I had a fun conversation with Author Cooper, talking about her books. We discovered along the way that she had six dogs that were all off-cam while we chatted.

How it all started

So, let’s talk about being a writer. Is it easy, fun, hard?

For me, it’s fun. I enjoy it. It’s something that I didn’t always realize that my mind did – sort of wrote stories. It was just something that I did without really thinking about it, where if I didn’t necessarily like the ending of a story, I would mentally rewrite it.

I have insomnia, so I lie awake at night and tell myself stories. And so, it happened, just over a year ago, you know, my husband was like …

Mr. C: What do you do when you lie awake at night?
Author Cooper: I write stories in my head. That’s what I do.
Mr. C: Well, like what?

And, so, I told him the story I was writing in my head at the time.

Mr. C: You need to write that down.
Author Cooper: Why?
Mr. C: Just do it.

And he knew I was, you know, reading on the apps. And so he’s like …

Mr. C: You should submit it and see what they say.
Author Cooper: No, no, no.
Mr. C: No, just do it. What difference does it make? If they don’t like it, then they don’t like it, and you’re no different than you are now.
Author Cooper: Okay.

So I did, and now here I am like 14 months later, and I have, I think, 14-16 books.

Editor’s note: Listed are 17 books, but The Claiming is actually three books in one.

Taking that leap of faith

Was it scary for you?

Yes, it was terrifying because, You know, you don’t know how people will respond to your books. What if they think they’re terrible? What if they, and what if they don’t make sense to them? What if what’s in my head doesn’t translate onto paper well?

So It was very intimidating. It was nerve-wracking. And, It was it was tough for me to kind of take that leap of faith and to try that.

I’m very glad that I did because now not only do I, you know, enjoy writing, but I know that there are others out there who enjoy actually reading my stories and get very invested in my characters. That, to me, is really exciting. I love that people enjoy reading my books as much as I enjoy writing.

Rub my belly and tap my head at the same time

Do you have any odd writing habits?

Writing habits, I would say no. I would say, I think what is odd, probably most people would find odd is, because I have that insomnia and I lay awake at night, I sort of write those stories in my head, you know, between 2 and 4 in the morning. And then it makes it easier for me when I get up to start writing because the stories are there in my head, ready to go.

So It’s I don’t know that I would say it’s necessarily not a writing habit. It’s more of a kind of an odd creation development habit that I have. I write about my day job.

So during the 2 to 4. Do you use pen and paper? Do you just just sit and visualize?

I create a movie in my head. I create the scenes. And sometimes the words, you know, the dialogue will come to me. I don’t always remember it, you know, a few hours later when I finally do get up and start putting the pen to paper.

But it’s and that’s really That really is how I create my stories. I visualize those scenes.

Do you outline?

In the way some authors are very regimented in their outline, I would say no, I don’t do that. What I do before I start writing I pick probably 4 to 5 key moments in the story that I know I want to get to.

And that’s definitely something that I think some authors struggle with because they’re starting a book, and all they’re thinking about is the end, like how do I get to the end?

For me, I don’t have to think about how I’m getting to the end. I have my 5 points. So, all I need to do when I sit down is write from point A to point B. So how do I get from the beginning of where I’m at to this key pivotal moment that is important, that I need to get to? I already have it in my head what that’s going to look like. And so then I write to that point. And then once I get there, then I can write from that point to the next point. And I move forward that way.

And it makes the story easier for me. I know where it’s going. I know how I will get there, generally speaking, but I don’t have an outline of everything that’s going to happen.

I tend to have this cinematic brain, as Penny said in her review (on Slvrdlphn.com). Because when I’m writing, I’m visualizing the scene. And all that I do is I write that scene to say, you know, here I am, I’m, if I was watching this movie, how would I write this scene into a book? And that’s basically what I’m doing.

I found my niche

Let’s talk about writing in the genre. Is it hard or easy to write paranormal romance?

I find it to be easy. It’s a genre that I enjoy and that I like. I like to read it, and so I like to write it as well. I will say that what I find difficult is the reading apps, where I currently have all of my books – I’m hoping to expand that, but for now, that’s where they are. They all seem to have a very similar idea of the synopsis and the way they want their stories to go, which I find repetitive and boring.

And so for me to try to break out of that to be able to write stories that I find more interesting, that I find are a deviation from that.

So it’s kind of, for me, that’s probably the most difficult part for me – trying to break out of the mold that I feel they (the apps) want you to fit in.

I like to write strong female characters. I don’t think that they have to be rescued to be strong females. And even if that’s just being strong in their own way, in their own ability, in their own world.

You know, Claire was an Omega, and she still was helping Feena. She still was doing her job, working hard, trying to make sure that other people were okay. To me, that’s a strength. She didn’t have to be in a position of power to have that kind of strength.

On hearing from readers

Do you read the reviews and the criticisms of your readers?

Oh yeah, yeah, it’s hard. In some ways, it’s difficult. So, I get a lot of positive feedback, which has been very helpful and encouraging to keep me going. And for people to have become so invested in some of my characters and really care about what happens to them, and they want to know what happens to them.

But you do get the criticisms from folks, they, you know, especially on the apps. They want you to always post more chapters than what you do. Even if you give them more chapters, they still want more chapters.

And there are people who are not going to like what you’re writing for whatever reason, and they’re not shy about letting you know that they don’t like it. That can be very difficult, especially for someone like me. I put my heart into it.

I think a lot about my books, stories, and characters. So, it can be difficult to hear that kind of thing.

I’m just a few clicks away!

Where can your readers get in touch with you?

I have a Facebook page, Author Cooper, and then I also have a Facebook group, which is Cooper’s pack.

So that’s where most of my readers are. They can talk about the chapters and the books and, you know, kind of interact with each other.

Where can they buy your books?

My Guardian series is on GoodNovel. Alpha Swap, The Claiming and the spin-offs, and Heart of a Queen are on iReader, and then my dragon books are on GoodNovel, iReader, and iStory.

You can check out the following reviews from our sister website, slvrdlphn.com, to pique your interest. Click on the link in the image below to bring you directly to the review.

Watch out for part two of this interview.