Interview Carol Parsons

by

Ben Douglas

1) Tell us something about yourself: family, hobbies, etc.

I am a single mom with two teenagers living at home with me. They are my inspiration for all my young adult novels. I used to write romance, but when my kids got old enough to want to read, they begged me to write things for them, so I did. They give me great ideas, too.

My hobbies are mostly sports-based. I am a sports addict. I love baseball (Detroit Tigers), basketball (Detroit Pistons), hockey (Detroit Red Wings), NASCAR. My son is now making me learn to like football, too.

2) Why do you write?

I have written all my life. I love to tell stories, and when I was young, I would tell all my friends stories, which they liked. I just knew that I would grow up and write.

3) Do you have a regular writing schedule, and where do you write?

No, I really don't. I write whenever the mood strikes me. I do well when I give myself a deadline to get a writing project done.

4) Do you write from an outline, go where the muse leads, or a little of both?

I do basically write from an outline. I sometimes drift off the path of it, but for the most part, the outline gives me a clear path to follow.

5. When did you start writing, and do you write in the same genre all the time?

I've been writing since I was very young. When I was too young to write it, I just told a lot of stories. I only write young adult novels at the moment, but I used to write romantic articles, NASCAR articles, and for the newspaper.

6) Do you ever get writer's block? If so, how do you push yourself through it?

I get writer's block all the time. I can write for awhile and then nothing comes to mind. The best way I can go forward is to buy a pad of paper and a gel pen, because it screams to be written in. Or I ask my kids where I should go with my story next, and since they always have good ideas, that helps a lot.

7) Which comes to you first, character or plot?

The plot. I usually always have the plot way before the characters. Sometimes I'm halfway through a novel before I get a good handle on my characters.

8) Are your family and friends surprised that you write and are they supportive?

They are surprised that I finally have a novel published, but I think they always knew that that was where I wanted to go with my writing. They are very supportive. My mom helps me get my books and take care of the accounting stuff, my sister makes my bookmarks and things and is my "advertising consultant", and my kids help keep my schedules.

9) If you could do it all over again, what would you change about your writing career?

I probably would start right into writing for kids, since that's what I love doing most. But they say all things come in their own time, so I guess I was supposed to go the path that I did.

10) Can you tell us what inspired this story?

I wanted to teach kids a little about history in a fun, exciting way. My kids wanted me to write books for them, so this was the outcome.

11) Any advice for beginning writers?

Writers write. Make sure that if you have a story to be told, write it down. No one can read it if it's in your head. Once you get it on paper, then you can fix it up, but the biggest thing is to get your ideas down on paper.