Sandra Woffington is the author of the Wine Valley Mystery series. Her about the author segment on her Amazon Book Listing pages states:

I’m a natural-born daydreamer. Characters have popped in and out of my brain for as long as I can remember. The most important thing to know about me is that I love to write, love and hate my characters (they do crazy things that blow my mind), and I love to create worlds. I hope you enjoy them.

I also love sunsets, and I have two sisters and three daughters, so trinities rock my world.

And now, for the interview!

Please share if you would the path you followed to becoming an author.

First, I read books on the craft, and I wrote a novel, which I rewrote several times. I then returned to college for formal study, receiving my B.A. in English at U.C. Irvine, where I also completed the Humanities Honors Program. My thesis won distinction as “the most outstanding.” I earned my MFA in Creative Writing and an MA in English at Chapman University.

School is not necessary for writing novels, but it forced me to read about 8 books a semester (per class) and to analyze them critically (I actually like to write thesis papers—and I use fiction techniques to make them soar).

Living and observing the world are the most important factors—not school. I study people where ever I go. I travel—not just for the sights but to meet the people. Jot down what a sunset looked like, a face. Jot down how an experience felt, toes in the sand, wind in the face. Jot down the sounds, the extraordinary, the mundane. Write.

Your first series is set in California wine country. Why did you choose this location as the setting to tell your stories?

I bought a home in Temecula wine country. I’m ten minutes away from the wineries. This locale inspired me. Wine Valley is fictional, as is the town of Vinoville, and the affectionate name for Old Towne, Grape Gulch, but it’s all based on Temecula. I live it. I write it—except Wine Valley is far more sinister.

Of all the genres you could pick from to write in, why did you pick mysteries?

I’ve loved mysteries for as long as I can remember. Agatha Christie, Sherlock Holmes, and others. I love television mysteries too: Murder She Wrote, Midsomer Murders, Death in Paradise, Bones, Criminal Minds, CSI, NCIS, Hinterand and others. My first series is a middle school mythological fantasy, Warriors and Watchers Saga, but when I decided to write an adult series, it had to be murder.

Why did you choose to go the Indie route as an author as opposed to traditional publishing?

I have a few hybrid author friends who all tried both traditional and self-publishing. They both made way more money self-publishing. I want total control over my business, putting books out when I want and how I want. Publishers don’t always do a great job advertising for their author clients—the author still has to market. So, if I’m going to do all of the work—I’m going to reap all of the benefits.

What has been your biggest challenge as an author?

The biggest challenge was learning to market effectively. I still outsource my ads for now, using a professional to handle that side of my business. I also consulted with a successful author for my launch—he taught me in a few months what it took him years to learn the hard way.

This taught me to reach out to other authors and experts. Find mentors and successful author friends who know more than you do. They are more than willing to help. I now love the marketing side as much as the writing side.

Dr. Joy Burton is such a dark character, especially when compared to Detective Max King. What or who was your inspiration to write such a unique character?

I strive to create opposites in my characters. It not only creates friction, each character pushes the buttons of the other. It’s challenge that allows characters to learn and grow. Take Shrek and Donkey, one grumpy, one silly. They needed each other to grow.

I’ve always loved the Addams family’s daughter Wednesday—she was the inspiration for Dr. Joy Burton. I thought, “What would Wednesday be like if she grew up and—given her natural proclivity toward all things dead—became a forensic psychologist?” The rest, her backstory, evolved from that point. I’m writing the prequel or Joy’s story now.

Are there any authors in particular whose writing and storytelling skills inspire you?

Way too many to name—all genres, all styles. I took a class at Chapman in the avant garde authors who broke the writing rules: from Laurence Sterne’s Tristram Shandy, where one page is black, to Robbe-Grillet’s Jealousy, where he attempted to write a story without a main character (you only get his point-of-view), to Samuel Beckett’s Waiting for Godot, and James Joyce’s Ulysses. But Finnegan’s Wake (hundreds of pages of stream of conscious writing) is a waste of time and paper (my opinion).

I never want to lose the ability to communicate in the most powerful way—it’s not about being fancy. I also took poetry classes to learn the rhythm of English, and my collection of poetry is vast. One of my favorite stories is a simple one: The Old Man and the Sea—Hemingway wrote a simple fisherman’s story in simple language. It deserved the Pulitzer Prize in Fiction. Hemingway put me in that boat with Santiago.

That’s great storytelling! Another of my favorite books is Madame Bovary. I read it in my twenties. What a great character! Readers love her or hate her. She’s despicable, and she creates her own tragedy. Great storytelling!

What can your readers expect from you in the future?

More fabulous books filled with unique, interesting characters: flawed, passionate, vulnerable. I love Wine Valley Mystery series—the setting and the people in it.

I’m also working on my other series, which is really important for me to write. The teen characters have special needs, but they must become warriors to save the world. As a middle school teacher, I recognize that every child needs a hero to inspire him or her.

Warriors and Watchers is a crazy story with zany characters but important themes. These books take more time. Book #2 in the series is scheduled to be out this year.

What goals have you set for yourself as an author?

My goal is to write full-time—I hope that’s a reality in two years, but I won’t stop until I get there. We only lose when we stop trying. I have ideas for other series too, but I am on a roll with Wine Valley and Warriors and Watchers Saga—that’s enough for now. My specific goal is to write 12 books a year, but I’ll be happy with 10.

For any aspiring authors reading this interview, what advice do you have to offer?

If you are writing to make money, you won’t get there. If you’re writing because you have a story to tell, characters urging you to write, and a passion for “the word,” you’ll make it. Study, learn, try. Study, learn, try. Reach out to author mentors. Join Facebook writers’ groups or local writer’s groups in your area. Go to guest lectures by other authors on craft. Attend conferences.

Most of all—write!

A writer writes. Set word count goals and hit them. Write when you feel like it and when you don’t. Before you know it, you’ll be staring at a finished novel. Then the fun part starts—edit the rough diamond you’ve mined from your brain. Cut it and polish it until its facets sparkle, and you have a diamond.