#ThisorThatThursday Interview with Erica Wynters

I’d like to welcome author Erica Wynters back to the blog for #ThisorThatThursday!

Favorite thing to do when you have free time: Read, nap, or if I have a lot of free time, do something fun with my family.

The thing you’ll always move to the bottom of your to do list: Meal planning

Things you need when you’re in your writing cave: A cozy blanket and an iced tea.

Things that distract you from writing: My phone! I do much better if it’s far away from me when I write.

Hardest thing about being a writer: The marketing

Easiest thing about being a writer: Coming up with book ideas. I have more ideas than I have time to write them all.

Something you wanted to be when you were a kid: An orca trainer at Sea World.

Something you do that you never dreamed you’d do: Being a writer! It surprised me, and I am so grateful for that.

Last best thing you ate: Crispy fish tacos at a local restaurant called Joyride Tacos.

Last thing you regret eating: An entire bag of kettle corn!

Favorite places you’ve been: Kaanapali Beach on Maui, Chicago, and Oak Creek Canyon in between Sedona and Flagstaff, Arizona.

Places you never want to go to again: The Midwest in the winter. I’ll stick to visiting in the summer when the weather is nice and warm!

Most daring thing you’ve ever done: Bungee jumping

Something you chickened out from doing: Cliff jumping in Maui. To be fair, it was more not wanting to climb up sharp lava rocks covered in little crabs to get to the top than the actual jump.

The nicest thing a reader said to you: I read your books when I’m stressed and I need a break from real life. I also love it when people tell me they’re waiting for my next book.

The craziest thing a reader said to you: I left a comment of support on another author’s Instagram post a couple of years ago when she was being harassed online just saying that I was sorry it was happening to her. The person harassing her must have been reading the comments, because she went to Goodreads and left one star reviews on every book I had out at the time.

Best piece of advice you received from another writer: Find a community of other authors. It’s really hard to do this journey alone.

Something you would tell a younger you about your writing: You’re going to get much better at writing the more you do it. You’re not going to believe this, but you’re going to have a cozy mystery series published by one of your favorite authors!

Recommendations for curing writer’s block: There’s a saying by writer Louis L’Amor, “Start writing no matter what, water does not flow until the water is turned on.”

Things you do to avoid writing: Almost anything. Social media, reading (which isn’t a bad distraction), watching a show, even cleaning if I’m desperate.

About Erica:

Erica Wynters may have lived most of her life in the frigid Midwest, but now she spends her time in the warmth and sunshine of Arizona. She loves hiking, hunting down waterfalls in the desert, reading (of course), and napping. Can napping be considered a hobby? When not weaving tales of mystery with plenty of quirky characters, laughs, and a dash of romance, Erica works as a Marriage and Family Therapist helping others find their Happily Ever Afters.

Let’s Be Social:

www.ericawynters.com

www.instagram.com/ericawyntersbooks

www.facebook.com/ericawynters

#WriterWednesday Interview with Erica Wynters

I’d like to welcome Erica Wynters to the blog for #WriterWednesday.

Things you never want to run out of: Iced Tea and Stevia. Those mixed together are my writing fuel. Let’s face it - they’re my getting through the day fuel.

Things you wish you’d never bought: I am a sucker for Instagram ads and have definitely bought some things I’ve regretted. The main one was a dryer vent cleaning kit that arrived six months after I ordered it, and immediately broke!

A few of your favorite things: I love plants and have way too many in my house. It’s hard for me to walk past a new display at the grocery store without wanting to add to my collection.

Things you need to throw out: Sadly, I have a few plants that are dead and dying, and I probably just need to throw them out, but it’s hard for me to admit defeat.

Things you need for your writing sessions: I’m really lucky that I can manage to write anywhere with any kind of background noise. In fact, I often get the most done on an airplane.

Things that hamper your writing: Instagram! I need to keep my phone far away from me when I’m writing.

Favorite foods: I love Mexican food, and chicken fajitas are my favorite!

Things that make you want to gag: Anything with mushrooms. It’s sad because I know they are so healthy, but I just can’t do it.

Favorite music or song: My thirteen year old daughter has gotten me into Taylor Swift, and we’ve bonded over singing her music at the top of our lungs in the car.

