Hello. Thank you for visiting my blog today. I am Rebecca Scarberry (Scarberryfields on Twitter). I have interviewed author, Pamela Scholes. Hope you enjoy reading her heartfelt answers to my questions:

Scarberryfields: Can you tell us a little about your nationality/ancestry?

Pamela: I suppose I do not look too deeply into that. I have just always thought that above all I was my own human being first.

Scarberryfields: Please tell us about everything you have written (published and unpublished).

Pamela: I have been writing all of my life. I have just published my first book this year but I have so much material to work with that I don’t often know where to start next. I have many short stories, which I would like to see as a four set compilation and a self-help book in the works as well. My genre is not specific, as I like to mix things up and offer up different avenues of myself so that I may reach various avenues of others.

Scarberryfields: Once you finish writing a poem or fiction, do you miss the characters you’ve written about?

Pamela: Particularly my poetry I do miss. It is always such a compilation of work over time that they become like dear friends to me in which I am often afraid to part with and share. I must confess though that I do still go back and visit them from time to time, it is amazing what hearing your own words speak back to you have to say. We just don’t realize how much we inspire ourselves. So, yes I do miss them when they are gone.

Scarberryfields: While writing, if you need help with punctuation, grammar, etc., where do you turn?

Pamela: to be straight honest with you, I am horrible at punctuation. I know I take advantage of using dashes and such but that is how it is in my head. I read a lot of the older original conversational and inspirational poems and since that is my same general way of writing, I simply excused my errors in my first book as saying that I thought poetry had more leeway with things like that. I am trying a better approach since the next book is very different than this first one. Let’s hope I get better at it! I see a work in progress ahead on that note.

Scarberryfields: With the number of hours spent writing, do family members support you or complain about the time spent away from them?

Pamela: My mother has always pushed and believed in me as a writer, she knew it long before I did. To me I had thoughts and feelings that would not come out in voice so they came out in the written word. Besides, when I am away from them it is usually at 2:00 a.m. and they are asleep anyway. They don’t know it when they miss me.

Scarberryfields: Does writing benefit you in any way and if so, how?

Pamela: Oh, yes! Writing is my passion, my outlet, and at times a therapeutic purging. As I said, what will not come out in voice comes out in the written word. It benefits me by forcing me to loosen up and just let go, to explore new avenues and open new doors to myself so that I may share self-discovery with others. Writing has opened my eyes to so much and I know that every life we touch touches ours. I love sharing those experiences. I want to encourage people not to look at life through a faded lens but rather through life’s eyes and see the large beautiful picture. I have come to know myself better and who I am so perhaps this will help me in helping others. The blank pages before me give me motivation to dig deeper inside to share the flowers I have sown in my garden within me. It has made me appreciate so many things that we tend to rush past; it has made me appreciate and respect time. Today is a promise and tomorrow is a blessing.

Scarberryfields: When you’re writing, do you shut-off all social networks?

Pamela: When I work I shut off everything, except my phone, it is my lifeline. I can get into what I call my “zone” and when I am there, I am no longer aware of what is going on around me. I mean if the house caught on fire I would probably be the last one out because I get so absorbed in what I am working on. I have a place inside that I go to write so the outside surroundings or close by technical ones, do not really disturb me.

Scarberryfields: Did you use any family members as Beta readers for your debut novel?

Pamela: I did subject my mother to much reading and re-reading as I was preparing my first book. Some of the poems were written for certain people and if they read it, I hope they recognize it. I use experiences of my own-I am a Gemini so I can often spare one side- and those of friends and total strangers. I listen to everyone for they all have a story that day and though we may never meet again I have walked away with something that will come back around and somehow be perfectly fitting for what I am working on at the time. It is those stories that inspire all writers, I believe. I borrow all that I can from life and the people it places in my path. Everyone is placed in our path for a reason and it matters not how long they stay for they are there to serve a purpose at the time. Some stay only a short time while others stay forever and if we are lucky we will learn from both.

Scarberryfields: Do you read ebooks? If you do, and write reviews, do you have any special process you use to write a review?

Pamela: I love to read, always have but as of late the time to do that has diminished. I have thrown myself into writing so heavily that it steals my time to read. I try to give reviews on the things I read for I think we inspire each other as writers. I want to give people that push they need when they see a good review on their book for I know how inspirational and motivational it can be. I believe in “sharing the love.”

Scarberryfields: What is the last book called that you completed and published? Also, where can we find this book?

Pamela: I currently have my first release, “Through the eyes of Life”, available on Amazon and B&N and I am proud that it has held 5 stars. No “horn blowing” here just a little personal accomplishment. My second book shall be out, hopefully, by the end of July. I have tightly crossed fingers, so tightly crossed some days that I fear I may cut off my circulation!

Scarberryfields: Where can readers go to find your books?

Pamela: I am available online at Amazon and B&N and many other online stores as well.  I don’t even know everywhere that it is available but I do get much feedback from my “contact” tab on my website and those come from all over the place. I received one from a lady in Australia and she loved it, said she has read it three times already. I almost wanted to cry I was so touched. You can find me on FB and at pamscholes.com. My website will lead readers to direct links to find me. I hope that readers will find one of them on their coffee tables or night stands, that is where I like to think I would find them. I can also be found on Twitter with many “feel good” words posted to give readers an idea of what the book is about. I have enjoyed the journey of the first book and for those who read it then I wish you as bountiful a journey in reading it as I had in writing it. I hope my words come across with a fiery, deep down passion that simply reaches in and grabs you.

Scarberryfields: Thank you, Pam for answering my questions. I have enjoyed getting to know you better. I wish you the best with your published works and those in the future.