Five Questions with N.L. Hoffmann

by Julie Tetel Andresen | May 5, 2017 |

Five Questions Series

I’m having so much fun connecting with all the smart authors and bloggers I’ve met online. This is the latest entry in my series of conversations with other romance authors, who join us to share about their creative process, their habits, their inspiration, and more. Our guest today is N.L. Hoffmann who loves to write paranormal novels with an air of mystery to them.

1. You’ve been writing since you were a pre-teen. What do you love so much about writing stories?

N.L. Hoffmann: I love the ability to escape from reality. I can create an entire world and be whoever I want to.

2. Your first book, Blood Slaves, was written three years before you published it. What was the process like to go from finished book to published?

N.L. Hoffmann: Well, I was scared to publish. I didn’t know much about self-publishing. I was afraid I’d make mistakes… which I did a lot of when I finally came out as an author. There are a lot of steps you should take when first coming out as an author or just publishing a new book period. You need to go through it yourself a few times to get rid of any mistakes and eliminate anything the book could do without. Some authors will remove entire scenes if they think it doesn’t really benefit the story. Then it helps to have beta readers. I didn’t have those with Blood Slaves and I wish I did. At that time, I didn’t even know what they were. After that you need an editor. A good one because so many people claim to be great editors and they really don’t have the experience to back that up. I learned the hard way on several occasions.

3. What is your writing process like?

N.L. Hoffmann: I really don’t have a process. I take a lot of notes. The story usually forms when I start to write. If I do an outline, I never follow it. The characters seem to go off in their own direction.

4. What draws you to paranormal romances?

N.L. Hoffmann: I tried to write just romance, but each time I kept trying to give my characters powers of some sort. I guess I just can’t write about the normal human.

5. What advice would you give to new authors?

N.L. Hoffmann: Don’t give up. It’s hard and it may seem like you’re getting nowhere, but in the end, you’ll be glad you took that step.

Special thanks to N.L. Hoffmann for participating in this series! To find out more, visit her website. You can also follow her on Twitter (@nlhoffmann) or like her on Facebook You can purchase her books on Amazon.