Annette Snyder Interview

You grew up far from anywhere, how does this affect your writing?
I write about life in small towns or little cities. I did live in Houston, Texas for a time, fortunately between Hurricane Alicia and Hurricane Ike.

Do you have a favourite thing that you've ever written?
I think my favorite story to date is the release coming in January, Viveka’s War. I’m also working on a re-write. That’s a contemporary involving a fast food worker and a limousine driver. It was one of the first stories I ever wrote and now I’m incorporating the things I’ve learned through my publishing experience to make the book that much better.

Tell us about your latest book Arpetta Honor?
Arpetta Honor was to be the last in my Travis Pass Series. It’s about the attorney who helped Sally Murphy, the girl from the first book in the series and titled as such. With Arpetta Honor, the sequence comes full circle in a way . However, a reader contacted me several weeks ago wanting to know the contents of a package that Sashay received in Albert’s Rain (book six in the series) and I got a pretty darn good idea for a story about that.

You also have a new release coming out in January 2009, Vivekas War. How did you go about researching for this book?
I always thought my family was the very first dysfunctional family and unique because of the dysfunction. My dad’s father died when he was young and my Grandmother remarried only because my dad’s sister died during childbirth and, as a single parent, grandma couldn’t adopt the baby unless she had a husband. The sheriff in town married her so she could adopt her grandson and later, grandma’s husband was murdered during a robbery. After the second husband’s death, Grandma’s brother, my dad’s single uncle, stepped in to help grandma with her kids. To me, that was a unique situation during the 1940’s to 1950’s and such a great base for a story. I had to write it. Also, I was inspired by my mom’s mother to add elements of the Depression years. Because both of these amazing women lived through that period of time in American history when life was built by determination, I learned a wealth of information just by listening to the stories they shared with me. Sadly, last May my maternal grandmother passed away. I’m sure she’s up in heaven cheering me on!

Your published with Whiskey Creek Press, what made you pick them for your books?
I tried to publish with traditional press. I bought the literary guides and sent the letters then gave up. One day, I was reading Sally Murphy and I thought, This is a great book and more people would enjoy it. I got on the internet and researched writers who wrote the kind of things I write and linked to their publishers through their sites. I emailed Whiskey Creek Press because they seemed to specialize in Historical Western Fiction and they wanted to read Sally Murphy. Now I have seven books with them currently and two more coming in 2009. Of course, before I signed up, I checked them out with the internet watchdog sites and the Better Business Bureau.

Would you encourage other writers to use them? why?
I am quite pleased with the growth of Whiskey Creek Press and the professionalism they hold. They are encouraging and just plain great to work with in every respect.

Anything else you'd like to add?
Anything you need to know that isn’t on my site, http://annettesnyder.atspace.com will get a reply with received emails through there. I try to always answer any emails and, if I don’t know the answers, I find someone who does. Also, I got a really great review from Romantic Times Book Reviews, November issue. Check out the Ad. It’s pretty darn cool!