Author Interview: Dorothy Stacy

 Glad to have you on my blog Dorothy, tell everyone a bit about yourself.

.--- “My mission is to present history to children in a fun and interesting way.”~Dorothy Stacy

   I was born and brought up in Utica, New York . I now live in Sauquoit in a 200-year-old house on 4 acres of land. I hane 8 grown children and 21 grandchildren. I was an elementary school teacher  for 13 years before I retired in 2006. I have a Masters Degree in Reading and Elementary Education from Cortland College. This is my seventh career. I started out as a mail clerk,  a Bank Teller, made and sold quilted items, was a mother, an elementary school teacher, and now an Author, Illustrator,  and Publisher. I sold articles to a magazine in past. These are my first novels. I published ERIE CANAL COUSINS in 2007, THREE WEEKS IN UTICA in 2008, ALBANY HOMECOMING in 2009, CANAL TOWN CHRISTMAS in 2010, There will be one more book in the Series.

    My business is Blackberry Hill Press, publisher of my books. I also did the illustrations in the books, some patterned after my children and grandchildren. Some of my books have traveled as far as California, Florida, Oregon, Maine, New Hampshire, Minnesota, North Carolina, Washington, Canada, and England.

Has writing always been a passion of yours, or did you discover it at a later age?

---I have been writing since I was 7 years old. I always loved to write. But hesitated to spend too much time doing it as the chances were so slim of getting published. I wrote little stories in a notebook based on my experiences called, The Adventures of Rosemary, when I was that age. I wrote soap operas when I was in grade school during class and never got caught.

Do you outline or write as you go?

---I actually do both.  I outline the chapters slightly, but it’s  much more fun to  write as I go. Sometimes the characters change parts of the story on me or tell me where it’s all going.
What inspires you?  ---My husband when he was alive. He sort of pushed me into self-publishing my first book and encouraged me all the way. He patiently listened to all my chapters as I wrote them and even went out and sold a lot of my books for me. Now, talking to other authors and my friends at SparkPeople are my inspiration.

Do you get inspired by a certain element(Water. Fire. Air. Etc)?

Water since most of my stories take place on the Erie Canal

Do you listen to music or multitask while writing?

---No never. I am totally absorbed in writing when I write. Hours can go by and I’ll never notice it when I am writing.

What is your favorite genre, and least favorite?

--- Most favorite- romantic fiction with a good story behind it. I also like young adult fiction, and some non-fiction books Least Favorite-Westerns, very violent books with unsavory language.

Who are among your favorite authors?

---I like Danielle Steele., Debbie Macomber, Beth Wiseman, James Patterson, Elizabeth Berg,

What is your favorite piece you’ve written, and what is it about?

-----I’ve been writing my Erie Canal Cousins  Series for the last 5 years so I guess it would be one of my books, Three Weeks in Utica- Book 2 It is historical fiction about a 13 year old girl who stays with her Aunt Jenny in Utica for 3 weeks in the summer of 1840 to help her with her 4 young children. She goes to a frolic at a mansion , makes a friend who lives next door who has a brother that she likes. She also learns how to make butter, quilt, and such things.

Let’s change things up:
What is a hidden talent of yours? Quilting, Crocheting

Do you have any animals? No. I’m very allergic to cats and a little to dogs

Favorites:
TV shows--- Days of our Lives, Young and the Restless

Movies---I don’t go much.

Authors--- Danielle Steele., Debbie Macomber, Beth Wiseman, James Patterson, Elizabeth Berg 

Books---Daughters of Promise Series,  Dear America Series

Animal---don't have one

Color--- RED

And last but not least, tell us all about your upcoming novel.

My newest book is STARS OVER BUFFALO-Book 5 in my Erie Canal Cousins Series. This is historical fiction for middle readers up to adults and it will come out in November of 2011. In it, Rose Steward travels on the Erie Canal to Buffalo with her Cousins and sees such sights as Niagara Falls, the Genesee Aqueduct. Lockport. They have many adventures on the boat.