Bide a While with Author Anne Baxter Campbell ♦ Interview

Welcome back, dear readers, to the 2nd scheduled interview with one of my fellow Helping Hands Press authors, Anne Baxter Campbell. Along with her own writing, Anne has blessed me with her editing skills in my stories through the three Sweetland series’. Thank you, Anne, and welcome to Whispers in Purple. (Remember, readers, all five of these featured authors were given the same five questions to answer.) 

OK, Anne, let’s chat a while.

Peg: As a writing reader, do you find it difficult to read for pure enjoyment without a critical eye?

Anne: It depends a lot on the book and why I’m reading it. Sometimes I do beta reads or editing, in which case I’m working on trying to find errors and if it’s really good I get so absorbed in the story I forget to do that! Other times I’m reading to review and I want to read that for enjoyment too. You see, I don’t review books I don’t like or can’t get into. A lot of mistakes can do that. Minor typos don’t worry me.

Peg: When reading, what are some of the things that bug you? Pet peeves, etc. What are some of your hot buttons?

Anne: Since I concentrate on Christian books, there are a few things that do truly turn me off: swearing; skewing scripture, condemning other Christian religions, paranormal…. That type of thing.

Peg: I am insatiably curious about my fellow authors’ writing habits and quirks. For example, I almost always have some music playing while I write. Instrumentals, though, no vocals. And I’m a snacker. So, how about you? Do share.

Anne: Music works for me too. No snacks while I’m typing, although a spot of tea or coffee works.

Peg: I’m all for the coffee part, but you can drop the ‘s’ from the word ‘spot’ as far as I’m concerned.

What was/is the problem with writing that was/is your greatest roadblock and how did/do you overcome it?

Anne: I’m working on that now. I have written very little for about a year now. I could blame it on my husband being sick, but truth be told there were a lot of times I could have been going gangbusters. I promised HHP (and myself) that next week I’d start writing again. Glimmers of the other side of the block have been appearing….

Peg: If you could lay out the perfect day for writing, just the way you’d love it to be, describe it for us.

Anne: Okay—I’m sitting on a balcony on a balmy day overlooking the ocean. The gentle swooshing of the waves on the golden sand give me a sense of peace. Brahms’s Lullaby plays on the radio behind me. Hm. Well, that would work for the gentle scenes―but what about those tense scenes? Gotta have crashing waves, a howling wind, thunder drowning out the sound of the William Tell Overture.

Peg: Nice! What are you working on right now?

Anne: This Q&A. Oh, you mean besides this? I’m working on a story about Luke the Physician and some of his companions.

Peg: Ha! What can we look forward to from you in the future?

Anne: I don’t know right now if this work of fiction will expand into a series or not, but I do have another one that I wrote several years ago. It has some of the same things that I listed as hot buttons above, so I have to work on that. It needs a total revision, but I think it has promise. It’s about a woman and her husband with marital problems, who take a very, very long trip to reconnect with their little girl.

Where can readers find you on the ‘Net’? (Social Media links)

• Twitter: @anne_baxter_c
• Facebook: Anne Baxter Campbell
• Or, Anne Baxter Campbell, Author
• Website: www.AnneBaxterCampbell.com
• Blog: www.perperspective.blogspot.com

 

About your featured book:

 

• Title: The Truth Trilogy
• Publisher: Helping Hands Press
• Release Date: September 25, 2014
• Genre: Historical Fiction
• Back cover blurb: (There isn’t one, really. It just says it’s a combination of three books in a series.) The first book is about a Roman centurion (Julius) and a Jewish girl (Miriam)―and yes, it has romance in it, but also a good bit of adventure. The second is about Julius’s best friend, Marcus, who’d like to become a centurion, but the humdrum life of rescuing kidnapped damsels (especially a pretty Egyptian slave girl) keeps getting in the way. The third is about Marcus’s father and a Greek widow. All three deal with journeys from disbelief to belief, mixed liberally with a bunch of adventures and a tad of romance.
• Purchase links: http://amzn.to/1SmxxAQ

 

 

ABOUT ANNE:

I’m first and foremost a follower of the One God (Father, Son, and Spirit). I’m a recent widow still trying to find my way past the sorrow. I’m a devoted mother and grandmother. Last but not least, I’m a writer who would love to show readers a glimmer of One who loves them more than life.

 

Anne, I can’t thank you enough for sharing this time with me and my blog readers. We’ll have to do this again sometime.