Tell me about
yourself. What got you started in writing?
When I was a child,
my dad had a personal library of 4000 books. He got me hooked on the reading
addiction early. From there it was a natural step for me to start wanting to
create books of my own. As a middle schooler, I fell in love with Rosemary
Sutcliff’s juvenile historical fiction and at age 15 I finished my first full
length novel. The rest is history.
How do you
schedule your writing time? When do you write?
As the mom of a
preschooler and new baby, I write either before the kiddos get up, or after
they’re in bed. While on deadline, though, I’ve been known to attempt trying to
string sentences together while my 4-year-old “Joe-Joe” has his preschool songs
turned up to an ear-blasting amount of decibels.
How and where do
you write? Do you prefer a lap top or some other method of getting your words
down?
I type 120 wpm so
trying to piece together thoughts on anything slower than a laptop keyboard
drives me crazy. Thumb typing on my phone is sheer torture.
What's your
favorite part about writing? Your least favorite part about writing?
My favorite part about
writing is getting people’s edits in my critique groups and seeing my story
through their eyes. My least favorite part about writing is getting people’s edits
in my critique groups and seeing all my mistakes through their eyes.
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How did you come
up with your book idea? How long did it take you to write your book?
Several years
before I had written Hot Lead & Cold
Apple Pie, a romantic comedy set in the 1890s in the silver-mining town of
Gilman, CO. Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to get a book contract for it. Then my
literary agent sent out a call for Christmas novella submissions. Using some of
the characters from my former novel, I came up with Plum Pudding Bride on a
whim and pounded out the entire manuscript in a month or so. Happily this year
I got a contract on Hot Lead & Cold
Apple Pie, so if you like Plum
Pudding Bride, you will be able to stay in Gilman, CO a little longer for
another love story full of adventure and comedy.
What types of
marketing do you do to promote your writing?
I do a little bit
of everything. Right now though, I just started a Facebook group connecting
book bloggers and authors. Unlike other groups, it’s blogger focused and
bloggers get to pick the books they want to request rather than having authors
contact them. Here’s the link. If you’re a blogger, please do check out the
group. https://www.facebook.com/groups/192888064470707/
What are you
currently working on? Do you have a new book out?
Rosemary Sutcliff
initiated my love of Ancient Rome and taking two years of Latin in college
cemented that love. The first novel I ever wrote was set in the Roman Empire
and finally I got a contract for novels set in that period. I have a four book
series set in Ancient Rome coming out next year and I am currently working on
edits. The Love & Warfare series follows a family of elite Roman
patricians, the Paterculis, through the first and second century A.D. Each book
is a love story, but there are plenty of villains, barbaric uprisings,
smuggling, and slave revolts as well.
Do you have a
project on the back burner? Tell me about it.
As soon as I get
edits out of the way, I will start in earnest on my contemporary romantic suspense,
From Harvard to Al-Qaeda. An atheist Harvard grad student ends up in
Saudi Arabia posing as a native under a fake passport for her Ph.D. thesis in
middle eastern studies. A Christian CIA operative falls in love with her and
they get tangled up in Al-Qaeda of the Arabian Pennisula in Yemen trying to
stop a terrorist plot. Still looking for beta readers if the premise intrigues
you.
What would you
tell a beginning writer who wants to publish but doesn't believe he/she has
enough talent?
Most writing lectures I’ve attended
start with a form of this quote: “If there’s a way you can convince yourself to
give up writing, do so, because writing will drive you insane.” It’s true. You
have to look far and wide to find as low paying, highly frustrating work as
writing. I personally have tried to give up writing on numerous occasions and I
just can’t. I need to write. Stories
jump at me and I can’t seem to push them away.
So don’t worry about talent. If writing is
in your blood, you’ll find a way to make your writing publish-worthy. One can’t
write all the time for years without getting good at it. And if writing isn’t
an all-consuming passion for you, do yourself a favor and find a job that pays
more. Your checkbook will thank you.
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