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February 2008 - Kerrelyn Sparks January 2008 - Susan Elizabeth Phillips December 2007 - Kimberley Young October 2007 - Portia Da Costa May 2007 - Kelley St. John, Interview 2 March 2007 - Linda Winstead Jones January 2007 - Agent Caren Johnson 2005 - 2006 Sandbox Interviews The Playground is delighted to welcome Carla Arpin, owner of CSA Author Publicity. In a previous life, Carla was also managing editor of an e-zine, for which I wrote a few articles, and that’s how we met. She was my very first editor. Hopefully Mother Nature will cooperate and give us some nice weather so we can enjoy the sandbox without having to wear snow suits. Hi Carla, and welcome! Playground Monitor: What does a PR person do anyway? What services do you typically provide? Are there different levels of service – for example Package A has this and Package B has a little something more and Package E is the super-duper deluxe package that includes everything? Carla: I can only speak for myself, as each PR person is different. J I do any number of promotions based on an individual author's needs or wants, which determines what I charge, also. I currently concentrate on online PR. I typically provide online postings of new releases, monthly contests, news, and announcements, request reviews, keep a MySpace page, and have recently joined a group on the NING network called The Romance Junction. PM: How does PR representation change over the course of an author’s career – newly published, multi-published, category author, single title author, multi-genre author, NY Times bestseller? Carla: Oh, boy, this is a toughy. PR representation is, again, different for each individual author. It is a never ending job of research for new places to promote all of the above in your question. Debut authors obviously need more publicity than NYT's best selling authors. Category authors are usually on shelves for only one month, so it is harder to promote them in advance. PM: At what point should a writer hire a PR representative? What should a person look for in a PR firm? Carla: An author should hire a publicist depending on said author's own strengths and weaknesses. I have an author who absolutely hates to toot her own horn, so to speak. On the other hand, there are authors who LOVE to interact with their readers and spread themselves out hither and yon. In my opinion, if you are an author who hates doing promotions, and it is showing in your royalty checks, it's time to hire a PR person. There's a sad misconception that your publishing house will do all of your promotions. Maybe in the golden oldie days, but that is not the case now in our current economy. A person should look for me in a PR firm. Sorry, couldn't resist! ;) Seriously, talk to other author acquaintances and see what/who has worked, or not, for them. I've heard that some can cost up to $10,000 per book campaign!! I'm sure NOT one of those. "Shop" around for only the most reputable and reliable PR people or firms! I readily admit to falling by the wayside from June-ish 2007 through December-ish 2007 due to personal problems and three moves, but have been getting back on track with a vengeance. Most thankfully, I have VERY understanding authors, and an incredible assistant in Maureen "Mo" Boylan. PM: What are the advantages of hiring a PR person over Do-It-Yourself promo? Carla: The author can concentrate more on their writing than taking away from that by having to worry about promoting, too. Of course, they still have to be involved to some extent - we need them to feed us what they want to promote. J) PM: What types of promotion do you find most effective? Least effective? What gives you the most bang for your buck? Or does that vary according to the person, their genre, how long they’ve been published and how well their books do? Carla: My best PR efforts are face to face with readers. I'm a true people person and far from shy.I wish I could attend every conference and book signing out there, but I'm not a millionaire. L The least effective promotion is [any genre, length published, etc.] authors spamming groups with non-stop promotion of news, contests, and the least little thing that comes up that they feel the need to share. Create [or have us create] a newsletter and post it the first, middle, and end of each month containing all news, contest, and review information/etc. DON'T SPAM!! PM: There’s an explosion of websites, blogs and online writers group sites these days. Do these provide good marketing for the authors? Are they worth the expense or would dollars be better spent elsewhere? Again is this dependent upon what stage of publication you’re in? Carla: Make sure you have an updated web site, blog, etc. at all times. If you don't have a web site tracker, GET ONE! There are many free ones. Check it at least weekly to see where the most traffic is coming from, then target those sites. There are so many free offers on the web for sites, blogs, and I personally swear by Yahoo groups, MySpace, and NING. Check out my MySpace page for links to NING - it's the next best thing to sliced bread for accumulating readers, IMHO: http://www.myspace.com/carlapublicity I will soon be offering virtual book tours - I'm working on building a list of pertinent blogs as we "speak." PM: Should unpublished authors worry about building a marketing mailing list? When do you do this? Carla: In my opinion? No, unpublished authors shouldn't worry about marketing mailing lists. As soon as their book sells, and you have a release date, though, YES! Keep the email address of every genuine fan email you receive in either a file or on a spreadsheet. Or better, yet, create a "Do you want to join my email/newsletter list" option on your web site or in your newsletter. PM: How much time/money should authors invest in self- done promotion, both unpublished and newly published and does it differ in the category lines? Carla: Again, it depends on the author and their resources or lack thereof. Compile a reputable review list [we have this] - many accept downloads, which work best for category reviews, as those authors never get their author copies on time to send to reviewers. Be aware that reviewers/sites need a copy, whether edited or unedited [make note if unedited, with a caveat that it is an Advanced Reviewer Copy - Not For Resale!] at LEAST three months before your release date to assign the book to a reviewer, and give said reviewer enough time to read the book. Unfortunately, the category lines, as I said before, are on shelves for only a month at a time; however, some category authors sometimes have as many as four books out per year, and receive a ton of word of mouth promotion. There are also readers who only swear by category lines - I know this from working the romance fiction shelves a few years back at a bookstore. We had customers come in faithfully every month and buy up only the category lines. PM: How does an author find the best fit in a PR person? How do you decide which person is just right for you and your career? Carla: Another toughy. I specialize in Romance Fiction, but will spread out beyond if I'm comfortable with another genre. I absolutely will not promote graphic horror or erotic romance bordering on pornography. ANY story MUST contain well-rounded characters, plot, and monogamous relationships in order for me to consider promoting it. I'm seriously not a prude, but male on male and ménage books go beyond my personal comfort zone, and I just can't read them, excluding very few examples, one of whom is Ruth D. Kerce (off the top of my head), who somehow has me hooked on her erotic novels, which subject-wise, I normally wouldn't touch with a twenty foot pole. What I can't read and enjoy, I won't promote. PM: How do you find a PR person period? I doubt they are listed in the local phone book. Carla: Recommendations from other authors is a good start. I have been known to pursue an author (mainly someone I'm very familiar with, and have had previous communications with), to see if they need, or are interested in online promotions and publicity. Searching the web for Fiction publicity and promotions might be another feasible option. I've also had authors query me, which never ceases to amaze me. ;) PM: Anything else you’d like to add? Carla: Be there for your authors come hell or high water. Try to follow-up with everything, and keep immaculate records of what you have done so you have answers for your authors right at your fingertips. PM: Please tell our readers a little about who you are and how you got into PR. Carla: Science Fiction Romance award-winning author, Linnea Sinclair, likes to say she "dragged me kicking and screaming" into the PR business. That was at the RT conference in 2005, but we had talked about the idea beforehand. She then won the 2006 RITA for GABRIEL'S GHOST; release date Oct 2005. We both learned together by trial and fire what pretty much worked, and what didn't -- I will say right up front here in public, that I HATE setting up book signing tours unless they're local to me! I live in Massachusetts, Linnea in Florida – those signing tours were HELL to set up and follow through on. 'Nuff said. Linnea has recently moved on to bigger and better things, but we still remain dear friends of about eight years. As an avid romance reader, it was natural that I concentrate my efforts on romance fiction PR. I started with my first computer in July of 1997, and found the Romance Fiction Realm at AOL. In April 1998 I started hosting chats, moderating message boards, and wrote reviews and articles. I was absolutely thrilled to find out there were so many like-minded readers and I made sooo many author and reader friends that I treasure to this day. Sadly, AOL reformatted, reorganized, and also discontinued the Community Leader program, of which I was a member, in June 2005. I also edited and was review coordinator for two now defunct small press publishers, and was Managing Editor for an e-zine from June 2004 to August 2005. Happy Reading and Promoting! :) The collective knowledge of the Playfriends about e-publishing would rattle around in a peanut shell, so Alisa McKnight of Loose Id has joined us in the Sandbox to relieve our ignorance. Hmm, maybe we should link this over to School as well. While there may have been some disagreement on the Playground about how to pronounce “Loose Id,” there’s no mistaking the Loose Id Lizards. So everybody scooch over and give Allie and the lizards some room. Problem Child: Hi, Allie! Welcome to the Sandbox! Alisa McKnight: Hey. Thanks! It's great to be here. Er, well, "here" in the digital sense, anyway. Oh, and the pronunciation is "id" like "it" with a d; or id, ego, super ego. Or lucid. J PC: My first question—is it “e-publishing” or “epublishing.” The hyphen issue is bugging me. AM: I'd love to settle it for you once and for all; really, I would. The problem is, it's not settled from within the e-publishing community. There's a trend in favor of dropping the hyphen, but at Loose Id, we still use it. It's "e-publishing" and "e-books," for us. But no hyphen in Loose Id, even though we have a hyphen in our URL. We have a joke around the company: you're still a Loose Id virgin until you lose your hyphen. ;) PC: Well, okay. Hmm. Since it’s you’re interview, we’ll stick with the hyphen. Now, let’s start at the beginning. How did Loose Id get started? What’s your background? AM: Loose Id's the creative brainchild of Treva Harte, Karen Williams, and me. We'd been writing and working with another company, but found ourselves wanting something more. A late night rap session turned brainstorming session, and Loose Id was born. We brought Doreen DeSalvo on later when we had a need for someone with more experience in financial management and customer