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2009 Sandbox Archives October 2009 - MaryJanice Davidson September 2009 - Kathie DeNosky August 2009 - Lynn Raye Harris April 2009 - Vicki Lewis Thompson February 2009 - Victoria Strauss 2005 - 2006 Sandbox Interviews The Playfriends welcome Presents/Modern/Sexy author Annie West to the Sandbox this month. Known for her intense, passionate (and bestselling) stories, Annie sold her first book in 2005, and her 10th book is out this month in the US – a Presents Extra titled Blackmailed Bride, Inexperienced Wife. Scooch over and give Annie some room in the Sandbox! Problem Child: Hi, Annie, and welcome! We’re so glad you finally made your way to our Playground – but we’re surprised you’d leave the warmth of Australia’s summer to come to our cold, wet corner of the world. How is the weather in Sydney in December? (Go ahead, make us jealous.) Annie West: Ooh, it’s lovely to be here! Thanks for inviting me. As for visiting your cool, wet corner of the world – there are compensations, believe me! I live on the coast north of Sydney and December is, in a word, hot! Sadly I can’t spend all my time in the surf or pool and I need to fit some writing time into my day. We’ve already had too many days where the mercury rises above 100F – hard to concentrate. I keep thinking its vacation time. Wouldn’t that be nice? A hammock, a pile of books, a cool glass of bubbly… PC: Let’s jump right in and talk about the new book. What do you love most about your hero and heroine in Blackmailed Bride, Inexperienced Wife? AW: Oh, PC, so much! They both burst, full of energy and passion and angst and excitement onto the page right from the start. Truly, I found Alissa and Dario great to write. They both have strong personalities and they’re both between a rock and a hard place. Well, between a hard place and an inconvenient marriage which is even harder. In the beginning each believes the other is their absolute worst match. If they had to choose one person who pushes all the wrong buttons it would be the one they end up marrying. Yet, despite their first impressions (and believe me they DO have strong have reasons for those) they’re determined to do what they believe is right even if it means tying themselves in an arranged marriage. I like the fact that at core they’re both trying to make things right for those they care for. They’ve suffered in the past and discover, as they finally learn to trust, that there is love to be found where they didn’t expect it. It may sound odd but I was so elated when they finally found happiness together – I really felt they deserved that. PC: We Presents girls love our Alpha heroes! What is it about the Presents hero that attracts you? AW: Ooh, yum, alpha heroes: one of my fave topics. How many minutes have I got? I love the heroes who are strong, attractive and capable, the natural leaders who can be relied on in a crisis to take charge and save the day. Of course they’re charismatic, sexy and know how to please a woman! But if they’re so capable (and in a Presents story: powerful) then they’re used to getting their own way, to succeeding where others fail, whether it be in business, their love lives or more generally. I love the disruption to their lives when they come up against the one woman who’s able to burrow beneath the surface of their world and disrupt it and them in ways they’d never dreamed of. Personally, I love Presents heroes who have a strong inner core of strength and honor. They can be protective or well intentioned but sure as anything, when their goals run counter to those of the heroine, there’s a great story in the making. PC: Other than Presents, what books do you like to read to relax? AW: All sorts. Lots of romance, including category and long historicals. Non fiction (travel and history especially) and whatever else sounds interesting. Lately I’ve been dipping into some gripping mysteries. PC: Your critique partner is the fab Anna Campbell. Your books are so different, but it’s obviously working for you both. Would you recommend unpublished writers looking for a CP look outside their subgenre? Any drawbacks to that difference in subgenre? AW: Actually, I’m so lucky to have met Anna at a Romance Writers of Australia Conference. We hit it off, became friends and later critique partners. Yes, we write different styles of books but, we discovered some years ago, there are essential similarities between our work that makes the CP arrangement work so well. We both have ultra strong heroes who shine in adversity even if they don’t always get things right the first time. We’re big on emotion in our stories and our heroines are always, always a match for our heroes. The differences come in books’ settings and the variations on themes that we can explore inside those constraints. Tips for getting a CP? Beware. A CP relationship such as Anna and I have is worth its weight in gold (or maybe chocolate!) but be careful when hooking up with a CP. Both parties need to enjoy what the other is writing. They need to understand what the other is aiming for. If that’s not there, don’t go any further. Also, though most romance writers I’ve met have been wonderfully, incredibly supportive of other writers, occasionally there’ll be one who isn’t. It may not be intentional. They may be genuinely trying to help, but if their comments on your work make no sense or make you feel there’s no point continuing to write, then don’t pursue the relationship. You both need to get something constructive from it. PC: Any other authors influence you or provide a crucial piece of advice in your journey to publication? AW: Oh, PC, so many. Lots of published and unpublished authors influenced me and supported me along the way, and still do – that’s one of the best things about being a romance writer! Isn’t it a marvelous business to be in? One of the crucial pieces of advice I heard was that’s it’s easier to fix a bad page of writing than a blank page. So many people I know haven’t achieved what they wanted because they found reasons to be doing something other than write. The other key piece of information (which sounds so obvious but only really makes sense when you’re knocking, knocking, knocking at that editorial door and coming close but not close enough) is that published authors are the ones who didn’t give up. Of course now I can’t remember which author said which but over the years I gained a lot of information from wonderful fellow Australian authors in particular. Oh, yes, and one bit of advice that made a huge difference in the year before my acceptance by Harlequin: Stephanie Bond asking if we writers had planned our goals for the next year. I’d been a corporate planner once upon a time (among other things) and was shamefaced to admit I had no writing plan. No list of achievements I intended to get through… 12 months later and lots of hard work and I had that acceptance. PC: Was there a piece of advice you received along the way that you wish you’d followed? One you wish you’d ignored? AW: Hm, not really. I’ve received some silly suggestions occasionally (see above comment about choosing a good CP) but nothing stands out as something I wish I’d ignored. Maybe I’m obstinate: I only take the advice that makes sense to me! PC: Tell us about your process – are you a plotter or a pantser? Do you start with characters or a situation? What’s your day typically like? AW: Oh, PC, I’m definitely a panster, or as some lovely New Zealand authors told me recently, an ‘organic’ writer – so much nicer sounding, don’t you think? I used to plot a lot more in the days before I was published but I found that by diving in and letting the story take me, my characters get free rein to explore their emotions rather than follow a predetermined path. That means, for me, a stronger emotional base to the story. It’d be lovely to be able to get that with a story I’ve plotted in detail but it just doesn’t work that way for me. I always start with my characters and their first scene. I’ve been known to write that scene without having a clue what the rest of the story is. You’d be amazed what gems of motivation come while you’re writing that opening! (G). Not that all my stories are like that. Sometimes I have a fair idea of where the story will head. My typical day? I wish there was such a thing! Life seems full of curve balls at the moment. I wake early. I wish I could sleep in but that doesn’t happen any more. I hit the email to do anything urgent then I fiddle about doing various admin things till the rest of the family gets up, gets organised and gets out. After that it’s time to shower, make a cuppa and open the manuscript. I try to work most of the morning and take a break at lunchtime – often with a trip to the post office or maybe the gym if I’m really energetic. Then back to it till the family comes home. I fit in various small chores during the day so I’m not sitting without moving – so bad for the back! Generally I don’t write at night as my brain has turned to mush (though I sometimes find inspiration just as it’s time to cook dinner – thank goodness my family has learned to cook!). I do manage some emails then – which probably explains why some of my mails are unintelligible! Of course if I’m running close to deadline or have proof copies to check I’ll work late. PC: Do you have any hobbies? Pets? Strange/interesting/potentially valuable collections? Bad habits? AW: Potentially valuable collections: my books! I dream of building a library onto our house. Pets? Our beagle, an old lady now, who sleeps beside me as I write. We have visiting parrots and kookaburras that come into our yard and keep us entertained as well as the occasional blue tongue lizard (yes, really – a blue tongue – after all, this is Australia). Bad habits? Does a weakness for chocolate count? I think one of my worst habits is my tendency to get engrossed in something and then not be able to stop. Like reading a great book and putting everything off so I can spend time with it. PC: What’s something your readers would be surprised to learn about you? AW: Like my grandmother, who died well before I was born, I can apparently divine or dowse for water. I suspect I wouldn’t be very good at telling how deep the water is or how much there is, but the couple of times I’ve tried it the divining rods have swung round to point to water. A very, very odd feeling! PC: And now for the lightning round: Tea or coffee? Coffee, please! Though I have a soft spot for Turkish apple tea if there’s any going. Twilight or Harry Potter? Harry Potter! Really enjoyed the first Twilight film but I’ve read each HP as it came out and just love that world. Heels or flats? I’m 5’10”. As a teen I learned to love flats. But now I don’t care if I tower over teenage boys. These days my teen son looms over me! I enjoy wearing heels when I go out and just bought some lovely high-heeled red sandals. Can’t wait to wear them. My other fave shoes are flat-heeled blue suede boots for winter. I love choice. Chocolate or vanilla? Chocolate. Isn’t it obvious? Mountain-top chalet or beach-front cottage? Ah, this one I can never answer. I want both. I don’t care if it’s either or. I’ll take them both. What? Me greedy? When it’s hot I dream of a mountain retreat with curling smoke and hot chocolate. When it’s cold I’m planning a summer treat at the coast! Vivi Andrews happens to be not only a great writer, but a fellow 2009 Golden Heart Finalist. She won the 2009 Golden Heart award in the Best Single Title Contemporary category with her unpublished manuscript Easy Money. Since the nominations, she’s sold several titles to Samhain Publishing and will be filling us in this month on those first heady steps to publication. Please welcome author Vivi Andrews! Angel: Let’s get the usual stuff out of the way. :) Tell us about your writing journey so far and how you came to publish your first novella, The Ghost Shrink, the Accidental Gigolo & the Poltergeist Accountant. Vivi Andrews: I’ve been a scribbler for years, but it wasn’t until 2007 that I began to seriously pursue publication. That was the year I joined RWA, entered (and finaled in – eep!) my first contest, and attended my first conference. At that conference, I met a fabulous group of aspiring writers and one of them, Kaye Chambers, turned me onto the idea of e-books. It was the first real exposure I’d had to digital publishing and got me interested in the opportunities that might be available on the “e” side of things. I didn’t think the books I’d written to that point would suit the digital market, so I didn’t immediately pursue e-publishing, but it stayed in the back of my mind. Then, several months later, Samhain Publishing posted an open submission call for a paranormal romantic comedy anthology. They wanted stories under 20,000 words, so, if published, it wouldn’t disqualify me from most RWA contests (including the Golden Heart). I thought it was the perfect opportunity to dip my toes in the digital waters. I wrote a short novella to suit the submission requirements and sent it off, never expecting anything to come of it. Fast forward eight months to February of 2009 when The Ghost Shrink, the Accidental Gigolo & the Poltergeist Accountant released as an ebook. Now I’m only a month away from seeing that para-rom-com anthology in print, featuring my little novella and three other fabulously entertaining stories. And I’ve just signed the contract for my fifth Samhain ebook release. Life is moving pretty fast these days and those digital waters are nice and warm. J Angel: One of your unpublished manuscripts was a finalist in the 2009 Golden Heart and won the Single Title Contemporary Category. (Go, Ruby Slippered Sister!) Tell us about that experience. VA: The Golden Heart was an amazing experience. I couldn’t believe my luck when I finaled, and then, as the cherry on top, one of my closest writing buddies, Kelly Fitzpatrick, finaled too. I wanted to enjoy the experience as much as possible, but I knew it wasn’t an express pass to fame and fortune. Throughout the lead up to the awards ceremony, I loved the opportunity to get to know and develop a sense of camaraderie with the other finalists (like your marvelous self, Danniele). And I’ll always be able to say I was a Golden Heart finalist. That was plenty for me. I didn’t expect to win – which really helped me to relax about the whole thing. It was fun having no expectations. I actually ran around all week at the National Conference telling everyone who asked me that I wasn’t going to win. My category had eight finalists. Three of them had received manuscript requests from the final judges and I hadn’t. A win just didn’t seem likely. I was stunned when they called my name to go up on that stage. I knew it was possible, but I’d completely ignored the fact that it might actually happen. Overall, it was an amazingly validating and rewarding experience – sure, not everyone is going to love my stuff, but it won the Golden Heart! How bad could it be? Angel: You write in various genres, according to your website. “Love Without Limits… from sizzling shifters to quirky comedies” is your tag line. Your two unpublished manuscripts are listed as “capers”. How do you keep up with the various series? VA: I thrive on variety – which is a polite way of saying I have a short attention span. I love being able to jump from one series or sub-genre to the next when one of them starts to feel stale. I’ve always loved reading across a bunch of genres, so it seemed natural to write in multiple styles. The Karmic Consultants series is light paranormal romance and gives me a chance to be goofy, the Serengeti Shifters are steamy and more emotionally packed, and the contemporary capers tend to be more complex with layers of humor, romance, and good ole fashioned whodunit mystery. Bouncing from one series to the next keeps me from burning out on any one and enables me to keep up my break-neck writing pace. I love it. Angel: You are currently published with Samhain Publishing, with two ebooks for them, with your print books to start releasing in December. You also have a new paranormal, The Ghost Exterminator: A Love Story, releasing in ebook with them on October 27th (sounds like a great Halloween read!). Can you tell us how much input you have with them in terms of your projects, titles, and covers (yours are great, BTW!)