Today I'd like to welcome Lauren Hunter to Fallen Angel Reviews. Thanks for taking the time to answer a few questions for us today Lauren.

Hello, and thank you for having me. : )

Would you please tell us about your book, or books?

By that do you mean the last one published, or what I am working on now?The Coffee Shop is a paranormal romance with time travel aspects to it. By aspects I mean he dreams about his future, so in his dreams he is living this future life. But every time he interacts with people, while in a waking state, he alters that timeline. He now dreams of a future that has been changed by those comments, or actions, and when awake he tries to fix it to make it what it once was. But…who is to say that while asleep he isn't actually living that future life in some parallel dimension.

I have a regency trilogy contracted for publication. I have a paranormal saga set around 1900 that I haven't submitted yet. That one has flashbacks to a previous incarnation and a ghost, and at one point he steps through a door and travels back in time briefly. I write under another pseudonym and have a sci-fi I have finished, several paranormal short stories being published, and am in the middle of writing a horror novel. And I also have a medieval fantasy I have started.

When did you first start writing? What made you want to become a writer?

In grade one, when they made me.

No, but all joking aside, we would be asked to write a story every week in grade school. I guess it was then that I first noticed that my teachers liked what I wrote. I recall in grade four the teacher was always reading my story out to the class every week. To this I thought: 'Hmm, she seems to like it. Maybe it's okay.'

I've always enjoyed writing and the creative outlet it provides. My mind can't stop coming up with new stories, and I have a file folder bulging with novel plots in many different genres.

What satisfies you about your writing?

There is just something about the process that is very fulfilling. While you are writing it is very much like reading a book, I can't wait to find out what is going to happen next. Yes as the creator of the story you have a general idea of what happens and where you want to take the story, but as to the nitty-gritty details of any given scene and what they are going to say or do, it literally happens as I am writing it. Each line spawns the next action or comment in reaction to what has been said or done, and that reaction happens in the moment as I am writing it. So it is a very exciting experience, as you are wondering what you are going to say next.

How did you celebrate selling your first book?

Um…celebrate? A candle in a cup cake. ; ) (Being that I am a starving artist.)

It was a very private and personal experience. I did mention it to my mom the next day.

Almost every author at some point or another suffers from writer's block. Have you ever had that problem? How do you deal with it?

I have never had writer's block. I suffer from the opposite, writing too much. But that's a good thing as you can now pare it down to the best of what's in the manuscript. There may be periods of time when I just don't feel like writing or being creative, during those times I don't write, I focus my energies elsewhere. But when working on a project I have never had a problem with coming up with ideas or what to write. I guess I can cross my fingers, or knock on wood, that it hasn't happened. I don't fear it happening, I have too many ideas screaming to get out of my head, and that hasn't stopped yet.

What was one of the most surprising things you learned in creating your books?

The degree to which you become attached to your characters. As you write them they become real in your mind, and if you ever kill them off you literally feel a deep grief. One time I had to stop and cry for a while. It's impossible to type when tears are getting in the way and you have to keep stopping to blow your nose. lol

How many hours a day do you write?

When I am immersed in a manuscript I will write from the time I wake until I can't mentally focus anymore. And I do this every day. I can't wait to get to it and hate to stop. It's very much like being in the middle of a book that you love and you literally can't stop reading.

What were your feelings when your first novel was accepted and when you first saw the cover of the finished product?

In that moment when you realize someone actually wants to publish your baby you feel a thrill of accomplishment and excitement that others will read it.

Seeing the cover for the first time…I breathed a sigh of relief. Knowing all your hard work has actually culminated in something that can be seen and read is a very satisfying feeling. I then felt a sadness deeper than I ever felt before, knowing that my mom would never see it.

Who is your biggest fan? Critic?

Fan? I would have to say my mom. Critic? Myself.

What can your fans look forward to in the next six months from you?

That's really difficult to say. I am planning on polishing my sci-fi, editing and polishing my saga, finishing my horror novel and writing a time travel romance. I have short stories coming out and three regencies coming out. But when editing starts on contracted works all writing has to be set aside to work on the novel being published. I may do more or less it's impossible to say until it happens. But I am hoping to have blocks of time to complete new novels. If I have a month of free time that is all I need to complete a novel.

What tools do you feel are must-haves for writers?

Hmm…I don't really use anything. Yes, I make use of a word processor, and the internet or the library for research, but all that is useless unless you have an unending drive to write, and write some more. Once I have put in the research then it is just me and the computer until the book is finished.

What book has influenced your life the most?

There is no 'one' book that has been a guiding influence on me. I read in a variety of genres and each has writers I admire and emulate. Perhaps that is the influence, many authors and many genres, all inspiring me.

Do you take reviews for your books seriously?

Yes and no. What readers think of your work is most definitely important, but you also have to take some of it with a grain of salt. If someone doesn't like it, or even hates it, you take into account what they had to say. Is it that they just don't like your work? Is what they have to say worth making note of? Are they pointing out a weakness in the story that you should be careful not to repeat in a new manuscript? Yes, when someone doesn't like your work it's disappointing. But I know before I even start on a manuscript that not every one is going to like it, and some may even hate it. It's impossible to write something that everyone will like. You know this, it's all part of writing, and always will be. So all you can do is acknowledge that and move on. You try not to let it get you down, and if they had something constructive to say make use of it to improve your writing.

What would you consider your most interesting quirk?

Quirk? Repeating questions with a question. lol

What one may consider a quirk, someone else may consider quite natural or normal. Nothing stands out. I used to be a bit ocd when younger, and it comes and goes, if that can be considered possible.

If you had a warning label, what would it say?

Careful how you treat me, or I'll put you in my next novel…

I'm kidding, but just think about it, how many writers have already done that?

Do you have a website or blog where readers can learn more about you and your works?

My blog, website. If you'd like to friend me on FB, or like my Fan Page, here are the links. Here's my Twitter page if you'd like to follow me.

Is there anything else you would like to add?

Yes. 2 + 2 = 4 ;)

Thank you for spending time with us today Lauren!

Thank you for having me.

Interviewed by: Linda L.