I was interviewed yesterday! Check it out!

http://deliaria.mreauowpublishing.com/interview-c-l-cannon/

Let me guess. You are all looking at this going, dear god, another one. Yes. Yes another one. I am quite enjoying subjecting you to new authors, books, and people of the like. You know why? Because it tortures you and makes me smile knowing that no matter what, you will still read. Because you love me. And my quirkiness. And My interviews are interesting.

And even if you don’t think they are that interesting, you still come back. And why? Because I have book reviews, or random rants. You never know what is coming when you open my blog. And today is C.L. Cannon. Triple threat extraordinaire. She writes, she edits, she creates amazing covers for books. Whats that you say? “I’ve never seen one of her cover designs!” Well, if you have been reading my blog at all, you have. Janae’s covers have all been done by C.L., the cover to Chub Rub, Souls to the Polls and Holiday Heartwarmers all have been created by C.L. Cannon. Starting to ring a bell now? Yes. She created them all. Because she is awesome like that. So I had to interview her, and let you all get to know the author behind the short story Chasing Time in Holiday Heartwarmers, and if you haven’t read that yet, her story is next to last. Go read it. It’s worth the time. Now to kick off our interview with this gorgeous picture of C.L. and her biography to follow!

Bio:

My name is Courtney Cannon, writing under the name C.L. Cannon. I’m thirty years old going on five. I love to read and believe that nothing in this world is stronger than the imagination. Movies will never be books, and beauty is only skin deep. I love music, and I frequently sing in my car, much to the dismay of the cars surrounding me, I’m sure! 😉

I am a huge anglophile meaning that I have an overwhelming love for anything and everything British! I am the mother of two precious and rotten little boys aged six and two. I am married to an amazing guy that for some reason puts up with me and has done for ten years now. I am a full-time editor, cover designer, formatter, book trailer designer, voice-over artist, and graphic designer. Whew! Try saying all that in one breath!

From the time I could read, I knew that I wanted to be a writer. I always had a strong grasp of grammar and a love of literature. I wrote my first story, which was an alternate ending of Louisa May Alcott’s Little Women at the age of nine. It was probably horrible in hindsight, very melodramatic for sure, but at nine with no firm grasp on the real world that seemed to make it exciting! I continued to write and to read, penning plays that my little sister and I performed for our parents. In high school, I was introduced to fanfiction and the writing flame spread through me like an inferno! I also joined the school literary magazine and wrote poetry and short stories. Getting a few poems published in anthology volumes. I excelled in my AP English classes and thoroughly enjoyed sitting down with a good book rather than partying my teen years away.

Now that we have her bio covered, what do you say about getting onto the questions?

Del: What made you interested in the graphics and editing aspect of book creation?

C.L.: Once I graduated, I went out into the workforce trying to make ends meet. I was still the person with her nose stuck in a book in the break room or out in her car, the one writing story ideas or lines of dialogue on the back of receipt papers and prep sheets. In 2014 after having my second child and suffering complications with my worsening scoliosis and nerve damage, I found myself unable to go back to a traditional job. I did whatever work at home business I could for a year and then in late January 2016 my fandom friend Janae Keyes made a post that changed both of our lives. She needed someone to design her a cover for her first book. I had been messing around graphic design on my Buffy and Harry Potter websites for years, not to mention some Fiverr gigs here and there. I decided that since I knew how to do graphic design that I would try my hand at it. Well, it worked out great! She also needed help editing. So, I took that on as well along with some other betas. This all set in motion the forming of my company Fiction-Atlas! Thanks to Janae I am doing something I love for a living!

Del: Why did you decide to put your debut into writing into an Anthology? Do you wish you would have waited instead?

C.L.: Honestly, I just knew that I wanted to get something published. I wanted that feel of being a published author. I saw the call for submissions, and I saw that some other authors I knew were participating, and I thought that it would be fun. I have no regrets. I know that if I hadn’t had a deadline to push me that “Chasing Time” would have never come to fruition.

Del: What is the best part of your job? What makes it worth it for you to get up and do every day?

C.L.: It’s giving a cover or a manuscript or a trailer to someone when I am done and having them say, you brought my vision to life. It’s honestly a very emotional thing for both myself and the author. Every missed night of sleep, every grueling hour spent creating and editing is worth that initial reaction, every single time!

Del: How long have you been working on Forget Me Not?

C.L.: Shhh. We don’t talk about that… ok, I have been working on this series since March 2016. I stay so busy that I am ashamed at my lack of progress on it. But I am slowly building an entire world around these characters and learning their minds intimately with each passing day. I write down ideas when I can, I record dialogue on my phone in Scottish and British accents as I’m driving down the road and people look at me like I’m crazy. I have notebooks, scrap paper, napkins, and index cards scattered all over my desk and in my writing bag that was a gift from Janae.

Del: What’s your main inspiration for your writing?

C.L.: I like telling stories that deal with friendship and all the different aspects that can take in your life. Some friendships are fleeting, and some last your whole life through. Some are healthy and supportive, while others are parasitic. Friends can come from all aspects of life, all backgrounds, races, religions, sexual orientations. Some friendships feel like finding a missing part of your soul, and you are never the same as when you are engaging with that person.

Del: True love. Fact or Fiction?

C.L.: Fact. I think that true love does exist. I don’t know that everyone in life finds that one special person. I believe that different people may be better suited to you than you may believe at first. I think love is a commitment. I believe it is something gradual that happens over time. I believe that it is about accepting flaws in both yourself and your partner and moving past that to keep fighting for a better tomorrow. Love is not always happiness and puppies. It is work.

Del: Favorite Reality TV show? (Cooking shows count.)

C.L.: I honestly do not watch anything like that religiously or anything, but if I am bored I enjoy anything with Gordon Ramsay or The Property Brothers.

Del: Hell’s Kitchen is my favorite sin at the moment. Then Master Chef.

Del: If you could live anywhere in the world, where would you live and why?

C.L.: It has always been my dream since I was about 6 to live in Ireland in a little cottage and write for the local newspaper while I wrote an epic fantasy novel on the side. I have always felt extremely connected to Ireland in an almost spiritual way.

Del: Favorite Movie. And you can’t say, Harry Potter.

C.L.: Well, surprisingly it is not any of the HP movies. My favorite movie of all time is “The English Patient” I fell in love with this movie in 2001 when I went on a massive Ralph Fiennes obsession, 3 long years before he brought the Dark Lord to the screen. I think I love this movie so much because it is about such raw and overwhelming emotion that you cannot fight it. To love someone with a fire that never goes out. To walk across deserts, crash planes, and go against everything you have been taught to believe simply because you must. It’s a beautiful story in all aspects, not just the main love plot.

Del: What or who are you currently obsessed with?

C.L.: Eddie Redmayne and Fantastic Beasts And Where To Find Them. Newt Scamander totally made me fall in love with the Potterverse all over again! Ever since I watched the movie, the magic which had never truly left, to begin with, has had a huge resurgence within my life.

What a fun time! If you want to reach Courtney for services, or just want to follow her to see what she is doing next, then you can contact her at any of the links below! I would hurry though! She books up fast!

Social Media:

https://clcannon.net
http://fiction-atlas.com
http://facebook.com/clcannonauthor
http://facebook.com/fictionatlas
https://twitter.com/CLCannonAuthor
https://www.instagram.com/cl_cannon/
https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/16076597.C_L_Cannon
https://www.amazon.com/C.L.-Cannon/e/B01N92E59A/