Best of Family & Relationships
Best of Family & Relationships
"So Many Books, So Little Time!"
Open for Submissions
Exclusive Interview with
Howlett and Dixon
When did you start writing?
Eric Howlett - I began writing quite some time ago. I love movies and books of all genres, and that fueled my interest to come up with my own stories.
Nikki Dixon - I began writing when I was around 10yrs old. I loved writing short stories, and I...attempted to write poems. They weren't very well written, but I tried!
What makes writing your passion?
Writing has always been a passion for both Eric and Nikki. Their passion to share stories and use their imaginations has really grown since they started working together.
How long have you been writing?
Eric Howlett - I began writing quite some time ago. I love movies and books of all genres, and that fueled my interest to come up with my own stories.
Nikki Dixon - I began writing when I was around 10yrs old. I loved writing short stories, and I...attempted to write poems. They weren't very well written, but I tried!
What was the feeling when you published your first book?
The excitement that Eric and Nikki felt was unreal. To this day, they look at their book with their names on it and they still can't believe it's out there on shelves.
What’s the story behind your choice of characters?
We wanted characters that related to people. We didn't want some far-fetched, over-the-top character that was "perfect". We wanted REAL characters.
What annoys you the most in pursuing a writing career?
The fact that we have "real" jobs to get to on a daily basis. We'd rather be writing instead of working a "real" job.
How do you get over the “writer’s block”?
We'd just start working on editing some other pieces of the book and see if it helped. We'd also spit-ball ideas back and forth.
We all know the writer’s path is never easy, what makes you keep going? What advice would you give to new authors?
Advice? Don't give up. If you have an idea, get it on paper. I don't care if it's 12:30am and you have to be awake in 5 hours. Don't let that idea slip away. Even if it's just typing it up on the notes on your phone. Get it on paper! Fix your idea later, just worry about getting it out there.
Listen to another author's perspective. Make sure it's someone that you trust completely. And don't take any criticism personally - as hard as that may be. The advice and criticism is to make you a better author. Be proud of your work - but not egotistical.
We keep going, because even if no one else in the world likes our story, we love it and we want to see where it goes.
If you could go back in time and talk to your younger self, what would you say?
We'd tell our younger selves to keep going with your writing dreams, don't ever put them to the side. We'd tell ourselves to not give up and to just keep working on that skill.
Do you read your book reviews? How do you deal with the bad ones?
We do read our book reviews. We love to see what others have to say.
We look at what the reason for the bad review was, and see what we can possibly do to make it better. We know criticism is going to happen.
What is the feeling when you get a good review?
It makes us feel good to know that someone out there loves our books.
Have you ever incorporated something that happened to you in real life into your novels?
Yes, we have. But, we won't say what. It will ruin the surprises.
Which of your characters you can compare yourself with? Did you base that character on you?
Nikki - I compare myself to Sillara, in a way. She's the one that's most got her head on straight. She's the one that the others kind of lean on and want to tell their issues to. She is caring, loving, and a good friend. I don't want to say I based that character on myself, because I put a piece of my personality in each of the main girls.
Eric - I'd say I compare myself to Kyral, in a way. I won't spoil anything from the book, but she's got a lot of the uncertainty that I had in my younger years. I did, sort of, base her character on myself - but not completely.
What do you think, the book cover is as important as the story?
Absolutely. When you first go into a bookstore, what do you see? The covers. You don't see the back of the books first. The cover draws your attention to the book before you start reading the back cover.
Do you connect with your readers? Do you mind having a chat with them or you prefer to express yourself through your writing?
We don't mind sitting down with our readers. Let's grab coffee! Let's just hope you can stand our sarcasm!
How do you feel when people appreciate your work or recognize you in public?
So far, we haven't had that happen to us yet. We've had some of our friends/family tell us they love our book, and we really appreciate the fact that they've taken the time to read the book.
Who is your favorite author? Why?
Nikki - I'm torn. I love so many different authors. But, one of my favorites is Ted Dekker. He's just got this way of drawing in his readers and making you want more.
Eric - My favorite author would have to be J.K. Rowling and Tom Clancy. The reason would be for the tempo of their books and their writing style.
What’s the dream? Whom would you like to be as big as?
Our big dream is to get our stories out to as many readers as possible. We would love to know there are people out there that love our books as much as we do.
We would love to be just as big as the Harry Potter Series.
Would you rewrite any of your books? Why?
No, we wouldn't. We just want to continue working with the world we've created. We also want to expand upon it and discover new things.
If you could switch places with any author – who would that be?
What would you say to the “trolls” on the internet? We all know them – people who like to write awful reviews to books they’ve never read or didn’t like that much, just to annoy the author.
And the abyss swallows us.
What would you say to your readers?
Thank you so much for reading our books - we love you guys!
Share a bit about yourself – where do you live, are you married, do you have kids?
Eric - I am married with one child. I live in Kansas.
Nikki - I am married with two children. I live in Illinois.
What is your day job if you have one?
Eric - Custodian
Nikki - Manager at Off-Track Betting
What are your hobbies? What do you do in your free time?
Wait? We have free time?
Eric - movie watching, playing video games
Nikki - scrapbooking, reading, crocheting
Did you have a happy childhood?
Is there a particular experience that made you start writing?
Meeting each other really set our writing career in full motion. We saw the writing skill that the other had, and that really started our wanting to become co-authors. Before then, we just wanted to write short stories and poems for ourselves.
Do you have unpublished books? What are they about?
Yes, we are currently working on the second book of the Kingdom of Ambrosia series. We do have other books we are working on, but those will stay private until they are published.
What do you think should be improved in the education of our children? What do we lack?
We think the educational system is lacking creative writing and art skills.
Right now, they are exposed too much to the real world, and they aren't able to use their imaginations much. They're losing their sense of childhood.
If you were allowed 3 wishes – what would they be?
Eric - More wishes, Instant Author Fame, and not having to worry about money ever again.
Nikki - Famous author, no debt, being able to travel all over the world.
What is your favorite music?
Eric - I like it all, I don't have a favorite.
Nikki - Favorite music or favorite band? Favorite band would have to be Maroon 5 or A Day to Remember. Yes, very different, I know. Favorite music? A little bit of everything.
Share a secret with us 🙂
We met on a writing site. We started just writing a short story together, but then decided to become co-authors. And from there, Kingdom of Ambrosia was written into existence.