Chloe Flanagan

Happy Friday! Can you believe another week has come and gone? This year is truly flying by us. With the weekend right on our heels, I'm excited to introduce you to a new author this week.

In our author spotlight today is Indie author and publisher, Chloe Flanagan. According to her blog, Chloe is a blogger, technical writer, and author. She loves to discuss Scripture, literature, the Church universal, and the glorious and confounding grace of God. Read her interview below to find out more about this sweet lady.

AJ: Good morning, Chloe! I'm so happy to have you featured on my blog today!

CF: Thank you so much for taking the time to interview me. It’s wonderful how you support your fellow authors.

AJ: I enjoy that probably more than the authors I interview! LOL. Let's get right down to it. Can you tell us a little about yourself and your background that led you to become a writer.

CF: I am from Oklahoma, but I grew up moving around a lot. Then I went to college in New York City. I think traveling and living in diverse places gave me a love for observing different people. That, compounded with my love of reading, made me want to write. But I didn’t decide to do any real writing for others to read until about eighteen months ago. That’s when I started my blog, the Candid Corinthian for reflections, poems, and interviews about God and the faith journey. Then, last summer, I decided I really wanted to finally work on bringing one of my many fiction ideas to fruition. I participated in Camp NaNoWriMo that July and finished about half of my first novel. I kept working on it and self-published my debut novel, Forward to What Lies Ahead, in mid-November.

AJ: How many books have you written and in what genre would you classify your works?

CF: I have written and self-published one novel, so far, and am working on a second one. Both are a bit tough to classify, but I would say they fall into the Christian Fiction romantic suspense category.

AJ: Tell us a little about your writing process. Do you work from an outline, or do you prefer to see where the story leads you?

CF: I definitely use an outline. Even when the story begins to drift from it a little, I make sure to stop and adjust the outline accordingly. That structure is important to me.

AJ: Have you had much success in marketing and selling your books? If so, what tips could you give fellow writers who haven't been as blessed?

CF: The success I’ve had has primarily come through social media—not from constantly pushing my book—but from building relationships with fellow bookworms and authors. There are some amazingly supportive Christian Fiction and indie author communities out there.

AJ: Do you have any interesting writing quirks? If so, how does it help your writing?

CF: I don’t know if it’s a quirk or not, but I have a habit of stringing out my writing across multiple devices. I’ll have most of a draft on my computer, some individual scenes on my smartphone notes application, and a handwritten outline in a notebook. It can be a challenge to keep it all organized, but it also helps me keep up with my writing wherever I go.

AJ: Do you see writing as a career? Or, is this just a hobby?

CF: At the moment, my creative writing is more like a hobby. In my career, I am a technical writer for the aerospace engineering industry.

AJ: What is your goal, or mission, as a writer?

CF: My goal is to use my writing to talk about God’s love and our relationships with Him and one another, honestly and frankly.

AJ: Who, or what, inspires your writing?

CF: I’ve loved reading for most of my life, but I didn’t start reading a lot of current Christian authors until the last five years or so. I started reading all kinds of Christian Fiction from authors like Jamie Langston Turner, Sarah Sundin, Jen Turano, Becky Wade, Staci Stallings, Kimberly Rae Jordan, and many others. These authors inspired me to finally start working on my dream of writing my own faith-based fiction.

AJ: What is the most challenging thing you’ve found in being a writer?

CF: I’ve found it challenging to keep myself from chasing new ideas when I’m trying to focus on bringing one particular story or reflection to completion. The best way I’ve found to deal with this is just to jot down the major points of the new idea, and save it for later.

AJ: How can readers discover more about you?

CF:

Amazon My Blog Facebook Twitter GoodReads Instagram

If you'd like to know more about Chloe, or if you'd like to find and follow her on any of her sites, click one of the pictures or links above!