I’d love to ask what he thinks of modern fiction. JSC: If you could sit down with one other writer, living or dead, who would you choose, and what would you ask them?ĬP: Oscar Wilde. According to my mom I’ve always been obsessed with hair and used to twirl other people’s before I even had any. JSC: Tell us about a unique or quirky habit of yours.ĬP: I don’t know how quirky it is, but I twirl my hair when I’m thinking or driving. I have a rough outline that I work from, but when I say rough, I mean I have notes like “and then they kiss” or “make sure that guy tells the cute barista he likes his shoes.” I write as it comes to me, which makes for some interesting unplanned plot twists. I’m much more of a pantser than a plotter, which was tough when writing a time travel novel. I love a good enemies-to-friends-to-lovers trope and I wanted to do my take.ĬP: I start with a scene in mind and go from there. It’s also a nod to classic rom-coms like When Harry Met Sally. JSC: What was your first published work? Tell me a little about it.ĬP: My first published novel was Designs On You and it’s inspired by my early career as a graphic designer. I think that’s something that I struggled with, so I tend to explore that when I write. But thematically, I’m always writing characters who learn to be true to themselves-to live authentically.

My first novel was contemporary romance, In the Present Tense is time travel and my next novel will be young adult. JSC: How would you describe your writing style/genre?ĬP: I tend to genre hop a bit, so I don’t have an exclusive genre that I specialize in. I still have to tell myself it’s okay to have a bad first draft. Over time I started writing my own characters and became more confident. So I started writing, and I kept writing. You have to learn what works for you you can’t be someone else. It wasn’t until I started writing fanfiction that I realized there is room for everyone to be a writer. Maybe it was because I read so much, but I was constantly comparing myself to others and thought I’d never measure up. Scott Coatsworth: When did you know you wanted to write, and when did you discover that you were good at it?Ĭarrie Pack: I’ve always loved writing creatively, but I didn’t think it was something I was good at for a long time. Carrie lives in Florida, which she fondly calls America’s Wang, with her husband and four cats. Her early career focused on advertising, journalism, and public relations while she also did freelance writing for businesses in the nonprofit sector. She recently left her job in marketing to actively pursue her writing career. Today, Carrie Pack – Carrie is the author of two novels-Designs On You and In the Present Tense-and a part-time college professor. I’ve asked a bunch of my author friends to answer a set of interview questions, and to share their latest work.

In the Present Tense by Carrie Pack