Scott Wannenburg Interview

Q. Can you tell us a little about yourself and what inspired you to become a writer?

Ans. My name is Scott Wannenburg. I am 54 years of age and reside in a town on the East side of Johannesburg called Benoni. I have been living in this quaint town for the past 23 years and love everything about it! I have been happily married for the last 20 years and have a lovely 16 year old daughter, Jade Lee, whom i am immensely proud of! Prior to my second marriage I was involved with my first wife for 9 years in total and married for 5 years we were together. We had one child, a son named Dylan. The reason for the divorce was due to me being involved in drugs as well as having an 18 month affair with another woman.That combination took a terrible knock on our marriage and we were eventually divorced. Whilst I was involved with drugs at the time, I lost my son as well as my job. I went down a very dark hole. Wanting to write my book was something that had always inspired me to do but it was all about timing and managing my time to do it. We went into hard lock down for 5 weeks with Covid and thats when I said this would be the perfect time to do it! I completed my book within 3 months.

Q. What genre(s) do you primarily write in, and what draws you to that particular genre?

Ans. I have written one book to date. The book is based on my life story. It was something I needed to do to heal old wounds through my writing.

Q. What is your favorite book, and what about it resonates with you the most?

Ans. I love reading sport celebrity biographies. It's their way of getting their story out there through the good, the bad, the highs and lows of their lives I love my sport and reading up on their life stories I could resonate with my life story.

Q. Who is your favorite author, and how have they influenced your writing?

Ans. I must say, I really enjoy Mandy Weiner as an author. I find Mandy's work to be on point; she sticks to the storyline from start to finish, and she never strays from the topic of the book. The book called 'Killing Kebble' was an absolute pleasure to read!

Q. How do you balance writing with other aspects of your life, such as work, family, or hobbies?

Ans. As I stated in the beginning of the questionnaire, I wrote 70% of my book in hard lock down and completed the other 30% on weekends. Every Sunday for about two hours I would spend in my study writing.

Q. How do you show appreciation and love to your followers and readers? Do you actively engage with them on social media or through other means?

Ans. I have my own book page called - From The Bottom Up. I also engage with my followers on my personal news feed on Facebook. I also do lots of reels and have gained lots of traction from that through Facebook. I also engage on Instagram as well as tick tock but on a much smaller scale.

Q. What do you enjoy most about being an author, and what keeps you motivated to continue writing?

Ans. I wrote my story to give hope & inspiration to people out there, that all is not lost. Through my writing I have inspired quite a few people and have received lots of positive reviews as well!

Q. Have you ever faced writer's block, and if so, how do you overcome it?

Ans. Luckily i never encountered that so I can't really comment.

Q. Can you share any interesting or funny anecdotes from your writing journey?

Ans. My mom & I arguing over dates and certain times whilst I was growing up. My mom and I are very close and she helped me shape my book with her excellent memory up until I was around 8 years of age. Then from 8 years and older, we would quibble as i remembered things how they happened and my mom had different version of events.

Q. What advice would you give to aspiring authors who are just starting their writing journey?

Ans. To gather all your facts, make rough notes, and put it all in chronological order. It's almost like putting the pieces of a puzzle together. I just feel that way you would not struggle with writer's block. Once you are ready to write, set yourself a time frame to complete your book. Try to stick to that time frame and lastly, DON'T GIVE UP!!

Q. Do you have any upcoming projects or works in progress that you'd like to share with your readers?

Ans. I have nothing upcoming at this stage.

Q. Finally, what are your goals and aspirations as a writer? Where do you see yourself and your writing career in the future?

Ans. To date, I have sold 156 books within a year and I really would like to aim for a minimum of 500 books sold! I have reached out to rehab centres as I know they buy literature books and my book would be the perfect fit for them, but no one has come back to me as yet. I would like to one day do talks at high schools to teens and parents alike and perhaps become a motivational speaker as well.