A Writing Duo
Asking for authors to interview has been such an amazing experience so far and when this writing duo came to me, I won’t lie I became excited as I have not interviewed a writing duo before. And these two sound like a great writing duo who definitely work well together. I am glad I ran across them and I can’t wait to share them with all of you. So grab yourself something to snack on and a drink and enjoy reading about this writing duo, Niamh Schmid and Rebecca Schmid.
1. What sparked your interest in writing?
Rebecca: Growing up, both of my parents were always reading and encouraging my siblings and I to read. ‘Playing pretend’ as kids was what led me to making my own stories. After doing some written assignments for school, I quickly found that I enjoyed writing them down. But I don’t think I ever wrote simply for myself until after I met Niamh.
Niamh: I was that kid who had a very active imagination. I loved to make up worlds and characters and go off and slay the dragon, so to speak. Eventually those make-believe games became stories, and by twelve I was writing them down(some of them are pretty embarrassing, I have to say). Then I met Becca at thirteen and we started making those worlds together.
2. Has anyone in your life inspired you to write?
Rebecca: Besides my parents, definitely Niamh. She was the one who made me realize that actually writing stories out was so much fun (who knew, right?). After we started writing out stories together, there was no going back.
Niamh: My mother has always been an avid reader and always loved to write as well. Becca also has been one of the only reasons I ever finish a story—I’m such a scatterbrain I will get halfway through and lose interest—but she keeps me on task.
3. When did you decide to publish?
Rebecca: When we began reading our story in a local writer’s club, we were surprised to find how much people enjoyed it. We decided we wanted to share the story more publicly, and that the best way to do that was through publishing.
Niamh: I was always encouraged to read as a child and had an active imagination. Eventually the games I would make up became stories, and before I knew it I was writing.
4. Are you an Indie Author or Traditional Author? Why did you choose the path you did?
Rebecca & Niamh: Indie author. We wanted to be able to hang onto the rights of our books and have the freedom of complete control on our books and stories.
5. What is your first published book?
Rebecca & Niamh: The Exiled: Of Shade and Shadow
6. Are you happy with how your books are coming out? Would you change anything?
Rebecca: It’s so cool to see our series coming to life and to see people take an interest in them. There comes a point where you have to let the book go—mistakes and all! There’s no such thing as perfection in art, but that’s what makes it beautiful. To become overly critical will only harm the story in the end.
Niamh: I love seeing how the story is unfolding. It is hard though not to constantly go back and change. I’ve had to reconcile with the fact that it will never be 100% perfect.
7. Will you continue to publish books for many years to come?
Rebecca: Yes! We already have seven more planned for this series, and hopefully many more after that!
Niamh: I hope so! We already have drafts of the next five books in our series, A Daughter’s Ransom, and two more that are near completion.
8. What genres inspire you to write?
Rebecca: Mostly fantasy—of any kind. I also enjoy sci-fi. However, I always find that non-fiction gives me tons of ideas.
Niamh: I started with fantasy, but then discovered I also love steampunk as well. I just fell in love with the ability to make up worlds. I also always enjoy a good sci-fi world/story, and while I haven’t written much of that genre in comparison, it definitely inspired me in what I have written of it.
9. What is your favorite genre to write? What is your least favorite genre to write?
Rebecca: Hm. My favorite is probably fantasy. I haven’t written much else, but mystery has always seemed like it would be difficult to pull off effectively.
Niamh: This is hard. I have written fantasy longer, but I have really come to love steampunk. So if it came down to the wire, I think I would say steampunk. But when it comes to writing as a pair, probably fantasy. Least favorite would have to be anything fiction but based on real events or dates. I am not a fan of having to research when I’m writing. Big history lover, but just don’t enjoy writing it. I give props to anyone that does, though. A lot of time and energy goes into that!
10. What challenges have you faced publishing?
Rebecca: Probably just handling all the little details. It’s much easier with two people! I keep track of most of the technical work and Niamh has done all of the publicizing and promotional work.
Niamh: the technical aspects of things. Becca handled a lot of that part as I tend to get very overwhelmed with having to get the ISBNs, the copyrights, etc.
11. What challenges have you faced in writing?
Rebecca: Self-criticism. I get so bogged down with trying to perfect what I already have that I never actually go forward. Niamh is always encouraging me and helping me stay motivated.
Niamh: Staying focused. I am that writer who will have a million stories flying in my head and switch from one to the other so that I have twenty in progress and none done. I think my current project count is somewhere between 15-20. Becca has to keep me on track or else I’d never finish anything!
12. Where do your ideas for your books come from? Where do you keep those ideas?
Rebecca: For me, it often starts with a scene. This can be inspired by anything—a song, scenery, an item, an interesting fact. From this scene, I usually get a character and go from there.
Niamh: Oh, this is hard. I often start with names or characters. I’ll have this idea for a character and then just throw them in a situation and it flows from there.
13. Are you also a bookworm and does reading other works help inspire your own writing?
Rebecca: Yes! Though I rarely read in the genre I write. I actually read a lot of non-fiction, which gives me a lot of ideas for my own work.
Niamh: So funny thing is, I’m actually pretty dyslexic and a terribly slow reader. I love enjoying a good story, but sometimes it’s difficult to get through a book—so I’ve found I love audio books. But I still love to read! Just slowly.
14. Do you have a website where we can follow you?
15. What is the link for your books so others may look and possibly purchase them from?
Two peas in a pod, these two are, and it is so amazing to see how two minds can work well together. I have never tried working with another person on a book and maybe I will try it one day, but I think I will let these two masterminds work on writing their books as a duo while I watch in amazement from the sidelines. I can’t wait to dive into their book either, as it is on my ever-growing list on Amazon Kindle. I hope you will check them out and grab yourself a copy of their book, whether a paperback or an Ebook.