Do you know Ciara Knight?

 If you don't know her, today's your lucky day!  I'm happy to say that I met Ciara through the Writer's Crusade. We got put in the same group and have been blogging friends ever since. You can find this picture of Ciara on her website along with this blurb from her 'about me' page.

I’m happily married to my husband, Chris. We have three amazing boys aged 4, 6, and 13. Life is never boring with three sons.

I write Paranormal and Fantasy fiction for Adult, Young Adult, and Middle Grade. I’m actively involved in Romance Writers of America (RWA), my local chapter Georgia Romance Writers (GRW), and a specialty group of RWA, Futuristic, Fantasy, & Paranormal (FF&P).

Wow! So involved. That's awesome. And a mother of three boys. She's a busy woman :)

So, Ciara, how long have you been writing?

I started seriously writing October of 2008, but I’ve been writing for fun since childhood.

And what made you want to write?

I don’t remember a time when I didn’t want to write. Yet, there was a defining moment in my life. My father almost died after a surgery. I remember sitting by his bedside feeling alone. No one at school understood what I was going through and how scared I was. I wanted to be brave for my mother, so I wrote what I was feeling into characters in a story. It was therapeutic. Once he was well enough to sit up in bed I realized he couldn’t do much but listen to stories or watch TV. That’s when I knew I wanted to entertain people. Yes, I had a short lived desire to be an actress, but that’s another story.

(Wow, what an awful experience.  I'm sorry you had to go through that but I'm glad that it sprouted a new hobby. Way to think positive. Writing is a great therapy tool.)

If you could sit down and reread any book, which would it be?

The Outsiders or Harry Potter. The Outsiders because it was the first book I ever fell in love with. I cried while reading it.  Harry Potter, because I think I’d notice something new every time.

Do you have any pet peeves while writing?

By biggest pet peeve would be people in quiet corners of book stores yapping loudly on their cell phone. Okay, seriously, I don’t want to know someone’s personal business, although sometimes these people make great characters. 

(Agreed on both accounts. Obnoxious but lots of fun for the muse.)

  

If you only had five minutes to visit a few writing blogs, which ones would you choose? 

Oh, no. You are going to get me in trouble. I have soooo many amazing blogging friends. Just five? Really? Lynn Rush, Laura Diamond, Julia Rachel Barrett, Danica Avet, and Rachel Firasek

(Thanks for sharing. It's always fun to meet new bloggers! Sorry I couldn't find all the links.)

What book are you reading right now and which one do you have lined up to read next?

A Brush of Darkness by Allison Pang. I’ll be reading Cassastar by Alex Cavanaugh next.

If you could meet any author, dead or alive, who would it be? 

Edgar Allen Poe.

(Great choice. He seems to be a popular one!)

Say a beginner writer approaches you and asks for some writing advice.  What's the first thing you'd say to them? 

Write. Honestly, that is the best advice. Find your voice, read craft books, submit and give critics, edit, then edit some more. 

(That's awesome advice. You said it well.)

And last, but not least, do you prefer fruity candy or chocolate? 

Chocolate, the darker the better. Heck, I’d just eat straight coco beans. 

(Shutter. Uh, sorry for the negative reaction.  I'm not much of a chocolate girl and the darker it gets, the worse it is for me.  But that leaves more coco for you and more sour gummies for me :))

Thanks Ciara for taking time to let me interview you! It was fun. Be sure to head over to Ciara's website now.

I hope you all have a great weekend!