development. We needed her! I have a Masters in Art History and a law degree I wasn't using, Treva's an attorney, and Karen's in government. None of us did math! In fact we specifically disclaimed math in our contracts! PC: The title on your business card says “Marketing and Technology.” Not to sound too stupid, but what does that mean? What do you do? AM: Technically, I'm the Chief Marketing and Chief Technology Officer. What it means, mostly, is that I'm in charge of all of our technological development, from our website to new and emerging technologies like virtual reality, and also in charge of all of our advertising, PR, and art direction. PC: Is marketing an e-book different from marketing a print book? Do certain approaches work better for the different media? AM: This is going to sound strange, but, marketing is marketing. It's always about figuring out the product and the intended audience and matching the two together. So, yeah, it's different marketing an e-book than a print book, but that's primarily because the audience is different. When you're marketing an e-book, you need to use the venues that your buyers will frequent. That means figuring out demographic segments that you want to target and figuring out the other things they read, other websites they frequent, and so on. Marketing is about conversion: either you're putting something in front of people who haven't seen it yet so they don't know they want it, or you're trying to convince people to buy things they wouldn't buy anyway. It's a delicate art, because people don't like being manipulated and they don't like being sold, so it's all about showing what's wonderful or exciting or cool or sexy about whatever you're marketing. At Loose Id, we pretty much always market the company, even when our advertisements feature one or more books. We focus on the brand, trying to create an identification between Loose Id and clever, sexy fun, and then we reshape that for the various different venues we're advertising in. This benefits every book and every author, because the rising tide floats all boats. PC: RWA made a lot of changes regarding “Publisher Recognition” versus “Publisher Eligibility” last summer. What, if anything, has this meant to Loose Id? Will we still see you at the National Conference? AM: It actually hasn't affected us much at all. We'll be at the National Conference in our individual capacities and networking, though we're not taking appointments this year. PC: E-publishing often gets a bad rep—especially with the recent closures of several e-publishers. How do you keep Loose Id from being painted with the same tainted brush? Is the “bias” against e-publishing something you are actively trying to change? How? AM: The problem with e-publishing is that there are very low barriers to entry. Anyone with a couple thousand dollars can start a company and take submissions. But running a successful publishing company requires more than the money it takes to start it, and many very well-intentioned people overextend themselves with everything there is to do. We can't control the perceptions of those who want to think ill of us and our company. We can only make sure the things that people want to say about e-publishing companies aren't true in our case. That is, we've operated in the black since the beginning of our second quarter. We pay once per month, every month. We have professional bonded CPAs and bookkeepers maintain our financial records. Our contracts are fair. We honor them. Our editors select manuscripts they want and work with the authors to improve them, and to develop the authors themselves over time. I strive to make every book cover, every advertisement, every representation of our company that's shown to the public as professional and attractive as possible. In not so short, we conduct our business in as responsible and professional manner as possible and let that speak for itself. PC: You’re also an editor for Loose Id. That’s a slightly different skill-set from Marketing. How do you switch gears? AM: Actually, I'm not an editor for Loose Id anymore. Marketing is a full-time job and so is technological development. Don't have time for all three! But when I did, well, I guess it's like Nike: you just do it. PC: As an editor, what kind of inside scoop can you provide for Honorary Playfriends who want to submit to Loose Id? Any pet peeves? What things will make you reject faster than you can hit Send? What kinds of things make you want to read more? AM: This I can talk about, since I do help with scheduling, which has a feedback loop with submissions. What I'd tell the Playfriends is to treat a submission to Loose Id with the same professionalism as you would a submission to an agent or a New York publishing house. Get the name of the Editor-in-Chief right, if you're submitting to her. It's Ms. Treva Harte. Proofread your cover letter and synopsis. Don't retread what's on television right now or the book you just read; it's fine to be inspired by something, but you still need to make it your own. I loathe reading a story and thinking "hmm, why do I feel like I've read this before?" Also, read our guidelines. Don't send us things that don't match our needs. Other things that will have me sending your book packing: a weak hook, generic characters, no sex, sex that doesn't fit the characters or the story or is uninspired. As for what we want more of? Powerful erotic love stories with a sexy premise and a sexy hook. Easy to say, right? For me, personally, if you want to hook me, you need to do it fast, with a sympathetic protagonist in an intriguing conflict and outstanding chemistry with the other protagonist or protagonists. A strong, engaging voice is a major plus, and really good erotic scene-craft is a must. That's sort of a kitchen sink exposition; sorry about that. It's hard to say what we will automatically reject or want to read more of because there are always exceptions. Someone might send a terrible unproofed cover letter with a book that's so magnificent, we overlook it, for example. We might say we're not interested in vampires right now, but a brilliant story is a brilliant story. In the end, the best way to approach a submission to Loose Id, or anywhere else for that matter, is like you would an application to college or a job. Give your book the best possible chance of "getting in" by researching the company, reading the offerings, writing the best story you can, and then doing the things we ask for to the best of your ability. PC: Honestly, Loose Id seems to be open to a lot—your authors are pushing the envelope with their stories and situations. Is it pretty much “anything goes” (provided it’s all legal and consenting) or are there things that squick you out? AM: Our guidelines pretty much say it all on that point, so I'll let them speak for themselves, except for this: the squickiest thing in the world is reading a character doing something, sexually speaking, that seems out of character for them. So if you want your character to engage in a ménage or knifeplay or bondage? Motivate. Motivate. Motivate. PC: What’s the best part of your job? The absolute worst? AM: The best part of my job? Exercising my creativity to help other peoples' dreams come true. The worst part, honestly? Not having as much time for my own writing as I want. Which, leads neatly into your next question, because I'm good like that. ;) Actually it's about time I had something like a segue for you, huh? PC: Nice segue…so, it seems you’re also a writer. Are you working on anything now? AM: I am and I am! I've got a gay erotic romance in progress, and a women's speculative fiction story that I've been reworking for mainstream publishing. I could talk about those, but that's not why I'm here. Plus, I'm sort of superstitious about it. Writing's been going well for me lately, and that hasn't always been the case. I've learned over time that I'm either talking about writing or doing it. When I'm talking, it's probably because I'm having trouble writing. I'd rather be writing. J PC: Does experience on both sides of the keyboard (so to speak) make you approach either part of your career differently? AM: Well, I think that being a writer gives me insight when it comes to marketing writing, you know? I know how a story is constructed, so I can write more effective marketing blurbs that focus on the story conflict and the hook. It also helps me to isolate the elements most important to a story in order to better direct the cover artists. From the other side, it definitely makes a difference. When I construct a story now, I'm always already thinking about how I'd market it. That means I work to crystallize the characterizations, conflict, premise and hook before I ever start writing. If I can't pitch a story in thirty seconds, it's not ready for me to write it. I think being aware of marketing also motivates me to work that much harder on the story, because I know that the best marketing tool is always an exceptional, memorable story. PC: As a writer and an industry professional, do you ever get caught in the crossfire? AM: Oh, there are conflicts, naturally, but this is a business filled with people who are trying to be, are, used to be, wish they could be writers. Most of them are at the level of such things as whether to attend a conference as a writer or a publisher, or how to balance them if I try to do both. But the biggest conflict, honestly, is that I always want to be writing and I never have enough time; and, conversely, if I take the time I want to write, then I can't do all the insanely cool things I want to do with work. I need a clone! PC: Anything you’d like to add? AM: I think I've said more than enough, don't you? *smiles* Thanks very much for having me, and for giving me the opportunity to talk to you and the Playfriends about my two passions, writing and Loose Id. PC: Thanks for stopping by! Come back any time! Visit Loose Id at www.loose-id.com to check out their books and submission guidelines. February 2008 - Kerrelyn Sparks Please welcome to the Playground USA Today bestselling author Kerrelyn Sparks. Kerrelyn's Love at Stake series is a unique blend of dark paranormal and light humor that I have enjoyed since the first book, How to Marry a Millionaire Vampire. Her latest release, The Undead Next Door, hit shelves on January 28th. Angel: Tell us about your writing journey and how you came to be published. KS: Hi, Angel! I suppose my journey is like a lot of authors. It started off with a love to read. I remember devouring Nancy Drew books as a young girl and then, to my shock and amazement, Nancy actually kissed her boyfriend. I must have read that one little paragraph a million times. I was dying to know more about that kiss. At that moment, a romance reader was born! A lot of readers might wonder at some point if they could possibly write a book. I wondered, but always answered the question with a no. Oh yeah, now I could slap myself for not believing in myself! I procrastinated for years with self-doubt, but finally, in 1997, I decided to give it a try. I wrote a first book, and everyone rejected it. I tried again, and the second book sold to Tor/Forge. For some reason, they didn’t care for the original title of Insatiable and Saucy, so it was renamed For Love or Country. The unbelievable had happened, and I had become a romance author! It’s a tough journey to undertake completely on your own. In 1998, I joined the West Houston chapter of the Romance Writers of America, and they gave me the support and encouragement to keep going. Angel: Your first book, For Love or Country, was an historical that won two Dorothy Parker Awards. Why the change to paranormal? KS: Most of the romances I read while growing up were historical romances, so I naturally assumed that I would write historical. And I