WHEN DID YOU FIRST KNOW YOU WANTED TO BE A WRITER AND WHY?When I was eight years old I wrote my first poem called “Progress.” Developers had bought the farm we lived on and I had walked the fields knowing that the hills, trees and ponds that I had known and loved would soon be under a bulldozer. I wanted the natural world to have some sort of voice about the violence that was being done to it, because what is going on in nature is also going on within us. I wished to bring more consciousness and awareness into the world so that we could live in a more attuned way. My sentiment really hasn’t changed much over the years. It was about that time that I announced to my parents that I was on earth to be a mystic poet. They did ask me how I would make money doing such a profession and I replied, “I have no idea yet, but I know I will.”
It seems that my young eight year old self was correct. I continue to use my voice to support the positive evolution of humanity and increase awareness of the beauty of the world around us.
AS A CHILD, WHAT DID YOU ASPIRE TO BE WHEN YOU GREW UP?
I always knew I wanted to be a writer. I wrote and illustrated my first two hundred page novel when I was eleven. Writing always kept me aligned with what I felt was good and true in myself and in the world around me. I was very lucky to be supported and encouraged by teachers in high school, college and various universities.
HOW DID YOU GET THE IDEA FOR YOUR AWARD WINNING TITLE?
My young son William was having a hard time when his father and I were divorcing. Young children can feel that their world is being torn apart, so I wrote the book to help him understand that although things change we can always come back stronger than before. At the same time I had also been told that I was developing breast cancer. Luckily it was in the very early stages, and I walked in nature and detoxed my way back to health. The book was also a way my own inner guidance had of letting me know that I could continue to live, even after divorce and illness, and I could go on and have a magnificent life. That tuned out to be true. I’m now happily married and in good health. I must thank my own Miracle Tree for helping me through my own Story of Becoming.
WHAT OTHER BOOKS HAVE YOU PUBLISHED?
I have published six books to date with two more coming out in 2016.
Sparkle And The Gift
Sparkle And The Light
Three Days In The Light
The Windhorse: Poems of Illumination
Consider This
Tracking The Deer
Legends of the Grail (2016)
Sparkle & The Rainbow Dragon (2016)
Four are books for children of all ages. I have also written three books of poetry, a book on health and am excited to be getting ready to launch my new book on Celtic Mythology, Legends of the Grail. My published books are available on Amazon, Barnes & Nobles and on my website store: http://ayncatessullivan.com/store/
The books are distributed to stores through BCH, Ingram & Taylor, New Leaf in the USA, and Deep Books in the UK.
TELL US SOMETHING INTERESTING ABOUT YOUR EXPERIENCE AS A WRITER:
It seems that my entire life as a writer has been interesting and funny, and really quite rewarding. I have felt constantly guided. Recently I went to give a book reading at the school I attended as a child, Community School in Roanoke, VA. The teachers in that very progressive school had always encouraged me to write, and it was really quite special to sit on the stage and see all the young faces who were so eager to hear A Story of Becoming. I was coming back from Europe, New York and California, and I thought about how all roads eventually lead us home again. I could imagine myself among the students hoping and praying that one day I might be a writer also. Several young people stood in line to speak to me afterwards. Some were so shy their cheeks turned pink and they couldn’t utter a word. So I asked them if they wanted to write and they just nodded yes. “Wonderful!” I exclaimed. “Do what your heart wants, for your heart will always lead you the right direction.”
WHICH AUTHOR HAS MOST GREATLY INFLUENCED YOUR WRITING STYLE?
I seem to have gone through seven year cycles with writers, falling in love with the writing of one to graduate on to another. When I was a child I fell in love with the poetry of Robert Frost and spent time walking in the woods as I imaged he had with pen and paper in hand. It seemed that if I sat with my back up against a tree I could sometimes feel something of its wisdom and would be inspired to write.
When I was a teenager I ran across Robert Bly’s poetry anthology, News of the Universe, and read it until the pages fell out. There was something in those pages that excited me and I eagerly started working with Richard Dillard at Hollins University to develop my style. He was a clever critic because he tended to focus on the lines he liked. I was also very influenced by my professor at Columbia University, Russian poet Joseph Brodsky. To him poetry was more important than life itself. While doing my doctorate at King’s College London I immersed myself in the work of Lady Gregory and W.B Yeats and fell in love with Irish mythology. Some of these tales will appear in my upcoming book, Legends of the Grail.
WHAT BOOK HAS HAD THE GREATEST IMPACT ON YOUR LIFE?
The book that has had the greatest impact on my life is actually the Collected Works of Shakespeare. As a child I read and imaged actors on the stage, and as time progressed I was able to see Shakespeare’s words come to life on the stage. When I was about 11 year of age I memorized the “To be, or not to be,” monologue from Hamlet and contemplated my own mortality. I concluded that life is a great gift and we must be grateful for the years we are given. Our personal evolution is our Story of Becoming.
