PWLGB: When did you decide you wanted to write?
SH: My mother said it started about 6 or 7 when I lied so
much to her that she made me write it down on paper, but by 12, I decided I wanted to be a novelist after spending two
years reading Johnanna Lindsay historical romance novels.
PWLGB: How many novels in all have you written?
SH: Umm... 12. but, here's the breakdown (and I actually
had to count them again because I forgot): I have written 8 full length novels and 4 novellas. Three of them are in tradeback
(Dreams of Reality, Stone's Revenge & Mistaken Identity) and are available at bookstores and Amazon.com, while the rest
can be found, ordered and downloaded on my website or at: http://Lulu.com/SylviaHubbard.
PWLGB: How long did it take you to write your first
novel?
SH: The first novel that I FINISHED
was written in three months - Dreams of Reality (ISBN: 0-7388-2554-9). This was because for years I had been telling myself
that I was actually going to take my writing very seriously, but I couldn't complete a book. I read this article that
interviewed author, Judith McNaught, and at the end of the article they asked her what advice she would to inspiring authors.
She said finish the book. No matter what finish the book. I thought this was the most ridiculous advice she could give out
of all the knowledge, but then I took a reflective look at my own writing and I knew I had never finished a story. I took
on the challenge and sat down at the computer and forced myself to not stop until the book was finished.
PWLGB: Where do you get your inspiration for
your stories? Are the characters based on real people?
SH: I take a little bit of reality, throw in a lot of conflict,
and make the impossible - believable. My characters are a mixture of the same formula. I take personality traits out of real
people, but I cannot say not one character is based on just one person. All in all, all of my main characters have a little
bit of me in them.
PWLGB: Tell us about "Mistaken Identity."
SH: My writing buddy and author, LaDonna Tutt, gave me a writing
prompt. I was to take a wedding scene and throw in some sex. This was the pretenses for Mistaken Identity. For years Dana
has loved Jerome from afar and for years Dana has watched her twin sister take everything she has wanted - Even Jerome.
So when Dana is given the opportunity to take her sister’s
place on the wedding night, Dana jumps on it - or more like jump on Jerome. Yet, her deceit to her brother-in-law may make
her a fool in the end.
PWLGB: After writing your first novel, did
you self-publish?? If so, how was that experience?
SH: A big learning experience. I realized that I had educated
myself on publishing the book, but forgot to educate myself on promoting and marketing myself. I took for granted that I had
a marketing degree and thought it would be easy. WRONG! By my second book though I had gotten the idea of what I needed
to do.
PWLGB: What feedback have you received from fans?
SH: For my first book, Dreams of Reality, I received good
reviews from it. I was pretty shy about the whole thing, but by the second book, Stone's Revenge, people were calling my number
(because it was a public listing at that time) and telling me how they had stayed up all night reading it. Now with my third
book, Mistaken Identity, they are screaming for more. So I think I'm doing pretty good, LOL.
PWLGB: What authors do you admire? Did one
of them inspire you?
SH: I've been a fan favorite of historical romances and that's
pretty odd since I write contemporary romance suspense. Johanna Lindsay, Virginia Henley and Beverly Jenkins were my inspirations.
Yet, since I'm lazy, I didn't want to do research on history and decided to take old themes and give them a contemporary twist.
PWLGB: Is writing your only passion?
SH: I passionately love my children and I have a DVD
buying addiction.
PWLGB: Where do you see yourself in 5 years?
SH: God willing, I'll be hitting the NY Times Bestseller
List for the second time in a row , and trying to host the BEA in Detroit.
PWLGB: What advice would you give aspiring authors?
SH: Don't stop what you're doing and don't be scared to
open up to your mother, and tell people that you wrote a book. And of course, Finish what you start.
PWLGB: What would you like readers to learn from your stories?
SH: That every good story, no matter if its horror, drama,
suspense, or sci-fi, always has an beautiful love story.
PWLGB: Are you working on another novel? If so, What
is it about?
SH: Currently, I just finished my book called Tanner's Devil.
It's my second I/R and its a mix of pretty woman and moulin rogue - or of course, urban styled. http://www.lulu.com/content/231548
PWLGB: Where can people purchase your books? Do
you have a website?
