Sarah Gai (Author)

Please Welcome this Author !

Wow! What a pleasure it is to welcome Colleen Oakes to my blog today. Colleen has been one of my favourite Authors for the last few years, so imagine my squeal when she happily agreed to answer some questions I had been longing to ask.

Question 1.  What was the motivation behind writing? When did you decide to make a career out of it?

I have always dreamed of being an author. I remember in 4th grade telling my teacher that I wanted to write books, and she encouraged me to write some for the classroom.  No matter what anyone says, I think encouraging wild dreams when kids are young matters. I then went on to get my degree in English, and then became a wedding florist. It was in the midst of being a wedding florist that the idea for Elly in Bloom came to me.  On New Year's Eve, I got together with another friend (Emily Kiebel, who wrote the great Serenade) and we decided to write a novel in a year.  Elly in Bloom came out of that, and then Elly in Love, followed by Queen of Hearts and Wendy Darling.  I finally decided to make a career out of it when I was having an incredibly hard time juggling the wedding florist job and my writing time.  It was a risk - a big one - but I knew that this was the direction I wanted my life and career to go. Being a wedding florist IS a dream job, but it wasn't MY dream job.

Question 2. Who do you most admire as an author?

I am a big fan of Ann Patchett and Christopher Paolini. Both write beautifully, one more literary fiction and the other high-brow fantasy. Both are books that I can - and have - waited in a blizzard to have signed. Their careers show maturity and longevity, and their creativity is unmatched.

Question 3. Your favorite book ?

Ahh, this is always such a hard question!  Classic? Jane Eyre. Contemporary: A toss up between The Poisonwood Bible and Bel Canto.

Question 4. From you own books, what character do you most relate to? and why?

I wish I was more like Wendy Darling - shy, polite and good, but I think I am most like Dinah - I have a fury in me that can grow dark at times.  While I relate to her, I think physically and realistically I am pretty much Elly in a more northern local.

Question 5. Favorite book boyfriend?

It's sort of embarrassing, but Edward Cullen made me swoon BIG TIME, but I also have soft spots for Quentin from The Magicians, Peeta from the Hunger Games and Eragon from The Inheritance Saga.

Question 6. List one thing you have on your bucket list and hope to achieve?

At some point in my life, I want to attend an Olympic Games. Summer, preferably.

I would love to thank Colleen for taking the time to answers these questions that give us a little insight into the life of an Author. For some great reading feel free to check out her books below