Interview with Denise Grover Swank ~ author of Chosen

Virtual Book Tour presented by Bewitching Book Tours!

Welcome back to the Wormhole!

Denise Grover Swank was gracious enough to offer an interview:

? When did you first realize you wanted to be a writer?

When I was a kid. I loved to read and make up stories.

? How many jobs did you have before you became a writer?

Multiple! I’ve done all kinds things, some for very short stints just to try something new. I’ve worked at a fast food chain (as a teen), worked at a floral shop taking orders, worked in a preschool as an assistant, worked for a cement company review AutoCAD drawings of parking garages, worked in a pathology laboratory processing tissue samples for pathologists to examine for cancer (an actual career that lasted 13 years) and as a kitchen and bath designer. I’m Gemini. Nuf said.

? How long does it take you to write a book?

First draft, four to six weeks. Multiple rounds of revisions including beta readers, two to three months.

? What would you say is your most interesting writing quirk?

It takes me a while to settle down into it, but once I do I’m hyper focused.

? Do you have a routine that you use to get into the right frame of mind to write?

? Where do you get your ideas or inspiration for your characters?

They just appear in my head. Which is a bit scary when you consider some of them. ;)

? How do you decide what you want to write about?

Sometimes an idea just pops into my head. (The Chosen series) Sometimes it’s a character and I build a story around  him or her. (My southern mystery Twenty-Eight and a Half Wishes) Other times I decide I’m going to write using a particular plot point and build around that. (My YA novel Torn coming out the end of November about an alternate universe.)

? What books have most influenced your life?

Oh dear. This is hard. So many. As a kid, Little House on the Prairie. I used to pretend to be Laura and tie a baby dress around my head and pretend it was a sun bonnet.

? What is the first book you remember reading by yourself?

It was first grade and about a girl who got shiny new red shoes. The illustrations were black and white except for her shoes. I read that book many times.

? What are you reading right now?

Lola and the Boy Next Door by Stephanie Perkins. If I can wrestle it away from my fourteen year old daughter.

? What do you like to do when you are not writing?

? What is your favorite comfort food?

Spaghetti.

? What do you think makes a good story?

Great characters that make me care about what happens to them.

? Who would you consider your favorite author and why?

I love Sarah Addison Allen who writes magical realism. Her characters are sweet and southern and her words are gorgeous.

? What book, if any, do you read over and over again?

Fun random questions: 

·        dogs or cats? Dogs

·        Coffee or tea? Coffee (Starbucks addict)

·        Dark or milk chocolate? Dark

·        Rocks or flowers? Flowers

·        Night or day? Night

·        Favorite color? Green

·        Crayons or markers? Markers

·        Pens or pencils? Pen