Author Interview with Mattie Richardson

Today I have the pleasure of introducing Mattie Richardson, author of Appaloosy and Dusty's Trail. I'm sure a couple of you bloggers out there will know Mattie Richardson from her blog, Appaloosy Dreams. And if you don't know her, be sure to click on the link and check out her blog! She's really cool!

1. When did you first start writing?

I'd have to say I first started writing when I was about 8 years old. I went to public school at that time, and while the other kids were finishing their assignments I would write tablets full of stories, most of them involved animals of some sort.

2. Is life any different now that you're an author?

Yes life is different. It is so cool to be able to say, "I'm an author" to people and watch their response. I do get tired of explaining the details over and over, though. One thing that is definetely different now too: I have no time! Who has time to be bored in this world? Every minute when I'm not doing something else I'm thinking that I should be writing.

3. How long did it take you to write, edit, and publish your first book? How long did the first draft take?

The first book definetely was a long process. It took me the entire summer of my 13th year to write Appaloosy. Editing took about three months, the saving up money for the first round of publishing is what took the longest. I worked about a year to earn enough to publish it, the publishing process itself took about a month and a half.

4. Do you have any hobbies/things that you really enjoy doing?

I love to ride horse! Wanting a horse is what inspired me to write Appaloosy. Now that I actually have a horse reality has hit me a bit. =) I also like to write, play the fiddle and the electric guitar, work on 4-H projects, and hang out with friends.

5. What/who most inspired your writing?

My want for a horse really inspired the writing of Appaloosy. When I was 13, I didn't have a horse yet and dreamed about owning a beautiful Appaloosa. Add a little history, a character modeled after myself, and a little bit of special aspects to a normal horse, and there you have Appaloosy.

6. Are you working on any books right now? How many books do you have out?

Currently I have two books out, Appaloosy and Dusty's Trail. Both are historical fiction told from a horse's point of view. I am working on my third horse book, Golden Sunrise, and a longer teen novel I have entitled "Blackberry Blossom".

7. Did you always want to be an author? What did you want to be when you were little?

I don't think that I always wanted to be an author. I kind of wanted to be a veternarian or horse trainer when I was little. I always have written stories, but I didn't think about it until I heard a few stories about teen authors and thought, "Hey, I could do that!"

8. Do you have a favourite writing quote?

I love all kinds of writing quotes! Everytime I read one, I can relate to it so much usually I hurry and put it on facebook as my status, only to find out that not everyone thinks like a writer. :) Here's one of my favorites:

What no wife of a writer can ever understand is that a writer is working when he's staring out the window. ~Burton Rascoe
Change "wife" to "parents", "friends" or "coworkers" and this quote is amazing to me!

9. What was your first reaction when you found out your first book was going to be published?

It was a long time coming for me, but you wouldn't belive how excited I was to hold the first copy of Appaloosy in my hands. I had put so much time, effort and inspiration into writing my first novel, and here it was, a real book!

10. Who is your greatest support in your writing?

I'd like to say my parents, but because they are so busy in their lives they don't have a lot of time to support my writing so they usually leave me on my own in writing, publishing, earning money to publish, marketing, etc. I think the greatest support would be my blogger friends! I do have to say that my uncles on my mother's side have been very helpful too, helping with editing, marketing and stuff like that.

11. Do you have a favourite book? Author?

I love the book Dairy Queen by Catherine Gilbert Murdock, and I like Louis L'amour books too. But I'm not sure on my favortie author yet. I guess I haven't read enough books out there to decide yet!

12. What's your best tip for beginning writers?

Keep plowing along, and don't have too high of expectations. Being a writer is hard work and there really isn't a lot of glory in it unless you hit the bestseller list (very unprobable). It takes a lot more time and work than you would think to write a  book so don't start it thinking that it will be easy. It never is.

13. What's the best part of being an author?

I think the best part of being an author is sharing your work with others. It is so scary having your writing out there for the whole world to read, but also it is very thrilling, especially when people like it. Of course though, I think my favorite part was always being locked in my room typing away, not having to listen to any voices except for the characters that are in my head.