Interview with Celia Mulder

Author of Celebrity Spin Doctor

Where are you from originally and where do you reside now?

I was born in Baltimore, Maryland but have lived in Michigan most of my life. Currently I reside in the Detroit area.

If you currently reside somewhere besides where you were born, what’s the story that lead from there to here?

My parents were both born and raised in Michigan and their goal was always to get back to Michigan. When job opportunities opened up, we moved. My own moves have been the result of school and jobs. The great thing about writing is I can do it wherever I am, so I’ve allowed the pursuit of my day job to dictate where I live. It’s worked out so far.

What made you decide to write and publish your first book?

I’ve known I wanted to be a writer since I could write. But it’s easy to let life get in the way and I finally had to have a long, stern talk with myself. I told myself, if I wanted to write books, I needed to write a book. So, I sat down and wrote the first draft of Celebrity Spin Doctor. It was terrible and heavily influenced by the Twilight soundtrack, but it was written.

It took five years and many more stern talks with myself to get the book edited and published but was so worth it. Even when my first publisher closed before the book came out and when I was piling up rejection letters, it was worth it.

How would you describe your books to first time readers?

A friend once told me my book reads like a comedy action movie script – fast paced and funny with a heavy dose of ridiculousness. Celebrity Spin Doctor doesn’t take itself seriously.

I mean, I got the idea for the book from a cover story in the National Enquirer. That should tell you all you need to know about it.

Who do you feel is most likely to connect with the topics you write about?

My characters are not meant to be likable so connecting with them may prove a challenge. I wouldn’t want to have a dinner party with any of them. I take that back, there’s a character in book two who I want to be best friends with, but I would also warn him to stay away from the rest of them.

My intended audience is romance readers but actually I’ve gotten some of my best feedback from folks who don’t normally read romance. I’m not sure entirely what to do with that.

What unexpected or surprising thing did you learn during the process of writing and publishing?

I’ve never been a procrastinator. I was always the kid who had my homework done on time and even now, when I schedule time to write, I write. But when faced with doing social media marketing posting, I suddenly become a world class procrastinator. I like Instagram but whenever I think about posting Facebook, I want to go have a lie down. My poor Facebook reader group probably wonders if the group is still a thing or not.

If you could, what advice would you give to your past self before embarking on this journey?

Quitting writing doesn’t seem to work out for you so just accept this is your journey and stop hemming and hawing about it.

How many people would you ideally like to reach with your books?

The simple answer is as many people as want to read them.

The longer answer is, sometimes I want to take my book back. To go back to the time before it was published and other people had read it. These are usually the moments right after I get a one star review. Other times I fantasize about writing a runaway bestseller and having huge, red carpet book launches and signings with fans wrapped around the block. So somewhere between those.

Practically, my goal is always to find new readers, to get my books into libraries and someday physical bookstores, and to encourage readers to leave reviews, no matter what those reviews say about the book.

What has been the biggest challenge and frustration during the process to date?

The day my first publisher told me they were closing was a hard one. My book publication was cancelled and, at the time, I wondered if my book would ever be published. It was only by talking to my writing group, talking with other writers who’d been through the same thing, and reminding myself that I was still a writer whether or not I’d published anything that I was able to dust my book off and start sending it out again.

What’s your biggest strengths when it comes to book a) writing, b) publishing and c) marketing?

When it comes to writing I am good at exceeding my word goals. If I say I’m going to write, I will write. As for publishing, I believe I’m pretty easy to work with. Although, that’s for my publisher to say for sure. Marketing…I’m still struggling with the marketing. I recognize this as my area where I need the most help.

What’s your biggest weakness when it comes to book a) writing, b) publishing and c) marketing?

I am a slow and often unwilling editor. Which explains why I have so many first drafts sitting on my computer, waiting to be edited. My weakness when it comes to publishing is my marketing. I struggle with marketing myself to the point where I forget to tell people I wrote a book. As much as I want people to read my books, I also don’t like having the spotlight on me and that combination makes marketing a challenge.

When do you think you will write your next book?

I’ve been writing books nonstop since the first one was published. The sequel, currently titled “The Issue with Antons”, is coming out from Inkspell Publishing in September 2020. Right now I’m gearing up to start on book 3 edits and drafting another, unrelated, romantic comedy.

Are you self published or did you use a hybrid publisher, or a traditional publisher?

My Celebrity Spin Doctor series is published by InkSpell Publishing. I imagine at some point I will gravitate into hybrid publishing but as of now I’ve been entirely traditionally published.