Author Interview: Sarah Mae Sutton

Hello everybody! Welcome to the first ever author interview on this here Writer’s Blog. As my first guest I’m thrilled to introduce the increasingly popular and successful YA Romance Author (and youtuber) Sarah Mae Sutton!

Sarah’s links: Website Instagram Twitter Youtube

Hello Sarah! Firstly, thank you for being the first ever author interview on my blog. For anyone who isn’t already familiar, would you like to start off by telling us a little bit about yourself?

Hello! It's such an honor; thank you for having me! I'm Sarah and I'm twenty-one years old. I've been writing since I was six and I recently published my debut novel!

Could you tell us more about your first published work What are friends for? and how did you find the self-publishing route?

Sure! So What Are Friends For? follows a teenage girl named Remi, and after accidentally kissing her best friend, she starts to think of him in ways she hasn't before. Which is SO not a good thing. I actually found the self-publishing route through a popular indie author named Sarra Cannon, and she had a course on self-publishing. Long story short, I took her course, and completely fell in love with the idea of doing it all myself!

For a self-published author your book covers and websites are absolutely amazing. Did you have help with them or did you put them together on your own? I did have help with them! I hired out my cover designers, but when it came to my website, I took this author website boot camp and in that course, the instructor showed us how to create an eye-catching website. So I designed it all myself, but that course showed me how exactly to create something visually pleasing!

Was there any character in WAFF (or your upcoming project Out of my League) that you loved writing more than all the rest?

I really loved writing Sophia, which is the main character in Out of My League. I wrote OOML before WAFF, so that story will always have a special place in my heart, and so does her character! She's quirky, loves writing, and is passionate about what she does.

Speaking of WAFF, congratulations on reaching 60 reviews on Amazon recently! Any indie author knows that reviews can be the lifeline of our work but getting them is hard. Do you have any advice for how to get your books out there?

Thank you! It can be so tough getting those reviews. It can be really stressful to promote your work, but I try not to stop talking about it. I don't want to shove it in people's faces, of course, but I want to remind everyone that I do have a book out, it's a YA Romance, and about two BFFs falling in love. Talking about it and posting about it (especially on Instagram) really helped me spark conversations and build connections. Even if it feels weird, keep that conversation going!

Now I don’t want to dwell on it too much, but obviously the world is in a tough spot right now. How have you found it’s impacted your writing, if at all?

Actually, I feel like it's improved my writing! I definitely have more time on my hands being off work, so I've gotten a ton done. I'm an introvert 100%, so the stress of having to do day-to-day activities has been put on hold while the world is keeping to itself. Though it's a horrible time in the world and I keep it in my prayers, it's definitely been a break from the stress of life.

Did you find that you wrote or planned Out of my League in the same way as WAFF, or did your style develop between the two books?

I think my style stayed similar! I'm hoping it evolved some since these books came so far apart from one other, but looking back, I think they give off the similar vibe. Though, I did plan Out of My League waayyyyy more than I planned What Are Friends For?. Definitely, haha!

Are there any fun facts we should know about Sarah Mae Sutton?

I can say the alphabet backward--that's kind of fun. I adopted a manatee named Mikael. I'm working on a YA Halloween-themed Romance. :)

Lastly, as I don’t want to take up too much of your time. How are your dogs Maia and Gizel doing?

They are as cute as can be! We recently had to give Maia a haircut, so all she wants to do now is snuggle up and sleep. I'm so lucky to have such cute dogs and such amazing cuddle buddies!

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Thanks again to Sarah for partaking in this little interview. It was greatly appreciated.

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Until next time, keep reading.

M.K.