Today, I welcome author Sarah Bailey who joins us for an Author Interview! Check out their answers to my questions and learn more about this writer.

Q01 Why did you decide to become a writer?

I’ve always been creative. I come from a family of artists, actors, photographers and writers so I guess you could say it’s in the blood.

Becoming a writer was something I’d always flirted with but it wasn’t until just over two years ago that I put that into practice. I needed a creative outlet for my over active imagination.

I love building worlds and creating characters so writing is the perfect career choice for me. I remember when I was a kid I used to play Lego with my younger brother and my father.

We’d make up fantastical stories and backgrounds for the Lego men. Perhaps even from a young age, I was destined to be a storyteller.

Q02 Are there any authors who inspire you?

My biggest inspiration comes from my aunt, Elizabeth Bailey. She’s who made me want to write in the first place after I read her Historical Romances as a teenager.

My love of the supernatural comes from reading Undead and Unwed by Mary-Janice Davidson, which is why my first series was paranormal romance.

I’m hugely inspired by all the writers in the writing community on Twitter. There are far too many to name here, but they’ve kept me going along this journey.

Q03 What is your favourite part about being an author?

Getting lost in my stories. I get to know my characters and their backgrounds throughout my writing process.

I think that’s the best part for me, actually writing. There’s loads of great things about being an author, but it always comes back to the writing at the end of the day.

That’s what keeps me going, getting to explore new worlds with new characters who bring me joy and a lot of heartache too.

Q04 Are you currently working on a new book?

I am! A new series actually. I’ve written the first book and I’m in the middle of the second.

It’ll be based around four couples, hopefully having two books each. The first set is a second chance romance with a rather intense couple.

It’s a little dark which is now my thing, but I’m excited as they all have their own unique personalities and each couple is going to have a very different story to the others.

Q05 Do you use any specific writing software when drafting your manuscripts?

I usually use Microsoft Word. It’s my go to software, I use it for everything to do with my writing pretty much.

Q06 Do you plan your stories or just leap right into the writing?

I leap into writing. Even when I’m doing a series, I often have no idea where things will end up and that’s the fun of it for me. I call it writing as though I’m the reader. My characters always end up surprising me.

I’ve tried outlining or plotting before and I always find it stalls my creativity so I just write into the wind and let my characters take me where they need to go.

Q07 Do you have a writing routine?

Not exactly.

I now work full time as an author and I try to write every day, but that doesn’t always work out.

I take things as they come. I’m not very good with routines or schedules.

Q08 What is the hardest part of the writing process for you?

Writing the end of a book. I get to about maybe two thirds in and the last third always drags out for me.

I hate having to say goodbye to my characters. They take over my life for the period I’m writing them and when they go quiet in my head, it’s like losing a part of myself.

They’re always going to be there and now they’re immortalised in words, but it’s not quite the same as having them in my head.

Q09 Do you get a lot of support from family and friends for your writing?

Absolutely. My husband is my biggest support. He’s the reason I can even write full time so I’m eternally grateful to him for allowing me to pursue my dreams. My family are very supportive.

My parents are super proud of me along with my aunt. My mum actually does a lot of my proofreading for me, so I owe her a lot.

My friends are hugely supportive as well. I have a few author besties who keep me going throughout this process. Just knowing they understand the hardships makes it easier on me.

Q10 What is the single best piece of advice you could give to new writers?

Keep writing.

The journey to finish a book is hard, but once you get there, you’ll realise (like me) that you can do it again.

Each time you write, you get better. And as I always say, you’re only as good as the last book you wrote. So keep writing.

Q11 Are there any authors you would love to meet in person?

I’ve actually already met two authors in person who’re my biggest supporters and writer besties – Sean McMahon and S.R. Severn.

There are others I’ve met through Twitter who I’d absolutely love to sit down with over tea.

Recently I’ve become very good friends with Elle Linder and we keep saying that it would be amazing to meet up, but I live in Scotland and she’s in the US. One day maybe!

Q12 Tells us why you love writing

Writing is life for me. The range of emotions I go through during the process keeps me grounded.

I’m the happiest when I’m creating and bringing new stories into the world. Even if I never become famous, the fact that anyone wants to read my work is humbling for me.

I just want to be the best I can be and tell stories that people love. If it gives me the feels, then hopefully it’ll produce the same reaction in another.

I discovered my talent when I needed it the most and even though this has been an incredibly hard journey for me, I wouldn’t have it any other way.

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About Sarah Bailey

Born and raised in Sussex, UK near the Ashdown Forest where she grew up climbing trees and building Lego towns with her younger brother.

Sarah fell in love with novels when she was a teenager reading her aunt’s historical regency romances.

She has always loved the supernatural and exploring the darker side of romance and fantasy novels.

Sarah currently resides in the Scottish Highlands with her husband.

Music is one of her biggest inspirations and she always has something on in the background whilst writing. She is an avid gamer and is often found hogging her husband’s Xbox.

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Provoked

I was his gift. He was my downfall.

They say your parents are the two people who are meant to love you and keep you safe.

So what does that say about mine?

My father gave me to a man as a gift.

A man who wears many masks.

A man who terrifies me.

Why then do I want to know what lies beneath?

Why does a single touch send shivers down my spine?

I know what he wants.

My body. My words. My mind.

I can’t run. I can’t hide. And I can’t give in to him.

My name is Liora Stewart.

And Dante Benson is my Master.

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Big thanks to Sarah for being today’s guest poster, please make sure to check out their links and details above. 

If you would like to be a guest contributor on this blog, check out my Interested in Guest Posting pagefor details on how you can share your advice or do an author interview.

Happy writing

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Source: Header image from Canva. Headshot and book cover belong to Sarah.

© Ari Meghlen. All Rights to the works and publications on this blog are owned and copyrighted by Ari Meghlen or their respective owners in the case of guest posters, podcast hosts etc. The Owner of this site reserves all permissions for access and use of all documents on this site. NO AI TRAINING: Without in any way limiting the author’s [and publisher’s] exclusive rights under copyright, any use of this publication to “train” generative artificial intelligence (AI) technologies to generate text is expressly prohibited. The author reserves all rights to license uses of this work for generative AI training and the development of machine learning language models.