Six Questions with Laury Falter

Good morning and welcome to another super awesome week of Six Question Saturday!

Please help me welcome author Laury Falter, author of YA paranormal romance and urban fantasy. 





Was there a certain book or author that inspired you to write?

Gosh no. I'd been writing my entire life, never really showing my work to anyone (with the exception of a children's pirate book I wrote that Scholastic took a serious look at before deciding against publishing it), and then I showed my sister, Babs, the first few chapters of Fallen. She wrote back in big caps SEND ME MORE. So truly Babs was my inspiration. Every chapter I sent her, she kept pushing me for the next one. Like an addict, but in a good way. :)

Do you plan out your novel or just fly by the seat of your pants?


You know I once read an interview by another author who said that there are two types of writers: architects who build the story from an outline and gardeners who start from the seed of an idea and write the story from there. I'm both. I start as a gardener, planting the idea, writing it, nurturing it, and when I'm about halfway through the book I write the outline to sum it all up. Not sure if that's how others do it, but seems to work for me.

How do you edit? 

Oh, that's simple. I don't. :) I leave that to my editors. I write my story and then turn it over to a content editor and a proofreader. Both are fantastic. It took me a while (and several books) to find the best ones, but they are worth the wait. They are absolutely phenomenal. I couldn't live without either one of them.

Did you build a platform before releasing a book? 

Oh no, not even close to it. I literally wrote Fallen (my first book) in just under two months, put it online for sale, and let it sit there. Lame, I know. I just never thought anyone out there would read it. When they did - which I learned was the case after I released the next book in the series (Eternity) and the sales started to skyrocket - I was blown away. When that happened, I figured that I should give writing a true shot, which required me to build out a platform. Of course, I was slow to Facebook and Twitter, but there's a reason behind it. It's not a very good one and I harangue myself daily for it, but here's my dirty little secret...I'd rather be writing than writing about writing. When I'm in front of my computer, half of me, the predominant part, keeps pulling me back to the open Word doc with the title of whatever I'm writing at the moment. And the thing is, I don't go kicking and screaming. I go willingly.

How have you found the right readers for you? 

I'm not sure I can take that credit, to be honest. I think that they found me, thankfully, because I put virtually no effort into promoting my books. I'm guessing its through word of mouth. I write what I'd personally like to read, and put it out there (and then hold my breath until the first reviews come in). Strangely, I write young adult paranormal romance and urban fantasy but my fans come from all walks of life...male, female, domestic, international, teens, adults, retirees. And they are the best, so incredibly supportive. I feel blessed because of them.

If you could start all over, what would you do differently? 

Huh, that made me think. Truthfully...nothing. At the risk of turning sappy, writing has been a journey, one that I've muddled through, tripped over, gotten a little dirty on. I wouldn't change it, though. It's a good experience...even when you're erasing the last three pages you spent hours on to start again.

Who has inspired you to publish your book?