interviews
AN EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW
WITH SARAH NOFFKE
Sarah Noffke, an Amazon Best Seller,
writes YA and NA sci-fi fantasy,
paranormal and urban fantasy. She is the
author of the Lucidites, Reverians, Ren,
Vagabond Circus and Olento Research series.
Noffke holds a Masters of Management
and teaches college business courses. Most
of her students have no idea that she toils
away her hours crafting fictional
characters. Noffke's books are top rated
and best-sellers on Kindle. Currently, she
has published over 20 novels. Her books
are available in paperback, audio and in
Spanish, Portuguese and Italian.
What would you like our readers to know about
yourself?
My name is Sarah Noffke and I’m the
author of five YA and NA series. I write
sci-fi, fantasy, paranormal and dystopian.
I was born and raised in Texas, but I
currently live in Southern California. I’m
kind of a nomad and move to wherever
the wind blows me. That kind of living
really helps me as a writer to become
acquainted with many locations, which
invariably become settings in my books.
When I’m not writing then I’m teaching
college business courses. It really makes
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I’ve been writing my entire life, so I think
the urge was always in me. However, I
used to have a real job. A professional
one. One of those jobs where people go to
meeting and do reports and things are
very business-like. I loved it, but I totally
felt like something was missing from my
life. My brother died suddenly in his sleep
one day and after that I remember
thinking, “What if I die before really
doing what I want with my life?” And
after that I knew I needed to start
checking some stuff off my list and one of
them was to write a book, which turned
into books and now is an obsession.
What is the appeal for you in writing to a young
adult audience versus an adult audience?
More potentials. Young adults aren’t
settled yet. They don’t know who they
are, what they want or who they are
ending up with. They are in a mode of
discovery and that makes their stories so
much fun and rich. Their immaturity and
naivety is also a huge component. Now,
don’t get me wrong, writing for the adult
audience is also amazing for different
reasons. There are potentials there that
can be even more fun.
You write Sci-if Fantasy about a separate race of
people called Dream Travelers. Describe to us what
a Dream Traveler is and what their powers are.
Would you be willing to share how you’ve
been able to become an Amazon Bestseller?
What inspired you to become a writer and what
finally pushed you to follow that dream?
Dream Travelers is a race of people
who can travel to any place and time
when sleeping. Think out-of-body
experience. Through dreams they are
able to take their consciousness
anywhere, operating freely in the
dreamscape. This power, since science
believes dreams to have incredible
benefits, lends them a psychic or
super ability or two, like telepathy,
telekinesis, clairvoyance, heightened
senses, psychometry, levitation, etc.
no sense to most t hat I teach business
since I’m a fantasy writer, but before I was
a full-time author I was a business
professional. Shh…don’t tell anyone. I
have a masters in management and an
unhealthy obsession with characters who
have super powers. Go figure. I currently
have fifteen books publish. They are
available in ebook, paperback and on
audio. One series is available in Spanish,
Italian and Portuguese.
INTERVIEWS
I wished there was an easy three-step
checklist. There are definitely things
that every author can do: write a
great book, use a professional editor,
have an incredible cover. However, I’ll
admit that this is only the beginning and
much of my success has relied on
marketing and networking. I built a strong
newsletter following a year ago and that’s
been one of the most valuable tools for
me. I send out regular correspondents and
when I have a sale this list is the first to
hear about it. For my money, this kind of
marketing has been the most effective. I
also regularly have free sales and use
promotional services, but they are always
changing with their effectiveness so it’s
important to constantly be on the lookout
for the ones that will work. Yes, I’d give
my car away for a Book Bub, because that
giant is still the best one in this industry.
It’s a foolproof way to hit the bestseller
list. However, until Book Bub caves due to
my incessant nagging, then I’ll be relying
on Amazon, Twitter and Facebook ads.
These are really some of the best
marketing tools and I’ve known many
authors that have had outrageous success
with the right ad.
Read more of our interview with Sarah Nofkke at:
www.TopShelfMagazine.net
TOPShelf magazine
OCTOBER2017 25