Author Q&A: C.M. Sutter

Today we’re interviewing C.M. Sutter, a crime fiction writer who resides in Florida, although she is originally from California.

She is a member of over fifty online writing groups, and in addition to writing, she enjoys spending time with her friends and family. 

She is an art enthusiast and loves to create gourd birdhouses, pebble art, and handmade soaps. 

Gardening, bicycling, fishing, and traveling are a few of her favorite pastimes. 

SADYE:  How did you come to see yourself as a writer, and what inspired you to seek publication?

C.M.: I’ve always watched a lot of crime TV and found myself playing the detective role often. 

I wanted to figure out who was the bad guy and how I’d catch him if I was the cop. 

In hindsight, now that I am a crime fiction/police procedural writer, and if I could go back in time, I’d love to be a detective or an FBI profiler.

You have to treat writing as a real job unless it’s done purely for personal satisfaction. 

The most difficult part of writing from home is convincing people that I am at my job between 9 and 5 daily and it is a paying occupation, not a hobby. 

As far as seeking publication, and having more than thirty novels written since 2014, it is my job. 

With that said, publishing my work was the way I intended to make a living. 

SADYE: Tell us something about your writing process that’s unusual or that you haven’t revealed before.

C.M.: I’ve found that if I create a beginning, middle, and end to my story, the rest will fill itself in nicely. 

I have to know where I’m going in the book and what the final outcome will be in order for it to progress like I want it to. 

I also find that the “filler” usually takes me by surprise and creates an interesting addition to the story or a side plot I hadn’t originally thought of.

SADYE: Which of your characters would you most and least like to trade places with?

C.M.: I can’t think of any I wouldn’t want to trade places with because I love my characters! 

The bad guy in each book comes to mind though since he or she usually gets killed or sent to prison. 

The person I would like to be and have a very close connection to is Kate Pierce, the psychic detective. 

Strange coincidences have often occurred in my “real life” after writing her stories. 

While watching a police or mystery program on TV, and even occasionally on the news, I’ve come across people that have the same names as my characters, there’s been locations that have come into the spotlight that I’ve written into books, and even the most unusual murder weapons I’ve used in my stories have popped up on crime TV shows. 

SADYE: What has been the most surprising, rewarding, and challenging parts of your writing career?

C.M.: Although I don't have a background in writing or publishing, I am able to earn a very comfortable full-time living. 

Like the old saying goes, “If I can do it, anybody can.” 

If you can come up with a compelling story and a good blurb, have a great custom designed cover and hire professionals to take care of the editing and formatting, you can be a success!  

I tell people all the time that those guidelines as well as advertising is the key to earning a living as a writer. 

I am pleased and surprised by the financial rewards I've gained over the last five years and that pushes me to carry on! 

Scheduling my editing dates six months in advance helps keep me focused and on track. 

Working from home takes discipline and it's easy to find a reason NOT to write if I'd allow myself to go there. 

Unless you're a traditionally published writer with a well-known name under your belt and a library of dozens of books you've written, the only and best way to make writing your living, is to write every day, be disciplined, and treat it as your job. 

You can still have a lot of fun with it!

SADYE: What advice, as relates to your writing career, would you give your younger self?

C.M.: I'd tell myself to begin writing at an earlier age although indie writing is still a relatively new phenomenon. 

It's much easier to get eyes on books these days thanks to the internet and self-publishing. 

In today's world, there's no need to rely on traditional publishers to have your story told.

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Learn more about C.M. Sutter on her website, where her books can also be purchased; like her on Facebook and follow her on Twitter. 

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