SheilaInterview with Author K.C Poitras.
Tell me a bit about yourself….
K.C. Poitras is a mother, grandmother, and author from North Port, Florida.
Born and raised in Virginia. She moved to Florida seven years ago where she
embraces her love for the ocean and where she feels most at peace. Before
she turned to writing, K.C. worked for over thirty years in the customer
service industry. For many years K.C. suffered from crippling anxiety, and the
thought of writing and everyday events overwhelmed her.
When she is not writing, K.C loves riding her beachcomber with Eric, and her
friends, or tackling a new and challenging recipe in the kitchen. She loves to
cook, host, and entertain and would be lost without her friends and
neighbors. Her house is always one step away from a new look thanks to
K.C.’s love of decorating and remodeling. K.C. will continue to work on her
series with the trials, love, and joys in her life providing constant muses for
new ideas.
K.C.'s debut novel, You Taught Me What It Feels Like to Fall in Love, is the
first book in her You’re My Day One series. K.C.’s stories are wonderful beach-read romances with all the feels of Elin Hildebrand, or Kristen Hannah.
What genre/s do you write in?
Fiction Romance, YA
How long have you been writing?
I’ve only been writing a little under a year
Do you have any published books or articles? Tell me a bit about
these and what publishing route you took.
I have one novel published. “You Taught Me What It Feels Like To
Fall In Love.” I took the self-publishing route. It was published in
April of 2021. The novel follows the story of Isabelle; whose life
was seemingly perfect. She couldn’t want or ask for more—until
her husband of twenty years is killed in a terrible accident and she
loses her job. Isabelle is left unmoored as she uncovers dark
secrets, attempts to rekindle her relationship with her daughter,
confronts her past, and considers a second chance at love with a
man who appears to be her polar opposite. It’s a story of loss, self-
discovery, and love. This book was nominated for the Author Elite
Award 2021.
Did you use an editor? If so who?
Yes! Editors are extremely important in the process of publishing. I
use a freelancer named Mary Nolte, she’s absolutely brilliant!
Did you use a book formatter and cover designer?
I did use both a formatter and a cover designer. Both of my novels
(I’m working on my second one now) are personal pictures, one I
took (the first novel) Second one I gained permission to use, from
my daughter. The cover designer did a beautiful job. As for
formatting, I recently changed who I use; I had a terrible experience
with the first person I hired. He was middle of the line in cost. The
biggest lesson I’ve learned is research, research, research, and speak
to several references of the person you’re looking to hire.
Did you self-publish or get traditionally published? How did this go
for you?
Self-published - it has been trial and error. Money wasted on some,
other hired help was wonderful, and I’d use them throughout. I
would like to think one day I could do it all, but it’s wow,
overwhelming and I simply want to write. I hope one day I will get
picked up with a traditional publisher, but I didn’t even try that
route at this time due to the high demand, odds, and the time it
takes them to actually publish your book.
How do you market your work and promote your brand?(Include
links)
I interact with numerous social media sites. I recently hired an
account manager; she's gotten everything very streamline. You can
find all my links at
https://linktr.ee/Kcpoitras (I can list them all out if you need me
to, but there are like 8)
What social media and writing platforms would you recommend?
I love the pace of Twitter. I would say that's my favorite.
Instagram has a lot of “Like” activity on posts, however very few
comments. Facebook has been very hard to build a following on.
For writing platforms, I started with Scrivener, it was an ok
program. I found I preferred MS word.
Do you use an agent?
I do not use an agent currently. I would love to have one!
Do you use paid advertising? If so what?
I’ve used BookRaid. It was the most effective in sales vs costs!
Check them out, they're great! I’ve done two email blasts, one was
worth it, the other produced nothing. This adventure being so new
it’s been a lot of trial and error. Facebook, Instagram, and even KDP
did very little in the way of sales.
Do you have a blog or website?
http://www.kc-poitras.com , the closest to a blog that I’ve come to
is auto feeds from my Facebook page to my website. I prefer
leaving the blogging to the pro’s, utilize their services and I’ll
continue writing :D
What inspires you most to write?
My inspirational support is my fiancé, Eric. I’ve had the dream of
writing “my story” for years. With Covid, Eric gave me the support
needed to go for it and write my story. I started out with that, but it
was emotionally too hard. I scratched that for now and wrote
Isabelle’s story instead. I will one day soon write my story though.
What do you do to help with writer's block?
Clean “laugh” Yes, I love to clean when I need to work things out
mentally! Otherwise, I try starting a new project or a different
section of the novel I’m currently writing.
How do you plan your writing and start?
A lot starts with past experiences, late afternoon conversations
with Eric, topics seem to just appear, when I least expect it. So, I
keep my mind, ears, and eyes open all the time. We’ll take a drive to
Home Depot and suddenly a scene will pop up in my head. NOTE:
always have paper and pencil at hand!
Is writing your full-time job? If not what else do you do?
It is my full-time job now. I was in the customer service industry for
most of my career, over 30+ years.
What are you working on at the moment?
I’m working on “Unseen.” About a young boy's fight for survival
and independence. It is a heart-wrenching story of survival, faith,
and finding the inner strength to fight for happiness against all
odds. It will give hope to those who have been victims and let them
know they are not defined by their circumstances and have the
power to shape their destinies.
What is your target audience?
All genders - 16 and above.
How long does it take you to write a book?
My first book took approximately 7 months to write, edit, re-edit
and then re-edit hence the importance of a great editor. My second
novel is in the editing phase now, it’s taken me approximately 4
months on it so far.
When did you first discover you enjoyed writing?
When I took some online college courses. I loved having to write
long papers. As I would write, it came so naturally, and the words
just flowed on whatever topic the paper was about.
What is your writing schedule look like?
Most days I write for at least 6 hours. As for a schedule, there might be
times I can’t sleep or walk away from writing. It’s organic I suppose.
What does your family think about you writing?
“Laugh” ekkk another lesson in writing = Do not depend on family
support! Eric is my support. Not to take away from my family, they
all say it’s wonderful, exciting (But I bet I can count how many
books have been purchased by them. Zero. But that’s ok, I do enjoy
hearing them being “Proud” of me.
What do you do when you are not writing?
Preferably, I’d be at the beach. Realistically, usually, cleaning or
cooking (Eric and I love to pick a random recipe and cook). We
enjoy bike riding and hanging out with friends.
Where do you get information and ideas for your writing?
If there’s a topic I don’t know about, for instance, German phrases
that I used in my first novel, or what they eat in Austria or other
details I do a lot of research. As for ideas, I’ve been through so
much, I could write on any given topic, and coming from a not-so-great place, I also learned to dream and live life vicariously through
books. Or I’ll recall something that happened particularly funny or
terrible and simply intertwining events, becomes a story.
What do you think makes a good story?
Happy endings! Don’t we all. I believe when a reader can relate and
feel the emotion of characters, that’s a good story. I should
mention to be sure and value your beta readers! They’re priceless
in letting you know what might be lacking in your novel.
