Interview with Julie Moffet

How many books have you published?

The release of No Regrets in January 8, 2018 will mark my 20th published book! Wohoooo!!!

How did you become interested in writing? 
I’ve wanted to write stories as long as I can remember. I wrote my first book in the second grade when I penned a love story between Prince Valen and Princess Tina who met, fell in love and got married on Valentine’s Day. I still have it. It was a big hit with all the girls in my class. The boys held their noses. After that I won a 3rd grade poem contest about a haunted house. In the fourth grade, I wrote in my school memory book that I wanted to be an author when I grew up
(see picture at left). I wrote for my college newspaper, and later moved into international journalism. Eventually I got brave enough to pen a novel for publication purposes. My first book was published in 1993 and was a Scottish historical romance called Fleeting Splendor.

What is a day in the life of an author like? Do you write a certain number of words, do you write in the morning or evening, etc.?  
Well, I have a full-time job, so I write in the evening hours, on the weekend, or whenever I can fit it in. Someday, I hope that writing books will be my full-time job!

Do you plot the entire book first, then write or plot as you go? 
I write a series, so I needed to plot not only each book, but the series as well. Before I started writing my Lexi Carmichael series, I had to create a series arc and character arcs for all the main characters. Then I loosely plotted the books within the arc. It’s a bit of different process when you are writing a stand-alone novel. But if your question is whether I’m a “plotter” or a “pantser” (better known as writing by the seat of your pants) – I’m a definite plotter. 

Do you use real people and places as models for your books?
No. But there is a lot of me in the different characters and I often use characteristics of family members, friends, and even people I dislike, to create my characters.

Who is your favorite author? 
Too many to name! I love so many authors and genres. But if I must choose, my all-time favorite author is my sister, Sandy Parks (http://www.sandyparksauthor.com/). She writes romantic thrillers and sci-fi adventure. She is a wonderful author, but an even better sister!

How do you promote your books? 
I rely a lot of word of mouth, but I do Book Bub ads, blog tours, Facebook ads, flash giveaways, Goodreads and Amazon giveaways, and I coordinate with my publisher who has an excellent marketing department.