Her YA fans know her as Cassidy Calloway, while her Writer Unboxed followers know her as Kathleen Bolton. Today, Kathleen talks with us about living her dreams and her keys to success…
Q: Tell us about yourself. What’s your dream and how are you working towards it?
KB: I’m pretty much living my dream right now in that I’m getting paid to do what I love, which is write fiction, but I’m going about it in an usual way. I was hired by Working Partners LTD to write Confessions of a First Daughter (HarperCollins), a novel for the young adult market. They asked me to write a second, Secrets of a First Daughter, which will release in September 2010. Currently we are collaborating on a story for the teen horror market. My goal is to use this foothold I have in the market to launch my own work. And I work at this goal every single day.
Q: Describe a “gray” time in your life. How did it stand between you and your dreams? How did you overcome it?
KB: I don’t really have “gray” moments, I have distractions. I don’t let the emotions get to me, luckily. I’m a believer of not dwelling on negativity. Keep working, stay positive and focused, that’s the key to success, I feel.
Q: What fears have you faced as you chase your dreams?
KB: The same fears that all writers have: that what I’m writing is crap; that I’m wasting my time; that I’m not good enough. I think these emotions are natural. So I don’t let them freak me out to the point that I can’t get any work done.
Q: What inspires you to keep pushing forward when the going gets tough?
KB: Pure cussedness. That’s my nature, LOL.
Q: If you could give one piece of advice to someone else who is struggling to move beyond the gray and follow a dream, what would it be?
KB: Feel the emotion and then let it go. This is not an industry that is kind to wimps. Learn how to put the fears in a box and get on with the business at hand: writing your book!
Are you chasing a dream? If so, I’d love to hear from you!
E-mail me at Erika (dot) Liodice (at sign) hotmail (dot) com.
