Author Interview with J.P. Epperson, Book 1 of the Heaven on Earth Series

Angelic Anarchy Author Interview
Tell us about your latest book.

•  Angelic Anarchy is about a kick-ass warrior angel on an unusual mission. She, Belleeza, is the epitome of a warrior; strong, brave, skilled, and deadly. Belleeza is struggling to balance both the darkness and lightness that we all have inside of us.

Tell us a little about some of the others who contributed to your book, such as cover designer or editor.

•  I talked to several editors and I struggled to find the connection I was looking for until after about 3 months of searching. Finally, I found Kat of KT Editing Services and we hit it off from the first email. We work really well together. She has a great eye and she helped to transform my book from the mess it was to a presentable piece.  If you could only see what she had to work with...ha. I don't know what I would have done without her.
• I knew who I wanted to do my cover long before I even finished my manuscript. I came across PhatPuppy Art Studios on Facebook and loved the artwork. After checking out the website I saw that she did book covers as well. I was quite surprised to see that some of my favorite authors had used PhatPuppy Art for their covers and I knew I wanted to be the next. I've purchased both the 1st and 2nd covers for my series from Claudia.

Who are your favorite authors?

•  I have a wide range of favorites. Some bestsellers, some independent, and some not so recent. JK Rowling, James Patterson among the bigger ones. Also, love Jane Austin, she is my go to girl when I need a good comfort book. I'm a big fan of Victoria Holt. She's a bit before my time but I haven't read a book of hers I didn't enjoy and a lot of them I couldn’t put down. I also like more recent authors like Dannika Dark and Deanna Chase.

What advice do you have for other writers?

•  Just write. Get your story on paper, then worry about making changes. The first draft of my manuscript took so much longer to finish then it should have because I changed it as I went and I kept losing sight of my original story.

What's the best thing about being a writer?

•  The best thing about writing is that I can bring any crazy idea that pops in my head to life. I love bringing characters to life and watching them evolve.

What’s the hardest thing about being a writer?

•  I would have to say one of the hardest things about writing is never being satisfied with your work. No matter how many times I edit I'm never fully happy. I often feel like I'm letting my characters down or not doing them justice.

Where can people find out more about you and your writing?

•  Check out my website, www.jpepperson.com. Or find me on social media sites, Twitter, Facebook, or Goodreads.

How long did it take you to write your book?

•  It actually took me about 2.5 years to finish my book. I was a full-time mom to two boys, ages 3 & 1, when I started writing. I was also a full-time honor student. When I finished school I started working full-time. Originally I was writing for fun and had no intention of finishing it. So, writing would often get put to the side when my boys or my school had to take priority. Sometimes I'd go months without picking it back up. I finished my first draft in June of 2015 but I didn't know what to do from there so I just held onto it. This January I decided to make it my resolution to see it through and here we are...

Did you learn anything from writing your book that was unexpected?

•  Writing the story is actually the easy part and that was not what I expected. I thought it would be smooth sailing once I finished the book but I was very wrong. The entire writing, editing, publishing, marketing process is a roller coaster of lots of ups and downs.

Where can a reader purchase your book?

• Amazon Kindle, B&N, Createspace, and soon Kobo, iBooks, Google Play

What are you doing to market the book? 

•  Blog tours/social media advertising

Who inspires you?

•  My family

Do you have another work in progress? Tell us about it.

•  I'm in the process of writing book 2 of the series--Beautiful Betrayal. I'm hoping to have it out around March.

Have you written other books? Where can readers purchase them?

•  Angelic Anarchy is my debut novel. :-)

What are your thoughts on self-publishing verses traditional publishing?

•  I can't really speak to that as this is my first book and I have no experience with traditional publishing. Self-publishing has been scary but also exciting. I love that everything is in my control.

Who or what inspired you to become a writer?

•  I fell in love with words from the time I could read. My head is and has almost always been in a book. My parents would actually ground me as a child by taking away my books and making me spend time with the family. Haha. Transitioning from reading to writing felt so natural.

Does your family support you in your writing career? How?

•  My entire family has been the strongest foundation. They have been with me all along. I don't know what I would do without them.

What are you currently reading?

•  I actually just downloaded Death of a Temptress by P.F. Ford.

When you’re not writing, how do you spend your time?

•  Well, I work full-time and I am again a full-time student as well. When not working, studying, or writing, I am spending every moment I can with my family.