? VA: Thank you! My cover artist is amazing. Doesn’t she do beautiful work? In terms of how much input I have into the art… I put in a request form describing the story, the characters and my ideas of what I want. Then Samhain’s cover artist takes my suggestions and comes up with something that is usually completely different and a thousand times better than anything I could have dreamed up. There’s a reason I’m not a cover artist! J So far I haven’t been asked to change any of my titles, but I can understand why that might need to be done. There are a lot of elements that go into selling a book. My publisher and I are working together to make the best product possible and sometimes that requires flexibility. On the projects I submit, I’ll discuss with my editor my plans for the series, but she seems to trust me enough to give me my head. It’s nice to know the communication lines are always open, but I have the independence to try out new things. I’m very much a self-starter (and a compulsive goal-setter), so having a defined plan for both my career and my series is never an issue for me. Angel: With the approach of your first print book release in December (The Ghost Shrink, The Accidental Gigolo, and the Poltergeist Accountant, Tickle My Fantasy Anthology), are you planning anything different in terms of your promotional efforts, as opposed to your ebooks? What have you found to be the most effective promotional tool in your arsenal? VA: Wow, that’s a tough one. I think it’s difficult to know what is working and how well on the promotional side. My attitude toward promo is to do as much as I can without compromising my writing time and to concentrate my efforts in areas where I might gain access to a new audience. It is all too easy to fall into familiar promo patterns, to focus your efforts on the same small audience over and over again. I try not to worry too much about whether an ad or a guest blog or a contest would be most effective. I do a little bit of everything and remind myself that this is a marathon, not a sprint. I’m in it for the long haul and I’m learning as I go. Angel: What is the best and worst writing advice you ever received? VA: I was lucky to have an amazing mentor when I was a teen. I think the most important thing she taught me was how to make revisions without losing the heart of the story. I killed the story I was working on in the process, murdered it so completely I didn’t even recognize it anymore, but I learned that I can’t make changes just because someone suggests them. I had to know what was right for my story. And what wasn’t. Now I always keep the heart of the story firmly in mind when I’m revising. And I think the worst advice is to stop writing… or to believe that you can ever stop learning and growing as a writer. Just for Fun: Angel: Plotter or Panster? VA: A little of both. I have a vague idea in my head before I start with a few specifics thrown in around the edges. I dump it all into a “notes” file, then as I write I get more detailed about the direction of the story. I always have two files open when I write: the draft & the notes. I make notes when I think of something I might want to add or change later. It keeps me from over-editing as I go and gives me a place to throw random things that may or may not fit in with the final story. Angel: You describe yourself as a “nomad” in your website bio. What has been your favorite destination? VA: I could never pick just one. I think that’s why I can’t stop moving. There are too many places I love. Living in London was amazing, and Paris, St. Petersburg, and Athens were all extraordinary places to visit. I’d miss my family too much if I strayed for too long from Alaska, Hawaii and Ohio, but I really love the city of Seattle too. I might just be cursed to be a nomad forever. :) Angel: Born and bred in Alaska, can you tell us the best way to keep warm in the winter? VA: Oh, that could be such dirty question… I’m just going to bat my eyes innocently and say, “Curl up with some cocoa in front of a fire.” You can decide in your own imagination whether you’re alone in front of that fire and what you’re doing with all that warm chocolate… Angel: What’s the one thing most people wouldn’t guess about you? VA: Hmmm, I’m pretty much an open book. Some random trivia: I used to be a competitive swimmer (I get all my best ideas in the water) and I can kill a houseplant just by looking at it (which doesn’t explain why my parents keep asking me to housesit). Angel: Vivi, thank you so much for joining us this month! You can find out more about Vivi and her books at her website, www.viviandrews.com . VA: THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR LETTING ME VISIT, ANGEL. I’M THRILLED TO BE HERE WITH YOU & ALL YOUR PLAYMATES! October 2009 - MaryJanice Davidson This month, the Playfriends are pleased to welcome New York Times Bestselling author of the “Undead Series” MaryJanice Davidson. Grab your pail and shovel and hop into the Sandbox with us for a great, albeit odd, interview. Smarty Pants: Welcome to the Sandbox, MaryJanice. The swing set has been a-twitter with your upcoming visit. MaryJanice Davidson : A-twitter? Really? That’s…um…flattering! Right. It’s flattering. Not weird at all. SP: Ok, well maybe a-twitter is a little much. How about... we were aware of your upcoming visit? Yes? Ok, lets go with that. So, to start off, how about a little background? I know you hate to talk about yourself, but just suffer through this little part here and I promise it will get less painful for you. How did you get from being an Air Force Brat to the NYT Bestseller list? MJD: Funny you should mention my Air Force brattiness, because it was step one on the road to the New York Times list. Because I went to 8 schools in five years, I was always the new kid. So rather than make friends, I’d huddle in a corner and write short stories. What’s funny is, when I started letting other kids read them, they’d get hooked. They’d actually wait for me by my locker to find out what happened next. That’s when I got hooked on “so what happened next?” I worked all kinds of jobs rather than go to college…when UNDEAD AND UNWED sold, I was working 50 hours a week doing office work in a job I hated. These days, writing IS my job, for which I am eternally and slobberingly grateful. 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? MJD: Well, I don’t write for publication. I don’t write for editors or even for my readers. I just love to write. I’ve always written the kinds of stories and books I’d like to read. The fact that people all over the world like to read them as well is as astonishing to me as it is wonderful. I loved writing stories so much, it seemed logical to think that’d I’d like writing books, too. And I was right! SP: Your writing dances - MJD: Dances? It dances? SP: Well, yes, in a way. Not like tap dances, but it does dance metaphorically all over the paranormal spectrum covering vampires, werewolves, mermaids, dragons and even the alternate reality that brings us the stories of the Alaskan Royal Family. What draws you to the paranormal genre? MJD: I most sincerely get off on taking a myth—vampires, werewolves, FBI agents—and plopping them right into the real world. I’d never read about a vampire worrying about the electric bill, or termites. So enter Betsy Taylor, vampire queen. I love the idea of extraordinary people dealing with everyday problems. Even royalty…these guys have been running the country for generations, but they fight with their siblings and fall in love and plot to get laid and sneak off to go fishing just like the rest of us. SP: For our readers unfamiliar with your books, tell us a little about Betsy and the Undead Series. Feel free to elaborate about the shoes. We’re big on shoes on the Playground. MJD: Ah, shoes. Irony: I’m a Payless Shoe Source (Buy One, get the other half off!) girl. But about Betsy, she’s a secretary (okay, she was…she actually got fired the same day she got run over by a Pontiac Aztec and died) who wakes up to find she’s the long-prophesied queen of the vampires. She’s horrified that she, an immature 30 year-old, is suddenly in charge of thousands of vampires, most of which are decades or even centuries older. She won’t be caught dead in a coffin, and can chug holy water like it was Perrier. And she loves designer shoes. She considers them art for feet. SP: Art for feet. I'll have to remember that. I have always liked 'foot jewelry' myself. Can you tell us a little bit about your young adult series starring were-dragon heroine Jennifer Scales? Will we be seeing more of this series? MJD: Sure you will; my husband and I are working on book five, RISE OF THE POISON MOON, as we speak (so to speak). Jennifer Scales is a typical 15 year-old: she frets about boys, making the varsity soccer team, her dad’s frequent business trips, and—oh, right, almost forgot. Twice a month she sprouts wings, claws, scales, and a nose horn. An ocean of Stridex won’t fix a nose horn. SP: Ok, I thought my teen years were bad. I can't help but notice you just now mentioned that the Jennifer Scales books were co-authored with your husband. How did your marriage survive?? (Honestly, DB would be dead if I even attempted something like that.) MJD: Actually, Tony and I have been collaborating since before we were married…for almost twenty years, now. We conceived and researched a Star Trek novel on our honeymoon (so romantic!). It’s actually pretty great to have a writing partner. He outlines the Jennifer Scales books and we each pick the chapters that play to our strengths (for instance, I’ll take the dialogue-heavy chapters). We do argue quite a bit because my husband’s a bit blood-thirsty…he doesn’t mind killing off main characters, while I hate it and try not to. Look: Minnesota is a community property state, which means that I have to give him half of everything I make anyway. So he might as well do half the work for one of my book series. :) SP: Very practical outlook. Let’s talk about process. Are you a plotter or a pantser? Which comes first for you—characters or the situation? MJD: I’m a pantser! I am pro-pants. I’ll only plot if my editor corners me like a rat and forces me to. Characters always come first…I tend to write entire books around a single idea (UNDEAD AND UNWED came about because I had this vision of a woman waking up in a morgue with no idea how she got there, in bad makeup and cheap shoes). 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!)