We Do Write: Interview with Shawna Romkey

Today we're talking with Author Shawna Romkey, whose novel THE DEVIL MADE ME DO IT released yesterday. Exciting stuff! Have a seat and come get to know Shawna and her books.

Welcome to We Do Write, Shawna! Tell us a bit about yourself.

I live in Nova Scotia, Canada with my husband, two boys and two dogs. I'm from Missouri originally, though, but have been here for thirteen years now. I teach at the community college business department things like communications, marketing and management. I live on the ocean. Love it, love my job and my dogs and writing. It's all good.

How long have you been writing?

I started when I was 5. I wrote stories through elementary, junior high, high school and in college got a creative writing degree. I've tried to publish since then and finally did so with Speak of the Devil in 2013.

Tell us about THE DEVIL MADE ME DO IT. What’s the story about?

TDMMDI is book two in the Speak of the Devil series. It takes Lily further on her quest to figure out what has happened to God during the silence.

How did the idea of the story come to you?

It started with Speak of the Devil. That story starts with a car accident that kills Lily's friends (and Lily), and is based on a real life situation of mine from High school where three of my friends were killed in a car accident. It's essentially me still trying to make sense of that incident and work through it. I find that paranormal elements and magic a good way to do that, to deal with real life situations and fix them in some way that can't be fixed with real life.

THE DEVIL MADE ME DO IT is the middle book in the trilogy and deals more with the overlying story arc of finding God? It's the bridge book where the demons strike back, so it's the empire strikes back and the Two Towers of the trilogy.

Are you a plotter or a pantser?

I'm a plantster. :p I outline and do up a plot sheet for the book at the beginning, but when I sit down to write, the story or the characters will sometimes lead me in different directions. They come up with the twists and turns and I try to make sure we still stay on track somehow to make it to the end and have it make sense.

What’s the hardest part of writing for you?

The hating it. LOL! The just sitting down and getting the butt in chair and hands on the keyboard, but then afterwards just hating it. I can read the same pages I've written and love them one day and hate them the next. It's really hard for me to judge my own work.

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

Teleportation. I have family in the states that I don’t see nearly enough and I hate flying. I'd love to just be able to pop by and visit people whenever I wanted to.

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

Napping. I love to sleep.

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