did. I have two unpublished manuscripts, both historical, and nobody will buy them! Why not, you wonder? Are they that bad? LOL, they might be, but they all bear the kiss of death in the publishing world. They are American-set historicals, and publishers don’t believe those sell well enough for them to bother with. I was incredibly lucky to sell For Love or Country, since it’s set in pre-Revolutionary Boston. Unfortunately, right after buying it, my editor at Forge quit, and Forge decided to terminate their historical romance program. With Forge out of the picture, my agent tried desperately to sell my other historicals, but no other publisher would buy them. At that point, it looked like my career as a romance writer was over. I had to learn some very important lessons. First, to survive in this business, a writer must be flexible. Second, in order to sell a book, a writer needs to write one that a publisher will consider marketable. I wasn’t sure if I could write a contemporary setting, and since I tend to write comedy, I sure didn’t think I could write about gruesome creatures of the night! Vampires really did appeal to me, though, because I love history, and they can have very long histories. I like my heroes to be truly heroic, so I came up with a batch of Vamps who could be brave, sweet, tough, and funny, all at the same time. And I discovered that I really enjoyed writing modern heroines who were smart, independent, sassy, and also funny. It’s really the best of both worlds--I can have historical heroes and modern heroines. Angel: Your first paranormal, How to Marry a Millionaire Vampire, spent three weeks on the USA Today bestseller list. I imagine that was very exciting. How did that feel and what kind of impact did it have on your writing and career? KS: It was exciting!! And it just emphasized the importance of being marketable. I was extremely lucky to hit the paranormal market while it’s so hot. And thank goodness, so many readers love Vamps! As for my career, it’s a very good thing to have your publisher happy with how a book is selling. Millionaire Vampire is still selling--it’s now in its fifth printing! And because it keeps doing so well, along with the other books in the series, Avon keeps asking for more. I just recently accepted an offer for three more books, which will be books 6, 7, and 8 in the series. (Books 4 and 5 will come out in 2008--The Undead Next Door at the end of Jan 2008and All I Want for Christmas is a Vampire at the end of Oct 2008). Angel: I love the idea for the Digital Vampire Network (for those not in the know, this is a vampire television station that plays a role in the Love at Stake series, because vampires can be captured in digital pictures). Where did this idea come from? KS: Remember the old soap opera, Dark Shadows? I loved that show! I really wanted to have a vampire soap opera hero (Don Orlando de Corazon, the vampire world’s greatest lover), but at the same time, I didn’t want my vamps to show up in mirrors. One of my critique partners is married to a scientific genius, so whenever we have a technical question, it gets forwarded to him (and he loves the crazy questions that we ask him!) When he explained that digital technology doesn’t depend on mirrors, and that a Vamp would show up on a digital camera, I was elated!!! My Vamps could be on TV!! From there, it was so much fun to come up with the TV schedule. First, there’s the Nightly News with Stone Cauffyn. Then, Live with the Undead, a vampire celebrity show, starring Corky Courrant, and then the soap operas--All my Vampires, General Morgue, and As the Vampire Turns. Angel: In addition to your personal site, www.kerrelynsparks.com, your publisher, Avon (a division of Harper Collins), created their own website page for you. Have you found them to be helpful in promoting your work? What types of promotion have they offered? What types of self-promotion have your found most helpful? KS: Avon is very supportive. For Millionaire Vampire, they printed out hundreds and hundreds of ARCs (Advanced Reading Copies), and they hosted a breakfast at the Romantic Times convention in St. Louis. Kim Harrison and I signed several hundred ARCs that morning, and it really helped stir up some buzz for the series. For self-promotion, I try to make my website a fun place to visit. Right now, my webmistress is adding some cool games and quizzes to the Vampire World section. And there’ll be a forum where readers can communicate with each other and with me. I’m also running a contest on the website, so be sure to enter! I give away a ton of bookmarks and postcards for each book, mostly mailing them to bookstores and reading groups all over the country and as far off as Australia and New Zealand. Any reader who wants a bookmark, postcard, and signed bookplate can get those by sending me a SASE (self-addressed, stamped envelope). For The Undead Next Door, I tried something new--a book trailer!! You can see it by going to my website. Angel: What has changed most in your life since publishing? What is the one thing that didn't change, even though you expected it to? KS: My life has become much more hectic. There’s a lot to the business side of being published that takes up time and makes it harder to find time to actually write. And I guess the one thing that didn’t change is that it’s still hard to write a book. After writing five or so, I thought it would get easier, but no--it’s still hard. But still worth it! For Fun: Angel: What is your idea of the perfect day? KS: No laundry or cooking or errands. Just time to write or read a good book. Angel: In honor of Valentine's Day, what is your favorite candy? KS: It’s got to be chocolate!! I just recently discovered the Kisses that have cherry flavor inside. Wow, are they good! Angel: If you could travel anywhere in the world, where would it be? Why? KS: Oh, that’s a tough one. I want to go so many places! Scotland first, then Ireland, New Zealand, Australia, England and Wales. I could go on and on. Unfortunately, my funds would run out quickly! Angel: If you could be a character in your own book, would you be mortal or vampire? Why? KS: I would start off as a mortal woman (young and beautiful, of course, and weighing less than I do now!) so I could fall in love with a hunky vampire hero. After that, I could probably be persuaded to become a vampire, so we could live happily ever after. Thank you so much for sharing with us, Kerrelyn! Don't forget to check out Kerrelyn's website, www.kerrelynsparks.com. And our review of The Undead Next Door will appear in School on February 15th. January 2008 - Susan Elizabeth Philips Susan Elizabeth Phillips needs no introduction. Anyone familiar with the romance genre and romantic comedy in particular knows Mrs. Phillips. Her unique brand of humor and larger than life characters have made her famous the world over. Not to mention the six magic little words she’s talked about at the national RWA conference for the past two years. Along with being a wonderfully talented writer, she’s also an amazingly generous woman who doesn’t hesitate to share her knowledge and experience with others. We’re very excited to share the sandbox with Susan today! Instigator: Susan, many of our readers are aspiring writers. Can you share with us a brief description of your road to writing? Susan Elizabeth Phillips: I began writing in 1979 with a friend. The story is a wee bit complicated. For the unedited version, please click on Susan Elizabeth Phillips - All About Me In: Among RWA you’re pretty well known for sharing your knowledge and specifically for the six magic words. If there was one piece of advice you could give that every aspiring writer HAD to follow, what would it be? SEP: Easy! To write! I’m amazed at the number of people who worry about selling their manuscript when they don’t have a manuscript to sell. The first step in getting your book published is to write the book. Editors won’t buy your “good idea.” They need to read the pages. Here are a few other tips: DO YOUR HOMEWORK. Scour your bookstore and library for “How To” books written by reputable agents, writers, and editors. They give lots of tips—sometimes contradictory—but sorting it all out is a worthwhile exercise. Also, become familiar with the current year’s volume of Writer’s Market. It’s available in the reference department of any library and is full of worthwhile information, including how to write a query letter as well as preparing and submitting a manuscript. JOIN A WRITERS’ GROUP. If you are interested in becoming a romance writer, a membership in Romance Writers of America is highly recommended. www.rwanational.com Local RWA chapters provide critiquing groups as well as a wealth of information. Also, look to writing groups in your local community, but be cautious if you are writing genre fiction. Not everyone in the group may be familiar with the genre, and sometimes you may find members critiquing the genre instead of your work. IDENTIFY YOUR MARKET. Go to the bookstores and study the shelves. Become familiar with the best seller lists. This will tell you what types of books editors are buying. Writing is a business. If your book isn’t “like” anything else you see, you may be in trouble. Believe it or not, when editors say they’re looking for something “fresh and exciting,” they don’t really mean it! Although they do like work that is “fresh and exciting,” they also want it to fit into some identifiable marketing niche—i.e. suspense, horror, romance, action/adventure, etc. From a marketing standpoint, it is helpful if you can say you have written a book that is similar to a Dean Koontz or a Jayne Ann Krentz or a Julie Garwood. READ WIDELY: Read wonderful books, terrible books, thoughtful books, boring books. Read, read, read. In: You write such rich and humorous characters, many of them southern, and you do it very well. Considering you aren’t from the south, how have you managed to capture that feel and style so well? SEP: I must have been a Southerner in a prior life. My ancestors did settle in North Carolina in the late 1600s. Does that count? Honestly, I don’t know why I feel such an affinity for Southerners, but I definitely do even though I’m a born and bred Yankee. In: In a related question, how hard is it to make an unlikable character likable (for example, Sugar Beth)? Are there any tricks you could share? SEP: All of my heroines have flaws. It’s just that some like Francesca Day in FANCY PANTS and Sugar Beth in AIN’T SHE SWEET? have bigger flaws. My basic rule is that a heroine can get away with a lot of misbehavior as long as I keep her heart pure. In: You’ve achieved success with books that seemed to break the ‘rules’ of publishing – specifically your Chicago Stars books. What do you feel set these apart and why do you think readers were drawn to those books? SEP: Romance traditionally works well when heroes are iconic figures: detectives, soldiers, cowboys, etc. seemed to have been the first to tap the athlete as hero and that intrigued a lot of readers. I know the humor in the books was also a huge draw. I’m just so grateful readers found the books. In: We always like to ask some questions just for fun – is there anything special you like to do after completing a book? SEP: Not a fun question because I never feel as thought I’m finished! I guess my favorite thing to do when I first mail off a manuscript (they always come back) is to clean off my desk. I know. Pitiful answer. In: If you could vacation anywhere in the world where would you most like to go? SEP: Anywhere I can hike all day, sleep in a great hotel at night, and not get food poisoning. I have lots of pictures of my various hiking trips posted at Susan Elizabeth Phillips. I’ve loved every one of them. In: What’s one thing we’d be surprised to learn about you? SEP: I’m a terrible