I am very excited to welcome Audrey N Lewis, author of Everybody has a story… These are ours to my blog. If you have questions for Audrey, that aren’t covered in the interview, please comment below and she will be sure to get you the answers. 

Let’s start by finding out a little bit about you…

• What is your name and do you write under a pen name? My name is Audrey Lewis and I am very comfortable putting my own name on anything I write or create.
• Where do you call home? I live in a Northern Chicago suburb, but any where I am with family or at one with nature is where I call home.
• Obviously, we know you are an author, but some writers have other jobs as well. Do you have another occupation? Do you believe you’re any good at it? Do you like what you do? Besides writing, I refurnish and repurpose furniture with my family and I love doing it, I also am an artist/creator and while not perfect really do like what I do.
• What is your family like? I have been married for 42 years and have 2 adult children whom I remain very close to.
• If it doesn’t bother you, can you let us know what your childhood home looked like? I lived in a red-brick house that was always kept clean and I hated to get anything dirty or out-of-place.
• Do you have any hobbies, other than writing? What do you enjoy doing? I am a collector, I find interesting and lonely pieces of furniture and or art and repurpose them. It’s a great feeling when I find pieces that call out to me to save them. I like photography and building fairy houses and creating.
• What is your greatest dream? This is a very difficult question. If I am talking about writing it would be that my written words are read and that good discussion might arise. My global dream is rather trite. It would be for a world without hate.
• What kind of person do you wish you could be? What is stopping you? I think that I am the kind of person I want to be, kind, sympathetic, compassionate and generous.
• What is the most terrible thing that ever happened to you? Discovering the darkest sides of people I love.
• What or who inspired you to start writing? And how long have you been writing? I have been writing since I was 4 so it is a difficult question to answer.
• What is your greatest fear? Losing the people I love.
• Do you prefer e-books, paperbacks, hard-covers or audio-books? I personally like paperbacks or hard-cover there is nothing better than the feel of turning a page.
• Have you ever read a book more than once? Many but the first one I can remember reading more than once was A Wrinkle in Time.
• Have you ever read a book just based on its cover? Probably at one point or another, but can’t remember what it might have been.
• What is your favorite film based on a book? To Kill A Mockingbird.
• What is your favorite book genre at the moment? General fiction
• What book are you reading at the moment? My grandmother asked me to tell you she’s sorry. And in what format? Paperback

Let’s shift somewhat and talk about your latest story.

• What is the name of your most recent book and if you had to sum it up in 20 or fewer words, what would you say? My most recent book is a collection of short stories, “Everybody has a story… These are ours” that are full of everyday events with complex emotional issues that will have you questioning yourself.
• Is the above book part of a series? It is not part of a series, however I am expanding the first story, “The Closet” and will see where it goes.
• How did you come up with the cover? Who designed the cover of your book(s)? Creative Designs did the final book design using a photograph I had taken years ago that I felt was the title itself.
• How did you come up with the title for your book(s)? It came to me, after all it was everybody’s story.
• What first gave you the idea for your latest book? They were stories that followed me over the years, as if they needed a voice and I was chosen to give it to them.

Let’s talk now about your writing process.

• What is your writing style like? That is a difficult question, since it seems to change a bit with everything I write. I have just completed my first novella, a contemporary fiction “The Tapestry” and am working on a fantasy fiction as well as a literary fiction. Doing so many different styles at once somehow seems to keep me sane.
• Have you come across any specific challenges in writing or publishing? I would make sure that I ALWAYS back up my writing!
• Are you a self-published/Indie author or did you publish through a traditional publishing company? I am a self-published / Indie author.
• If you’re a self-published/Indie author what made you go that route instead of the traditional publishing route? I think the fear of not completing a project helped make that decision for me.
• Where can your readers follow you?
  https://www.audreynlewis.com/
  https://www.goodreads.com/author/dashboard
  https://www.facebook.com/Everybody-has-a-Story-These-are-ours-by-Audrey-N-Lewis-951751178202620/