? MJD: Oh, I heeded it, baby! “Go to the romance section of a book store. See what isn’t there…and go home and write that.” I forget who suggested that, but I’ll always be grateful to them. I looked around and didn’t see: a secretary who became a vampire, a grumpy mermaid, a parallel universe where Alaska is its own country. SP: What was the one piece of advice you wish you’d ignored? MJD: Gee, there were so many…I can think of advice I did ignore, which was: “Don’t quit your day job!” SP: Complete this sentence: My readers… MJD: …come from all walks of life. I’ve gotten fan mail from frat boys and stock brokers, from scientists and stay at home moms. From pilots and farmers. From teenagers and geriatrics. It’s unreal. I don’t think my books are for “women of a certain whatever”. They’re for anybody who wants a few laughs while they read to pass the time. SP: Ok, now for a couple fun questions...Coffee or tea? MJD: Tea! I am a humongous tea snob. I have about eighty kinds and I drink it like a Brit: sugar and milk, baby. Lots of both. SP: Something most people would be surprised to know about you? MJD: I am relentlessly, pathologically immature. SP: Dream vacation spot? MJD: Australia! Where I was lucky enough to go in February. I was invited to give the key note speech at the first Australian romance readers conference and it was AWESOME. That is a ridiculously cool and beautiful country. I want to go back, this time for at least a month. SP: If you couldn’t be a writer, what would you do for a living? MJD: I’d be a nurse. I have great respect for the medical profession, and with the national nursing shortage, that often taken-for-granted profession is finally getting the recognition they’ve deserved for two hundred years. SP: What are you working on now? MJD: UNDEAD AND UNFINISHED, and I’m starting ENEMY MINE, the second in my new series about an FBI agent with multiple personality disorder (the first book, out 9/2010, is ME MYSELF & WHY). SP: Thanks for stopping by, MaryJanice! Come back any time. MJD: Don’t you threaten me! SP: Uh, okay. Um...be sure to check out MaryJanice’s upcoming releases – Dead and Loving It, available as a paperback in stores now and Undead and Unworthy, available in hardback now and coming in paperback November 24th! Keep an eye out in 2010 for UNDEAD & UNFINISHED (7/10), JENNIFER SCALES: RISE OF THE POISON MOON (7/10), and ME, MYSELF, & WHY (9/10). You can also learn more about MaryJanice, her writing, and more at http://www.maryjanicedavidson.net/. September 2009 - Kathie DeNosky Kathie DeNosky hails from Southern Illinois, where her family settled in the early 1800’s, and she writes sexy romances for Silhouette Desire. A two-time Golden Heart finalist, her books have been on the Waldenbooks Series Bestseller lists and one received the National Readers’ Choice Award. You can visit her online at www.kathiedenosky.com or become one of her friends on her Facebook page. Please clear a space around the sandbox and give a warm Playground welcome to Kathie. Playground Monitor: Welcome to the Writing Playground, Kathie. Could you give us some background information about yourself and your journey to publication? Did you always want to be a writer? Kathie DeNosky: It’s really nice to be here. You have a wonderful website and I’m honored that you wanted to interview me for September. As for my background information, I’m the poster child for the self taught. As a teenager I taught myself to crochet because I saw a really neat crocheted hat that I wanted and no one in my family knew how to crochet. Then one day I decided I wanted to learn how to do Folk Art painting, bought a book and learned how to do that. Basket weaving was the same way. But through it all, my favorite thing to do was curl up on the couch to read a romance novel. That eventually led to my trying to write one and when my daughter started school, I finally became serious about learning the craft of writing. On June 14, 1999 at 1:20 in the afternoon (not that I noticed or anything LOL), the phone rang and after eight years of trying I had finally sold my first book. DID YOU SAY MARRIED?! was released in May 2000 and next month I will see my 25th book on bookstore shelves. PM: Tell us about your typical day and your writing schedule. Do you have time for any hobbies? KD: This is going to be a tough question to answer because I’m anything but conventional. LOL I normally wake up around ten or so in the morning, drink coffee as I check and answer email, then putter around the house doing all the exciting things that have to be done like laundry and dusting or run errands. In the evening, I watch TV and paint or weave a basket. It isn’t until the nightly news is over at ten that I sit down to write. Normally, I’ll write until three or four in the morning and then drag myself to bed and start all over again when I wake up. PM: Several years ago life dealt you a heavy blow when your husband suffered complications from diabetes which eventually led to his death. Additionally the guidelines for the line you’d been writing for changed dramatically. How did this affect your writing? The middle book of a three-book series is out this month, so obviously you’re back at the keyboard writing, but was there a detour between then and now? KD: My husband was very ill for the two and a half years prior to his death and that made writing extremely difficult. I suddenly found myself being a 24/7 care giver as well as a full time author. But as hard as it was to juggle the demands of my husband’s illness and my career, writing became my saving grace. I couldn’t control what was going on in my real life, but I could escape my reality and immerse myself in my stories. I could control what happened with my characters and plots and believe me, that helped me stay sane. Then when the guidelines changed, I had to readjust and that was a bit tough at first. I normally wrote well-to-do, alpha heroes, but the uber rich hero was something of a mystery to me. Just as I was beginning to get a handle on what I needed to do to write what Desire wanted, my husband took a turn for the worst and passed away. That took the wind out of my sails big time and it took almost two years to start writing again. Let’s face it. It’s really hard to write romance when you’ve just lost the love of your life. But the lure of the keyboard and the voices of my characters begging me to write their stories helped me get back on my feet. So once again, writing has become my saving grace. PM: Plotter or pantster? Which comes first for you – plot or characters? KD: Actually I think I’m a little of both. Since I sell on proposal, I have to have a plot worked out for the synopsis. But I make sure to leave plenty of room for the pantster in me to come out and be creative. I think this holds true with a lot of authors. PM: What books would you suggest for the writer wanting to improve her craft? KD: An absolute must for any writer is GOAL, MOTIVATION and CONFLICT by Debra Dixon. Two other books that I would suggest would be THE DREADED SYNOPSIS by Elizabeth Sinclair and SCENE AND STRUCTURE by Jack Bickham. I found these books to be the most helpful and easiest to understand. PM: What’s next for you? Are you working on a book now? KD: Right now I’m working on the next Dynasties continuity for Desire, as well as another three-book mini series of my own. PM: Now for some fun. Don’t worry; it’s harmless. Coffee or tea: KD: Both. Definitely coffee in the morning, then around noon I switch to iced tea for the rest of the day. PM: Chocolate or vanilla? KD: No question about it. Chocolate anything. : ) PM: Crispy or original recipe? Or maybe you prefer a big, juicy steak? KD: Original recipe. But I do love a good steak. : ) PM: What would our readers be completely surprised to learn about you? KD: That I’m a fairly good poker player. I’ve been in several Texas Hold ‘Em tournaments and won quite a few. I normally place somewhere in the money about 90% of the time. The biggest tournament I ever played in had over six thousand players and I placed 4th. : ) PM: Tell us about the Ditzy Chix, your charm bracelet and “cowboy up.” ;-) KD: The Ditzy Chix are a group of fun-loving romance authors, who are known for their sense of humor and zaniness. But don’t think we aren’t serious about our writing. Between the eleven of us, we have sold 141 books, with 25 books to be released in 2009 and 2010. If you’d like to learn more about the Ditzy Chix, please stop by our website at http://www.ditzychix.com or visit our page on Facebook. I started my charm bracelet when I sold my first book. I got the cutest little cowboy boot because my hero was a cowboy. Then for every book that I sold after that, I added a charm that represented something about each book. As of today, I’ve filled up that first charm bracelet and have started on another one. LOL So, if you’re at a conference and you hear someone come jingling down the hall, chances are it’s just me and my charm bracelets. : ) As for “cowboy up,” I used that phrase in my first book and never dreamed it would become so memorable for so many readers. LOL My hero was a former bull rider and on the rodeo circuit “cowboy up” means to step up to the plate, be tough and courageous and do what has to be done. At one point in the book, my hero became aroused while thinking about the heroine and thought to himself that he gave a whole new meaning to the phrase “cowboy up.” Then throughout the book, whenever he became aroused, he would mutter, “Cowboy up.” I can’t tell you the number of times I’ve been approached at booksignings and conferences where readers and fellow authors have commented on “Cowboy Up.” Some readers have even forgotten the title DID YOU SAY MARRIED?! and just call it the Cowboy Up book. LOL PM: Complete this sentence. My readers ___ KD: are the reason I strive to make each book better than the last. I want them to remember the story long after they’ve closed the book. Thanks, Kathie, for sharing with us! Be sure to check out Kathie’s website as well as the Ditzy Chix site. The second book in Kathie’s Illegitimate Heirs series, ONE NIGHT, TWO BABIES, will be out this month. August 2009 - Lynn Raye Harris Lynn Raye Harris has long been a friend to the Playground which is why we’re so excited to have her visit with us this month. A well traveled addition to our local RWA chapter, the moment she moved in it felt like she’d always been a part of the group. We shared her excitement and joy as she won the Harlequin Presents Instant Seduction Contest and then a week later as she finaled in the Golden Heart. And now we get to share in the unbelievable thrill of seeing her first book hit the shelves. Spanish Magnate, Red-Hot Revenge is an August 1st release and trust me when I say it’s fabulous! Please welcome Lynn to the Playground. Instigator: Can you tell us a little bit about your writing journey? How long did it take you to sell that first book? Lynn Raye Harris: Hi, Instigator! Thanks for having me. I’ve felt like I belonged in Heart of Dixie from the moment I arrived, and the Playground has played a big part in that. Okay, there are really two answers to the question of how long it took. The overall answer is 15 years. The second answer is 4 years. Sound odd? There’s an explanation, I swear! See, I was a romance reader as a girl. I read tons of Harlequin Presents, then stopped reading them when I went to college and let English professors guilt me into believing they weren’t worthy of my time. A couple of years later, I picked up a historical romance and knew that I wanted to write one too. So I joined RWA and diligently set about writing that first book. It was late 1993. The book was awful, and though it had some contest success and some agent interest, it ultimately didn’t sell. Then life intervened and I moved to Europe with my military spouse. I went back to school, and stopped trying to write romance. But in 2004, after I moved to Hawaii, I joined the local chapter of RWA and got inspired to get serious again. I worked hard, wrote two books, and finaled in the 2008 Golden Heart® contest. But it was my win in the Harlequin Presents Instant Seduction contest that finally propelled me into that First Sale. On October 6, 2008 (at 7:27 AM), four years after I got serious again and fifteen years after I first joined RWA and tried to write a novel, I sold in a two-book deal. I’m on my second contract now and my third book has just been accepted. Insti: The last year or so of your journey has been rather public. Can you tell us the pros and cons to that experience? LRH: It was a strange experience in some ways! When I won the contest, the editors wanted to put my chapter and synopsis on the I Heart Presents blog. I quaked, let me tell you. And then they wanted me to write blog posts about my journey with my editor. I was enthusiastic, but scared too. What if people hated what I wrote? What if they made snide anonymous comments, like I’d seen on other blogs, that trashed me as a writer? How would I handle that? And with my synopsis going up, who on earth would want to read my book if I sold it since they would know how it turned out? My fears were unnecessary. First of all, the readers and commenters at IHP are some of the nicest, most encouraging people there are. I found nothing but support and good wishes. And that synopsis? The book turned out NOTHING like the synopsis, which I think the editors knew would happen anyway. :) So, pros were meeting people and having great support and the cons were simply my own fears. I feared censure and I feared failing, and neither of those things happened. It was truly an awesome experience, and I highly recommend the current contest to any aspiring writers thinking of entering! Even if you don’t win, you can still sell (as one entrant found out this spring!). Insti: Why Presents? What about the line do you think appeals to so many readers and has sustained that appeal through the years? LRH: Ah, the million dollar question. Well, I came to Presents as a pre-teen. Back then, the bedroom door was typically closed, but everything leading up to that point was so passionate and intense. That alpha male is really something else, you know. I think most men have an inner alpha, btw. It’s that raw, untamed, warrior part of their personalities. And I don’t know why, but that really appeals to me. I think it appeals to a lot of women, hence the popularity of Presents around the globe. The stories are passionate, intense, emotional reads – and I think women everywhere can connect to that. Insti: Alpha heros huh? Do you find writing the strong, handsome and demanding type challenging? What about these men is attractive to readers (and writers :) )? LRH: Oh yes, alphas. :) I really don’t find writing these men a challenge at all. I would find writing a different kind of man a challenge, but for some reason the take-charge alpha comes naturally to me. Perhaps it’s my own inner warrior demanding to be let out, but I love writing this kind of hero. I was a military brat and a military spouse. I’ve been around warrior men quite a lot, and the one thing I know they don’t do is dither. When this kind of man makes up his mind, he acts. And when he realizes he’s wrong, he admits it. A proper alpha hero isn’t abusive or mean; he’s strong, honorable, and he has a deep-seated reason for being the way he is. It’s true that some readers don’t like this kind of man and think he’s a jerk – but I think he’s marvelous and broody and fun to watch fall in love. Who wouldn’t want to be the woman who brings Lancelot or Superman or Rhett Butler to his knees? Insti: Now for a little random fun. What do you to do reward yourself after a completed project? LRH: Wine. ;) Seriously, I tend to have a glass or two of wine, and then I start thinking about the next story and worrying about getting something down on paper for my editor to look at. I really don’t have much down time between books. It might be nice to take a week off and go to the spa or something, but the reality is I’ve usually ignored housekeeping, bills, groceries, and etc during the last heated rush of finishing a book and must attend to that instead lounging by a pool somewhere while wearing a cucumber mask and sipping a healthy cocktail. Insti: If you couldn’t be a writer what would you be? LRH: I have no idea! That’s how I ended up being a writer. I wanted to be so many things. It’s very easy to be all kinds of things if you write about them. Insti: Much is made of Heart of Dixie’s penchant for shoe fabulousness. Do you think the woman makes the shoes or do the shoes make the woman? LRH: Oh no, the woman makes the shoe. The most gorgeous shoe on a