Interview with Samantha Combs

Happy Monday, everyone. Hope you all had a great weekend! Let's start the week off on a good note by chatting with author Samantha Combs about her new novel, WATERDANCER.

Welcome, Samantha! Tell us a bit about yourself.

I’m Samantha Combs and I have six published books. I have two loves, both YA paranormal and adult horror. I blog at samanthacombswrites.blogspot.com and love to meet new followers.

How long have you been writing?

Standard answer….all my life. A better question is when did I get serious about publishing? Two years ago.

Tell us about WATERDANCER. What’s the story about?

It’s very close to me, since it has so many autobiographical elements. A young teen, at the edge of that cliff of discovery about yourself, learns in one emotion-packed summer that her relationship with her Mom is salvageable, she is about to have a new relationship with a cute surfer boy, and finally, she is about to foster a relationship with her absentee father, who just so happens to also be half sea-creature.

Intriguing! How did the idea of the story come to you?

I wrote a horror story about an evil mermaid and the opposite idea was born. As I wrote it, I realized it sounded like my most important teen summer.

Do you have a critique group/partner or beta readers, or do you self-edit? 

I have beta readers, three of them, all different ages and from different socio-economic backgrounds. I LOVE their invaluable information. Then I self-edit, quite poorly I’m sure. Then, thank God, an editor undos all my wrongs.

Are you a planner or a pantser?

A pantser of the highest order. Didn’t even study these questions…winging it! I feel like my bare truth is revealed if I just don’t give things too much thought.

What’s the hardest part of writing for you?

Writing the synopses. I like query letters and loglines are a fun challenge, too. But synopses kick my writer ass.

Same here! What do you absolutely have to have nearby when writing?

My iced tea.

If you could have any super power, what would it be? 

I want to fly. (shameless plug….current WIP is about a girl who does.)

Very cool! What's the weirdest thing you've googled? 

How to get tar out of the carpet. (You’d think it was my kids, right? Nope….husband. *sigh*)

LOL. Quick writing test! Use the following words in a sentence: hybrid, cameo, and ambiguous.

She drove to the studio in her new hybrid, hoping someone would notice how eco-friendly she was, but she knew she wasn’t; she got the car for making a cameo appearance in that stupidly ambiguous blockbuster last summer.

Finish this sentence: If I'm not writing, I'm probably ... 

trapped on the time-suck that is facebook, watching a ridiculous video about a cat. I hate cats. But I am drawn to the damn things like a car wreck.

Here’s the part where you thank the people who are supporting you. Let's hear your shout outs.

Always to Mum, always to Musina (my muse), and always to my kids. Without all of them, I’d never need to finish the sentence “What if…….?”

And finally, where can we find you and your books online?

SPELLBOUND 
EVERSPELL 
GHOSTLY 
THE DETENTION DEMON
TEETH AND TALONS
WAY PAST MIDNIGHT 
Coming in September from Musa Publishing: WATERDANCER, a new YA paranormal

CONNECT WITH ME!
Fan Page: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Samantha-Combs-Fan-Page/205186202866933
Email: samanthacombswrites@gmail.com
Blog: http://www.samanthacombswrites.blogspot.com
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/samanthacombs1