What is Calico in Conversation?

Calico in Conversation is a monthly interview project. I dedicate one month to an author, and the complete interview will be divided into weekly installments during said month. You can learn more about the project here.

Who have you interviewed so far?

I started publishing interviews in June 2016, so depending on when you read this page, it may very well be a short list. However, you can access any and all interviews here.

Will you interview me?

Currently, interviews are being conducted on an invitation-only basis, and for the time-being, I’m limiting my requests to authors I know personally. If you feel you meet this qualification, please email me with your request, as well as whether or not you’d like the interview to coincide with a release date.

But remember: if you request an interview, it may take some time, because I want to make sure I’ve read at least one of your books before we get rolling. And on the flip side, if I’ve sent you an interview request, you can bet that I have or am still reading some of your fiction.

Yay! You’re interviewing me! What do you need?

Quite a lot, actually. I conduct the interviews through Google Drive, and I’ll use Facebook Messenger (or texting, if you’re not on Facebook) to let you know when I’ve updated the document with a new question, and I’d ask you’d use the same means to inform me when you answer a question. It’s important to keep the conversation going, because interviews are time-sensitive as to when I’d like to have them ready to go live, and I’m juggling other projects besides. So if you’ve agreed to an interview, know that you don’t get a new question until you’ve answered the previous question. That’s the point of an organic interview!

I will also need any and all book covers, author photos, and candid photos that are applicable to you and the interview itself. Maybe it’s of you giving a reading or at a workshop, but the more pictures, the better. Interviews tend to run into multiple weeks, and I don’t want to use the same photos over and over. You can click here to see how I’m utilizing photos in the interviews themselves.

Also, don’t forget the ever-important author bio!

What if I’ve agreed to an interview, and we have the date set, but LIFE HAPPENS and I can’t answer in time?

That’s okay! Because life may happen to me too, and worst case scenario, we’ll just postpone the interview’s publication date. I’m trying to set these up in such a way that I’m at least a month ahead of schedule, if not two.

What if there’s a question you ask that I’m not comfortable with, or I simply don’t want to answer?

It’s okay to say so! And, on the flip side, be sure to look at past interviews for questions you WOULD like to answer and let me know, especially if there’s something you’d like to talk about but don’t get asked about very often.

Okay, we’ve completed the interview, and give sent over my author bio and all accompanying photos. What next?

I will compile the interview into a new document and clean things up. Despite it being an organic interview, I may have to re-arrange things so that questions are lumped together in a theme that makes sense for publication, and sometimes, I might think of more questions to ask. I’ll send the final interview link to you to read over and approve, and once I have your approval, I’ll get it formatted and scheduled for publication.

Cool. So now the interview is live! What’s next?

I will promote it on all my various social media sites: Facebook, Twitter, Live Journal, and Goodreads. In addition, I’ll try to post it to various Facebook communities that I think will be interested. However, I’d also ask you to signal boost your own interviews on your OWN various social media websites: blog entries, newsletters, Goodreads, Facebook, Twitter, etc: whatever you use, wherever your readers frequent.

Cool. Is that it?

That’s it. You are welcome to signal-boost other interviews in addition to your own, before and/or after your interview goes live; in fact, I’d encourage it! Other than that, I thank you profusely and ask that you let me know if you ever want to do anything else: guest blog, cover reveal, etc.

If you’re interested in being interviewed for Calico in Conversation, and — I cannot stress this enough — we know each other, please fill out the form below. A request doesn’t guarantee an interview, nor can I guarantee to give you the month you’d like the interview to go live, but we’ll see what we can work out!