20 Questions with… Samantha Young

With her debut paranormal romance, Samantha Young (writing as S. Young) answers our 20 Questions and offers a glimpse into her process, her inspirations, and her literary favorites!

And then dive into a dark and magical world set in the wilds of Scotland with Samantha Young’s new release, War of Hearts, out now!

 

 

 

 

 

1.Your best virtue as an author.

I think my best virtue as an author is my ability to really empathize with my characters. I can put myself in their shoes and have a good understanding of what they’re experiencing, which makes their journey more realistic and relatable to my readers.

 

2. Your most quirky author habit.

Unless I’m on deadline I can’t write after 5pm. It’s like my brain closes the Imagination Store for the day. I have to force it to stay open longer on days I’m nearing a deadline and promise myself overtime in the form of chocolate.

 

3. Your favorite quality in a protagonist.

It’s difficult to pick only one. I think kindness is such an underrated quality so I always like my protagonist to be kind, but I also love sass. A sassy protagonist makes for great, witty dialogue and that’s page-turner material.

 

4. Your favorite quality in an antagonist.

I love an antagonist to be complicated. I want my emotions toward an antagonist to be complex because although they’ve done bad things, there are glimpses of goodness. It makes their bad actions all the more frustrating and keeps you guessing. A villain with no shades of gray is boring for me.

 

5. If you could ask any other author, past or present, a question who would it be and what would you ask?

I’d love to chat with Angela Carter because she was hugely inspirational to me as a teen and for that reason one of my favorite authors. If she were still alive, I’d have lots of questions but I think I’d open with where her inspiration came from for The Infernal Desire Machines of Doctor Hoffman. It’s truly one of the strangest novels I’ve ever read and yet I couldn’t stop reading it. I’d love to know more about the story behind the book. And ultimately, I’d like to know all that writerly stuff like what her writing process looked like etc.

 

6. When you aren’t writing, you are____

Marketing, interacting with readers on social media, reading, taking my two dogs for long walks, enjoying the peaks and troughs of online dating, hunting for the world’s best burger and adding new places to visit to my bucket list.

 

7. Your easiest book to write.

War of Hearts, my adult PNR under my pen name S. Young. The story had been living inside me for quite a while so when I sat down to write it, it just flowed out of me. I had the absolute best time writing that book.

 

8. Your hardest book to write.

The One Real Thing, the first book in the Hart’s Boardwalk series. It was the start of a new series after the success of the On Dublin Street series and I had a lot of worries about how readers would feel about a series that had such a different vibe to it. The pressure I put on myself stalled me a little creatively and I had to work through a bad case of writer’s block.

 

 

9. Your ideal writing place.

My ideal writing place would be at a desk, looking out of a window of a house that sits right on the water. I like to take writing trips to get that but one day I hope I’ll have that as a permanent writing spot.

 

10. Your favorite childhood book.

The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis. It was my first introduction to how truly magical books could be.

 

11. The book you’ve reread the most.

Darkfever by Karen Marie Moning. I’d like to read that entire series every year.

 

 12. Your favorite hero from literature.

Jericho Z Barrons from The Fever Series by Karen Marie Moning.

 

13. Your favorite villain from literature.

Damon from the Devil’s Night Series by Penelope Douglas. First off, he’s a true anti-hero and gets his own novel. Secondly, he’s a villain I love to hate in the first two books in the series, and then an anti-hero I love to love in the third book Kill Switch. He’s complex, compelling and addictive.

 

14. The name of your autobiography.

The Cynic Who Fell in Love with Romance

 

15. Your favorite comfort food.

Fish and Chips.

 

16. First thing you do when you finish writing a novel.

I sleep. I usually really, really need to sleep. The next day I celebrate by going out for lunch or dinner and I buy myself a treat. I have a little reward system going on lol.

 

17. A secret talent you have.

I loved art in school and I’m quite good at sketching. Anything that’s visually creative (interior design, cover art etc) I’ve been told I’m quite good at.

 

18. Where have you always wanted to travel?

I’d love to see the Great Wall of China, and Bali, and Bora Bora, and take a Norwegian fjord cruise, and Verona, and, and…. The list is pretty extensive.

 

19. One tip for aspiring authors.

Don’t publish the first thing you write. Get involved in a writing community and explore using beta readers and critique partners. Write, write and write some more. In my opinion every writer becomes a better writer the more practice they put in.

 

20. Puppies or kittens?

Puppies!

 

About Samantha:

Samantha Young is a New York Times and #1 International bestselling author from Stirlingshire, Scotland. On Dublin Street was Samantha’s first adult contemporary romance series and has sold in thirty countries. She has since published over thirteen romance titles including the New York Times Bestsellers Into the Deep, Hero, and her most recent contemporary romance Play On. When writing Adult Paranormal romance she writes under the pen name S. Young. 

 

Social media links:

Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/AuthorSamanthaYoung/

Website – http://authorsamanthayoung.com

Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/authorsamanthayoung/

Twitter – https://twitter.com/AuthorSamYoung

Pinterest – https://www.pinterest.co.uk/samyoungauthor/

Email – authorsamanthayoung@gmail.com

Goodreads – http://bit.ly/2FWgYdn

Bookbub – http://bit.ly/2D241eO

And want to learn more about your favorite authors? Check out our series 20 Questions with… to get to know other bestselling authors!

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