Hello!
My latest interview is with author T.M. Souders who is a coffeeholic and chocolate addict. More importantly, though, she is the author of the bestselling Women’s Fiction novel, Waiting On Hope and a holiday novelette Dashing Through The Snow. Most of her time she spends running after her two young children, ages 3 1/2 and 19 months. Half the time she’s both crazy and dog-tired by the end of the day, but she still manages to write!
Q: Do you remember the first story you wrote?
T.M. Souders: lol, yes. Quite honestly the first book I wrote was dreadful! It was akin to a Harlequin romance but was completely ridiculous. I’m sure I wrote some form of stories in my childhood, but mostly, I grew up playing them out in my head as opposed to writing them down.
Q: Can you tell us a bit about your book “Waiting On Hope”.
T.M. Souders: Waiting On Hope is about a woman (Lexie Dodson) who is raped by her best friend’s husband (nothing graphic in the book, the rape occurs before the story starts with only tiny flashbacks). At the beginning of the story, she’s ready to end her life because of her resulting depression. But it gets worse. She discovers she’s pregnant. She can’t tell her friend because, not only is the husband the father, but her best friend has struggled with fertility problems for years. With nowhere to go, she flees to her parents’ farmhouse in Ohio, where she plans to stay until she can give the baby up for adoption. What she didn’t count on, however, were the ghosts she left behind 10 years earlier when she abruptly left. Soon, she is forced to face her wounded ex-fiance and a bitter brother. Forced to face the love she left behind, along with the side effects her rape has had on her life, she must mend the pieces of her broken life.
Q: Where do you get your inspiration from to write stories?
T.M. Souders: I’m constantly thinking about other people and their lives. Usually, my ideas come from a random thought that pops into my head. Waiting On Hope started by thinking, what if you wanted to end your life? What would stop you? Then the scenario popped into my head and I continued with the “what if” questions. What if you were raped by your best friend’s husband? What if you discovered you were pregnant? Etc.
Q: What do you like most about the character Lexie Dodson?
T.M. Souders: Simply her strength, her will to survive. She faces by far one of the worst crimes against women, and worse yet, discovers she’s pregnant. No matter her circumstances, she finds a way to pull through.
Q: Is she based on someone you know?
T.M. Souders: No. Although there are women around the world constantly facing such tragedies, yet they find a way to rise up from the ashes of adversity and survive.
Q: I see you also wrote a story called “Dashing Through The Snow”. How did that story come about?
T.M. Souders: Dashing… came about naturally as I was writing another novel, which I was majorly struggling with. The idea of a man finding the ring of the woman he desired in a piece of pumpkin pie, ultimately bringing them together, popped into my head. It was fun to write– a lighthearted story with fun characters!
Q: Where do you see yourself in 5 years in relation to writing?
T.M. Souders: I see myself as having a fuller bookshelf and, hopefully, being a household name.
Q: Which writer(s) inspires you?
T.M. Souders: I’m inspired by quite a few authors: Nicholas Sparks, Kristin Hannah, Jodi Picoult & Indie star Melissa Foster.
Q: Do you have any tips for aspiring writers?
T.M. Souders: Be patient. Don’t be too hard on yourself. And never stop–writing, marketing, promoting. If you want to be successful in this changing industry it’s a lot of work and nothing but a full commitment will accomplish that.
Q: Where can people go and read your work?
T.M. Souders: Waiting On Hope can be found on Amazon for Kindle and in paperback. Dashing Through The Snow can be found on Smashwords, Barnes and Noble, and Amazon as e-book.
Q: Where can people find you on the internet?
T.M. Souders: I’m almost everywhere 🙂 feel free to contact me! I love talking to readers and other authors!
My website: http://tmsouders.com/ blog: http://tmsouders.com/blog/ Facebook: TM-Souders-Author Twitter: tmsouders
Goodreads: www.goodreads.com/tmsouders
LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/pub/t-m-souders/37/700/353
Below is a blurb for Waiting On Hope:
Ten years ago, Lexie Dodson fled her home in rural Ohio, leaving behind a heartbroken brother and abandoning a devastated fiancé. While chasing her desire of a fast-paced life in the city, and the obscurity of urban life, she is shaken to her very core by an act of violence that leaves her betrayed, broken, and pregnant—and with nowhere to go but home.
Seeking refuge and facing gut-wrenching decisions, she is confronted not only with the past she left behind, but also with a love that never died—a love waiting for something to stoke the flames.
Told from the perspective of four characters, Waiting on Hope will stay with you well after the last page has been turned.