Greetings everyone. Today on Writer Wednesday, we speak with author Deneen A. Connor. In this interview, she discusses what inspires her as a writer, her process, and more.
Polite On Society: For those who want to get familiar, who is Deneen Connor?
Deneen Connor: Who am I? If I had to sum it up, I would say I am simply someone trying to live my best life by doing things I enjoy. Unfortunately, this pandemic has put a damper on some of those things but it hasn’t totally stopped me. I enjoy writing stories as well as playing Xbox which I use for entertainment and as a stress reliever. Both have kept me sane during this pandemic. I appreciate and love the simple things in life. I love my friends and family. I cherish precious moments and have a strong fetish for electronics and pens. Overall .. I strive to enjoy live and become the best version of that I can be.
POS: Looking at your site, I Am An Author, you have a good back catalog of books. Exactly how many titles have you released?
DC: To date, I have published eight books. Funny thing is when I wrote my first book, Tell Him. I thought it was going to be a one-book wonder. I had a story in my head I wanted to tell so I put it in book formation. Here we are ten years later and I am the author of eight books. My titles include three books in the Tell Him Series: Tell Him, Tell Him Too and Tell Her, Channing’s Story. There are three books in The Wedding Series: The Wedding, After The Wedding and Another Wedding. I have a book of short stories titled, Excuses. And lastly, The Grandparents.
POS: What motivates you to write? How do you develop your characters?
DC: The creativity inside of me motivates and inspires me to write. New stories are constantly popping in my head however, not all of them make it to book form. When I see a story, if it plays like a short movie then I know I have to write it. As I watch the short film, the characters are born and developed. Each character also reveals themselves. My mind quickly gives them life and shows me who they are and what role they will play in the book. My biggest challenge when it comes to the characters is giving them names.
POS: Have you been able to concentrate on writing during this pandemic? If so, then how do you do it?
DC: Not in the very beginning. Writing was the farthest thing on my mind. Every day the news became more and more depressing. I tried to write to take my mind off of what was going on but every time I opened up one of my books to continue, I drew a blank. Even the characters in my head had nothing to say. then all of a sudden, the voices of my characters started to come alive and speak to me along with additional scenes and plot twists. I knew it was time to get back to writing. I grabbed the laptop, turned off all the lights, grabbed a glass of wine and let the words flow.
POS: Tell us about the writing projects that you have in the works.
DC: Where do I begin? I am currently working on several novels. One is 3 Sides To A Story. I took that old saying, there are three sides to a story, yours, mine and the truth and turned it into a novel. The next one is WOW. WOW is a book of short stories where each ending will leave you saying .. WOW. I’ve also started another book of short stories names Murder. Each story involves a murder. In addition, I am working on a novel about an interracial relationship along with two dramas. Aside from the novels, I’m working on turning the Tell Him and Wedding Day series into screenplays. I’m looking forward to writing a screenplay for a comedy I’ve been thinking about. I guess you can say I have a lot to do.
POS: Are there any virtual events that you have coming up that you want us to know about?
DC: Unfortunately, I don’t have any scheduled at this time.