Meet fellow Clean Indie Reads author Katharine E Hamilton – with a New Release

Today I’d like to introduce you to my fellow CIR author, Katharine E Hamilton.

Katharine began writing in 2008, publishing both children’s and fantasy books, then in 2017, Katharine decided to venture towards romance and released the first novel in a collection of sweet, clean romances: The Lighthearted Collection. Chicago’s Best reached Best Seller status in its first week of publication and rested comfortably in the Top 100 for Amazon for three steady weeks, claimed a Reader’s Choice Award, and ended as a finalist in the American Book Festival’s Best Book Awards for 2017. Montgomery House, the second in the collection, released in August 2017 and rested comfortably alongside its predecessor. Both were released in audiobook format in late 2017 and early 2018. Beautiful Fury is the third novel to release in The Lighthearted Collection, and Katharine hopes her readers enjoy it as much as the previous novels in the collection.

Katharine has contributed to charitable Indie anthologies and helped other aspiring writers journey their way through the publication process. She loves everything to do with writing and loves that she is able to continue sharing heartwarming stories to a wide array of readers.

Katharine graduated from Texas A&M University with a Bachelor’s degree in History. She lives on a ranch in south Texas with her husband, Brad, and two year old son, Everett. She can frequently be found sitting on her front porch swing with her lap top creating a new story, staying up too late reading a good book, or quite possibly watching Finding Dory for the billionth time with her son.  

Now that we know a bit about Katharine, we’ll get her to answer a few questions, then she can tell us about her new release.

What three things would you say are the most important for an aspiring author to keep in mind as they begin their writing journey?

1. Finish your story. Don’t bog yourself down thinking about editing, formatting, marketing, etc. FINISH it first. Then you can send it to an editor and start the process. But finish the manuscript.
2. Follow your gut. Trust your own imagination and creativity. It’s okay to bounce ideas off people, but hold true to your original vision. It’s YOUR story. Tell it like you want. When you receive feedback from beta readers, then think about changes. Otherwise, go with the flow of your own imagination.
3. Do not be afraid or intimidated to reach out to other authors for guidance or help. We are a community. We are the ones who understand a 1* review, writer’s block, and the importance of the Oxford comma… we celebrate successes together and we are there for when you need encouragement.

Do you read the reviews that others leave for your books?

Sometimes. I would like to say I read every review, but I’m pretty terrible at checking in on Goodreads. I try to keep track of new ones on Amazon, but I think if we (authors) focus too much on reviews we can get sidetracked. Some people are going to love your work and some are going to hate it, and I think if we stalk the reviews we receive, self-doubt can begin to creep into our writing. It’s best to write because you love it, and if someone enjoys it, wonderful. EVERY review is appreciated though. Though we may not check them all the time, they are appreciated because they help us in other ways besides feedback. So keep reviewing! We love them. And just the fact we receive a review makes our day because it means people are reading our books.

What makes you happiest as an author?

Finishing a story. There’s no better feeling as an author than holding the first copy of your book in your hands. It’s a mixture of wonder, fear, excitement, and joy all rolled into one crazy experience. I love hearing from readers as well. I love hearing their thoughts on my work, especially which stories they relate with most, or the characters they love. Our characters become our friends… in a weird way… so we love hearing what people think or enjoy about them.

It’s been great having you here today, Katharine, and that’s great advice we can all benefit from–just get on with our writing and not let self-doubt bog us down!

So, you’ve got a new release, the third book in your Lighthearted collection. Where can readers find it?

All my books can be found on Amazon by clicking here.  Or you can find me on my website.