An interest in science and animals, to wanting to be the next Oprah, majoring in radio/television with a minor in creative writing, to a year in Japan, four years in California and then to Arizona where a trip to spiritual Sedona awakened something in me and the need to write finally hit me like a brick wall. But it was a long winding road to self-publishing my first novel Star-Struck. I wrote my first story in the 3rd grade and fell in love with creating a whole world from my mind. Who is Twyla Turner?I was born in Joliet, Illinois and was almost immediately enamored with all things entertainment and yearned for something “more”. And when my own stories aren’t getting in the way, I love to read. Watching some of my favorite shows (This Is Us, Outlander, Scandal, etc.). What do you like to do when you are not writing? What does the character see, feel, hear, taste, and smell? If you write that it will fully immerse the reader into the story. And something that I just truly started to understand is to always, always write the five senses.

I truly believe that if everyone writes the story they want to read that they’ll always be passionate about writing and someone in the world will want to read it. What is your advice to someone new to writing? When the story is flowing so well that the characters start writing the story for me. What do you love most about the writing process? Other times it’ll come from a news story I hear or an experience someone else has had (Scarred, The Rescue). Others come to me out of nowhere or from a simple idea that blossoms into a fully fleshed out story (Chasing Day, The Red Scot). Some are literal fantasies of mine (Star-Struck, THR3E, Winter’s Beast).

What gives you inspiration for your book(s)? I like to sing and dance, but I don’t do them very much anymore. I’m glad it finally hit me.ĭo you have any hidden or uncommon talents? I’d always hoped to eventually write seriously. I wrote here and there all my life, but never seriously until recent years. I’ve been writing professionally for nearly 4 years (Fall 2013).

When I have a chance, I share the thoughts of a featured author in the form of answers to questions I posed to them. Welcome to TOW feature Thursday’s Thoughts.

The Red Scot by Twyla Turner