speller, I can cry at the drop of a hat, and I have a crush on Tim Gunn from Project Runway. As for my other secrets… Not telling! Thank you so much for sharing your time and knowledge with us. You’re welcome back to make a sandcastle anytime! To learn more, visit her website at susanelizabethphillips.com. And don’t forget to check out Susan’s latest release Natural Born Charmer out now in hardback and available April 29th in paperback. December 2007 - Kimberley Young Back in Dallas in July, during a break between workshops, I was sitting next to a pretty brunette in a white pantsuit. I was secretly admiring her ability to wear white without spilling something on it (as we all know I’d be covered in dirt and tea stains within moments of attempting that fashion) when she struck up a conversation. It took a minute for me to get a glimpse of her nametag, which boldly stated “Kimberley Young, Harlequin Mills and Boon.” Yikes! I wasn’t in “Meet-an-Editor” mode—much less “Meet-a- Senior-Editor” mode. I stumbled over my words, trying desperately not to say something stupid. But she was friendly and fun and agreed to be interviewed for the Playground. I guess I managed to keep my foot out of my mouth. (Even if I did forget the name of my book when she asked me…sigh.) So, y’all slide over and give Kimberley some room for her bucket and spade. Hi Kimberley! Welcome to the Sandbox! Problem Child: The first, and most pressing (to me, at least), question is are you a “Kimberley” or a “Kim?” KY: Either is fine…but let’s go with Kim! PC: Huge Congratulations on having three RITA finals and a RITA win this year. (Note to those who don’t know/remember: Blind-Date Marriage by Fiona Harper was a double finalist in the Best Traditional and Best First Book categories, and Claiming his Family by Barbara Hannay won the RITA for Best Traditional.) Is it as exciting for editors as it is for the authors to final and win? Do editors have their own “bragging rights” competition for who has the most books in the running? KY: It’s so exciting to see your author’s name up there in bright lights! But I do really feel it’s their achievement – I’m there to be their biggest cheerleader. I do absolutely love getting an editor’s plaque though. In the London office, all editors’ plaques are proudly hanging in the boardroom. Naturally, I am very sad to see the traditional category go. PC: Is it difficult to have two authors up against each other in the same category? KY: Yes and no – you want as many authors as you can to be shortlisted, I’m just glad I’m not the one who has to pick between them! And the Harlequin Romance authors are so supportive towards one another I know they celebrate each other’s success! Marion Lennox and I certainly had great fun taking pictures of Barbara Hannay’s RITA to send to her in Australia. PC: Let’s back up a little. You’re obviously a fabulous editor; how’d you get started in the business? KY: Thank you! I started as a fresh-faced graduate out of University! I did an English Literature degree, traveled the world for a little while and then started at Harlequin Mills & Boon as an editorial assistant. I’ve always loved the books and the people so much, it’s a dream job. PC: What’s the best part of your job? The worst? KY: The best is reading books and getting paid for it - I still have to pinch myself sometimes when I’m curled up with a good book at my desk. The worst…definitely proofing! PC: You have great guidelines for your line, Harlequin Romance, up on the eHarlequin site. Are you looking for new and first-time authors? Any additional advice you’d like to offer to folks targeting your line? Any pet peeves and turn-offs we should know about? KY: Yes. We are always looking for new writers who can bring something fresh to the series. When Harlequin Romance and Silhouette Romance merged we changed our guidelines and gave the series a new, fresh look. So please, if you haven’t already, try us out! The most effective piece of advice I can give any aspiring writer – read as many current books as you can! This is always the best guide to what readers and editors are buying! Know the series you are targeting, the similarities as well as the differences. Look at what’s being published and what’s not. For authors targeting Harlequin Romance, it all starts with the characters and their emotional conflict, this has to drive the story from the first page to the last. In between that we publish anything from laugh-out-loud to three hankie reads, classic to contemporary, royal to rural…the list goes on. Just make those characters come alive in the world you build for them. No real pet peeves… PC: What jumps out at you in a synopsis or the first couple of pages that makes you say “I want to read this”? What kind of things make you immediately reach for the reject letter? KY: I always go straight to the writing, and read the synopsis second. And I’m always looking for that unique voice. Always play to your strengths as a writer. If I feel I’ve read it before it loses my interest quite quickly. PC: Here’s a nitpicky, obsessive question (maybe not at bad as the “Courier New vs. TNR” one, though): Should American authors be adjusting their Spell Check settings to British English before they submit? KY: Okay…this is my pet peeve! It honestly makes no difference to me at all – as long as I can read the submission anything goes. But just for the record, we edit depending on where our author lives, so it’s different for our UK, US and Australian authors. For American authors we use Webster’s dictionary. So you don’t need to worry about it! PC: Are there issues American authors do need to keep in mind when submitting to the London office? KY: None at all. PC: Out of curiosity, how many submissions do you get in an average week? About how many do you request to see more of? KY: Weekly, probably 10-15, though there are some very busy periods of the year when that shoots up, post conferences etc. It’s difficult to put a number on how many I request, some times I won’t request any…then I will request 5 in a row. PC: If you could give newbie writers one piece of advice they HAD to follow, what would it be? KY: One of my authors once said this and I thought it was the most inspiring piece of advice I’d ever heard: you don’t need to be a great writer – just a wonderful storyteller. PC: If you could stomp out a rumor about writing and/or publishing once and for all, which one would it be? KY: That “editors” are only buying certain themes. It’s never about the editor, it’s all about the readers! Agents, editors, publishers, publicists etc all have a role to play but it’s the readers who decide what they want to read and sadly, what they don’t want to read. It’s always, all about the reader… PC: Since we met at the RWA Conference, I have a few questions about Conference from an editor’s point of view. What do you look forward to at Conference? Anything you hate or dread? KY: I really look forward to seeing my authors, the non-UK based ones especially as this is the only chance I get to see them. The RITA awards of course, especially if one of my authors is nominated…and I always have a ball at the Harlequin Party! I really enjoy the author/editor appointments, I always feel bad when authors are very nervous! PC: It must be tough taking pitch appointments. Do you ever get really excited about a project pitched to you? Do you ever have an author not follow through and never send the requested material? KY: Yes I do get very excited about pitches and bought a wonderful, wonderful author from my first ever RWA conference - where I was probably just as nervous as she was ;-) It is difficult when you get back to your desk to keep track of everyone you’ve met and everyone who’s sending things in. But yes there have been story ideas I’ve been interested in and never seen. PC: There’s a rumor floating around that editors will request at least a partial at these pitch session so as not to hurt the writer’s feelings face-to-face. True? KY: With all good rumours there is usually a grain of truth in them… and I would say there’s an element of truth in this. Firstly, it’s all in the writing! A story can sound wonderful but if it’s not written in a captivating way it’s not going to be published. So, yes I would ask to see three chapters of things I’m not 100% sure about to see how the idea has been executed. But I will say to the author…you may need to think about X, Y and Z before sending it in. However, I have also said no thanks, I don’t want to waste an author’s time or mine by requesting something that doesn’t fit our lists. KY: I have had someone pitch to me in the swimming pool ;-) PC: Okay, I’ll wrap this up now. I have a ton more questions, but I know you’re a busy woman with future RITA finalists to edit. Do you have anything you’d like to add? KY: Thank you for inviting me, and good luck in your writing careers! PC: Thanks so much for stopping by! Please come back any time! KY: Would love to! October 2007 - Portia Da Costa If you are a regular reader of erotic novels, a book by Portia Da Costa has probably been on your bookshelf. Portia lives in England with her husband and beloved cats. Portia writes for Britain’s Black Lace imprint as well as Ellora’s Cave in the U.S. She’s joining us this month on the Playground to give our readers a little information and insight into her and her writing. Instead of our usual sandbox or swing set interview location, I decided to have a tea party under the big shady tree, so please lift your teacups and give a big Playground welcome to Portia Da Costa. Playground Monitor: Has writing always been in your blood? Or did you have another calling before writing? Portia Da Costa: Actually, I think my first creative calling was to be an artist, but I just didn’t quite have the talent. I used to love drawing pictures of my film and television star heroes, but I was really more of a copyist than an originator. I got a lot of enjoyment out of it though, until the day a friend challenged me to write… PM: When did you first decide you wanted to be a writer? PDC: The friend I mentioned above challenged me to write a story for her, so she could illustrate it. She thought that because I was a voracious reader, and I was a librarian, I would be able to write as well. I tried to tell her it probably wasn’t that simple, but I decided to have a go at writing a story anyway, just for myself. I really had fun with my little story, and even though it was probably awful, I had a feeling that I could do better with practice, so I decided to continue writing. PM: Why did you write your first book, what is the title and when was it published? And how many books to do have published to date? PDC: Well, the first few books I wrote never got as far as publication, because they were awful too! :) The first book that actually got published was a sci-fi erotic novel called ADVENTURES IN THE PLEASUREZONE, published back in 1992 [I think] by Nexus Books. There was no erotic romance then - or even erotica especially for women - so my first two books were actually marketed as erotica for men. But I like to think women read them too. To date I’ve had 21 novels published, plus two novellas [with two more in the pipeline] and also two collections of my short stories. PM: Tell us about “The Call” when you sold your first book. PDC: Alas, there was no actual call. I just got a very nice letter from the editor of Nexus, telling me they wanted to publish my book. He suggested a few changes, but it was a definite ‘yes’! PM: Do you have a set writing schedule? Are you a plotter or pantster? Any little rituals you go through before you sit down to write? Any special items on your desk or in your office that inspire you? PDC: Nope, I have no schedule at all. I wish I did have one, and I keep vowing and vowing to be more