Dawn Hosmer
Somewhere in Between June 2, 2020 ~ Gestalt Media
Dawn,
Thank you for taking the time for my audience and myself ~
Who are your influences?
Every author I’ve read who has carried me away from this world for a while with their words. Some of my favorite authors are: Jodi Picoult, Wally Lamb, Ruth Ware, Heather Gudenkauf, and Anne Lamott
When did you begin writing?
I knew from a very young age that I wanted to write. I wrote “books” in elementary school for assignments and fell in love with storytelling. As a teenager, I wrote tons of poetry full of teenage angst and longing that are collecting dust somewhere in my crawl space.
When my children were younger, I wrote several children’s books and queried them. I did not get any agent or publisher interest, so I shelved those, and they are now, too, collecting dust somewhere.
I tried to write my first novel in 2006, The End of Echoes. It was inspired by a real-life event that impacted my life in a profound way. Writing this book was healing for me in so many ways, and it truly is the story of my heart. You sometimes hear authors say they were meant to write a particular story – I was meant to write The End of Echoes. I feel like it was my destiny.
How do you come up with your stories, characters, character names, POV, etc.?
All of my stories are inspired by a real-life event that grabs hold of me and won’t let go until I write it down. Because I write suspense and psychological thrillers, all of my books (thus far) have been written in first-person point of view. I feel like this puts the reader more inside of the character’s heads to experience exactly what they are. In The End of Echoes, I told the story from 5 main character’s first-person points of view because each perspective was necessary for the story.
I sometimes choose the character’s names because of their meaning. For instance, Tessa in Bits & Pieces, mean harvester and is asset spelled backward – both of which had meaning for the story, in my opinion. Often, though, I choose a name that I feel fits the character in my mind.
If you could actually meet one of your characters, who would it be? Why?
I would want to meet Tessa from Bits & Pieces because I am intrigued by her gift of picking up pieces of others through touch. I would love to sit down with her and talk about what that experience has been like for her. Although, I’m not sure I’d want her to touch me (both for her sake and mine).
Do you work from an outline?
No. I am a pantser. I sit down with one plot idea and one character idea, then I write. My first draft is truly me telling myself the story. I also try not to go back and re-read anything I’ve written until my first draft is done. Sometimes editing is a nightmare because of this, but it’s the process that works for me.
Tell me about your favorite scene in your novel(s).
This is tough. I have a favorite scene in each novel.
In Bits & Pieces, my favorite scene is when Tessa’s mind is when Tessa meets Chaundra and Lily for the first time.
In The End of Echoes, my favorite scene is the funeral scene. (I can’t say too much without spoilers)
In Somewhere In Between, my favorite scene is the one where Mackenzie finally figures out how she died.
Can you tell us a little about your writing philosophy?
My writing philosophy is to sit down and write the first draft. It may be a hot mess, but at least it’s written. It can be fixed later.
Have you ever tried writing in any other genres?
I have half of a romance written that I was trying to complete for an open submission period with Hallmark Publishing. I didn’t get it finished in time due to other writing commitments, but I may go back to it one day. It’s interesting, because usually I’m a pantser, however, when I attempted to write a romance, I plotted the entire thing out first. It was probably important for me to do that so I didn’t accidentally start killing off my characters. LOL
Do you have any interesting writing-related anecdotes to share?
After receiving over 100 rejections for The End of Echoes and countless rejections for Bits & Pieces, I almost gave up. I couldn’t write for over two years because I felt so defeated by rejections from agents and publishers. Even though being published was a lifelong dream, that weariness almost stole it from me. A friend convinced me to join Twitter – which I really did not want to do. I reluctantly did so and made connections within the writing community. Within two months of joining, I participated in pitch contests on Twitter. I had more agent and publisher interest in two pitch contests than I’d had in ten years of querying. I found my publisher through one of these pitch contests.
My take-away from this is perseverance is key, and don’t give up on your dreams. I clung to the idea of being traditionally published for a long time. As soon as I signed with a small, independent publisher, my ability to write returned. This is one of the ways I know it was the right decision for me.
Do you listen to music as you write?
No. I try to write in silence, but that rarely happens in my house!
Where is your favorite place to read?
I always read on my kindle before bed. Paperbacks, I enjoy reading whenever and wherever I can.
What is the current book your reading?
The Stairs in the Woods by Matt Cesca and The Secret Place by Tana French
Dawn, here are some suggestions I feel readers would like to read:
The inspiration behind your book, the benefits of your book for the reader and any personal related story compared with the world of your book ~
As I mentioned earlier, all of my writing is inspired by a real-life event that touched me in some way – this doesn’t mean personally affected me, just that the story grabbed hold of me and wouldn’t let go.
Since I spent my career in social work, my books often include heavy subjects such as domestic violence, sexual assault, addiction, and a variety of mental health issues. I try extremely hard not to be exploitative with any of these subject matters, but I feel it is essential to bring light to these important issues, even if it’s through fiction.
Bits & Pieces is a psychological thriller with a dash of the supernatural and a touch of the paranormal. Anyone who enjoys thrillers that keep you guessing until the end would enjoy this book.
The End of Echoes is a slice of life suspense. It is an emotional read which follows two families tragedy’s over the course of eighteen years, showing how their paths intersect in unexpected ways.
Somewhere In Between comes out in June 2020 and is now available for pre-order through gestalt-media.com/shop or ebook through Amazon. It is a Psychological Suspense that includes family secrets, lies, betrayal, and a touch of the paranormal and time travel.
All of my books are set in modern-day times, but I make up the names of the cities in each book.
Dawn, this was a great interview! Loved how you named Tessa and your favorite scenes you had mentioned have me intrigued. Writing from real-life events I would think would really grab the reader as well as how it grabbed you to write. And, you made me grin about your romance you were writing for Hallmark Publishing. I am glad you joined Twitter, you have books published and dreams are coming true. I wish you the best in your writing career.
About the author:
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Dawn, this was a great interview! Loved how you named Tessa and your favorite scenes you had mentioned have me intrigued. Writing from real-life events I would think would really grab the reader as well as how it grabbed you to write. And, you made me grin about your romance you were writing for Hallmark Publishing. I am glad you joined Twitter, you have books published and dreams are coming true. I wish you the best in your writing career.
About the author:
I am a lifelong resident of Ohio. My husband, Steve, and I have been married for 18 years and we have 4 children, although 3 of them are now adults. I have spent my career in social work and have a passion for helping others. I was diagnosed with Crohns disease 15 years ago which has been both a blessing and a curse. My illness has prevented me from continuing to work (the curse) which allows me to pursue my passion for writing with many less time-restrictions and focus my energy on being a wife and mother (the blessing).
My writing is often sparked by a true story which creates a cast of fictional characters/situations in my mind. In addition, I sprinkle pieces of people’s true -life stories they’ve shared with me throughout the years into my fiction as a way to honor many of the tragedies and joys that people live through.
In addition to God, my family and writing, I love coffee, traveling, reading, HGTV and naps. I believe that a story lives in all of us and that it’s important to share ours with others, never knowing who will benefit from what each of us has to say.
Sharing our stories not only helps others, it changes us as well.
Sharing our stories not only helps others, it changes us as well.
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