Music that drives you crazy: I can usually find something in almost any genre of music that I can like, but I can’t stand music where the lyrics regrade women. I won’t do it!

Favorite beverage: I already mentioned iced tea, so I’ll add another one. I love a really good root beer.

Something that gives you a sour face: My husband loves kombucha, but I just can’t do it!

Things you always put in your books: My books always have a lot of romance and mystery. That combination is my favorite. I love watching two people fall in love and writing all the swoony moments, but if that’s all a book is, then I get bored. Add in a little danger? A little murder? It’s the perfect combination for me.

Things you never put in your books: I never celebrate anything relationally toxic. I’m a therapist when I’m not writing, and you’ll always read healthy relationships in my books. If someone isn’t a healthy person, it’ll be pointed out, not seen as attractive.

Things to say to an author: I just read your new book and loved it. I’m off to leave a review right now!

Things to say to an author if you want to be fictionally killed off in their next book: I would write too, if I had the time.

Favorite places you’ve been: My favorite place in the whole world is Kaanapali Beach on Maui. I could spend all day floating in those crystal blue waters!

Places you never want to go to again: I love to travel and have different experiences, so this is a hard one. I’ll say this – last year I visited Minnesota in November and the air temperature was eleven degrees with the wind chill below zero. I lived in Wisconsin, Illinois, and Minnesota for the first 33 years of my life, but I do not miss winter. I’ll visit those places in the summer when they’re green and beautiful.

Favorite things to do: I love to travel with my husband. I like big trips, but I also love a weekend away at a new spot we can drive to like Bisbee, Arizona, Idyllwild, California.

Things you’d run through a fire or eat bugs to get out of doing: Camping, which ironically includes fire and bugs. It’s the bugs for me. And the sleeping on the ground.

Most daring thing you’ve ever done: I went bungee jumping at Wisconsin Dells when I was sixteen. Wisconsin Dells is a tourist destination in central Wisconsin and I was there with a bunch of my friends. I was the only one under eighteen and we lied about my age so I could go. No one checked my ID, and I survived. It was so worth it!

Something you chickened out from doing: Last year, I was on Maui with my family, and we had the opportunity to go cliff jumping. Some from our group went, but I didn’t. I was happy to watch and cheer from the water.

Some real-life story that made it to one of your books: Marigolds, Mischief, and Murder is set in a fictional town in rural Illinois called Star Junction. I grew up in a rural, small town in Wisconsin. While there are no specific stories in my book that are taken from my life, there are a lot of details that come from my history. There is a restaurant in the book called Bucky’s and there’s a Bucky’s in the town I grew up in. My main character was on the swim team in high school, and so was I. The biggest thing that translated from my real life into the books is the sense of community that you find in a small, rural town, the way people are willing to help one another out, and the way gossip can spread like wildfire!

Something in your story that readers think is about you, but it’s not: I mentioned the bar/restaurant Bucky’s lives in the book and in my real-life hometown. That was a total accident. I didn’t even remember there was a Bucky’s in my home town until the book came out and people I grew up with started reading it. I got multiple messages about Bucky’s and how I’d used that in my book. How Bucky’s in my book got its name is an interesting story. The book has been through a lot of revisions. At first, the main character, Gwen’s, best from was named Marley. But I had another character named Margie, and my editor said I had to change one. I thought long and hard about it, and changed Gwen’s best friend’s name to Penny. At the time, the bar/restaurant that they go to was named Benny’s. Now I had another problem. I couldn’t have a Benny’s and a Penny, so Benny’s had to go. I made a split section decision to rename the business Bucky’s. I’m sure my subconscious remembered driving past Bucky’s on Main Street in my hometown for all those years, but I didn’t make the connection until the book came out.

About Erica:

Erica Wynters may have lived most of her life in the frigid Midwest, but now she spends her time in the warmth and sunshine of Arizona. She loves hiking, hunting down waterfalls in the desert, reading (of course), and napping. Can napping be considered a hobby? When not weaving tales of mystery with plenty of quirky characters, laughs, and a dash of romance, Erica works as a Marriage and Family Therapist helping others find their Happily Ever Afters.

Let’s Be Social:

www.facebook.com/ericawynters

www.instagram.com/ericawyntersbooks

www.ericawynters.com