Sandy Mercier writes thrillers and advice novels under her open pseudonym Jule Pieper. She made it into the bestseller charts several times with her Jule debut “Das Buch deines Lebens”. It was a Kindle bestseller in several categories in 2019 and even became a Bild.de bestseller. She also made it into the top 12 titles & crime novels of the week on the Skoutz Award Midlist. We interviewed her and found out a few things about her life as an author!
1. What Inspired You to Become a Writer?
My favourite author is Joy Fielding and I started getting lost in her stories when I was very young. They explained the world to me and I realised that books can have a huge impact. But
I never thought it was possible for me. Then I got burnt out and quickly found that writing healed me. I always say write to live. And that’s how I found my way back to my dream.
2. How Do You Deal with Writer’s Block?
I only get writer’s block at the beginning, when I want to start a new book and set myself the goal of writing the absolute bestseller in one night. Then I can remind myself that the first
draft can be bad, that I’m only writing this book for myself, and that one hour a day with the manuscript is enough. Suddenly the rest takes care of itself.
3) How Important Is It for You to Get Feedback From Readers?
It’s super nice because when I see what my books do, I know that the experiences I put into them were useful because they are now helping others. And writing is one of my two great
passions, along with healing. I am grateful for every loving message that reaches me.
4. How Much Research Do You Do Before You Start Writing?
Most of the time I’m looking into a topic, then I think, you can’t spend that much time on it now, and then I realise I’m researching a book and I’ve only just understood it. But a lot of
things come to me when I’m writing, because I don’t usually know where the journey is going to take me, so I’m allowed to do research in the middle of it.
5. How Do You Choose the Names of Your Characters?
Lately, I’ve been paying attention to what names my readers and friends use a lot, and then I choose them so that as many people as possible feel happy and addressed. Otherwise, I
sometimes try to find out the meaning of the name beforehand and think about whether it might suit the character. Sometimes I use name generators, and I recently wrote down names I
could use in a webinar.
6) How Has Your Writing Process Changed Over Time?
I’ve learnt to write a lot and go deep in a short time. At first it was just an hour a day. Now I can write 10,000 words a day. But then I can’t do anything else, and I can’t do it for a long
time. When I really commit to the manuscript, I can write so much more than I thought I could.
Would you like to get to know other authors better? Click here: Interview with Bestselling Author Virginia Fox