woman who isn’t comfortable in it (I don’t mean physically comfortable necessarily!) won’t make her suddenly fabulous. It takes confidence and inner poise, which I think we in Heart of Dixie have in abundance. Shoes can boost that feeling of confidence, but I think you must have something of it there in the first place. Thank you so much for visiting with us Lynn! Be sure to drop by and see Lynn at her website www.LynnRayeHarris.com or her blog www.LynnRayeHarris.com/blog. And don’t forget to pick up your copy of Spanish Magnate, Red-Hot Revenge at your nearest bookstore! And look for Cavelli’s Lost Heir coming January, 2010. Barbara Vey is a great friend of the Playground. The Playfriends met Barbara at the RWA National Conference in Dallas, and we hope our annual Saturday morning breakfast becomes a longstanding tradition. Barbara is the lady behind the popular Beyond Her Book blog at Publisher’s Weekly , which very quickly became the place to go for all the latest happenings in Romancelandia. (And she’s also the reason Kimberly can honestly say her first sale was announced in PW.) We have a special bucket and spade for Barbara in the Sandbox and we’re just tickled she’s here! Problem Child: Hi, Barbara, and welcome! You have the Best. Job. Ever. For our Honorary Playfriends who don’t know this cool story, tell us again how you landed it. Barbara Vey: Well, first thanks for inviting me and it's hard to believe a chance meeting brought me here. I was on an Author's At Sea cruise and met Karen Holt, Deputy Editor of PW. I thought it was a publishing house (since readers usually only care about the books) and proceeded to tell her everything I thought was wrong about the publishing industry. She wrote an article on it and 9 months later contacted me about blogging for PW. I said no, but after my son explained a blog to me and several calls with Karen, I finally gave in. The rest is history. PC: When you first started blogging with PW what did you think your blog would be like? How has it evolved? Any new things we should be looking forward to? BV: At first I asked for a manual to explain what I should be doing, but since it was so new, I was just told to do what I wanted. So I did! The best advice my son gave me was to pretend I was talking to a friend over coffee and that's how I approach every blog I write. I like to think that I write about things that others care about too. It has evolved into a 7 day a week blog with something different everyday. Monday is news and what authors are giving away, Tuesday and Thursdays are my day to bring up any and all topics that are happening. Wednesday are the very popular WW Ladies Book Club Blurbs, Friday I tell what I've been reading and let the readers have "Your Turn" by commenting on the books they've been interested in lately. Saturday I just started YA Book Blurbs where kids ages 10-22 blurb about what they've been reading and Sundays I have the Sunday Matinee where I show book videos for a different perspective on books. Of course, during conference season, the schedule goes out the window while I blog about what's going on. As for new ideas...let's just say I'm working some crazy Drive By Videos and have a series of blogs coming up that should prove to be very interesting. PC: Your blog really exploded – a huge audience from pretty much day one. Were you surprised? How does it feel to be the person in the know about all things going on in Romance? BV: I have to say that no one was more surprised than I was about the success of the blog. I still am. While I can't give specific numbers, I can tell you that readership has gone up 154% in the past year. Not bad for a grandma from South Milwaukee, WI. <g> PC: The Weight Watchers Ladies Book Blurbs was a very cool idea. How’d you come up with that? Was it hard to convince these ladies to become book reviewers? Do you now have ladies at every meeting clamoring to sign up? BV: The WW Ladies Book Blurbs started when people began sending me so many books that I couldn't read them all myself. I finally took a box to a WW meeting and asked for help. Within minutes the box was empty. Now it's not just limited to WW Ladies (although I keep that name). There are many requests to join, but I have to keep it doable for myself. It's a lot of work. I have readers from NY, OH, IN, CA and VA. I also have a male reader and hope to expand on that also. PC: You must get hundreds of books sent for review. How do you decide which ones get reviews? Or do you let the ladies decide? BV: Because reading a book is so subjective, I let the readers decide which book they want to read. My only rule is that they can pick an author they like, but they also much take an author/genre they've never read before. Right now I have over 1400 books in my data base with over 400 waiting to be read. PC: Your blog requires you to travel a lot. How do you decide which events you’ll attend? Will we be seeing you at the RWA Conference in DC this year? (Want to have breakfast Saturday morning?) BV: Every year I write a blog for readers to suggest what events I should attend. Then I get out my calender and see what's new, different and doable, although there are some repeats that I'd hate to miss. I will be at RWA and Saturday breakfast sounds delightful. Wait...I have to write it in my calendar or I'll forget. PC: What’s been your favorite event you’ve attended? BV: That's a tough one because each conference in unique in their own way. I'd have to say RWA because there are so many authors that I've read for so many years and all in one spot. You can't turn around without bumping into one (and I've bumped into more than my share). PC: You also get interviews with all the big name authors. Who was your biggest fan-girl, I-can’t-believe-I’m-interviewing-her moment? BV: Hands down, it was Linda Howard. I own every one of her books, but was unable to schedule an interview with her. I met Kelley St. John for breakfast one morning and she brought Linda along. I could barely eat and I'm sure I slopped all over, but I couldn't stop staring and form a coherent question. I'm sure she thought I was a dolt, but all I could think of was the joy she brought me with all the wonderful things she's written through the years and I wanted to articulate that to her. PC: You’re such a vocal advocate for the romance genre, and I know you’re not afraid to attempt conversions of non-believers. Do you have a favorite success story? The one person who said “I don’t read those kinds of books” and now asks you for recommendations all the time? BV: Actually, it's the WW Ladies. Once they've tried a romance, they're shocked by how much they enjoy it and want more by the same author. I explain that there's lots more where that came from and convince them again to try someone new. I've heard from more than one that they've developed a special relationship with an author after blurbing about their book. PC: Do you have a favorite sub-genre of romance? Can you tell us who some of your favorite authors are (or is that just dangerous)? BV: I can't pick a favorite genre because I read a thriller one day, a paranormal the next, then a historical and so on. I love to mix it up to keep it exciting. Now that I personally know so many authors, I would be hard pressed to name a favorite. Everyone seems to have something special of their own to offer. PC: Other than romance, what do you like to read? BV: I've always enjoyed International Thrillers, mysteries and suspense, but I've found that almost every book has some kind of romance in it anyway. I think it's just the human condition PC: I know this will a tough question, because everything about your job is very cool, but what’s your favorite thing about being the BHB blogger? BV: Going to the conferences. I love the one on one with everyone involved in the industry. I'm a face to face kind of person and I've been fortunate enough in my travels to see some wonderful faces like Richard Dean Anderson, Adrian Paul, Joss Whedon, Dakota Fanning, the cast of Fringe, Barbara Walters, Lisa Ling, Rita Moreno, Joshua Jackson, Caroline Kennedy and even President Obama. PC: When you’re not reading or jetting off to fabulous events, what do you do for fun? BV: I love the Amazing Race, Burn Notice, Dollhouse, Fringe and Lie to Me (which I watch on Hulu.com because I'm not much of a tv person). And, boring as it may sound to some, plunking my butt down on a lounger with cool drink and a good book is my idea of the ultimate vacation. PC: And finally, some just for fun questions: Coffee or tea? BV: Tea at home and coffee on the road. PC: Beach trip or mountain trip? BV: Beach (please...cabana boys?? and little umbrellas in drinks??) PC: Polka dots or stripes? BV: Only vertical stripes (have nightmares thinking about wearing horizontal stripes. PC: Paperback or hardcover? BV: Hardcover only because the print is bigger and it's easier to hold the book open. But the ultimate test is the story. I'll read it in almost any form as long as it's a great story. Thanks to the kids at the Playground for inviting me back. I'm all full of sand, but a quick dunk in the pool should take care of that. I first met Sabrina Jeffries when she came to speak at a Heart of Dixie Readers Luncheon. Thus I always reintroduce myself to her as “the pregnant redhead”, because I was seven months pregnant when I organized that event. I’ve heard her speak a few times since then, so I can attest to the fact that she is a warm, funny woman, on top of being a fabulous historical romance author. And I’m impressed by her positive attitude. I hope you enjoy getting to know Sabrina as much as I have. Angel: How did you get started on your writing journey? What led you to the wonderfully vibrant characters and settings of your historical books? Sabrina Jeffries: I started really, REALLY early, at the age of twelve. I started making up stories and told myself that one day I’d write them down and sell them (even then I knew that commercial fiction was the only way to go). They were all romances -- cowboys and knights and rock stars and lords, products of the romances I’d read since early childhood. I tried my hand at short stories and poetry in college (and wrote a very bad children’s novel), but that was unsatisfying. Then, after grad school, I sat down one summer to develop a publishable academic work based on my dissertation and found it so boring that I started writing a romance instead (a category romance, the only one I’ve ever attempted). It made me realize two things: 1) I was definitely a novelist rather than a short-form writer, and 2) I still loved romance. So I dumped the academic career, took a job as a technical writer, and wrote novels at night until I sold my first historical (my second romance). As for how I got to where I am, I’m not entirely sure. Despite all the hard work and years of struggle, I still feel that my books are deeply flawed. So I’m always pleasantly surprised when readers like them so much. I do my best to write characters who seem real to me while at the same time including my most favorite romance tropes and a dollop of humor. And like my grandmother, I believe that “everyone needs a little spice in their life,” so I don’t stint on the sex. Angel: On your website, you are very open about your life with your autistic son. How do you juggle your home life and writing deadlines? SJ: Very carefully. *G* Seriously, it’s gotten a lot easier as he’s aged. He’s very well-behaved now and easy to handle. But I do have to make adjustments. I have to stay on top of the writing. I can’t just let it build up, then do a blitzkrieg to finish the book. Despite being an adult, my son is always needy (he’s severely disabled and we do all his grooming, etc.). He can’t be put off the way most people can put off their kids (“I’m busy, so go play with your friends”). And when I lock myself into writing mode for days on end, he gets cranky and harder to handle. So I have to stick to a fairly rigorous daily writing schedule. I’m sure that has contributed to my success -- I rarely miss deadlines, which is always an advantage in publishing. Recently, however, my husband retired, which is proving a godsend, since he has taken over even more of the childcare duties (and he was already doing a good bit). I’m hoping that will free me up to write more books. Angel: You had a major medical surgery last year at the same time you were pushing against a writing deadline. Do you feel the physical upset and recovery affected your creative process? SJ: Oddly enough, no. I had gastric bypass surgery, and although the first two weeks were harder than I expected (I actually had to TAKE those pain pills they prescribed), I rapidly adjusted. I not only finished my book on time, but got it to my editor a day early, which was a good thing, since Pocket had moved up the release date two months to June 23rd! It’s amazing how deadlines can motivate you. Honestly, though, it’s not a bad surgery. I did get tired a lot, but my husband was very supportive and between him and the fact that the book had been going well, it wasn’t too much of a problem. In the long run, I think having had it will HELP my creative process, since the excess weight really saps your energy. Having lost 100 pounds (60 from the surgery), I feel better than I have in years! Angel: You mentioned once that you were a slower writer (I can fully understand, as I am in the same boat). How does that influence the number of stories you tackle each year and your career planning? SJ: I write about two books every fourteen months (except for last year, when I wrote two in a year). I think that’s plenty fast enough myself, but there are authors out there writing a book every few months. Some of them are my friends. L I try not to hate them for it. To be honest, it would take a major change in my life for me to tackle more than two a year. I’d have to quit doing any kind of promotion, and give up the few pleasures I do have, and I’m not willing to do that. But I suppose it could happen! Angel: After 30 books, what do you find is the best promotion for your time and effort? What do you enjoy the most? SJ: The best promotion is personal contact with readers, whatever that might be -- a website, a blog, a newsletter. I do them all. I probably enjoy the Goddess Blogs the most, because the authors and the readers are such fun. Angel: What piece of advice would you like to impress upon newer authors? SJ: Write what you love to read. You’re going to be making a career out of this. Your