disciplined and write during specific hours… but I always slip back and write in a very haphazard fashion, some days lots, some days woefully little. I’m a combination of plotter and pantser, I think. I usually come up with a rough outline first, so I’ve got a roadmap for the book. But once I get started, I allow myself to stray from that if better ideas occur to me in the course of the writing. No, I don’t have any special rituals, other than remonstrating with myself for doing anything *but* getting started with my writing. I write on my laptop, sitting on the bed, usually surrounded by books and magazines and cats. Oh, and one or two photos of Vincent D’Onofrio to inspire my hero scenes. J PM: Why erotica? With so many genres, what drew you to writing erotica? What do you think is the biggest misconception about erotica? Would you classify your books as erotica or erotic romance? PDC: I wasn’t originally drawn to writing erotic specifically. I started out writing romance, but with hot love scenes. Unfortunately, none of these early works were up to publication standard, but a writing advisor suggested I try writing full-on erotica as I was good at writing the sex scenes, and the erotica market [for men] was far easier to break into at that time. So, I did go that route and my first book got accepted. However, I do often wish that I’d persevered with the romance writing at the outset because I am a romance writer at heart and even though many of my books can’t really be considered romance, they’re written with a romantic sensibility. In the last few years though, I’ve committed myself to writing erotic *romance*. I love romance both in fiction and in life, so even though my books are full of hot sex, they’re really about men and women finding each other and forging a love relationship. The biggest misconception I’ve encountered about erotica is that it’s all about the plumbing ie. relentless descriptions of body parts squelching together. LOL! To me, the best erotica is about what’s going on in the characters’ minds and their emotions while they’re having sex. That’s what I find most exciting and fulfilling as a reader and a writer. PM: Who is Wendy Wootton? PDC: She’s me. A lot of people know me by my real name because I’ve managed to acquire so many silly pseudonyms along the way that it’s confusing otherwise! :) PM: Do you find that your fan base is mostly in the UK or has it spread around the world? How do you promote trans-Atlantic? Does your publisher help with that or are you pretty much on your own? PDC: Hard to tell. I’d like to think I’ve got fans all over the world, and I’m sure I have, but I only occasionally get actual fan mail. I treasure what I do get though, and also the kind things that people say on blogs and message boards about my writing. I try to submit my books for review in the US, and participate in American promotional activities, but I’m comparatively new to it and sometimes find it hard to balance the promo with the actual writing. I’m still working on getting the mix right. For writers at my level, publishers do help a bit, but the main work has to be done by the author. PM: Have you had any translation problems for Americans reading your books? Unusual sayings that are unique to the UK? And how about checque versus check, kerb versus curb, bonnet versus hood (on a car that is)? PDC: No, not really. I think most of what I say in my books ‘translates’ pretty easily and the context helps with any British colloquialisms. I also think readers are becoming more and more global in their outlook and are familiar with alternative spellings etc. PM: Do you have any fun stories about your fans you’d like to share? PDC: I’m sorry, I can’t really think of any. A male fan did once attach a photo of his ‘anatomy’ to an email, but that was more disturbing than fun really… PM: Do you have any tips for authors on this side of the pond who would like to submit to Black Lace? PDC: Mainly, I’d recommend aspiring Black Lace authors to read the guidelines carefully and also read as many of the current books as they can. I don’t think there’s a particular secret, or style, or theme to Black Lace nowadays. It’s a very diverse imprint, so it’s wide open to all kinds of hot sexy writing with a romantic flavour. PM: Now for a little fun… PDC: This’ll sound weird but I don’t really take vacations as such. I’m a bit of a homebody and I love to be in my familiar space. But if I was to take a dream holiday, I think I’d love to visit Paris in Spring and stay in a beautiful, romantic five star hotel. Either that, or take a trip on the Orient Express to Venice… with James Bond and/or Hercule Poirot! PM: Have you ever visited the United States? If so, what was your favorite spot? If not, do you have any plans to visit and what would you like to see here? PDC: No, I’ve never been to America. I hope to attend the Romance Writers of America conference one of these days though. If I was travelling purely for pleasure, I think New York would be my first destination, in order to see the locations for Law and Order: Criminal Intent and some of my other favorite shows. Oh, and Las Vegas would be nice, for CSI location spotting too. PM: What authors are on YOUR bookshelf? PDC: Currently, Saskia Walker, Madelynne Ellis, J R Ward, Nalini Singh… but I must have upwards of several thousand books in my house. PM: What’s your dream job? What’s the job you’d starve before doing? PCD: My dream job is winning the lottery and not having to work at all! :) Not sure how to answer the second question. I think I can buckle down to most things if it’s necessary. PM: Favorite hobbies? PDC: Watching television, reading, hanging out online. PM: Favorite way to spend a relaxing evening? PDC: Watching the television at home with my husband, or going out for a simple meal such as fish and chips or a carvery roast, followed by a drink in a local pub or working men’s club. PM: Some of our readers, moi included, are cat owners. Will you tell us about your kitties? PDC: I have three cats and they’re all adorable and the apples of my eye. Kuffer is a tuxedo male of around fifteen years. He used to be a bit of a loner, and rather aloof when he was younger, but now he’s really, really affectionate and loving, a complete ‘mommy’s boy’ who loves to lie beside me while I’m writing. Alice is a calico female, around ten years old, and a real character. She’s typical of her coloring, which we tend to call tortoiseshell over here… ie. she’s a classic ‘naughty tortie’. She loves to hang out in the garden mostly during the summer. Mulder is a little black girl. She’s around ten, but she’s rather undersized, and we think she was probably the runt of a litter. She came to us as a stray, but sometime before we got her, she must have had an accident as she limps heavily and has no tail. This doesn’t bother her at all though, as she’s the fastest and most agile of all our three. PM: What’s coming up next for you in publishing? PDC: Well, at the moment I’m finishing the editing on my 11th Black Lace novel, GOTHIC HEAT [sequel to Gothic Blue] and that’s out in April 08. When that’s completed, I hope to be doing a short novella for Total-E-Bound, the British erotic romance epublisher, and following that probably another contemporary for Black Lace. The next things I have coming out are an October reprint of my Black Lace erotica title, HOTBED, and after that another novella. It’s a vampire tale called BUDDIES DON’T BITE, and it’s in the Black Lace Lust Bites anthology that’s out in November 07. PM: Anything else you’d like to add? PDC: I’d just like to thank you for a lovely interview. It’s a been a pleasure and lots of fun! :) Portia can be found online at www.portiadacosta.com and at her blog at www.wendyportia.blogspot.com. The Playfriends are thrilled to welcome romantic suspense author Brenda Novak to the Playground this month. Her current release, Dead Right, is garnering praise all over (especially from Angel). We hope you enjoy our visit with this very talented author. Angel: Dead Right is the third book in a trilogy following a family with more than one deadly secret. I loved all three! This series had some complicated twists and turns, plus each book has its own mystery, romance and resolution. How did you keep up with all the threads and make sure they all tied up so neatly in the third book? Brenda Novak: I’m so glad you enjoyed the whole trilogy! The characters, especially Clay, are some of my favorites. Even the less perfect ones, who became their own worst enemies, were interesting to me. I don’t like perfect characters. I like human characters, ones who struggle and overcome—or even fall. Because I don’t write anything down as far as an outline or even a list of characters, I sometimes have trouble keeping such a far-reaching story arc straight. This was the “tightest” set of connected books I’ve ever written (meaning their plots were tied as intricately as the characters). But I’m a very “organic” writer—I like getting inside my characters’ heads and seeing where they take me. I want to be surprised as much as the reader, which means I let myself go. Then I have to go back and make sure everything is consistent and right. A: The book trailer for Dead Right is played when a reader opens your website at www.brendanovak.com. The atmospheric scenes and, of course, descriptions of the book are intriguing, not to mention the soundtrack! Book trailers seem to be popping up everywhere as the hot new thing on authors' websites. Can you tell us the process you went through to develop the trailers for your "Dead" series? How effective do you feel this tool is in selling books? BN: I’m such a visual person. I even learn visually—can remember something I’ve read far longer than something someone told me, so trailers are a natural for me. I’ll take time to watch a video trailer when I’m in a hurry, but I won’t read something that would probably take the same amount of time. So I’m trying to reach others like me. I’m also hoping to appeal to a younger audience (by this I don’t mean anyone under 16) because the average Internet user is probably fairly young, and we can’t give the next generation entirely over to video games if we want a job in twenty or thirty years. LOL For all the DEAD books, I simply wanted to establish the mysterious and suspenseful tone, so I focused on music and images that would evoke that. A: I guess I got a little carried away jumping right into your books! Let's back up and have you tell us how you came to start writing and what happened on your road to publication. BN: I caught my daycare provider drugging my children with cough syrup and Tylenol to get them to sleep while I worked as a loan officer. Once I found these over-the-counter medications in my baby’s bottle, I realized what had been going on and could no longer trust anyone with the care of my children. I decided I needed to work at home, but I wasn’t sure what to do. I knew I was a good typist and considered starting my own secretarial business. Fortunately, I was also reading a good book at the time that inspired me to try my hand at writing. Once the bug bit, I realized I’d found my calling in life and have been writing (and loving it!) ever since. A: What would be the "Must Follow" advice you would offer pre-published authors out there? BN: I get asked this a lot, so I’ve boiled it down to the one most important thing: Believe. That’s it. It’s that simple. If you truly believe in yourself, you’ll learn whatever you need to learn to make it, you’ll take advice from those who know more than you do, and you’ll do more than talk about writing. You’ll write and you’ll edit and you’ll write some more, until you sell something. A: You've won many contests and awards with your published books. We're quite into the writing contests around here