Interview with Wendy Wunder

What has your experience as a debut author been like so far?
Hi Bookmuncher! Thanks for asking such interesting questions! My experience as a debut author has been exciting and scary. I've actually been 'authoring' for a long time, but to know that more folks will now be Reading what I wrote, while exhilarating, is also a bit intimidating. I want people to like me. Which is not the best personality for a writer to have. :) I don't recommend having that kind of personality if you can help it.

What has been the best part of the publishing process for you? The worst?
The best is just the process of writing. I love it. I have to do it. It's who I am. And with a publishing contract, I finally get to Be who I am, rather than the waitress who writes or the librarian who writes or the receptionist who writes. I can just be me. The worst is the waiting. There's a lot of waiting around to get notes and then between the different steps of the publishing process. Now that I finally have made a little inroad I want to keep things moving a little more quickly. But I'm trying to be more patient. I breathe in. I breathe out.

What is the most interesting thing you learned while writing The Probability of Miracles? (This can be about yourself, about writing, or anything at all).
I guess what I learned about myself as a writer/artist is that I'm not as 'visual' as I thought I was. My first drafts of the novel looked like movie scripts. I could easily hear what the characters were saying (the dialogue came easily to me) and I could SEE where they were, but I had a hard time describing the things that I saw in my mind. I could do it, but it took a lot of effort. I need to work on description. I also thought I was terrible at plotting, but that came more easily than it had in the past in the writing of The Probability of Miracles.

What was the most difficult part of writing The Probability of Miracles? the most enjoyable?
Whoops, I think I answered that in question 3. The most difficult was the description. The most enjoyable was the dialogue and letting the characters use their humor to get them through some intense moments.

What is the most rewarding part about being a young adult author?
Well... more than any other cohort, Young Adults need books, I think. It's important not to feel alone at that age and books are the perfect remedy for that. Also it's fun to write for folks who are just beginning their lives. You get to write with hope and joy instead of accurately depicting how dreary life can be, which is what some great literary fiction does. Don't get me wrong. I Loves me the literary fiction. I'm a strong devotee of contemporary adult fiction. It's just refreshing to be able to take a different, slightly more hopeful tone. Aside from teaching young adults (and raising my daughter) writing for young adults has been the most gratifying thing I've done.

If there was one thing you could change about The Probability of Miracles, what would it be?
Honestly, the first chapter... I worked for a while on composing a prologue. But the prologue never got powerful enough to work as a prologue by itself, so I incorporated it into the first chapter, and I think the blending of the two pieces might still be a little clunky. But, so far, I've been my worst critic, so I hope other people won't notice it as much as I do.

What are you working on next?
Oooo. I'm juggling a couple things. One of them is a magical Thelma and Louise story about the power of friendship, filled with action, romance, and the mysteries of the universe. Stay tuned...

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Read the first 5 chapters of The Probability of Miracles below!
The Probability of Miracles - Chapters 1 - 5

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Find out more about The Probability of Miracles and Wendy Wunder:
Official website: www.probabilityofmiracles.com
Facebook fan page: www.Facebook.com/ProbabilityofMiracles
Author website: www.wendywunderbooks.com
Author Facebook fan page: www.Facebook.com/wendywunderauthor
Author Twitter: www.Twitter.com/WendyWunder