publisher will want more of whatever you sold them initially, so if you sell them something you’ve written solely because it’s part of a trend, you’ll have a hard time keeping up your enthusiasm (if you even sell the first project at all -- editors AND readers can tell a faker in a heartbeat). I love to read Regency historicals, and they were always my first choice to write. I STILL haven’t tired of them, which is a good thing, since that’s what my readers seem to want from me. Angel: Recently you revamped your author website. What prompted this decision? What did the project involve? SJ: I’ve always believed that a site should be freshened up every few years or so, and it had been four for me. I hadn’t done a new design since before I started the School for Heiresses series. With the two final books coming out, I really wanted to have something new and spiffy. I wrote a good bit of the new material, and my brilliant publicist, Jeanne Devlin of Nancy Berland Public Relations, did the design. FiveK put it together. It’s got fun stuff about the series (heiress trivia and advice, etc.), my Will and Jane comics, and lots of pretty period images, among other things. I think it turned out very well, but as always, it required more effort than I expected. Angel: Tell us about what’s coming up for you. SJ: The last two books of the heiress series are coming out back to back -- Don’t Bargain with the Devil on May 26th and Wed Him Before You Bed Him on June 23rd. Next year, I begin a new Regency historical series, this time a family series. My last true family series was quite a while ago, so I’m enjoying this one. Plus, it’s a family with both sisters and brothers (like my own), which is something I haven’t done. The first book comes out in March 2010 and the second in October 2010. For Fun: Angel: Tell me about your ideal day. SJ: Any day where I get to eat out, have coffee, watch a good movie, and do a jigsaw puzzle is a great day. Oh, did you mean a writing day? :) Angel: If you could go anywhere in the world, where would you go? SJ: Please say you don’t expect me to limit it to one! Scotland and Ireland would be tops on my list, along with Italy, Spain, and Greece. I’d love to see India, too, and I wouldn’t mind a visit to Morocco. And even though I just got back from a trip to England, I’d happily go on another. Angel: What has been your biggest SQUEE moment so far? SJ: Meeting Judith McNaught at a conference years ago. I’m such a HUGE fan, and to be standing there talking to her as if we were equals (which we absolutely are not -- I think her books are brilliant) was a big thrill. Oh, and the first time a fellow writer I didn’t know told me she loved my books, I was over the moon. Other writers are the harshest critics, after all. You can find out more about Sabrina Jeffries at www.sabrinajeffries.com or check out Sabrina and her friends at The Goddess Blogs http://thegoddessblogs.com . This month, the Playfriends are pleased to welcome historical author and USA Today Bestseller Elizabeth Hoyt. Grab your pail and shovel and hop into the Sandbox with us for a great interview. Smarty Pants: Welcome to the Sandbox, Elizabeth. The swing set has been a-twitter with your upcoming visit. To start off, how about a little background? Your website says you have a degree in anthropology and you married an archeologist. How did you get from there to the USA Today Bestseller list? Elizabeth Hoyt: Thank you for the welcome, Smarty Pants! As for my route from Anthro major to professional writer, it was somewhat circuitous. I spent many years first in rather menial jobs and then as a stay-at-home mom before deciding to try writing. 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? EH: Well, there I was, a full time mother and my youngest child went to Kindergarten. It was at that point that my own mother strongly hinted that perhaps I should look into a paying job. It occurred to me that this was kind of a unique time in my life—I didn’t already have a career that it would be hard to abandon. So I told Mr. Hoyt—who has always been wonderfully supportive—that I wanted to take five years and see if I could write a book. As it turned out, the knowledge that I’d have to actually find a real job if I DIDN’T finish a book, was wonderfully motivating. SP: You started writing historicals with your Prince Trilogy, then began writing contemporaries as Julia Harper as well. What changes do you have to make to your writing/thought process in order to write contemporaries versus your historicals? Is it hard to transition from one to the other, say, when you’re doing line edits on one and writing another? EH: When I’m writing my contemporary romances I’m using modern language of course, but my contemporaries are also faster-paced than my historicals. There are more characters and the plot is much more involved in my contemporaries. My historicals tend to be more emotionally complex. Despite all that I actually don’t have a problem moving from writing contemporaries to historicals. ;-) SP: Your new release schedule for 2009 includes the third and fourth installation in the Legend of the Four Soldiers series. Could you tell us a little about the series and the characters featured in these last two books? EH: The Legend of the Four Soldiers series revolves around four men who are veterans of a regiment that was massacred six years before the series starts. Each man has come home with his own war wounds and issues that stem from that horrific incident. In addition they are hunting for the man who betrayed the regiment so long ago. In TO BEGUILE A BEAST, the hero, Sir Alistair Munroe, is a naturalist who was captured and tortured. Because of this he’s scarred and he lives by himself in a rather run down castle with only his Deerhound dog and a single servant as company. One dark and stormy night Sir Alistair opens the door to a beautiful woman who claims to be his new housekeeper. She’s Helen Fitzwilliam who along with her two young children is on the run from her powerful lover. Sir Alistair’s castle is the perfect place to hide…if she can resist its surly master. TO DESIRE A DEVIL is the last book of the quartet and features Beatrice Corning, niece of the Earl of Blanchard. For years she’s fantasized about the portrait of the previous earl’s heir, Reynaud St. Aubyn, which hangs in her sitting room. When Reynaud stumbles into a tea party, bearded, raving, but very much alive, Beatrice is forced to chose between her beloved uncle and the true Earl of Blanchard. SP: Each of your historicals are based around different fairy tales. Can you tell us a little about how you came up with these stories and the idea of using a fairy tale as part of the books? EH: I’ve always been interested in fairy tales—both as a child and as an adult. When it came time to write my first book it just seemed right to add a fairy tale at the beginning of each chapter as sort of a complement to the main story. I did have several readers who didn’t quite “get” it, but I’m very glad that I went with my gut instinct on including the fairy tales. As to how I actually come up with the stories, believe me once you’ve read a couple hundred fairy tales it isn’t that hard to make up one yourself! ;-) SP: Let’s talk about process. Are you a plotter or a pantser? Which comes first for you—characters or the situation? EH: The characters always come first for me, although they may come with a specific situation that I then flesh out. For instance, I always knew that Simon in THE SERPENT PRINCE was on a mission of revenge that was killing him spiritually, though I didn’t know exactly why he was doing this at first. My first several books were very thoroughly plotted out. The ones I’ve done lately are less so—I find that about a third of the way through the book I need to replot anyway due to changes in the story as I write it. Not sure which way results in a better book, lol! 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!)? EH: Listen to your own gut. Those weren’t the specific words, but I did read about agents and editors worried that critique groups were changing early manuscripts too much. In the end it’s your book. Don’t let anyone else change your vision or voice. SP: What was the one piece of advice you wish you’d ignored? EH: Well, I was told by many respected people that the only way to compute manuscript word count was by the old page formula (Courier, 25 lines per page double spaced = 250 words per page x the manuscript pages = word count..) Then I got an agent and she’d never heard of such a thing. Neither had my editor. They both went by computer word count…which was 10,000 words LESS than the page formula word count. SP: Complete this sentence: My readers… EH: are brilliant! hee! SP: Ok, now for a couple fun questions...Coffee or tea? EH: Both, depending on my mood. SP: Something most people would be surprised to know about you? EH: I’m a killer Oh Hell card game player. SP: Hmm... never played that one. Dream vacation spot? EH: Scotland! SP: If you couldn’t be a writer, what would you do for a living? EH: Staring at my toes. Alas I’m not very employable outside writing. SP: What are you working on now? EH: Right now I’m starting a brand new series which I’m very excited about! The books will be about London and delve a bit more into the underworld of Georgian England. The book I’m working on now has a heroine who runs a foundling home in St. Giles. The hero is an aristocrat whose mistress was murdered. He’s now roaming the streets of St. Giles to find the murderer, but he needs the heroine’s guidance so they strike an uneasy bargain. This isn’t writing related, but I do want to mention that we’re doing a complete make-over of my website. It goes live April 28th, so if readers haven’t visited in a while, they might want to stop by! SP: Thanks for stopping by, Elizabeth! Come back any time. Be sure to check out Elizabeth’s upcoming releases – To Beguile a Beast, available in stores now and To Desire a Devil, coming in November 2009! You can also learn more about Elizabeth, her writing, and more at http://www.elizabethhoyt.com. April 2009 - Vicki Lewis Thompson This month the Playfriends are proud to introduce the talented and gracious Vicki Lewis Thompson, whom we’ve enjoyed getting to know over at her Soapbox Queens blog. Vicki is a prolific author and an 8 time RITA nominee. She was also the 2008 RWA Nora Roberts Lifetime Achievement Award recipient! I’ve heard from Queen Rhonda that Queen Vicki is as marvelous in person as she is in the blogosphere, and I’m thrilled to get to meet her this May at Heart of Dixie’s Romance Readers’ Luncheon. If you live in the south, consider joining us at this wonderful event. Angel: Welcome to the Playground, Vicki! Can you tell us a little about your writing journey? What made you decide to take that first step and put a novel on paper? Vicki Lewis Thompson: I was incredibly lucky and met another romance writer who moved to Tucson and started an RWA chapter here. If not for her – she wrote as Tate McKenna and as Mary Tate Engels – I would still be slaving away as a reporter, dealing with icky facts instead of being able to make things up all day. Angel: Humor plays a large role in your voice. What is the key to writing humor well? VLT: I could tell you but then I’d have to kill you, LOL. Ack! I don’t know the answer! I was asked to give a workshop on humor and almost went into cardiac arrest because I have no clue how I do what I do. Fortunately a friend loaned me a book by John Vorhaus called THE COMIC TOOLBOX, and John made it all clear to me, at least clear enough to quote John for the workshop. I recommend his book. Highly recommend. Next question? Angel: Your NERD series brought you a great deal of recognition. Could you tell us a little about the decision to move on to paranormals? Was that always an interest for you? VLT: I’ve always loved magic. Vampires, not so much. I devoured the Harry Potter series and realized how cool it would be to make up EVERYTHING in a story, including twisting what we call reality into something different, with dragons and stuff. So I decided to try that because the nerds had sort of had their run. Angel: Where did the idea for Big Knob and the cool, magical creatures that inhabit it come from? What’s coming up next for this crew? VLT: First I decided to create a match-making witch and wizard. At first I thought they’d live in Sedona, but no, that wouldn’t be funny. What if they had to live in a very conservative little Midwest town? So I created Big Knob. But halfway through the book, I realized I needed something else, something more exciting. That’s when the dragon showed up, and I wanted him to be funny, so I made him ADD. That gave me the real reason for Dorcas and Ambrose to be in Big Knob – they’d been banished there for a magical infraction and sent to wrangle George, who was a problem. Halfway through the book, and that’s when it all took shape. I’m a pantser, in case you couldn’t tell. Angel: Even though your plots now include paranormal elements, I’ve noticed the nerds are still around. What draws you to that type of character? VLT: I’ve always loved the reluctant hero, the one who’s not quite sure of himself, but who comes through in the end like the true hero he is. I’m in love with the Clark Kent/Superman image – always have been. Angel: You are a prolific author with over 70 books and novellas in print. Is your process the same as it has always been or has it changed over time? VLT: It’s changed ENORMOUSLY. I started out with a stone and chisel, but now . . . Actually, I did start with a typewriter. Moving to a computer changed the way I wrote. I could revise! Recently I’ve decided not to print out anything until it’s finished, which means it stays in the computer, and it’s mine, all mine, not anyone else’s, which makes me feel it’s safe to take chances, to screw up the story, write whatever I want, because it’s not cast in stone. Like my first books were, ha, ha. Also, I’m a LOT less disciplined than I used to be. Angel: Have you ever struggled with writer’s block or a difficult book? If so, how do you recommend dealing with it? VLT: I go with Nora Roberts on this one. If my muse deserts me, I drag her skinny ass back to my office and tie her to the chair. I figured out that writer’s block is the quest for perfection, and I sure can’t ever hope to achieve that. Another wonderful writer, Barbara Samuels, says that writing for her is ruining one good story idea after another. I agree – the story is