ourselves. Would you give us your opinion on the continued value of contests for published authors? How do you decide which one and how many to enter? BN: I’ve been very fortunate to have done as well as I’ve done on the contest circuit. I like entering contests. I find the positive feedback encouraging, and I appreciate the fact that contests put my books in the hands of librarians, booksellers, and avid readers who might not have tried one of my novels. I try to focus on those who are judged by bookseller or industry professionals, but I’ve been known to enter others, too. I consider it a mini-sampling initiative. It helps to final or win—then others in the chapter that sponsored the contest might also be encouraged to try my work. When I was unpublished, I entered contests for basically the same reason: to set myself apart. I wanted something great I could add to my query letters. I knew one final or one win wouldn’t be too impressive—almost anyone can get one under his/her belt. But when I started placing in a large number of contests, I felt the consistency said something and added it to my query letter. A: At RWA National (2007) I attended your workshop on Overcoming Discouragement, which was a great inspiration! What advice would you give authors on maintaining an optimistic outlook in the face of rejections from editors, agents, and contest judges (to name a few)? BN: I know you’ve heard it before, but you have to regard this as a business. You cannot let it hurt your feelings when someone passes on your work. An agent or editor rejection simply means that ONE person didn’t like your manuscript. Just one. Don’t let it get under your skin or it will kill your enjoyment of the process, which is what taking joy in your work is all about. If you enjoy the process and like what you’re writing, you’re already successful. A: The Diabetes auction you hold online is a raging success, having raised a total of $240,100 for Diabetes research. On your website, you talk about how your son's struggle with the disease sparked your interest in doing this. Tell us how the auction came to being and your plans for next year. BN: I’m thrilled about my auction. I had no idea when I started it that it would turn out the way it has. I have my writer friends, reader friends and diabetes friends to thank for that. On how I got started—Once my son was diagnosed, I had a burning desire to fight against this terrible disease (the 5th deadliest killer and an absolute epidemic in America). I learned about all the terrible things diabetes does to the body, realized from living with it how hard it is to manage, and decided I would do everything I possibly could to put an end to it. I started praying (or meditating, if you don’t believe in God <G>) about what I could do but the answer didn’t come right away. It came a few months later, when I went to a silent auction at my son’s school. It was poorly attended and not very successful, which got me thinking that there had to be a better way than trying to get X number of people all under one roof at one time. And then it hit me—I have thousands and thousands of visitors at my website each month (over 20,000 on my mailing list). I decided to ask these fans to help me make a difference, and they’ve definitely risen to the challenge. My first auction three years ago was more or less a test market. I wanted to see if the idea would really work. I raised nearly $35,000 that year—and was very excited to see the immediate success. I had no idea it would only get better and better, but the next year, that number nearly doubled and, last year, it doubled again. I’m hoping to break $200,000 in 08! Already, I have some fabulous things (and am taking donations of items all year long). One of my most exciting is from Superromance Author Anna DeStefano. She’s doing a whole section of designer purses and wallets (Isabella Fiore and others, see below). I’m going to spotlight this and other items in my monthly newsletters (you can sign up for the newsletter at www.brendanovak.com). My web designer will once again be donating his services, I’ll be donating my mentoring package, and many, many agents, editors, publicists and other industry officials will be participating as well.   A: You talk about your five children on your website. For those of us struggling to write with children at home, would you tell us your best strategy for keeping balance (and sanity)? BN: I’m not going to lie to you. It used to be VERY hard. I started writing when my youngest was a baby, and I had to type with one hand while trying to nurse him. LOL Now he’s ten years old and can help me out instead of the other way around. Thank goodness I’ve been blessed with such capable and well-adjusted children. Now that they’re all in school, I simply write while they’re gone—nothing to it. J But I would caution anyone who’s trying to do it with children to realize that they’re only young for a short time. You’ll get your chance. Meanwhile, pace yourself and get in a good two or three hours where you can. A: You are hosting a really cool "Whodunit" murder mystery contest with author Karen Rose, that runs through September 15th. (See details at Brenda's website) How did this unusual idea come about? BN: Karen and I wanted to do some joint promotion and take advantage of being on the cover of RT Book Review Magazine (August issue). We felt the best way to do that was to sponsor something unusual and exciting (with lots of prizes!) that would interest readers enough to get them to visit our websites. From that, we came up with the idea of our Whodunit game, where each person who plays gets to be the detective. The first person to correctly guess who killed socialite Abigail Dafonte (played by my daughter <G>) will win his/her name in a Karen Rose or Brenda Novak novel (and, as I mentioned above—there are also lots of other prizes). I’ve had so much fun writing the installments. It’s a different kind of writing than I’ve ever done, but I’m pleased with the result. Karen Rose will be taking over and finishing up, so I actually got off easy. I think it’s easier to write the first half and set everything up, and she’s eager to start killing people off, so we’re a perfect fit! LOL A: What's coming up next for you? BN: I’ll have a new romantic suspense trilogy out next summer—TRUST ME (June 2008), STOP ME (July 2008), WATCH ME (August 2008). These books are about three women who met at a victim’s support group and decided to create an organization that helps the victims of violent crime. The cases they handle are diverse and, of course, they have issues from when they were each a victim of some kind of crime, which gives them something very personal to solve (and personally dangerous!). A: What's your most relaxing way to spend an evening? BN: I love to hang out with my husband. Sometimes we go out to eat, hit a movie, exercise, run errands—a variety of things, but I always look forward to sharing the evenings with him. A: Favorite ice cream flavor? BN: Cake Batter (from Cold Stone) A: Do you have any hobbies? BN: Does fundraising count? LOL I’m afraid I’ve let most of my hobbies go as I’ve become busier and busier and busier. I don’t even shop any more. With five kids who are all very active in sports, we almost always have several practices a night and tons of games beyond that. So I guess watching my children play volleyball, soccer, football, baseball, and basketball has become my hobby. Other than that, the whole family enjoys mountain biking. And, of course, I love to read. I like to do research more than I like to consume fiction, however. I’m currently doing some really fun research for a series I plan to write that is wildly different from anything I’ve ever done. A: What's the one thing most people don't know about you? BN: That I’m shy! Seriously, no one believes me because I come off so direct, but I’m an introvert and I’m not nearly as assertive as I seem to be. I have to make my husband handle anything that involves returning food to a restaurant or saying the dreaded N word (No). Thanks for joining us! You can find more information about Brenda at her website, and she hosts Expert Fridays at www.fogcitydivas.com . You can find a schedule of upcoming topics on her website. Dead Right is available now! New York Times Bestselling author Carly Phillips writes fun, sexy reads that any girl could love. Better yet, she's friendly in person and even indulges her readers in a picture or two (see below). She's a self proclaimed soap opera addict and even lets her dog Buddy answer her fan mail. A girl after my own heart. The Playfriends are very excited to welcome Carly to the Playground. Smarty Pants: Welcome to the Sandbox, Carly. The swing set has been a-twitter with your upcoming visit. To start off, how about a little background? Your website says you were a lawyer who liked law school, but not practicing law. How did you get from there to the New York Times Bestseller list? Carly Phillips: Thank you for interviewing me! I met so many of you at RWA and it was awesome. You’d think it was a long answer but it’s short! I really hated practicing law. I did love the school part, which is why writing must work well for me! I quit law first, then I was home with my colicky baby and read, read, read. I discovered that there was a romance section and I was in HEAVEN. Then I decided to try and write one. SP: What was the spark that caused you to make the leap and write your first book? What motivated you to keep writing over the years until you finally sold? CP: I can’t remember the spark. You don’t know how many times I’ve replayed that question in my mind – how did I go from reading to wanting to write and I just don’t know! All I know is that once I decided to write, I KNEW I wasn’t going to quit. I felt like I’d come home. The desire to sell motivated me, pure and simple. That and I had stories to tell and I loved telling them. SP: You started in category with your first sale to Harlequin Temptation, then later made the jump to single title. Was it tough to make that move? You’ve also done several anthologies. What changes do you have to make to your writing/thought process in order to write short stories for anthologies versus the longer category novels versus your single titles? CP: It was easy for me. It shouldn’t have been, but it was one lucky break in a series of them, honestly. My agent had lunch with an editor who had an idea for a trilogy about a mother who fakes being sick to get her bachelor sons to settle down and give her grandchildren. They asked me if I thought I could write it and I said YES! THE BACHELOR, THE PLAYBOY, THE HEARTBREAKER were born. How did I have the nerve to think I could write a single title after category? I have no idea. I just told myself, “You can do it!” I’m a “short writer” by nature so anthologies aren’t hard for me. The thought process just gets a bit more “stilted”, LOL. On the other hand, they are a lot more challenging to write because you need to get the motivation and conflict and emotion into 100 pages. I’m never convinced I nail that part in the anthologies – that or I let the negative reviews get to me on those. Just kidding. I just write from the heart and hope for the best. Seriously. But short category is a talent. It taught me how to tell a story and it enables me to write today. I loved Harlequin Temptation and I miss it. SP: We recently had Vicki Lewis Thompson on our blog, who also was a Reading with Ripa book selection. How did that experience change your career? CP: Kelly Ripa MADE my career. I owe her to exposing me and romance to a broader audience. I know Vicki well, and I know she feels the same way. There are no words to express the gratitude I feel towards Kelly Ripa. SP: Let’s talk about process. Are you a plotter or a pantser? Which comes first for you—characters or the situation? CP: I’m a pantser … and I suffer for it, believe me. I write and go back and add, and go back and add, and fix, and tweak all because I didn’t plan … but I can’t plan. It’s not in my genetic makeup. :) SP:What was the best advice you received as you were starting out (you don’t have to tell us whether you heeded the advice or not, but we’d love to know!)