Interview with Paulina Ulrich

Welcome! Today I am very happy to welcome Paulina Ulrich, author of The Flightless Bird Series, to my blog and thank her for granting me an interview!! I hope you all enjoy the interview, and pick up her series!!

 

Support Indie Authors: Thank you so much for sitting down and doing an interview with me!!
Paulina Ulrich: Thanks so much for having me!! 

SIA: When did you first know that you wanted to be a writer?
PU: Thanks so much for having me! This is awesome. I’m not sure there ever a time where I decided I was one. This is going to sound cheesy but honestly, I’ve always been one. I have home videos of myself from my childhood sitting at the kitchen table writing stories, drawing pictures, and stapling them together like books. Not to mention my parents always told me I was quite the chatter box. I was always talking about my dreams or telling stories. If not, I was scribbling them on paper. It wasn’t really until high school when I decided to take my career seriously. I have boxes of manuscripts from things I’ve written. It’s scary. Writing is in my blood! I definitely live for it.

SIA: Is there a book that inspired you to write? Or was it a person?
PU: I feel like if you’re a writer, you definitely have to be a reader. I love books! I devour them constantly but it wasn’t any book that really inspired me to write. It really comes down to two people who really pushed me to take my writing seriously. My aunt Heather who is like my second mom and my best friend Adrienne. They’ve been with me through a lot in my life and even when I felt like giving up, they really shoved me back on my feet and believed in me. Not sure where I would be without them.

SIA: What is your favorite genre to write in?
PU: My favorite genre to write in…well at this point in time is young adult paranormal romance or I suppose young adult in general. It changes from time to time but with everything I had going right now with the Flightless Bird series and my upcoming new series The Chosen series, I’m really rooted in the paranormal and naturally I like a little romance so that’s a must! I love exploring the angst of the teenage years and the emotional highs and lows. These years can be such a traumatic time! My teenage years weren’t exactly spectacular and I know a lot of people can relate with a rough decade of the teens so I enjoy revisiting those years to write a story filled with ups and downs but with an *ideal* happy ending because there aren’t enough happy endings in real life sometimes.

SIA: What is your favorite genre to read?
PU: This is so hard! I enjoy so many genres…I’ll have to settle on anything YA genre right now. Lately I’ve been swept up in the hype surrounding so many great YA reads that have come out. I’m always a sucker for a good YA romance so I read a lot of those too…

SIA: What has been the best advice you have received when it comes to writing?
PU: The best advice has been: to just keep writing and stay true to yourself. Many people have so many different opinions and paths they think I should follow but the advice that comes through to the end is always to keep writing despite what others think. So I’m doing just that! I realize the whole ‘true to yourself’ sounds cheesy but it’s honestly great advice. I don’t listen to what others think I should do or their opinions of me. I write because I love it and being a writer is who I am. That will never change.

SIA: Who is your favorite writer at the moment?
PU: Yikes! There are so many. I recently finished Onyx by Jennifer L Armentrout and I really enjoy her work with the Lux series. But I’m also anticipating Unlikely Allies by Tiffany King and…alright I’m going to stop myself before I get going. I can’t decide!

SIA: Do you feel online book reviewers help or hinder the sales of your book(s)?
PU: I think online book reviewers are great and they definitely help sales for authors through their posts. Reviewers are so endearing and truthful. If someone is passionate about my book and wants to blog about it, I encourage it! If someone doesn’t like it, well that’s life and everyone has their own opinions. As long as people are honest then they are entitled to say what they want. But a good review never hurt anyone! I always appreciate good feedback!

SIA: If you weren’t a writer, what would you be doing?
PU: Good question because I have no idea really. I was hoping I could pull off the whole rockstar thing (I’ve been told I have quite the voice when I do sing which is rare) but I think that’s a little out of my league now. So to answer the question I guess…I would have been a historian. I’m such a history geek. I’m definitely the girl who announces to a room full of people what happened on this day and in what year. I’m kind of like a walking history book! Literally. All my friends ask me questions for their classes like: “Hey Paulina! When, where, and who signed the Treaty of Versailles? When was the French Revolution? What happened at the Battle of Waterloo?” Not even with a second thought I know the answer like the back of my hand. Not sure if that’s really normal or not…*laughs* My major is Creative Writing but I’m a History minor…so I could still probably pull something off with history while writing at the same time. I love history but not nearly as much as I love writing.

SIA: If you could switch places with any author for a week, who would it be?
PU: Any author…Hmm…I’d have to say Richelle Mead. I really enjoy her work and her writing style. The knowledge she uses about myths, legends, and folklore and are really interesting and I like how she incorporates it into her writing. Not to mention that she’s just an all around awesome writer!

SIA: Bonus – Favorite Ice Cream flavor?
PU: Daiquiri ice from Baskin Robbins. I could eat that stuff all day! Actually, I did go get some in a waffle cone today. Yum!

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You can check out more information about Paulina and her Flightless Bird Series here at her blog!