never as good as I’d hoped. I do think keeping the story in the computer and not printing it out helps with difficult books, though. If it’s not going well, no one needs to know. Somehow, printing out chapters seems to make the story less fluid. It becomes more rigid, and if I don’t like something, it’s more of a challenge to change it. Angel: You are a part of a fabulous blog over at The Soapbox Queens. I’ve heard you, Rhonda Nelson, and Jennifer LaBrecque talk about your writing retreats. Can you tell us how those came about and what y’all do there? How beneficial is it for authors to talk over their ideas with trusted partners? VLT: When we decided to form a group, we set up some expectations, and one was that we’d get together in person at least twice a year. We don’t critique each other’s work, but we do brainstorm plots. We also give liberal career advice to each other, and help each other set goals. We also eat great food and laugh a lot. It’s extremely beneficial for all of us, but I would put the emphasis on your phrase “trusted partners” because that’s so important. I learned to trust Jen when we went on the kayak trip from he – uh, from heaven. You had to come out of that fast friends or bitter enemies. There was no in-between. I didn’t know Rhonda as well, but Jen vouched for her, and that was all I needed. Angel: Your website is marvelous, with lots of new information arriving monthly. Do you spend a lot of time updating it and keeping up with other promotional obligations? How much of that burden falls to your assistant? VLT: Oh, the entire burden falls to my assistant, LOL. She’s fabulous, and I’m so lucky to have given birth to her. For fun: Angel: What possessed you to buy that snazzy convertible you drive? (Y’all should read her blog post about bringing home a Christmas tree in that thing!) VLT: I’ve always loved convertibles. My dad let my sister and me drive his during my senior year in high school, and I never got over the thrill of it. I also love sports cars. Before this yellow baby I had a Mazda RX-7, but I craved a ragtop, so when I made the Times list, I treated myself. There’s nothing like driving around with the top down and the radio up. Angel: Chocolate or vanilla? VLT: Are you serious? Chocolate! It’s the nectar of the gods! Angel: If you could go anywhere in the world, where would you want to go? VLT: Oh, that’s a tough one. I have a list of places I want to see and it’s longer than a dead snake. Australia, New Zealand, Iceland, China, India, Sweden, the South Pole, Africa. I guess if I could only choose one thing, I’d choose a cruise down the Amazon. Angel: Favorite movie hero? VLT: Colin Firth as Darcy. Yummylicious. Angel: What would you do on your ideal day? VLT: I would be staying at my cousin’s beach cottage with a few good friends. I’d have lots of good food and wine, but I’d also have some alone time to write out on the porch, which faces the water. Then I’d have some reading time, too. I guess these good friends would need to be writers – I’m thinking Jen and Rhonda would work out really well in that scenario. You can find out more about Vicki and her books at her website: www.vickilewisthompson.com or at the Soapbox Queens blog www.soapboxqueens.com . If you live in the south, you can also meet Vicki, along with the rest of the Playfriends, at the Heart of Dixie Romance luncheon. Click here for details. It's been a while since we've had an editor stop by the Sandbox, and I'm thrilled to welcome Lucy Gilmour from the Harlequin Mills & Boon London office! Yes, she has a wonderful accent (and she doesn't tease me about mine), but, more importantly, she's a fabulous editor. She's also beautiful, young, and thin (sigh), but don't let that distract you from her editorial brilliance. Scooch over and give Lucy some room... Problem Child: Hi, Lucy! Welcome! Let's start with some basic background on you... How'd you get started in the business? Did you always want to be an editor for Mills & Boon? How long have you been an editor? Lucy Gilmour: I joined the Harlequin Mills & Boon London office four years ago after finishing my classics degree and spending two glorious years working in the French Alps. I’d dreamed of working for Harlequin since I spent my first-ever allowance of pocket money on a much-treasured Harlequin Presents® at the age of thirteen. PC: What do you love most about your job? What do you like least? LG: I love almost every aspect of my job; from the fantastic variety of talented authors I get to work with to reading the books themselves! I work across all the UK acquired series, which gives me the chance to work with all of my favourite heroes — the Alpha males of Harlequin Presents® and Harlequin Romance®, the devilishly handsome doctors of Harlequin Medicals® and Harlequin Historical®’s Regency Rakes! What could possibly be better than falling in love with a new hero every day?! However, if I HAD to choose a favourite part of my job, I really love brainstorming the continuities we do such as The Royal House of Karedes (out in Presents from July!) where the editorial team comes together to create a series of linked stories. This is such a creative time for the department, and there’s always a real buzz in the office. In terms of my least favourite – it’s probably that my To-Do List is never empty! There just aren’t enough hours in the day! PC: Can you tell us what a typical day is like for you? LG: Honestly, there is no set pattern! The editorial department is small and friendly - so I always end up having a cup of tea before settling down to read my e-mails. I can tell you that the office is busy, busy, busy from the moment you walk through the office doors. Each day is made up of a variety of reading and editing manuscripts, writing revision letters, brainstorming titles, working on back cover copy (one of my favourite bits!) briefing art details for book covers, proof-checking, e-mailing/speaking to authors, judging competitions, and of course reading manuscripts from newbie authors – it’s so varied and I love it! PC: Someone reading this is going to query you... are you actively acquiring? What advice would you give them? Any pet peeves of yours? What kinds of things are guaranteed to get a rejection from you? LG: We are absolutely acquiring for all the series edited here in the UK, which are Harlequin Presents, Harlequin Romance, Harlequin Medicals and Harlequin Historicals. Our first piece of advice for aspiring authors would be to read as many of the current releases for the line they’re targeting as they can, as this helps you to understand what the readers, and therefore editors, are buying. My second is to keep your synopsis short – ideally no more than two pages. Thirdly, just don’t worry too much about what font you send your submission in, or any of the other niggly formatting concerns I know people have. As long as it’s double spaced the story will speak for itself. PC: Anything in specific you're looking for? Anything you'd like to see more of? Anything you'd like to never see again? LG: A dream author is someone who, when you read their manuscript, transports you into a completely new world. When you can’t remember that you’re sitting at your desk in the office because you’ve been swept up by the story, that’s when you know you’ve found a real gem of a manuscript. We do see a lot of cliched beginnings – where plot is used as a vehicle to get characters together rather than looking at the characters’ reaction to the situation. The problem with these is that the reader doesn’t really get any sense of character, and there’s often too much focus on mundane details. We’re looking for individuality in detail and voice. So choose your set-up carefully and be aware of why you are using it. Question if this is the best way to bring your characters together? PC: Mills & Boon ran two major contests in 2008 – the Presents “Instant Seduction” Contest and the Modern Heat “Feel the Heat” Contest. I know you all had a ton of entries to read. Were you expecting that big of a response to the contests? What possessed the editors to take on such a task? Any plans to make these contests a regular occurrence? LG: We were absolutely thrilled with the response to both those competitions. In fact last year alone the UK editorial department judged over 1200 competition entries! We ran these competitions to find new authors – and it worked! We’ve bought stories from the winners of both competitions now, which we’re thrilled about. Obviously we can’t guarantee that every competition winner will be bought! But we’ll be sure to keep you posted about any future competitions… PC: If you could give newbie writers one piece of advice they had to follow, what would it be? LG: Don’t let your characters act out of character just for the sake of moving the story along, or explaining the back story. PC: If you could stomp out one rumor about writing/publishing once and for all, what would it be? LG: That editors are scary! Remember, we want to buy new authors, and we view the Slush pile as a gateway to discovering new talent. If we think you have potential we really want to work with you! PC: Was RWA San Francisco your first RWA conference? Was it what you expected? Any newbie authors stalk you or try to pitch to you in the ladies' room? From an editor's perspective, what's fun and not fun about a conference like RWA's? LG: Yep, San Francisco was my first conference – and it was absolutely amazing. I don’t think anyone could have told me what to expect! It was very busy, but the entire conference was absolutely exhilarating and so much fun. The Harlequin party was great, it was lovely to see authors really letting their hair down and enjoying themselves. The dedication of aspiring authors was incredible, the editor-agent appointments were genuinely a highlight thanks to the sheer enthusiasm of each and every person I met. But by far the best bit for me was meeting all of my authors that live overseas face to face. It makes such a difference to get to know them personally. PC: What do you read when you read for fun? Is it hard to read “just for fun” now that you're an editor? LG: When I’m at my desk, I’m definitely reading in ‘work mode’ – but as soon as I’m reading for pleasure it’s exactly that. I’ve enjoyed reading books to relax since I was little, and that most definitely hasn’t changed. There’s nothing I love more than knowing that you really should turn the lights out and go to sleep…but you just want to read one more page. And another. And another… PC: Any plans to write a book yourself? LG: I would absolutely love to. I have the utmost admiration for anyone who can write a book - I think it must be so much harder than everybody thinks. PC: Some just for fun questions: Beer or wine? Definitely wine for me – red, white or rose…I’m not too picky! Mountain-top cabin or beach-front house? I lived in the French Alps for a couple of years, and as beautiful as it was, I think I’d have to go with beach-front house. Living in London we’re lucky if we get much hot weather in the summer, so I crave the sunshine. In fact when I met Kimberly in San Francisco I made her sit in the blazing sunshine with me while we drank our coffee and chatted (and chatted…and chatted…) as I was desperate to return home with at least a tiny bit of a tan. Sorry Kimberly! (Note from Kimberly – it was in the 70’s. I think I was wearing a sweater.) High heels or ballerina flats? Ballerina flats all the way. I’m quite tall anyway, so don’t desperately need the height (although heels do fab things to elongate legs!) But as soon as I start to wear heels my feet begin to hurt. In fact, almost the first thing I did the moment I walked back down the aisle at my wedding was take my shoes off! Cats or dogs? Sadly my London flat barely houses my husband and I – so there’s definitely no room for pets! Thanks so much for being here! Come back any time! Thank you very much for having me, I’ve loved it. Happy writing – and reading - everybody! Lucy x For more information about submitting to Harlequin Mills and Boon, see the guidelines at http://www.millsandboon.co.uk/aspiringauthors.asp or http://www.eharlequin.com/articlepage.html?articleId=538&chapter=0 February 2009 - Victoria Strauss Smart Honorary Playfriends already know the name Victoria Strauss. Maybe you’ve read her books (like The Burning Land or The Awakened City), but Victoria is also well-known for her tireless work on behalf of all authors -- busting scams, reporting the sharks in the water, and generally sharing good info everyone needs as we navigate the wacky world of publishing. Everyone push over and make room in the Sandbox for Victoria. Problem Child: Hi, Victoria! We’re so tickled to have you here. Let’s start off by talking about your books. You write fantasy for HarperCollins. How’d you get started? What do you love most about writing this genre? VS: My favorite reading as a child was fantasy (especially Arthurian fantasy--one of my all-time faves is T. H. White’s The Sword in the Stone), fairy tales, and historical novels. Perhaps not surprisingly, my first novel was a historical with fantasy elements. After that, I gravitated toward fantasy--always with a historical bent (people tell me that my books read like historical novels about places that never were). Apart from the ability that fantasy gives me to explore interesting themes, I love the sense of wonder that rises from magic and adventure in imaginary worlds. It’s my goal to share that with readers--really, to write the kinds of books that I myself would like to read. PC: What’s next for you? VS: I’m returning to my roots with a YA novel about art and astrology, set during the Renaissance. It’s similar to my first novel in that it’s mainly historical, but with a fantasy twist. PC: You wrote some YA fantasy first. What brought about the change from YA to adult? Any plans to write more YA? VS: I switched from YA to adult because I wanted to write longer, more complex novels, dealing with darker themes. This was years before J.K. Rowling and Harry Potter completely changed the face of YA fiction. Pre-Rowling, the genre was a good deal more restrictive in terms of length and subject matter, but those restrictions have now largely vanished. A lot of really challenging and ambitious--and dark--writing is coming out of the YA market. As I said above, the novel I’m currently working on is YA. YA is my first love, so it feels like coming home--even more so because the market is so much more varied and exciting than