, what's the weirdest thing you've Googled?
Hm…..probably embalming. I had to know a lot about that for one of the books I just edited. But honestly, my search history is generally pretty sketchy. I hope the FBI never checks my computer…

Oh, most writers are in that boat, haha!

Last question: if you could only share one piece of advice with aspiring authors, what would it be?
Don’t give up! Writing can be super hard at times––believe me, I know. But if you really want to be a writer, and your dream is to see your name printed on the spine of a book, don’t let yourself stop writing. Just keep going, slogging on through the tough bits, and before you know it, you’ll have a finished book in your hands!

And finally, some extras: where can I find you online?

Blog  |  Facebook  |  Goodreads  |  Amazon  |  AUTHORSdB

Thank you so much for being my guest today!

Now, my lovely readers, to the giveaway! Caitlin has brought with her a copy of her first ebook, Together Alone, for one lucky winner. This giveaway is open to all ages and countries. Good luck, and may the odds be ever in your favor!

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