Meet Rocky Rose (New Haven, CT)
They say she's a woman of many talents, which is true; her only problem was figuring out which talent(s) she wanted to pursue full time.
Rocky Rose was born and raised in New Haven, CT. She began writing seriously her sophomore year in high school after her English teacher told her she had lots of talent. Writing was not only fun for Rocky it also served as an outlet to her for her emotions. Even though writing came naturally to her, Rocky never once thought about pursuing a writing career, until she dropped out of college at Southern Connecticut State University and enrolled herself into the Breaking into Print writing program, where she completed the course and received her diploma in May of 2007.
She is currently working on her first solo novel My Man My Abuser, which is set to be released in 2013.
Rocky resides in New Haven, CT with her daughter.
About “I Win You Lose”
I Win You Lose is a compilation of six short stories dealing with Domestic Violence. In this book you will meet characters from various walks of life who were in an abusive relationship with someone they thought loved and cared for them. In two of Rocky's stories, she takes the characters and adds a little twist to them, In Bye Baby, the male character is the one being abused by the woman he thought he would spend the rest of his life with, until she deceitfully lies to him about something so major. In Psycho, Jaylen is having a full-fledged relationship with Jaliyah all in his head, and when she tries to tell him differently, he loses his control.
DP: When did you first decide you wanted to become an author?
Rocky: I first decided I wanted to become an author in my sophomore year of high school after completing a creative writing assignment in my English class and after my teacher read it, he told me I had a lot of talent. In high school I was pretty quiet, pretty much stayed to myself and to write a story like I did, blew him away and his comments made me confident that I had what it took to be an author.
DP: How did you decide on the idea for your first book?
Rocky: Domestic Violence is a subject that is near and dear to my heart and I was in a physically abusive relationship for three years of my life. When I thought about what I wanted to make my debut in the literary world about, I thought why not do it on something I have firsthand experience with, something that still kind of haunts me to this day, and that's where I Win You Lose came in at.
DP: How long did it take you to write your first book?
Rocky: My stories in the book took me about a month to write, once I get into a writing groove, with no interruptions, my music in my ears I can write for hours and hours without getting tired. If I could write full-time for a living, I definitely would without hesitation.
DP: Did you self-publish or are you signed to a publishing company?
Rocky: I self-published my first book, it was a lot of work; went some days without sleep, but I did it.
DP: How did you decide on the cover for your most recent book?
Rocky: I honestly left the design up to my graphic design artist. I saw her work and loved it. So I linked up with her, told her the synopsis and she made magic!
DP: Tell us about your writing style. Do you write on a schedule?
Rocky: I try to write every day at the same time but sometimes it's not possible because my hours at my regular job vary and my daughter doesn't always go to sleep when I put her down. Most of the time, I wait until after my daughter is sound asleep to do my writing.
DP: What makes your writing unique?
Rocky: My writing style is God given, I'm unique so my writing style is unique.
DP: As a writer, what motivates you?
Rocky: My life motivates me, as well as people I interact with on a daily basis and things I see. I have a character for everyone I interact with, I just hope people don't hate me for how I see them, lol.
DP: How do you balance your writing and various responsibilities that come along with being an independent author?
Rocky: I balance my writing, being an independent author and my 'regular life' by not sleeping. I think the only time I get a moment of sleep is when I blink my eyes. Being an independent author is a lot of work, but I believe I was built to do it, so therefore I adapt to doing it pretty well.
DP: When you’re not writing what are you doing?
Rocky: When I'm not writing I'm thinking about writing, I'm spending quality time with my daughter, working my regular job and making preparations for my daughter and I to relocate.
DP: What’s a typical day like for you?
Rocky: I'm up by four in the morning every day. I am sometimes up writing before starting my day. By five in the morning I'm getting myself ready for work, then getting my daughter dressed and ready for daycare. Then I'm off to my regular job, home by quarter to eight in the evening, cook for my daughter and I make sure to spend some time with my baby before I put her down for the night; and once she's down I pull my laptop out and start writing again.
DP: Tell us about your last book signing.
Rocky: My last book signing was at the Cartel Cafe and Bookstore and I had a great time. I was a bit stressed, but I didn't allow any of that to hinder me from interacting with my readers and customers. I hustled that day by handing out fliers to the people who were in the vicinity and I froze my butt off, but it was definitely well worth all the work I put in.
DP: Do you have contests or giveaways?
Rocky: I do have contests and giveaways, I appreciate my readers and I want to show my appreciation to them.
DP: Many independent authors find it hard to get readers to buy their books. How did you handle the challenges that come along with being a first-time author in a competitive and ever-changing market?
Rocky: I have a lot of support in my hometown, and even amongst my family, especially cousins that are in my age bracket. I prayed to God that this first book would be a success and so far it has been. I've had people at my job that never uttered two words to me come up and ask me if they could purchase a book.
DP: What did you do on your 2nd book that you did not do in your first one?
Rocky: I'm currently finishing up my second book now and then it’s off the editor. ‘My Man My Abuser‘ is different because I wrote this book cover to cover by myself whereas I Win You Lose was a compilation with another author. I keep myself on a pretty strict regimen with my second book and I'm not editing as I write. Once I finish the manuscript, I will then go back and edit it before I send it to the editor; whereas with I Win You Lose, I kept editing and re-editing as I was writing.
DP: If you could give one piece of advice to an up and coming author, what would it be?
Rocky: I would tell an up and coming author to research all you can about writing, publishing options and everything that goes along with the business. They need to make sure their resources are reputable and they need to have an editor and proof-reader, which is one thing I didn't do with my first book.
DP: Where can readers purchase a copy of your book?
Rocky: Readers can purchase my book through my website www.authorrockyrose.com. It is also available on Amazon's Kindle and through Smashwords.com.
