Interview with Isabelle Peterson

I have been reading and reviewing the Dream Series by Isabelle Peterson lately and through this I have connected with her. She kindly agreed to do an interview with me and I'd like to share it with all of you!!! Get to know Isabelle a little better and enjoy!

•      The name Isabelle Peterson is a pen name, where does it come from?

o    My name in high-school French Class was “Isabelle”…  I always loved that name because there are fun nicknames. Like “Izzy” “Iz” and “Bella”. My real name doesn’t really have a nickname. Peterson… I literally just closed my eyes, opened the phonebook, and pointed. When I searched the name Isabelle Peterson, I didn’t see any other Isabelle Peterson authors, and no other famous Isabelle’s to get confused with. Done.

        

•       Can you explain the reasons behind your anonymity and pen name to your readers and is there one thing about this topic you want your fans to really understand?

o    I am the mother of teen-agers in high school. I don’t really want some “idiot” boy thinking “Hey, her mom writes naughty books. She’s probably into that stuff, too.”  I truly believe my daughter can ‘fend off’ one of these idiots, but she shouldn’t have to. Being a teen is hard enough. My job is to protect her, not give her extra issues to deal with.

•       Do you have a core group of close friends who know who Isabelle Peterson really is or is your anonymity for every one outside your household?

o    There are a small, well trusted handful of locals who know about Isabelle. They kind of enjoy being “in” on the secret. They’ve always been super supportive.

        Have you had any weird or scary moments when someone was trying to figure out who you really were?

o    Knock on wood, no. But I do have a friend who does not use a pen name. Someone actually came to her house… It was a very frightening story. Made me all the more happy that I write under a pen name.

•       What were you like in high school?

o    Outgoing to be sure.  I was in the drama club, and friends with all sorts of kids from the cheerleaders and football players to the chess club kids to the skateboarders (for a while I had a really cool skater haircut, too). I dated, off-and-on, a soccer player.

•       Which writers inspire you?

o    EL James, for jump starting this genre… Judy Blume for her stories of self discovery… Mark Twain for his wit, insight, and pragmatic views.

•       What draws you to this genre?

o    Hmmm - the genre - well, the sex, for sure… however if I read a book that has characters I cannot connect with, I won’t finish it. There are a couple dozen titles I haven’t finished on my Kindle.

•       Do you work to an outline or plot or do you prefer just see where an idea takes you?

o    I do outline, often with scenes—some pages long. then go back and “build bridges.” Yes, sometimes I have to re-organize the scenes, or when I had characters on the highway breezing down, while writing, they decide to take a detour and see the scenic route, or, I had them on the scenic route, and they decide to jump on the highway and a scene just doesn’t happen, or the dang highway construction has put up an obstacle causing all sorts of chaos.

•       If you had to go back before you were ever published, is there any aspect of your novels or getting published that you would change?

o    I’d write them longer… and take longer to publish. The fans sometimes get crazy and I think Not in My Wildest Dreams and Chasing the Dream (books 2 & 3) were a bit premature… Ditching the Dream (book 1) took me a year to write. And there might be one or two quick scenes I would add to DTD, but for the most part, I’m happy with it.  But for 2 & 3, I’ve had the characters kinda screaming at me saying “I forgot to tell you what happened when…” 
The solution? Bonus scenes. Sometimes given to bloggers and I have a couple more that are outlined, and will be going on my website soon, but for now I have been too focused on writing Book 4 (Unexpected Dreams)

•       What has been the toughest criticism, given to you as an author? What has been the best compliment?

o    Toughest: Far fetched. However, to that, I say, “It’s fiction. Not a biography or a how-to book.”

o    Best: “Your book changed my life.”  I’ve had three fans that I can name right off the top of my head who have said, “I want you to know that your first book changed my life.  I really identified with Beth.  And after reading her book and understanding where she was coming from, I changed a lot in my life.  So don't think we all just get entertainment from your books.” (that’s a copy & paste from my inbox.)

•       What book/s are you reading at present?

o    I’m usually reading a number of books at one time, just depends on my mood. All within the same genre, but very different sub-genres.  The books I’m currently reading:

▪       Priceless by Raine Miller

▪       A Southern Thing series by Sara York (was up until 2am finishing the 2nd book)

▪       Club Destiny Series by Nicole Edwards (half through book 4)

▪       One Night Promised by Jodi Ellen Malpas

▪       Reasonable Doubt series by Whitney Gracia Williams

Any other writing projects?

o    Well, my other “job” is a screenwriter. I have been contracted by the author of a NYT Best Selling series to adapt her books for screen. Because of the genre, I’ll be using Isabelle Peterson for that work.

o    I’m also reverse adapting (from script to book) one of my favorite screenplays that I’ve written and that has done well in contests… It’s a YA book & I will be releasing that under my real/screenwriting name.

Thank you Izzy for taking the time to do this interview and letting your fans learn a little more about you. Readers I hope you enjoyed and if you haven't already read the Dream series, go check it out now!!