it used to be. I’m also, to tell the truth, burned out on big doorstop fantasies. My last two books were both around 200,000 words. It’s great to be writing something that’s not so dense. PC: We’re fascinated by process around here. Can you describe your writing process? Any tips or hints you’d like to share? VS: When I first started writing, I winged it--no planning, no outline, no nothing. Around my third novel, I got tired of writing myself into corners and down dead ends, and decided that something had to change. These days, I begin with the germ of an idea, and spend some time opening it out in my head, coming up with a basic plot structure, getting a sense of my characters, and deciding what research I need to do. Once I’ve done the research (and I always find I need to do more in the process of writing the book), I create a detailed synopsis. This isn’t so much an ironclad template--I always wind up deviating from it--as it is a way of making sure that I can get from beginning to end without any major plot holes or character inconsistencies. Once the outline is done, I put it away and write the book without looking at it again. This leaves room for the diversions and digressions and “aha!” moments that make writing fun--but because I have the basic structure clear in my mind, the diversions serve the story, rather than derail it. It’s the best method I’ve found for preserving spontaneity, while keeping my tendency to digress in check. I begin each writing day by reading over and editing what I wrote the day before. As I finish each chapter or long scene, I revise that before I continue, and if I think of something in previous chapters that needs to be changed, I take care of it immediately, rather than making a note and dealing with it later. Many established writers urge aspiring writers to write straight through from beginning to end and revise only when the first draft is finished, but I’ve never been able to write that way. If I don’t feel confident about what I’ve already done, I don’t feel confident about continuing. My stop-and-start method means that I take longer to finish a book--but once I'm done, the book is essentially in final form, and doesn’t require heavy editing. VS: “Write the book you yourself would like to read.” My mother, a very wise editor and still my first reader, told me that. PC: What one piece of advice would you like to pass along to new writers? VS: No one writing method works for everyone. Every writer has his or her own process, and it can take a lot of trial and error to discover what’s best for you. Don’t force yourself to stick to a process that doesn’t feel natural or comfortable just because some expert told you it was the “right” way of doing things. Experiment! You’ll be glad you did. PC: You also seem to do a lot of reviewing. How’d you get started doing that? I’ve heard that reviewing books often changes the reviewer’s perspective – did reviewing change how you read for fun or even how you approached your own books? VS: I’m an opinionated reader, so reviewing seemed like a natural fit for me. Around the time I began writing adult fiction, I contacted a major science fiction/fantasy review website and offered my services. They sent me a few trial books to review, and decided they liked my work and wanted to make me a regular staff reviewer. That connection led to a number of other review gigs. Reviewing hasn’t changed the way I approach my own books, since I approach reviewing from a writer’s perspective. Unfortunately, it has changed the way I read. It’s become harder for me to turn off that analytical mindset, to read uncritically and for pleasure. Also, after 10 years of reviewing, I’ve begun to feel that I don’t have anything new to say--and to be honest, I’m awfully tired of having to read books I wouldn’t necessarily choose for myself. I’m currently taking a hiatus from reviewing, and hope eventually to return to it revitalized and refreshed. PC: Since I first learned about you via Writer Beware, let’s talk about that. What drives you to spend your time on behalf of clueless newbies? (Not that we’re not appreciative. J) VS: Corny as it sounds, I like the idea of paying forward. I myself was never scammed by a literary agent or publisher--but I easily could have been. When I began trying to sell my first novel, there was very little information about writing scams and pitfalls (of course, back then, there weren’t anywhere near as many as there are now). Writers need reliable information about what to watch out for--and that’s what Writer Beware endeavors to provide. With Writer Beware, I feel that I am actually making a difference for people--and that’s an incredibly good feeling. I also have to admit that I’m fascinated by the psychology and methodology of scammers and schemers. The shadow-world of fraudulent and amateur agents and publishers and writers’ “services”--whose only point of connection with the real publishing world is the authors it entraps--is an endlessly bizarre and wacky place. Every time I think I’ve seen it all, something new comes along. It certainly keeps things interesting! PC: How do you juggle your time between writing (and promotion etc, etc…) and Writer Beware? VS: Precariously! Writer Beware really is like a part-time job--with blog posts, correspondence, research, and website updates, I can spend as much as 20 hours a week on it (don’t tell my agent!). Generally, I do Writer Beware stuff in the morning, and my own writing in the afternoon and evening. PC: How do I put this delicately…? Um, I imagine you’re not real popular with some people, or that some folks have been upset about what you’ve written about them. Do you get a lot of hate mail? VS: Not as much as you might think. The scammers prefer to pretend we don’t exist, or to vent their ire on their blogs or in their own private correspondence, rather than confronting us directly. Also, now that we have our own blog, angry people mostly comment there rather than emailing us. We do occasionally get lawsuit threats, but those rarely go farther than nasty emails. Believe it or not, a good amount of hate mail, or angry mail at any rate, comes from writers who are distressed that we’ve “outed” whatever disreputable company they are hooked up with but can’t bear to admit is questionable. “Shoot the messenger” is something we encounter a lot. PC: What’s your Pride-and-Joy moment from the work you’ve done with Writer Beware? The one scam you busted that still warms the cockles of your heart when you think about it? VS: The Martha Ivery scam. There’s a full account on the Writer Beware website (http://www.sfwa.org/beware/cases.html#Ivery ). Martha Ivery, a convicted check-kiter and bigamist, ran a vanity publisher under her own name, and a fee-charging literary agency under an alias, Kelly O’Donnell. As Kelly, she’d reel victims in via the agency, charging them “submission” fees and selling them her own substandard editing services (she was barely literate). When they’d racked up enough publisher rejections to start feeling desperate, she’d pass them on to the vanity publisher without revealing either the connection between the businesses or the fact that “Kelly” and Martha were the same person. Basically, the whole thing was a Ponzi scheme--the “investments” of new agency/publisher clients paid for the services provided to existing clients. When the scheme started to collapse, and she didn’t have the money to produce the books new clients had paid her to publish, Martha began demanding even more fees--warehousing fees, marketing fees, even an author cruise for more than $1,000. Not surprisingly, the cruise was canceled, and authors never got their money back. Writer Beware got scores of complaints about Martha. Through intensive lobbying, we were able to interest the FBI in her case. We helped the agent in charge of the case locate victims--eventually, more than 300 were identified, for a total “take” of over $700,000--and gather documentation. Martha’s premises were raided and her businesses were shut down. Eventually, she was indicted and convicted for fraud, and is currently serving a prison sentence at a Federal correctional facility. PC: I imagine that every time you list a bad agent, expose a vanity publisher, or uncover a crooked scheme, that someone will come to the defense of that agent or publisher, claiming you’re wrong. Why do you think so many people are unwilling to face the truth? Is it just the need for validation of their dream or a defensive “I-didn’t-get-scammed” posture? VS: I think it’s both. Bad agents and questionable publishers do validate writers’ dreams--often, they’re the only ones who ever will. That’s incredibly hard to let go of, even in the face of overwhelming evidence. And I do think people are resistant to, and also ashamed of, admitting they got snookered. Deep in their hearts, they may recognize the truth, but be unable to acknowledge it. We often hear from writers who are uneasy enough to contact us, but don’t want to accept the information we provide. When that happens, we try to be sympathetic rather than confrontational, because we want the writer to feel free to return to us for help and advice if they ever become ready to accept the truth. PC: And this ties into my question above, why do you think –with all the good information that’s out there – that so many writers are still easy targets? VS: The information is out there--but writers either don’t pay attention to it or don’t bother to search for it. It absolutely boggles and amazes me how many writers think they can start submitting their work to publishers and agents without knowing anything whatever about publishing or the process of getting published. In my opinion, the single biggest reason that writers are targets is ignorance. PC: Who (or what) is the one worst agent/publisher/scammer/whatever you’d love to be able to stomp down once and for all? VS: Answering that question would open me up to a lawsuit. But hopefully we’ll be doing some major stomping in 2009. PC: If you could make one rule all newbie writers had to follow, what would it be? VS: Educate yourself!!! If you want a writing career, you need to know something about the nuts and bolts of the profession before you embark on it. Publishing is a hugely complicated field, with customs and processes that don’t exist anywhere else, and a thousand schemes and scams just waiting to prey on the uneducated and the unwary. You can’t just plunge in and expect to learn on the fly--you need to arm yourself with as much knowledge as possible ahead of time. If all writers followed this rule, Writer Beware would have considerably less work to do. Some Just for Fun Questions: Rock or Country? Rock. High Heels or Flats? Flats! Though not by choice. I have bunions. Harry Potter or Twilight? Harry Potter, hands down. I’m allergic to vampires. Beer or Wine? Neither. I hate the taste of alcohol. Finish this sentence: My readers…are why I’m a writer. Thanks so much for hanging out on our Playground with us! Please come back any time! More information on Victoria and her books can be found at her website: http://www.sff.net/people/victoriastrauss/. Bookmark the Writer Beware blog at http://www.accrispin.blogspot.com/ -- between the posts and the links, you’ll learn loads… Award winning historical author Anna Campbell hails from beautiful Australia, where she pens novels of determined heroines and the men who crave them. In 2008, she was nominated for 2 RITA awards—a Best Regency Historical Romance each for Claiming the Courtesan and Untouched. We’re so excited to have her visit here on the Playground, several of us having loved her books and eagerly awaited this month’s release of Tempt the Devil. Angel: Anna, your third historical release, Tempt the Devil, is out this month. It and your two previous books have had unusual characters, especially for historical romances, including several courtesans and an accused mad man. Were these unusual elements a hard sell for editors? Did you have any concerns or encounter any problems writing outside the box? Anna: Hi Angel! Thanks so much for letting me play in the sandbox. I promise not to throw stuff or eat the sand! What a great question! Actually I think as far as publishers were concerned, the unusual elements were a plus rather than a minus. The differences made it easier for Avon to position me as a new voice in the market – and I also think there was a shift in the market where people wanted more sexually experienced heroines so the whole courtesan thing was a case of lucky timing. I actually hit more problems with the unusual characters before I sold when I was on the contest circuit. The occasional judge got hung up on the supposed ‘rules’ of romance writing. Verity/Soraya in Claiming the Courtesan hit a bit of resistance because of her profession and a couple of judges considered Matthew, the hero of Untouched, weak because he wasn’t your typical alpha. To me, he was always incredibly strong, if only because he managed to survive his ordeal, and that, thank goodness, seems to be how most readers see him. Angel: What do you think makes these characters and situations work? Anna: Ooh, Angel, I don’t know! I’m probably not the person to ask that. After all, the final verdict is always with the reader. I think when I give these characters these awful problems to solve, I don’t pull my punches. So I try to imagine, for example, what would be the long-term emotional consequences for a girl from a sheltered, religious background forced to sell herself to keep her family from starving? My characters are real people to me so they’re a mixture of good and bad, dark and light. But they’re always brave and strong and smart so eventually the light wins. Perhaps that’s just a story shape people respond to – you know, that mythical journey to the underworld then returning to the sunlit surface. I think the bigger the obstacles, the greater the catharsis at the end when the characters triumph. Angel: You’ve had some beautiful covers, the first with vibrant colors, now a hero-focused picture (and a handsome one he is, too!). Were you allowed any feedback on them? How did they come about? Anna: Angel, they are lovely covers, aren’t they? I’ve loved both formats. I think the first two really reflect the gothic atmosphere of the stories. And as you say, TEMPT THE DEVIL features a very handsome fellow! I don’t have an awful lot to do with the covers – they’re the work of the brilliant Avon art department. Angel: Your books have been