They say she's a woman of many talents, which is true; her only problem was figuring out which talent(s) she wanted to pursue full time.
Rocky Rose was born and raised in New Haven, CT. She began writing seriously her sophomore year in high school after her English teacher told her she had lots of talent. Writing was not only fun for Rocky it also served as an outlet to her for her emotions. Even though writing came naturally to her, Rocky never once thought about pursuing a writing career, until she dropped out of college at Southern Connecticut State University and enrolled herself into the Breaking into Print writing program, where she completed the course and received her diploma in May of 2007.
She is currently working on her first solo novel My Man My Abuser, which is set to be released in 2013.
Rocky resides in New Haven, CT with her daughter.
About “I Win You Lose”
I Win You Lose is a compilation of six short stories dealing with Domestic Violence. In this book you will meet characters from various walks of life who were in an abusive relationship with someone they thought loved and cared for them. In two of Rocky's stories, she takes the characters and adds a little twist to them, In Bye Baby, the male character is the one being abused by the woman he thought he would spend the rest of his life with, until she deceitfully lies to him about something so major. In Psycho, Jaylen is having a full-fledged relationship with Jaliyah all in his head, and when she tries to tell him differently, he loses his control.
DP: When did you first decide you wanted to become an author?
Rocky: I first decided I wanted to become an author in my sophomore year of high school after completing a creative writing assignment in my English class and after my teacher read it, he told me I had a lot of talent. In high school I was pretty quiet, pretty much stayed to myself and to write a story like I did, blew him away and his comments made me confident that I had what it took to be an author.
DP: How did you decide on the idea for your first book?
Rocky: Domestic Violence is a subject that is near and dear to my heart and I was in a physically abusive relationship for three years of my life. When I thought about what I wanted to make my debut in the literary world about, I thought why not do it on something I have firsthand experience with, something that still kind of haunts me to this day, and that's where I Win You Lose came in at.
DP: How long did it take you to write your first book?
Rocky: My stories in the book took me about a month to write, once I get into a writing groove, with no interruptions, my music in my ears I can write for hours and hours without getting tired. If I could write full-time for a living, I definitely would without hesitation.
DP: Did you self-publish or are you signed to a publishing company?
Rocky: I self-published my first book, it was a lot of work; went some days without sleep, but I did it.
DP: How did you decide on the cover for your most recent book?
Rocky: I honestly left the design up to my graphic design artist. I saw her work and loved it. So I linked up with her, told her the synopsis and she made magic!
DP: Tell us about your writing style. Do you write on a schedule?
Rocky: I try to write every day at the same time but sometimes it's not possible because my hours at my regular job vary and my daughter doesn't always go to sleep when I put her down. Most of the time, I wait until after my daughter is sound asleep to do my writing.
DP: What makes your writing unique?
Rocky: My writing style is God given, I'm unique so my writing style is unique.
DP: As a writer, what motivates you?
Rocky: My life motivates me, as well as people I interact with on a daily basis and things I see. I have a character for everyone I interact with, I just hope people don't hate me for how I see them, lol.
DP: How do you balance your writing and various responsibilities that come along with being an independent author?
Rocky: I balance my writing, being an independent author and my 'regular life' by not sleeping. I think the only time I get a moment of sleep is when I blink my eyes. Being an independent author is a lot of work, but I believe I was built to do it, so therefore I adapt to doing it pretty well.
DP: When you’re not writing what are you doing?
Rocky: When I'm not writing I'm thinking about writing, I'm spending quality time with my daughter, working my regular job and making preparations for my daughter and I to relocate.
DP: What’s a typical day like for you?
Rocky: I'm up by four in the morning every day. I am sometimes up writing before starting my day. By five in the morning I'm getting myself ready for work, then getting my daughter dressed and ready for daycare. Then I'm off to my regular job, home by quarter to eight in the evening, cook for my daughter and I make sure to spend some time with my baby before I put her down for the night; and once she's down I pull my laptop out and start writing again.
DP: Tell us about your last book signing.
Rocky: My last book signing was at the Cartel Cafe and Bookstore and I had a great time. I was a bit stressed, but I didn't allow any of that to hinder me from interacting with my readers and customers. I hustled that day by handing out fliers to the people who were in the vicinity and I froze my butt off, but it was definitely well worth all the work I put in.
DP: Do you have contests or giveaways?
Rocky: I do have contests and giveaways, I appreciate my readers and I want to show my appreciation to them.
DP: Many independent authors find it hard to get readers to buy their books. How did you handle the challenges that come along with being a first-time author in a competitive and ever-changing market?
Rocky: I have a lot of support in my hometown, and even amongst my family, especially cousins that are in my age bracket. I prayed to God that this first book would be a success and so far it has been. I've had people at my job that never uttered two words to me come up and ask me if they could purchase a book.
DP: What did you do on your 2nd book that you did not do in your first one?
Rocky: I'm currently finishing up my second book now and then it’s off the editor. ‘My Man My Abuser‘ is different because I wrote this book cover to cover by myself whereas I Win You Lose was a compilation with another author. I keep myself on a pretty strict regimen with my second book and I'm not editing as I write. Once I finish the manuscript, I will then go back and edit it before I send it to the editor; whereas with I Win You Lose, I kept editing and re-editing as I was writing.
DP: If you could give one piece of advice to an up and coming author, what would it be?
Rocky: I would tell an up and coming author to research all you can about writing, publishing options and everything that goes along with the business. They need to make sure their resources are reputable and they need to have an editor and proof-reader, which is one thing I didn't do with my first book.
DP: Where can readers purchase a copy of your book?
Rocky: Readers can purchase my book through my website www.authorrockyrose.com. It is also available on Amazon's Kindle and through Smashwords.com.
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