Monday, September 17, 2012

With us today is...

Julia Erickson!



First of all, tell the readers a little bit about yourself.
Hi! Nice to meet you! I am still slightly surprised at the fact that I'm now twenty-one years old. I have the most wonderful parents in the world and two amazing younger brothers, ages eighteen and sixteen. I live in a log cabin at the top of a hill in rural Georgia and we have a big garden and lots of chickens … over 50 at the moment. I’m a country girl at heart, but I grew up at the beach, living in Florida until I was fourteen – and I still love the ocean. Some of my favorite things to do (besides writing, of course!) include designing handcrafted jewelry, photography, reading, blogging, crochet, singing, and graphic design. I'm actually the one who designed the Homeschool Authors blog look. ;) I’m very artistic and I love colors, flowers and music. (Numbers? Not so much!) :)
What was your favorite part of being homeschooled?
The freedom! I loved the free time of being able to grow and learn at my own pace (which was way faster in certain subjects and way slower in others!). I was able to develop many talents and hobbies with the time I was allowed away from the textbooks that I wouldn't have been able to do otherwise. I am so thankful that my sweet mom persevered through a difficult and painful disease, Rheumatoid Arthritis, to teach us in spite of her ill health. She is the reason I am where I am, today. :) I want to homeschool my kids just like she taught us.

How did you start making jewelry?
I’ve had the business Jewels by Julia (http://jewelsbyjuliashop.com/) since I was just-turned-fourteen, selling handcrafted jewelry, but I had been playing with beads in various forms and fashions since I was six years old. When I was 13, My mom and I found out how to do the wire crimping technique, allowing us to create really "nice" necklaces and bracelets, and from there it just took off! :)

What inspired you to make e-books?

My brothers had already written their ebooks, and I decided I needed to get in on the action! :D But I'd wanted to share what I know about jewelry making with others for a good long while. I'm just glad it finally happened and I got the books put together! :)


What have people said about your e-books?

I've gotten a lot of feedback, but most of it has been in spoken form so I can't quote directly. However! I've been told that the books are very professionally done, exceedingly easy to follow along and understand, and that the photography quality of the step-by-step photos is awesome. (That makes me really happy, because I did the whole thing myself).


Are you planning on writing more?
Yes, I am! I have some ideas in the works for some special project ebooks on things like beaded watches and a floating pearls necklace. Other than that, I also write novels, and I'm currently in the process of writing my third and editing my first and second ones! I hope to traditionally publish them, versus the self-publishing I did with my ebooks. :)

Do you have any final thoughts?
Hmm, why does that sound like "Any last words? Mwahaha!" - must be just me. ;) If you're interested in learning more about me you can find me blogging at http://jewelsbyjulia-lauren.blogspot.com/! If you want to see some of the jewelry I've made myself, check out http://www.etsy.com/shop/TheJewelsByJuliaShop. And thanks so much, Sarah, for interviewing me!

3 comments:

  1. Congrats on your ebooks! They look fantastic! I'll have to check out your website.

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  2. I was excited to see my interview up today, Sarah! Thanks again for having me! :)

    Hugs,
    Julia

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  3. These ebooks look great! I'm glad to see you writing these, Julia!

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