AUTHOR SPOTLIGHT: Isabel Curtis

Isabel Curtis is the author of Before Life Happened and several other books that you can see at her website.

Interview Conducted by:

Angel

1. What inspired this book?

This is a very interesting question. The book has nothing to do with any personal occurrences, but I wanted to try explore a world of grief through a teenager's point of view, and send a powerful message to all those girls and boys out there who might be going through a hard time. I feel that literature has a big impact on those who read a book, and I wanted to do my best to give a spark of hope to those readers who might be stuck in darkness.

2. What is your biggest accomplishment?

Probably writing my first book, finishing it, and finally deciding to self-publish it. Realizing that writing was my dream career took a while, especially because it's not something that my family would encourage and fully support, so I never thought I'd have to courage to start this new adventure.

3. What is unique about your writing?

Unique is a big word. I'd say that my writing is special because I put a lot of myself in my stories and my characters, I do a lot research if I'm addressing a particular issue (ie. depression or self-harm, like in Before Life Happened) so that makes the whole narration more real, which is not something every author does. There is so much effort into creating a story from scratch that it makes the end product special, and I think this goes for every valid author out there. You don't always have to be unique, just special in order to leave a mark: and this is what I want to do through my writing.

4. Was it hard (mentally, spiritually) to write this book?

It became harder when someone very close to me passed away unexpectedly, making me grieve somehow just like Hayden was suffering. So yes, I guess some parts where harder to write than others.

5. What age were you when you started writing? When was your first piece published?

I started writing when I was in high school, but just for myself. I decided to start a writing career when I was 20, although I never published anything until recently.

6. Is this book part of a series?

Yes, Before Life Happened is the first installment in the “Before” series. I'm already working on a sequel and a short novella which will feature Sunrise as the main protagonist.

7. Have you written any other books?

I published a NA contemporary romance book called “Unexpected Love” which is also part of a series.

8. Why did you pick writing as your profession or side profession?

It all happened sort of random, but at some point in my life I decided that I didn't want to keep my books just for myself so I started writing for a bigger audience. I felt like I had a lot to say, and I've always resorted to writing when it came to put my thoughts in order or understand my feelings which is what I try to do when I write, except I make up plots and characters to turn everything into fiction.

9. If you could choose, what author would you want to mentor you for writing?

I would really really really love to meet Chuck Palahniuk.

Thank you for your time and support Ms. Curtis!