? CP: Don’t obsess over the first book. Don’t believe you have to sell every book you write. Just finish one book and go onto the next while that is out. Keep writing, keep growing. Best advice. I stand by it today. SP: What was the one piece of advice you wish you’d ignored? CP: hahaha. I really have to think about this one! I’ll get back to you. :) SP: You recently emcee’d at the RWA Golden Heart/Rita Ceremony in Dallas. Was that a lot of pressure? Any embarrassing moments no one (or everyone) saw? CP: I thought I was OK until I zipped up the dress … and then I freaked out in my room. I asked if I could change my mind (I was kidding of course) … I’d never read from a teleprompter in my life. I remember flubbing how many manuscripts were received for the GH … but eventually I relaxed. I ended up on a natural high and I was so relieved when it was over, but so proud I survived. I was so … humbled … Nora Roberts Emcee’d last year. How did I earn the right to even be asked? I love the RWA Board for thinking me worthy. I hope I did them and all the RWA members proud. Clothing malfunction? Oh YES! Night before leaving for Dallas – I pull out the planned dress. Keep in mind I didn’t go shopping because I had a few gowns I love … NEVER TRIED THEM ON. Needless to say, they didn’t fit. THANK GOODNESS this one, hanging in the basement, did! CP: CROSS MY HEART is the story of Ty and Lacey, childhood sweethearts who are separated by circumstances - they fake her death to save her from going back to an abusive uncle - and they reunite years later so she can reclaim her inheritance before he does - or before someone prevents her from doing so. It's a love story and it also introduces Hunter and Molly who have their own story in SEALED WITH A KISS due out September 25th. SP: You’ve said that in Cross My Heart, you’ve delved deeper into the emotions of the characters and added more romantic suspense to the story than you had in past books. How big of a challenge was this for you as a writer? How’d you work through it? CP: The bigger challenge wasn’t the emotions – I think I do that anyway – it was the lack of light characterization – and that was intentional – at the time I was doing hardcovers for both books and I thought readers should have something different in a Carly Phillips book in a hardcover and a paperback. In the end, we decided to go back at least for now to paperbacks – so I asked to put SEALED WITH A KISS in paperback too. As a result, CMH AND SWAK are books I consider a departure – and I’m proud – and afterwards – 2008 on, readers can expect SOPHISTICATED SEXY FUN from a Carly Phillips book. More like the HOT ZONE novels. The bigger challenge in CMH and SWAK was the heavier plot. Honestly? I missed my older, funnier, eccentric, light characters! SP: Our very own Instigator is a huge Grey’s Anatomy fan and you’ve written a novella for the Grey’s Anatomy 101 anthology. Can you tell us about the anthology and your specific story? CP: My story is fun – (well it doesn’t READ fun because it’s nonfiction – but it’s – what would have happened to Meredith and Derek if Addison hadn’t shown up – and you know what? I thought the essay was interesting as speculation because these are two deep characters! It’s hard to give you info. And not give much away on a short essay … but I hope you’ll check it out! SP: Our playground troublemaker, Problem Child, has what we call “mood hair.” You never know what color it will be when you see it next. You seem to have a similar hair obsession. What is your hair like today? CP: OOOH MOOD HAIR> I need to hang out at the Playground. LOVE the name MOOD HAIR. Today – I am reddish brown; curly with bangs. I have an appointment on Tuesday, however. I can promise to remain curly. Not sure on the bangs. Not sure on the color. Will keep you posted … with pics. What I look like now is the pic with me and my dogs on my website. www.carlyphillips.com and scroll … what is your MOOD HAIR friend’s hair like? Tell me more … SP: Last I saw, it was red with blonde highlights, just short of shoulder length, with a flip. I haven't seen her for two weeks, though, so it could change. Complete this sentence: My readers… CP: ROCK. My readers are loyal. They are diligent. They are smart. They call me on errors and make me better. THANK YOU! SP: Ok, now for a couple fun questions...Coffee or tea? CP: Tea. Decaf. Must be Lipton. SP: Something most people would be surprised to know about you? CP: I’m rather boring … and I have a fondness for Club Penguin. CP: Tropical. Beach. SP: If you couldn’t be a writer, what would you do for a living? CP: I can’t imagine doing anything else. SP: What are you working on now? CP: I’m between books. Doing preliminary work on a new, hero driven, trilogy. I can’t wait to give out more hints … :) SP: Thanks for stopping by, Carly! Come back any time. CP: THANK YOU for having me! I’d love to come back more often. You’re all so much fun! Be sure to check out Carly’s upcoming releases – Cross My Heart, available in stores now, Grey’s Anatomy 101, coming in August 2007 and Sealed with a Kiss, out in September 2007! You can also learn more about Carly, her writing, and other fun tidbits of info at www.carlyphillips.com or blog with Carly at www.plotmonkeys.com. Before I started writing with any degree of seriousness, I was a book reviewer for an online romance community. One of the first books I reviewed was called TAMING THE OUTLAW and I remember thinking that I’d love to be able to write like that. The following summer, that book won the Rita award for Best Short Contemporary Romance and I was sure I wanted to be able to write like that. The author of this book is Cindy Gerard and since then I’ve read many of her books and even hunted down a lot of her backlist. She’s nominated for a Rita again this year in a different category, but the writing is still just as good as it ever was. I have been known to tell folks that I want to write like Cindy Gerard when I grow up. So it is my distinct pleasure to dust the sand off the teeter totters and welcome award-winning author Cindy Gerard to the Writing Playground. Playground Monitor: Hi Cindy and welcome to the Writing Playground. Why don’t you tell our readers a little about yourself. Cindy Gerard: Hi guys. Not much to tell really. I’ve been around the romance business since 1991 when my first Loveswept was published. After 7 books I moved to Silhouette Desire with my good buddies Leanne Banks and Susan Connell where we actually wrote the first author generated continuity for Lucia Macro when she was the senior editor there. It was called Sons and Lovers and I’m still very proud of that project. On a personal level, my dh and I live in Iowa on a mini farm with our English Pointer, Ellie, our two cats, Buddy and Sly and Tom’s quarter horses – too many too name :o) We have one amazing son and an equally amazing daughter-in-law who, fortunately live within 2 hours of us so we get to see our 3 adorable, brilliant, huggable grandchildren on a pretty regular basis. I write full time now and feel privileged to be making a living doing so. PM: Tell us about your road to publication. Have you always been a writer? Or were there other professions along the way? CG: I worked many jobs for many years before I started writing. I’ve been a clerk in a county treasurer’s office, a bookkeeper in a lumber yard, a sales clerk/alterationist at a men’s clothing store and my longest career was with the Department of Human Services working with state and federal assistance programs. During the course of my years with DHS, I was a case worker, a policy specialist and one of 8 trainers in the state. Needless to say, it was a busy, grueling, often rewarding career and many times frustrating career. PM: How does your family feel about having a romance writer in their midst? CG: Ha. That’s been a work in progress. At first, before I was published, I heard a lot of ‘go for it’ but I don’t think their expectations were all that high. Once I sold my first book (a Loveswept titled: MAVERICK in 1991), I think they were all secretly surprised. And I don’t think anyone ever thought I’d end up making a paying career out of it :o) My hubby is my biggest supporter and I love it that my daughter-in-law is one of my biggest fans. PM: You’ve enjoyed tremendous success (and a Rita!) writing category romance. What prompted the switch to single title romantic suspense? CG: You’re right about the category career. And I’ve been very blessed with good fortune. I’ve got 5 Rita finalist pins now (Including this year with UNDER THE WIRE, book 5 in my Bodyguard series a finalist in single title romantic suspense.) I wrote nearly 30 books for both the now defunct Bantam Loveswept line and Silhouette Desire. I loved writing category romance but found myself gravitating toward bigger stories, bigger romance – bigger everything – and there just wasn’t room in category to write those stories. Ironically, the first 3 Bodyguard books were originally pitched to Silhouette Desire but because they were too big, were rejected. Since I loved the stories, I decided I had to try to sell them in the single title market. Consequently, my agent and I worked together to revamp the proposals and give them yet a bigger book feel. Those proposals turned out to be my breakout single title proposal. PM: Where did you get the idea for the Bodyguards? There are six books out in that line now, the most recent being INTO THE DARK, which was released last month. Will there be more Bodyguard books? Or do you have something else waiting to be written? CG: The over arching concept of the Bodyguards came about after 9/11. I read so many stories about returning military veterans and I wondered what these super alpha males did when they came back home after living by their wits and being fueled by adrenaline. I found out, via researching the web and contacts with former Spec. Ops guys, that a lot of them go into securities work. From that, the Bodyguards were eventually born. I have loved writing this series. I love my guys at EDEN, Inc. and from the mail I’ve been receiving, readers are loving them too. But, all good things must come to an end and INTO THE DARK is the last official BG book. Now that’s not to say that we won’t ever see the Garretts or Manny or Jase again. I have a feeling they’ll be popping up in my new series. I’ve just signed a 3 book contract with Pocket to write about the guys of Black Ops., Inc. And if anyone out there has read INTO THE DARK you will have meet the heroes of the first 3 B.O.I. books. Gabe (Archangel) Jones, Sam (the quiet man) Lang, and Johnny Duane (sexy cowboy) Reed will all have their own stories. No firm titles or pub dates yet but I’ll post on my website as soon as I have news. PM: What’s the best writing advice you’ve received? The worst? And what advice would you give to someone trying to get published? CG: Best advice? Finish the book. I know so many writers who start a project they are excited about then lose interest somewhere in the middle and drop it to work on another new and exciting idea. It’s a mistake. Truly. You have to finish the book. You have to prove to yourself and to a publisher that you have what it takes to stick with that book through the tough parts – which, in my experience is everything past the beginning :o) Worst advice? Trying to fit your writing style or process into some other writer’s idea of what works. Everyone has