Hello Visionaries! Today I've got an interview with Annabelle Batie! She and I first connected when I started beta-reading her book Identity (which you can preorder here), but I have enjoyed every moment of the emails we've exchanged! So, I am super excited for you all to learn more about Annabelle and the awesome stuff she's doing!
Hello Annabelle! Okay, I officially cannot wait to start this interview and I am so very happy that you are joining me on Writers’ Vision today!
Hey everyone! I’m excited to get started too!
First, tell us a little about you!
Well, I am a fourteen year old writer and bookworm, and I am the author of the Daughters of the Sea series, of which the first book, Identity, will be published next February. I am a Christian and seek to live for Jesus, inspiring others to live for Him through my writing. I also enjoy blogging, and you can find me on my blog, Pen & Ink.
What inspired you to start writing?
Well, multiple things inspired me to start writing. I’ve always just loved words--books have inspired me, and writing was a way that I could get my feelings out on paper.
But now, writing is much more than that to me. Writing is a way that I can share the message of Jesus Christ; it’s a way I can inspire, create, and provide enjoyment to others. There are so many trashy books out there, and I know there needs to be more good, Christlike books written. After all, God is the ultimate author, and he’s truly the one who inspires me to write.
I would say that I was first inspired to write seriously when I was about twelve years old. I started drafting my first novel, Identity, and little did I know where that would later lead me. I was thrust into a world of words, characters, fantastical realms, and creativity. I knew near to nothing about story-writing and had even gained some bad writing advice, so there were tons of problems with Identity. But I began to find that I loved writing, and I started to learn what it meant to be a real writer. Slowly, over time, I realized that writing could be the thing the Lord is calling me to.
What genres do you write?
Good question.
I write a lot of different genres, actually. My main WIP, Identity, is a mix of fantasy, romance, mystery, and probably a few other genres. I have written in other genres too, such as historical fiction, allegory, science fiction, and drama, and I’ll probably try other genres too. Right now, I have mainly been focusing on fantasy and action/adventure books.
You are publishing your debut book in February 2023, can you tell us a bit about that?
Absolutely! Identity is the first book in my four-book series, Daughters of the Sea. It has been my project for two years now, and it’s been such a great journey. It is my first finished novel, although I have innumerable unfinished novels already partially written.
Identity is about an orphan girl named Maria with a mysterious past. When she finds out that she is half-mermaid, everything in her life begins to change, and she is thrust into a journey of mystery, suspense, and the quest to find her identity. Over the course of the story, Maria begins to realize that she isn’t just a “nobody”, but someone who is a daughter of the One True King.
When I try to tell people about Identity, they typically think that it’s some cheesy story. Actually, in my opinion, it has a lot of depth to it. The part that’s hard to explain when summarizing Identity to people is that there is actually a lot more to the story than first meets the eye. There is romance, but also an effective backstory that ties into the main plot. Overall, I think it’s a great story for teenagers as well as adults.
What is the best piece of writing advice you’ve ever been given, one that has stuck with you?
Well, I’ve been given a lot of advice in my life. I would say that the main advice that has stuck the most with me is your writing will never be perfect. There is always something you can improve on.
As a perfectionist, this is something I need to tell myself all the time. Sometimes I get so caught up in the details of my writing, wanting it to be the very best it can be. And that’s not a bad thing--it’s good to learn from your mistakes and fix them as best you can. But there is a point where you just have to step back and say, “Okay, this will never be entirely perfect, and I have to accept that.”
That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t try to improve. That doesn’t mean you have to leave every single problem in your writing. But there can come a time when you need to realize that you will never truly accomplish perfection, and you need to let yourself look past some mistakes.
You run a writing blog can you tell us a bit about that?
Yes! My blog is called Pen & Ink, and it is a blog I started last year to help other writers like me.
I typically post things like writing tips, stories, inspiration, author interviews, and updates on my writing. I enjoy connecting with my readers and sharing my writing with the world, so if you are interested, don’t hesitate to head over to the site and subscribe!
And do you have any advice for new authors, or authors just looking for good advice?
Well, as I mentioned above, I would advise you to remember when you have to fight that perfectionism. But also, I would like to remind all of you of one thing: writing requires work.
If you want to put the time into writing as a career, it won’t be easy. You’ll have to be consistent, you’ll have to work hard, and you’ll probably end up being stressed out at times. There will be struggles if you choose to be a writer.
So I would advise everyone to pray about their decision to make writing their career. And if you truly feel like God has called you to it, then go for it and don’t hesitate. But just know that there will be some difficulties, it’s not all just rainbows and unicorns (even if that’s what you write about).
What can we expect from you in the future? Book, blog, and just anything you might have up your sleeve…
Well, my book, Identity, will be released in February, so you can definitely keep a look out for that, or you can pre-order it now! I’m also working on the sequel to Identity: The Keeper of the Phantom Reef, which I’m estimating will be ready sometime in the next two years.
Also, be sure to subscribe to my blog for updates, as I post regularly with new content! I also may just share some exclusive sneek-peaks and other goodies of Identity on there… so don’t hesitate to subscribe so you can stay in the loop!
And lastly, can you tell us a bit about your writing process?
Honestly, I’m still figuring out my writing process a little bit. As Identity is the first novel I’ve actually completed, I’ve learned a lot through the process of writing it. And I’m still learning what my writing process is and what works best for me.
I will say that I am a pantser for sure--I have tried outlining and it does not typically work well for me. So I don’t usually outline before I write.
What I normally do is write the first draft, then I outline it, tweaking the plot where I need to, then I go through a major content edit, then I do line edits, and then a couple of proofreads and spell-checks. It’s quite a long process, writing a novel! I did say earlier that I was a pantser and that I don’t outline… but that’s not entirely true, actually. I just don’t outline before I write--I outline after I write.
I’ve found it beneficial to pants the first draft completely, and then, when I go back through to do the content edit, I can outline the entire plot of what I’ve written so I can see at a glance where the plot holes are and if everything lines up structurally.
If you want to learn more about my writing process, you can read this post on my blog.
Thank you so very much for joining me today, Annabelle! It’s been just so much fun to interview you!
Thank you for interviewing me! I enjoyed it a lot!
About Annabelle
Annabelle Batie is a teenage author and book enthusiast. She loves mermaids and all kinds of fantasy, and thoroughly enjoys reading and/or writing a good book. She is very passionate about her Christian faith, and she wants to share that passion with others. She is also the author of the Work In Progress series, Daughters of the Sea, of which the first book is available for pre-order on Amazon. Some other things that she likes to do are drawing, singing, playing piano, and talking with her friends. She lives in Traverse City, Michigan, where she homeschools with her three younger siblings and parents.
You can connect with her on these platforms:
Pinterest: https://pin.it/5uOwluV
Writer's Vision Profile(Oh look, it's WV!): https://sistersthree3.wixsite.com/writers-vision/profile/annabelle/profile?origin=notification
Alright, wasn't that a great interview? Annabelle has some fantastic answers, and I"m so glad she was willing to do an interview with me!
What did you guys think? What was your favorite answer? Are you a plotter or a panster? Let us know in the comments, we'd love to hear from you!
Keep reading, keep writing, and keep dreaming!