Help Mrs. M

Posted byAndi CarterPosted inAuthor Interviews

I am going to be interviewed via Zoom on August 10. However, the author who is interviewing me is tired of asking the same-old questions over and over (she has interviewed several authors). I looked over the stock list of questions she reaped from the Internet, and I agree. I’m not excited about answering them. She would like me to answer real questions from real readers. So, here’s where you come in. I need nine (9) questions that I can answer. She will split the interview into three separate parts, so three questions per recording.

What kind of questions would you ask me if I were standing up in front of your school assembly or homeschool co-op (or emailing me)? I will pick nine of the questions (I hope I get more than nine in the comments!) to answer in the Zoom interview. Then I’ll post the interview on a future blog post. Thanks a bunch! Oh, and some of the questions can be humorous (she asked for funny questions). I don’t think there is anything humorous about Zoom interviews (kind of scary, actually). But maybe it will turn out to be a fun time for all.

Update: Wow! Thanks for all the questions. How will I ever pick out only nine? I have an idea. After the Zoom interview is recorded, I will take a special post and answer (to the best of my ability) all of the leftover questions that did not make it into the interview. Stay tuned!

Published by Andi Carter

I'm the author of the Circle C and Goldtown Adventures series. I blog as "Andi Carter," the main character in the Circle C series. She lives on a huge cattle ranch in 1880s California. These are her adventures.

57 thoughts on “Help Mrs. M”

  2. Is Andi’s Character based off of you, or someone you know?

    When did you start writing the Andi Carter series?

    (you live on a farm right?) If so, how did that help in writing the Andi Carter stories?

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  4. What’s your favorite name for a horse?

    How do you choose character names?

    What’s a hobby you have (or something you do) that most authors probably don’t have/do?

    What magazine subscriptions do you get/like?

    How many times have you been bucked off a horse?

    What’s your favorite dinner (or meal)?

    What’s a snack/food/drink you usually have while writing?

    What’s something you usually/always do while writing? (Take stretch breaks, write in 30-min chunks, have music playing, have silence, face the window…etc)

    How long does it typically take you to write a book?

    Who is your favorite character (besides Andi)?

    Who is your biggest supporter in your writing career?

    How do you handle new ideas? (Write then down immediately? Where? Do you organize them? Etc)

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  5. What was your favorite book to write and why?

    Do you give your characters attributes (physical or otherwise) of yourself or other people you know?

    Do you ever listen to music while writing?

    Have you ever gotten an idea for one of your books that never made it into the published version, but you still have in the back of your head, “just in case”?

    Has anything Andi and her family/friends gone through happened to you in real life? Anything from mundane to adventurous, but I’m sure you have never been kidnapped by a runaway outlaw! 🙂

    What do you do to combat writer’s block?

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  7. What’s something that happened to you that you’ve written about.

    Do you base animals in the story with animals that you have or someone else has.

    Out of all your Circle C characters which one do you think you’re like the most.

    Thanks so much for doing this it’s sooo fun

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  8. Hey Mrs. M!
    If you could go back to Andi’s time (1880’s) would you?

    If so, would you live in California or someplace else?

    What motivated you in writing books?

    What was the worst thing that happened to you when writing your books? (Like did it ever get deleted, trashed, etc.)

    Where you ever crying over one of your stories while you wrote it out?

    Why did you choose/love the 1880’s for all Andi’s stories?

    Did one of your manuscripts ever get declined? Why or why not?

    Do you want to continue writing or just enjoy your series as is?

    Hope this helped! Praying for your interview to go well in August!!

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  9. What was the first book you wrote?
    Which book did you have the most ideas for?
    Which Circle C character are you most like?

    Mrs. Marlow, is this going to be posted on the blog?

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  11. This is probably the wrong kind of question but, when did you start raising goats? And what is your favorite breed? (If you can’t tell I’m a goat girl lol)

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  13. Did your grandchildren or your children give you ideas for the books? Did you base some characters off of them?( Your grandchildren or your children) How old were your children when you published you first book?

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  14. Was it stressful to be homeschooling you kids and writing your books? I am one of 9 kids and I am homeschooled . And I think my mom is stressed about that alot.

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    1. I only wrote at night after the kids were in bed and the older kids were in their rooms. I never wrote during the day. So I’m “homeschool mama by day, novelist by night.” So it wasn’t stressful at all. I had no contracts, so it was just for fun.

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    2. I’m homeschooled as well! And my
      Mom homeschool the five of us who are in school. My two youngest siblings aren’t old enough. But yeah that would be very stressful to write and teach your kids!

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  17. What about your kids? How many do you have? What do they do? How many kids do they have?
    I know you’ve talked about a couple of your kids (like Jessica) but I haven’t heard very much about Kristel.

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  18. What is the craziest plot idea you have ever had for a book, even if you decided not to use it?

    What made you decide to start writing books?

    Does anybody ever help you with the books? (like coming up with plots, characters, etc…)

    What are some of your best and worst memories from when you started writing, up to now?

    Did you ever expect that you would get this popular?

    What is some advice for young writers hoping to become authors?

    This doesn’t have to do with the interview, but will we get to know what questions you picked and who picked them?

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  19. Out of both the Goldtown series and the Circle C series, who has been your favorite character to write and why?
    What is some advice you can give to Christian kids/teens who would like to be writers?
    Which is your favorite and least favorite book you’ve written?

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  21. Was there ever a time when you wanted your book to go in totally different direction from the published copy?
    Was there ever a time when you had a story idea but just DIDN’T feel every inspired?

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  22. Have you ever started a story (like got really far in) and then decided you didn’t like it?
    How did you choose the characters’ names, and why did you choose “Andrea”?
    Were some characters (names or personalities) inspired by friends or family?
    Why did you pick near Fresno as your main setting instead of where you live?
    Are horses your favorite animal?
    How many siblings/kids do you have?

    This is fun! Thanks, hope this helps!

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  23. How many words/pages determines a book long enough to be published? (I guess you can publish ANY book. 😀 how bout this…)
    How many words are your books typically?? 🙂

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  24. What inspired you to write a Christian old west series? Like, why did you do the 1800’s instead of the 1900’s or 1700’s?

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  26. What inspired you to start writing, and what kept you going? How did you get ideas for all the books you wrote?

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  27. It would be cool if you did a blog post and had the answers to all these questions, I must admit, I am really curious about the answers!

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  32. How did you decide what genre you wanted to write in or did you always know?
    Was it hard for you to write at first or easy? Now?
    Have you ever felt like what you were writing wasn’t good enough to be published or you weren’t a good enough author for your work to be published/read? If so, how did you deal with it? (I LOVE this question because everyone has a different answer and it’s fascinating to hear different people’s opinions!)
    Have you noticed your writing style/methods evolving as you grow in experience or has it stayed pretty much the same?
    Thats all I got! ~Chantae

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    1. My illustrator had an only daughter and I asked if she had any other children. She said yes, a boy, who when he was 15 ran away (when their daughter was born) and they have never heard of him since. So that’s how I got THAT idea. The name Katherine was the name of one of the new babies at church, baby #8 of our friends and I just liked the name. I name lots of characters after family and friends.

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