Hi, my name is Siri Mitchell. When I’m listening to a speaker and I’m taking notes, chances are, I’ve just had a great idea for a plot or a dialogue. If I’m nodding my head in response to a really profound statement, I’m probably thinking, ‘Yes. Right. That’s exactly what my character needs to hear.’

When I’m editing my manuscripts, I laugh at the funny parts. And I cry at the sad parts.

Sometimes I even talk to my characters. ‘Okay, Joe. Talk to me. Tell me what you’re thinking here.’ And yes, the characters answer me. I actually hear them talking in my head.

Half the time, I think I’m an okay writer. The other half, I’m tempted to take a magnet to the hard drive.

The easy part is writing. The hardest part is editing. The worst part is wondering if the books are going to sell.

I have plenty of ideas for books; the thing I lack is the time to write them. I write by the word. Other writers write by the page. However you want to tally it, 85,000 words is a lot of pages.

In the world of writing I have done nothing right. I wrote 4 books and accumulated 153 rejections before I signed with a publisher. And then I had to write a fifth book so that they could publish it. In the process, I saw the bottoms of more pints of Ben & Jerry’s than I care to admit. I vowed never to write another word again. Ever. I went on writing strikes and I even stooped to threatening my manuscripts with the shredder.

However. Here I am, ten books into the process, writing my eleventh!