WHAT HAS BEEN YOUR GREATEST LITERARY ACCOMPLISHMENT?
I’m very happy with the gold award for Inspirational/Visionary Picture Book with Children’s Literary Classics. A Story of Becoming was also the division winner for the Paris and the Great Southeast book festivals. Sparkle & The Gift won a gold for Children’s Inspirational/Motivational with the Beverly Hills Book Awards. My children’s series has won Mom’s Choice awards and many others. I have also won a variety of contests with my poetry. I am truly blessed. A list of many awards can be seen on my website: http://ayncatessullivan.com/media/awards/
Yet my greatest literary accomplishment is not a book or contest as much as the ability to continue to write even when there is not an award or any potential for a publishing deal. The reason I write is because it is what I must do and when I write my soul is singing.
CAN YOU DESCRIBE THE PROCESS OF BECOMING PUBLISHED AND ANY TIPS YOU MIGHT OFFER FOR OTHER ASPIRING AUTHORS?
The publishing world is changing. When I was in my twenties I worked for Kingfisher Books in London as an editor Americanizing Children’s Encyclopedias, I taught classes and also edited literary magazines. My first two books (Tracking The Deer and Consider This) were published in the traditional way with British publishers: Envoi in Wales and Findhorn in Scotland. As a young and inexperienced author, I had no idea that I would need to market my books in order to develop an audience. I thought that it would be inappropriate to “toot my own horn.” In my innocence I thought the publishers would let the world know about my books. I was disappointed when I only sold a few hundred books and realized that if I didn’t believe in myself then no one else would either.
As my interest began to evolve in an inspirational/motivational direction I was criticized by several editors and writers, being told to focus on reality. Yet the subjects we write about are not always chosen, sometimes as we try to understand all the beauty and the challenges we encounter in life insight is given to us by our muses. I became, over time, more independent, running my own groups and workshops. It was at that time that I realized I could publish what I wanted for my own audience and began to self-publish books for my workshops. People began to share these books and ask for written copies of the multiple stories I told. So I started Infinite Light Publishing to meet the requests of my children, students and clients. I am enjoying being part of this rising tide of Independent Publishing. My goal is always to publish a very professional book that will rival anything the large publishers produce while keeping the rights to the books. I also want my messages to have a positive impact on the evolution of others. I have also begun to help emerging authors find their way into the publishing world.
CAN YOU OFFER ANY ADVICE FOR WRITERS ON HOW BEST TO PROMOTE THEIR BOOK?
An author is responsible for promoting and selling their own books. A successful author is usually someone who enjoys promotion. In the beginning I resisted sharing my books with people and was terrified of being criticized. Eventually I realized that I would always be criticized, it was just the way of the world and I needed to have fun anyway. So perhaps the best way to promote your book is to have fun with it.
Because I believe in what I do, I know it is up to me to continue to develop an international audience. Many people love and support me, but it is my life and work. I am responsible for my own success. So I always keep books in my car and my backpack and show them to everyone I meet. I speak on the radio or on television whenever possible. I travel a lot so I always stop by local bookstores and schools. I enjoy seeing win/win solutions for authors, publishers and bookstores. We can thrive together. Most mom and pop bookstores are very friendly and are interested in new authors. I give readings at bookstores and run workshops. I also coach other writers. The internet has opened up all sort of new ways to grow an audience. I enjoy giving readings on the web and linking in with people all around the world.
My visionary books are loved by people now from Australia to Germany. I love hearing from readers who sleep with the books under their pillows or close by because they love them so much. I am also thrilled when I hear other people say that they have been inspired to write their own books, and I love reading them. I believe the more we can align with our creative self the more fulfilled and alive we become.
IS THERE ANYTHING ELSE YOU'D LIKE TO SHARE WITH OUR READERS?Stories have been told since the beginning of time. I would like to ask readers to pay attention to the stories they tell themselves. We are the authors of our lives and the words we use are the sounds and vibrations that create the lives we live into. We are more powerful than we realize, so chose your words wisely.
DO YOU HAVE ANY NEW BOOKS IN THE WORKS?
Yes, two new books will be coming out in 2016. One is the third book in our inspirational children’s Sparkle series, Sparkle & The Rainbow Dragon. It is the story of a girl who wishes to hold the light for the world and finds out that she must remake herself in order to step into her full power.
The second is Legends of the Grail, the retelling of thirteen powerful Goddesses, Heroines and Ladies of the Lake. In this book I share the myths as they have been told throughout centuries. Yet in each era the stories are meant to be voiced in a new way, and so in this book each woman frees herself of her own story and chooses to live in a new way.
LITERARY CLASSICS Book Awards & Reviews International Book Awards • Top Honors Youth Book Awards • Seal of Approval http://www.clcawards.org
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