Leslie Savisky

First and foremost, I attribute my success to my parents, who instilled in me a love of reading at an early age. I have wanted to be a writer as long as I can remember. As a child, I'd write poems, songs and short stories. In high school, I created a cartoon which I used as inspiration for my fourth book, Mischief Takes the Case. My favorite movie is Stand By Me (based on the novella The Body by Stephen King). If you're familiar with the movie, I considered myself the female version of Gordy LaChance.

I had a few traumatic experiences, which were the catalyst for me to begin writing my first novel. What was meant to be a way to channel my anxiety, ended up being a completed book that I decided to independently publish. I assumed I'd sell five or ten books to family and friends. However, I received a lot of positive feedback and decided that maybe I was a better writer than I initially thought. Writing became like an addiction - I simply couldn't stop writing.

My husband, daughter, parents and friends have been so supportive. And I've met a lot of wonderful fellow authors over the last several years. We bounce ideas off of each other, help edit and critique each other's work and basically offer a support system.

You have to get up and work every day - it might as well be something you enjoy doing. And honestly, I've never been happier. Being able to set your own schedule, the flexibility and work/life balance make it all worth it.

First, you have to know that working in the writing field is not something that's going to happen overnight. Sometimes just getting your name out there is just as important as the money. You can't just get out of college and expect to be a poet or live on a remote island and write for a living. You have to be realistic about it. You have to put in the work, just like actors who wait tables when they're getting started. With that being said, you also need to aim high. I think that lots of times, especially with women, we tend to underestimate ourselves. I'm very pro-woman. Don't let somebody tell you what you really should write about or how they would have worded something. Advocate for yourself. Aim high, and at the same time, be realistic that you might have to put in your dues first.

Artificial intelligence. I think that speaks for itself but to elaborate - people use AI to write books and articles. It takes away jobs, but also credibility from real authors.

Honesty, integrity and kindness.