Author T. S. Thompson is the mother of two sons currently living in Pennsylvania. She has a deep desire to move readers with books. Thompson has been blessed with the gift of storytelling and believes the world is in need of good family-friendly books everyone can enjoy.
In the following post, T. S. Thompson talks about her creative journey, things which inspire her, book promotion advice for authors and her vision for the future.
What was the inspiration for your book?
From my heart came The Land of Good Dreams, my aching heart that watched my son suffer nightmares for years. He prayed every night to God. “Please let me have all good dreams tonight and no bad dreams.” I let myself imagine such a place. A land where children who suffer from chronic nightmares could escape. Somewhere safe and full of hope.
And so, I created the story of The Land of Good Dreams.
The Land of Good Dreams was published by Butterfly Light Press in August of 2018.
What are you working on?
I am in the middle of three books with plans to have them all published this year. The Dream Lures, book two in The Land of Good Dreams series is set to be released in late spring to early summer, with the third book in the series to come out at the end of 2019. I am also nearing the completion of a standalone book titled God is Able, and that will come out sometime this year but a date has not been set yet.
Tell us about your creative journey
My challenge as a writer is that I am a terrible speller, and I used to be very embarrassed over that. I mean I am a writer who can’t spell! But, I put my books through extensive editing using ProWritingAid software, advanced readers, and then my professional editor. What got me over being embarrassed was when Andrew Wommack said “When God calls you to do something, it will be out of your comfort zone.” If God gave me a story to tell, He believes I can write it despite my area of struggle. My hope is to encourage others out there to believe in themselves no matter what the obstacle is.
What inspires you?
When I was a child an older lady in the local library handed me the book The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe by C. S. Lewis. I never forgot how that book made me feel so full of imagination and hope. As an author my deepest desire is to write books of light for my readers. To fill them full of hope through my creative imagination. For ideas, I have lived most of my life with tons of worlds stored up in my head that I would escape to. They were so visual and real. I never knew what I was supposed to do with them until God put it on my heart to start writing The Land of Good Dreams. That is when I realized He had been giving me stories my whole life, preparing me to become a writer. I am so excited to get them out of my head and onto paper so I can share them with the world.
How do you promote your work?
I am active on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram. As an award winning photographer I use those skills to photograph my book in various settings and then write inspiring quotes to go with it. These posts are growing my following the fastest with Instagram. I am constantly reading as many marketing articles as I can. Many say the same things but some do come with fresh ideas. I think it is helpful to know the rules and what works, but keep in mind that everyone else is also doing that same thing. So you may be swimming in the right direction, but you are lost in a school of fish. The key is to find something that sets you apart from the rest and do it well. But keep in mind that soon afterwards the school of fish will copy you and you will need a fresh, new approach to be stand out again. The one site I will recommend is www.kindlepreneur.com that has a ton of helpful articles and the author Dave does personally respond to emails, so that is a plus.
What is the best advice you ever heard?
The best advice is from God who gave me this dream to become a writer. I turn to this verse daily. Galatians 6:9
Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.
Notice the promise word “will”. God has promised a harvest but at the proper time. Then notice the condition of that promise, the word “if”. If what? If we do not give up. So when we have sowed, watered, weeded, fertilized, and are waiting for the harvest, we must not become weary. Instead remember God’s promise to those who stay the course and who do not give up! Those are the ones who will receive the harvest.
What are some of your favorite tools?
I use the notes in my iPhone to jot down book scenes as they come to me and then email them to my computer. ProWritingAid is an incredible tool that teaches me how to be a better writer when I edit my books.
Blog/Website
www.ts-thompson.com
YouTube Channel
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCfWrRMTCndAcQD7w5dSdfDg
Additional Remarks
Write from your heart and tell a great story. Invest your time and money in the editing process so that your final work is done well.