Welcome to Inside the Mind where we here at The Faerie Review interview authors and creators.
Our guest today is Amber Daulton, the author behind Arresting Jeremiah

Lily: Thank you so much for agreeing to this interview, Amber. I enjoyed reading Arresting Jeremiah. What was your inspiration for writing this?

Amber: Jeremiah Borden, better known as Jim, played a large role in the previous book, Arresting Mason. In that one, he was such a prick and frustrated a bunch of readers. I wanted to redeem him and give him a chance to prove that he’s not such a bad guy. Since he showed interest in a pretty waitress in book one, I already had my lead-in for book two. Most everything fell together naturally in plotting and pacing this story. It’s one of my favorites in the Arresting Onyx series.

Lily: I certainly liked him! Were Calista and Jeremiah inspired by anyone?

Amber: No, but I found inspiration for Demi, Calista’s horrible boss at the diner, from one of my bosses that I had years ago. In reality, though, my boss wasn’t nearly as bad as the fictional one, but I sometimes still have nightmares over working at that restaurant.

Lily: I think we’ve all had that one nightmare boss, glad yours was able to supply some inspiration. Would you rather spend a day with Calista or Jeremiah? What would you do?

Amber: Calista. She’s an awesome pastry chef, so I would happily sit in her kitchen and let her try out some of her wild creations on me. I would like to spend time with Jeremiah, but I’d be tempted to touch him (and more!), and Calista would probably tear my hair out. Yikes!

Lily: I would absolutely love to try some of Calista’s confections! Did the story end up where you thought it would when you first started writing?

Amber: Oh, yeah. I had to make some changes in the middle and add a suspense subplot to please my editor, but the bulk of the story made it from Point A to B without much trouble.

Lily: That’s awesome, and I liked the suspense quite a bit. Now we’d like to talk about you as a writer. Do you like to outline before you write, or just let it flow?

Amber: I’m a plotter, and I like to outline chapter by chapter. I use pen, paper, and colored pencils, but sometimes I plot in a Word doc. I follow my notes as close as possible, but sometimes the characters take over and steer my story in another direction. Then I have to get into arguments with my H/h, or even the secondary characters, and force them back into the outline. More often than not, they refuse to get back in line and I have to write what they want. But it all works out in the end.

Lily: I love the variety you use to outline, and I can definitely see you trying to get your characters to fall in line. Is there a time of day you prefer to write?

Amber: During the day. I used to be a night owl and got my best work done at 1am, but I’m not as young as I used to be. LOL. I’m only 33, but I definitely need my beauty sleep. Nowadays, I wake up at maybe 6am and get a good chunk of writing done by noon. Then I take a break for lunch, write more, have dinner and see a movie, write more or do marketing online. Then bed at 10pm and do it all over again the next day. I’m a creature of habit.

Lily: Sounds like a good routine, though! I’m definitely a night owl, and my routine is mostly centered around a 3rd shift schedule. Is it easier to write or edit the first draft?

Amber: I’m not sure. When I write the first draft, I always complain about how poor my writing is and how everything sounds stilted. I just can’t wait to get to the editing stage. Then that day finally comes, and I struggle to make my mess of words sound better. I always want to go back to the first stage or jump ahead to my next round of edits, which is usually a blast. At that point, everything is in much better shape, and my stomach stops cramping.

Lily: I don’t know of many authors that love their first draft, hehe. Let’s finish up with some fun questions and get inside your mind. Do you prefer to be spontaneous or plan out things before you do them?

Amber: Plan, plan, plan. And plan some more. I would love to be spontaneous, but then I think of all the bad things that could happen, and I’m like, “Nope. Not gonna happen.” I’ll save the excitement for the heroes and heroines in my stories. No going crazy and taking on a multi-billion dollar underground gang organization for me—I’ll leave that to Jeremiah.

Lily: Jeremiah does a great job of taking them on – and I can totally understand wanting to plan! What are your favorite and least favorite foods?

Amber: That’s a toughy. My husband, Gregory, and I have been vegetarian for the past couple years, so there are a lot of restrictions on our diet. One of my favorite foods is probably chips and salsa, and my least would be soft pasta. We prefer to eat pasta al dente (firm) because it’s healthier and has a lower sugar content.

Lily: Chips and salsa is always good, especially for a quick snack. Would you rather be covered in fur or scales? What color would you want to be?

Amber: Fur! And orange. I’m gonna take this one step further and say I’d love to have the shapeshifting ability to change into a cat. Whether that’s a house cat or a tiger, I don’t care. I love kitties!

Lily: That would be awesome! What do you do to unwind?

Amber: Star Trek. Really. I’m a big TOS and TNG fan. Sometimes after a long writing day, I just kick back on the couch and let Captain Kirk and Mr. Spock entertain me for a few hours. It’s bliss.

Lily: I can’t say I’ve watched much Star Trek (yet). It’s been on my to-watch list forever, but I know quite a few of the memes from it. How can readers discover more about you and your work?

Amber: I love to hear from readers, so they can find me at…

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Check out Arresting Jeremiah here:
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