The journey to embrace my authentic self, and the character's authenticity, required a lot of self-compassion and grace.
D.C. Gomez, empowers creative people to tap into their courage and transition into more fulfilling lifestyles. An award-winning author and USA Today Best-selling Author with a quirky sense of humor, Gomez also speaks publicly, mentors and hosts podcasts. Her Inside the Minds of Authors podcast features upcoming and popular authors. She writes Urban Fantasy, Contemporary Lit, Young Adult, Children’s books and devotionals.
Lyndi: How did studying film and television influence your writing?
D.C.: My studies of filmmaking deeply influenced the way I tell stories. Even without trying, my books are extremely visual and move at a fast speed. Many of my readers have stated that they can visualize the scenes and can easily see the books turned into films. That’s the way I see the action playing out in my mind.
Lyndi: You describe yourself as having a quirky sense of humor. In what ways does this find its way into your writing?
D.C.: One of the first awards I received for Death’s Intern (my first book) described my characters as quirky “in the best of ways.” At first, I was confused and even a bit hurt. Quirky didn’t sound like a good thing. I wanted my characters to be full of dimensions and passions. It was one of my dear friends who pointed out that I was quirky, and being quirky was one reason why they love me. It completely made me rethink my views on the word. I stopped fighting the idea that quirky was bad, and instead embrace it. I had to acknowledge that I, like my characters, was a ball of quirky-fun. Everyone agreed.
Lyndi: In your urban fantasy series the, Intern Diaries, the protagonist, Isis, is recruited to be Death’s intern. What does this entail?
D.C.: Death’s Intern is the story of Isis Black, and the knock at her door that changed her life. What would you do if Death knocked at your door with a job offer? Would you take it or run for the hills? Isis had a choice: to walk away or take the job. But her only friend in Texarkana went missing and nobody was interested in finding him. She went to work for Death, with a 5,000-year-old talking cat and a boy genius, to find her friend and put an end to the kidnappings.
Lyndi: You went on a journey to overcome fear and become comfortable with what you thought your characters wanted you to write about them. What did the journey to write freely look like?
D.C.: The journey to embrace my authentic self, and the character's authenticity, required a lot of self-compassion and grace. It can be extremely overwhelming to write the things your characters are asking. That includes making yourself vulnerable and finding emotions that are uncomfortable for you and the characters. I had to give myself permission to be gentle with myself. To know that everyone would not like my stories. Even more, that writing would open the doors to criticism. I armed myself with the idea that someone needed these stories. That a reader was ready to take these adventures with me, and that I was creating a world where they could escape the everyday grind.
Lyndi: In addition to writing fiction, you also write devotionals. What do you hope readers will glean from your spiritual writing?
D.C.: My devotional series is definitely the most vulnerable I have made myself in my writing. To create these books, I pulled from many of my own personal struggles and journey. There is no safety net in this book. I don’t have Constantine, the 5000-year-old talking Cat, to save me. But my goal was to spread hope to those who need them. Right now, the series has three books: Dare to Believe, Dare to Forgive and Dare to Love. There is no wrong order on how to read them. I made them to be interactive with pages for readers’ self-reflection It has been such a humbling experience when readers come back to me and tell me they love the devotionals.
Lyndi: How did you decide that your podcast would be about up and coming and popular authors? Why do you think it is important for your guests to read from their book first?
D.C.: One of the hardest thing when I was starting out as a published author, was promoting my book. I didn’t know where to start, and I couldn’t find anyone who wanted to talk about it. When I started the podcast, I wanted to give authors that opportunity. Being an avid reader made conversations with authors a dream come true in my end. As the structure of the podcast developed, I asked the authors to read a portion of their books. This would give the listeners and myself an opportunity to experience the book at the same time. That way, we all have the same common knowledge of the book and could connect at a deeper level with the author.
Lyndi: As a USA Today Best-selling Author, you’ve found effective methods of promoting your books. How did you create a platform to let people know about you and your books?
D.C.: One of the first thing I started doing to connect with readers was attending live events. Many of my core readers were individuals I met either at a signing or a convention. I started very early building my newsletter to keep my readers informed of all the adventures. This is still an ongoing process and one that never ends. As a writer, my focus is always to find new readers and introduce them to my books. I don’t take myself seriously, so I don’t mind taking leaps of faith and trying new events or promotion opportunities.
D. C. Gomez is an award winning USA Today Bestselling Author, podcaster, motivational speaker, and coach. Born in the Dominican Republic, she grew up in Salem, Massachusetts. D. C. studied film and television at New York University. After college she joined the US Army, and proudly served for four years.
D. C. has a Master’s Degree in Science Administration from the Central Michigan University, as well as a Master in Adult Education from Texas A&M- Texarkana University. She is a certified John Maxwell Team speaker and coach, and a certified meditation instructor from the Chopra Center.
One of D. C. passions is helping those around her overcome their self-limiting beliefs. She writes both non-fiction as well fiction books, ranging from Urban Fantasy to Children’s Books. To learn more about her books and her passion, you can find her at www.dcgomez-author.com.