their own process. You need to find something that’s comfy for you and go with it. As to advice for someone trying to get published: Stick with it. It’s hard sometimes. I know. Been there. Done that. I have my stack of rejection letters, believe me. It took a long time for me to make that first sale. And it’s a struggle to keep selling because the competition is tough. But, I’m living proof that someone with no college degree and no writing credentials can not only sell, but can make a living loving what they do. And if you’ll indulge me for just a second here – I’m also proof that that same high school educated writer can hold her own. Case in point: INTO THE DARK, with a modest print run, hit #61 on USA TODAY, #11 on Publishers Weekly paperback fiction bestseller list AND #27 on the New York Times paperback fiction bestseller list. Talk about dreams coming true :o) PM: What impact has the Internet had on your writing career? CG: The internet has been HUGE for me. I do much of my research on line – whether it’s reading articles about geography, weaponry, Spec Ops, etc. It’s an amazing resource and I can’t imagine the time it would have taken me to complete the volume of research I do without it. PM: Like the Playfriends, who met through their RWA chapter, you are part of a group blog – Riding with the Top Down. How did the RWTTD gang get together? CG: First let me say that I LOVE the RWTTD authors. What an amazing and talented crew! Second, I don’t know how they got together :o) I only know how I got my seat in the convertible :o) Lois Greiman, who I adore, asked me to guest blog, so of course, I did. I had so much fun and as it happened one of the group had to drop out so they asked me to join. And I feel honored that they did. Now for a little fun. PM: What’s your dream vacation? CG: Dream vacation? Well, I’ve got to tell you, I’ve had my share of them this year – with more coming up. I LOVE going to NYC and got to do that in March when I attended the PASIC conference. I LOVE that city. Spent a few days sunning and snorkeling and swimming with the giant manta rays in the Grand Caymans in April at the invitation of a friend who has a condo down there. That has to be way high on my list of dreams come true. I also spent several days with 5 great friends white water rafting/camping in the Grand Canyon on the Colorado River in May. Talk about a trip!! Beautiful, breathtaking, amazing! I’m also going to Italy to attend the Women’s Fiction Festival in Materra in Sept. Visiting Italy is just, well, it’s stunning to me that I’m actually going to go. We also have a cabin in northern Minnesota where we gather 3 or 4 times a year with family and friends. I love those times at the lake … especially when the grandchildren make the trip. What fun!! PM: Which hunk’s photo is hanging in your office/on your computer screen/stuck to the back of the closet door? CG: Rudy Reyes. Owww, doggies. Rudy is a former Force Recon Marine who was in the Recon Unit that led the initial drive into Baghdad when the conflict started. Rudy and some of his Force Recon team mates posed for a calendar and the proceeds benefit families who have suffered losses. PM: What would your readers be completely surprised to learn about you? CG: That I love to fish and I bait my own hooks :o) PM: Vanilla or chocolate? CG: Vanilla ice cream dipped in chocolate :o) PM: What job other than writer would you love to try? And which would you rather starve than do? CG: Seriously – I always wanted to be a singer. And yes, I can sing :o) I could never be a politician. Too much public scrutiny, second guessing and, well, politics involved. PM: Complete this sentence. My readers are... CG: Amazing, funny, gracious, generous and very eager to read about Gabe and Jenna :o) At least according to the notes I receive they are. PM: Thanks for playing with us, Cindy. Feel free to come back any time. CG: It’s my pleasure. Thanks for the invitation and please know that I love to hear from my readers. I’m receiving buckets of mail these days and sometimes I’m a little slow answering but I do answer all of my mail. Cindy Gerard’s latest book is INTO THE DARK, a June 2007 release from St. Martin’s. For more information about Cindy and her books, you can visit her website at www.cindygerard.com or her blog at www.ridingwiththetopdown.blogspot.com . Sassy. Sexy. Funny. Unique. Rollicking. Smart. Fun. And those are just the descriptors for her upcoming book. Go to Jane Graves’ backlist and you have to toss in suspenseful, action-packed, wild, outrageous, fresh, award-winning, and RITA–nominated. Wow. The Playfriends are very impressed (and a bit jealous!), and we’re tickled to have Jane visit the Sandbox this month. Problem Child: Let’s start with a little background. You have a degree in Journalism; were you working as a writer before you started writing romance? Jane Graves: Nope. I've never held a job as a writer. In spite of having the good fortune to study with the infamous Jack Bickham at the University of Oklahoma, once I graduated, I didn't write again for almost fifteen years. Oddly enough, after I got my degree, I went back to get the classes necessary to apply to medical school. But then I met my husband, and we were married. When I had only one Biochemistry class left to complete my pre-med requirements, the oil company he worked for transferred him to Denver. We decided to have a baby. And I became a stay‑at-home mom. It wasn't until years later that I even tried to write again. By the way, these days I laugh hysterically when I imagine myself as a doctor. Academically I could have handled it, but personality-wise? I don't know whether I became an airhead as grew older, or whether I was always that way and never realized it. If I were, say, a plastic surgeon today, there would be a whole lot of people wandering around with ears where their noses used to be. PC: What was the spark that caused you to make the leap and write your first book? JG: We got a computer. In 1993, we bought a used PC-XT for $200 from a guy out of his garage. It had no hard drive, only a floppy drive, back when floppy disks were actually...floppy. But suddenly I could save words, and I was off to the races. For a long time I just played around with short stories. I had one published in Women's World Magazine. But it wasn't until 1995 that I read my first romance novel. I fell in love with them and decided to give writing one a try. PC: You currently live in Texas. Are you a native? I ask because your backlist has definite Texas overtones. Is that simply a love for your state, or is there something about Texas and Texans that make good book fodder? JG: You have to promise not to tell anybody this. I'm not a native Texan. I'm from, uh…that state north of the Red River. As we say in Texas, "I wasn't born here, but I got here as fast as I could." I've lived here for twenty years, and I'll never live anywhere else. Why do I write books set in Texas? Because I hate research. So much so that I almost always write about places I'm already familiar with. I've had reviewers who've tried to ascribe meaning to the fact that certain books of mine are set in Texas, but no. Sorry. It's the research thing. And I figure writing fiction means making stuff up, so I try my best to do that as much as possible. PC: You started in category, then made the jump to single title. Was it tough to make that move? What changes do you have to make to your writing/thought process in order to write short stories for anthologies versus the longer category novels versus your single titles? JG: I made the jump to single title very quickly after selling my first two books to Harlequin Duets. I put together six chapters and a synopsis of my first ST, and my agent sent it out. Three weeks later, we had a two-book offer from Ballantine. I was really fortunate that all the stars lined up for me on that one--the right story at the right time with the right editor. And I sold my first book to the Temptation line the same week. PC: With the Temptation line gone, do you see your voice and style fitting in well with another Harlequin/Silhouette line? Or are you planning to concentrate more on single titles and less on category? JG: To tell you the truth, I'm not too sure right now. I loved writing for Harlequin--I'm still mourning the loss of Temptation. But I'm not sure which line I'd target if I decided to submit there again. I'll probably be concentrating on single title for the foreseeable future. Unless Temptation comes back from the dead. PC: You wrote your first Harlequins under the name “Jane Sullivan,” and now you’re writing as “Jane Graves.” Was there a reason for the pseudonym? JG: When I sold my first book to Harlequin Duets, they thought "Graves" sounded too somber for romantic comedy and wanted me to take a pen name. When I sold to Ballantine, they wanted me writing under my real name. So suddenly I had a split personality. The big bummer is that the reason I took the pen name vanished after I'd written two books for Duets and the line went south, and I was stuck with two names to promote. JG: I gotta tell you. I love this book. Authors always like some of their books better than others, but this one is right at the top of the pile for me. The heroine is a spoiled trophy wife who lives Plano, Texas, an upscale suburb north of Dallas. She gets her life jerked out from under her when her husband sends her on a vacation with a friend, cashes in their assets, sells their house, embezzles $300,000 from his employer, and skips the country. She's left with nothing but the clothes in her luggage, her neurotic Chihuahua, and her beloved Mercedes Roadster. She'd like nothing more than to marry rich all over again, but who does she find herself falling for? The sexy ex-cop turned repossession agent who comes after her Mercedes. She hates blue collar men, and he hates high maintenance women. Instant conflict. I love to create heroes and heroines who are polar opposites, then peel away their layers to show how they connect on a deeper level and fill in each others' blanks. If I've done my job, in the end the reader will not only believe they've fallen in love, but that there's nobody else on the planet who's better for each of them than the other. I'll give you guys a sneak peek at an interactive Flash presentation that was created for this book. It's not officially up yet--it'll be on the new website I have coming soon. But you can play with it now if you go to http://www.janegraves.com/hotwheelsbonus.htm and start clicking. You'll find all kinds of fun things! PC: Let’s talk about process. Are you a plotter or a pantser? Which comes first for you—characters or the situation? JG: I'm a pantser. 100%. And I'm the weirdest one you'll ever talk to, because I have a writing process that's marginally insane. I'm a puzzle-piece writer. From the moment I begin a book, my mind goes off in a hundred different directions. The first thing I put on the page is usually the first scene or part of a scene I imagined when I conceived the book. That might be the opening. Or the black moment. Or the first love scene. Or just a dialogue exchange that comes to mind. Then I start jotting down bits and pieces of anything else that comes to mind that these characters might say or do in the course of the story. In the beginning, I poke around at the file where all this stuff is and work on whichever scenes or parts of scenes seem the most interesting. After a week or two, I'll have enough of the setting and the characters on the page--though in no discernable order--that I can settle in and get the first scene on paper. If I'm putting together a proposal, eventually I have to force myself to finish at least a chapter or two so I can sell the book, but it always changes when I actually write it. I've never written a stor |