proclaimed “devastatingly intimate” by Michelle Buonfiglio of Lifetime TV, and I heartily agree. You said you wrote category and other historicals first. What led to finding this deeply intimate and emotional voice? When did you know you’d gotten it right? Anna: Thanks, Angel. It’s a lovely description, isn’t it? Learning how to write emotion was one of the last things that fell into place before I sold. It certainly didn’t come naturally! All my Harlequin submissions got the dreaded “lacks emotional punch” letter. It’s only now when I look back that I know what they’re talking about. Actually I think the deeply emotional voice came out of a sad event in my life – my father, to whom I was very close, passed away in 2001 and for quite a long time I couldn’t write at all. Then when I came back to writing, my style had changed completely and (with work – it’s still tough to get to the depth I need to) I could access an emotional range that had never been there before. Claiming the Courtesan immediately garnered reactions from readers that I’d never received. There was an excitement from crit partners and contest judges that you could feel. So I guessed I was onto something! Angel: I’ve heard you discuss in the past how long it took to achieve publication. Can you tell us about your writing journey? Anna: I count my writing journey from when I wrote my first romance (a medieval) between finishing high school and starting university. It was 27 years from that day to when I sold to Avon. The weird thing is I wrote that book wanting to become an Avon author so the dream eventually came true! In between that, I took a lot of false trails. I wrote category books, I wrote sagas, I wrote serious historical fiction, I wrote books set in a lot of different periods and places. I started and didn’t finish numerous things. Towards the end of my 27 years, I’d actually decided my future lay in Regency romantic comedy. I’d written a book called The Magnificent Marriage which did well in contests and ended up finaling in the Golden Heart in 2006. But I had these two characters in my head who just wouldn’t leave me alone, even though their story called for a major shift in style and some very challenging writing! Those characters were Verity and Kylemore and eventually they took me across the line between published and unpublished. Angel: What most helped you keep your faith during the submission process? Anna: Well, I didn’t always keep the faith. About 17 years in, I gave up for 18 months. Which was actually really good for me. It made me aware that I wrote because I needed to, not just because my ego required the validation of publication. It also made me work a lot smarter by joining Romance Writers of Australia and eventually Romance Writers of America. I had been very much Robinson Crusoe before that and suddenly finding people who ‘got’ what I was trying to do made a huge difference. Otherwise there was my own stubbornness (which isn’t always a useful quality although it was here!) and the encouragement I got from contests. I can’t speak highly enough of how writing contests helped me to keep going! Angel: Your books have been nominated for numerous awards, including a double RITA nomination in 2008. Can you tell us about that experience? It must have been a joy of a phone call! Anna: Angel, it was an absolutely fantastic surprise. Lorraine Heath who has always been a wonderful supporter for me (she gave me a quote for Courtesan) called to tell me. The funny thing was we’d been talking about Australian lingo for a book she was working on so I thought she just wanted more words like dingo and drongo and bonzer. It never occurred to me I was a RITA finalist! I mean, it’s one of those things you dream about when you’re unpublished, hopes like that keep you going. And then not once, but TWICE! Until 30th December, I have great pleasure in telling people that 100% of my published work has been nominated for a RITA! LOL! Then it was such fun going to RWA as a double finalist! Truly a dream come true experience! For fun: Angel: What is your favorite food? The one you could eat every day and never tire of. Anna: Sadly, anything to do with potatoes! Roast potatoes, potato chips, mashed potatoes, you name it. Sigh. Wish it was something with no calories! Angel: How would you spend your “perfect day”? Anna: Good friends, laughter, good food, lots of champagne (hey, it’s my perfect day, let’s make it French!), a sea view and a great book to go home to. Hmm, can I fit Richard Armitage in there somewhere? Angel: Can you tell us a few books currently residing on your keeper shelf? Anna: My keepers live on a special bookcase in the bedroom. There’s the complete Laura Kinsale collection, the complete Loretta Chase collection, all the Jane Austens, the three Charlotte Brontes, War and Peace, and everything Dorothy Dunnett ever wrote. Angel: What is your “ideal” work space? Why? Anna: I have an absolutely amazing space where I am at the moment (compared to a desk squeezed into the corner of my bedroom which I managed with for years). It’s a proper office with lots of cupboards for storage and a big bookcase and inspirational pinboards and two big desks and filing cabinets. It gets morning sun and afternoon breeze and looks out onto a very lush garden full of native birds and trees. Seriously, I’m happy as a pig in mud and all my writer friends turn green with envy when they see it ;-) You can find out more about Anna Campbell and her books, including this month’s Tempt the Devil, at www.annacampbell.com . December 08 - Author Juliet Burns & Malle Vallik Harlequin Director of Digital Content & Interactivity Juliet Burns, also writing as Jillian Burns, has been a friend of the playground for quite some time. I met her several years ago as a member of the Brainstorming Desirables and cheered with her success as she sold her first novel to Desire. A member of the Sizzling Pens blog, she’s always been open, friendly and extremely supportive. Now, I’m excited to welcome her as a line buddy - her first Blaze release, Let it Ride, comes out in May 09. Please join me in welcoming Juliet to the sandbox! Instigator: Juliet, many of our readers are aspiring writers. Can you share with us a brief description of your road to writing? JB: Hi Kira! Hi everyone. First, I’d like to say thank you to the playground ladies for inviting me to come play today. In: Many of our readers juggle not only a love for writing but also family and full-time jobs. How do you find that balance between your writing and life? JB: I’m really lucky that I don’t have a full-time job outside the home. I do have 3 kids and the littlest was only one when I started writing. I’m also lucky to have a mom who lives close, and she used to take the kids one day a week for me before they were all in school. She still likes to have them for a whole week in the summer if I have a deadline or go to conference. But mostly what works for me is writing from about 10 pm – 2 am. I’m a night owl, and that seems to be the quietest time in my house. In: Along with writing steamy romances for Blaze you have an upcoming December release with Red Sage Secrets, The Spy’s Surrender. What do you find are the differences between writing a category length novel and a novella? Any tips or tricks to making the transition between the two lengths? JB: First, I tend to write short, so the length of a novella was comfortable for me. Also, knowing I only had to write 25K words liberated me to try something I never would have felt brave enough to do in a full length novel: a Historical. Historicals are my first love for reading. After all, I cut my teeth on Austen, the Bronte’s, and Woodiwiss. Since category romances for Harlequin are also fairly short in length (55-60 K words) the main difference between category and a novella is, in the novella, you must keep the plot simple, the timeline shorter, and secondary characters (if any) limited to absolutely necessary scenes. In: Between Blaze, Secrets and Desire, you seem to gravitate towards the steamy end of the spectrum of romance. Why do you think that is? Why do you think these stories appeal so well to readers? JB: I love sex, what can I say? I’ve always been boy crazy. I can remember chasing boys around in Kindergarten. I think my personality is very passionate, and I’m a highly sensual person. I think that has made my 20 year marriage better, too. I enjoy reading steamy, erotic sex scenes. And I don’t think I’m alone, otherwise Ellora’s Cave wouldn’t be so successful. Women (in general) are just as highly sexual beings as men, only we tend to need more than porn. That’s just about putting tab A into slot B. Erotic romance gives women the satisfaction of combining the act of sex with the emotion of love. Steamy romance is about a relationship, a commitment between two people that is brought to completion by making love. In: You currently write for two different publishers and have written for different lines within Harlequin. What have you found most difficult about switching from one to another? Do you find you approach a project differently based on the intended line/market? JB: Absolutely. In my opinion, especially if you want to write for Harlequin/ Silhouette, your manuscript should be geared toward a specific line. Each line at Harlequin is completely different. And even though you can read the guidelines on the eharlequin.com website, the only way to get a true feeling for what a line is like is to read as many new releases as you can get your hands on. When I first sold to Desire, I assumed I’d be a “Desire” author. But then the guidelines changed just as I was submitting my option book, and I knew that book would no longer work for Desire. I tried one more story for Desire but it was rejected, and I realized I needed to try something different. Desire is hot and steamy, but its tone is much more melodramatic, where Blazes are more hip and urban. Since my voice tends to be more melodramatic, I had to read a lot of Blazes and really get a feel for the different tone and the more edgy language used by the characters. I’m still working on that. As for switching from publisher to publisher, that’s been easier for me because I write Historicals for Red Sage. I assume because I’ve been such a huge Historical reader all my life, the language and tone for those comes more easily. It’s only the required research that’s more time consuming. Oh why did I choose the 17th century for my Pirate story? In: Could you share with us what books/authors currently reside on your keeper shelf? JB: For Historicals I keep Mary Balogh, Laura Kinsale, Loretta Chase, Elizabeth Hoyt, and Lorraine Heath. For contemporaries I keep Jo Leigh, Evelyn Vaughn, Geralyn Dawson, and for paranormals I like Susan Squires (very erotic vampires) and of course all the volumes of the Secrets anthologies. In: We always like to ask some questions just for fun – is there anything special you like to do after completing a book? JB: Sleep. I tend to burn the candle at both ends when I’m on deadline. Needless to say, I’m not a fast writer. I’ll never be a 4 book a year person. In: If you could vacation anywhere in the world where would you most like to go? JB: England, Scotland, Ireland and France. They’re on my Bucket List. In: What’s one thing we’d be surprised to learn about you? JB: Hmm, I’m mostly a “what you see is what you get” person. My life is an open book, know everything about me the first 5 minutes you meet me type, so, a secret... How about this: I’ve been chased by the police and almost went to jail because I wouldn’t pull over. Not a moment I’m proud of, but I told you I’m highly emotional and one morning my sister (lives about 30 minutes away) called and said her husband had just died, and all I could think about was getting to her. Thanks for visiting with us Juliet! Don’t forget to check out Juliet’s upcoming releases – The Spy’s Surrender available this month and Let it Ride available in May. And be sure to stop by Juliet’s website www.julietburns.com and her blog sizzlingpens.blogspot.com. Thank you!! As the Director of Digital Content & Interactivity at Harlequin, I have a super cool job that encompasses two of my passions: editorial (there is nothing I adore more than a great story, especially one with a happy ending) and relationships (which is what digital interactivity, also know as social media, is all about). Relationships between author and reader; between reader and reader; publisher and reader are amazing, powerful, informative connections. As a publisher, Harlequin is one of the rare few who has a direct relationship with its readers. We have had an online community for over ten years. Jayne Hoogenberk, our community manager, is one of North America’s leading experts on how to build and maintain an authentic community and the active discussions on the boards between readers, authors, editors is incredible. Moreover, Harlequin has bought a first novel from fifty community members in the last decade. Yes, that is right. Fifty! In fact, this week, the UK editorial team bought a first novel from the winner of the Harlequin Presents writing contest on the Presents blog! So, whether it is through community, our blogs (www.iheartpresents.com and www.paranormalromanceblog.com), our podcasts (Meet the Editors and Harlequin Author Spotlight), our initiatives in Second Life, Myspace and Facebook pages or book widgets, the digital space allows us more ways to connect with readers. And it offers more ways for authors and readers to connect as well. We were the first publisher to publish its entire frontlist in eBook format and have been publishing digital-original titles since August 2007 with Spice Briefs. We launched Nocturne Bites in May 2008 and will be launching Harlequin Historical Undone in November. We loved Gena Showalter’s original digital prequel to her Lords of the Underworld series, called THE DARKEST FIRE, and have more planned in 2009! As well, Jenny Bullough, manager Digital Content & Interactivity, is always experimenting and looking for the next bright idea. One of these bright ideas was the enriched edition of Nicola Cornick’s book UNMASKED. Digital publishing lets us experiment with editorial – should it remain only text or do we add more; will more attract younger, multitasking readers? Questions like these are part of our ongoing mandate. We have several more enriched books planned for 2009 starting with a January Harlequin Presents title by Kate Hardy called HOTLY BEDDED, CONVENIENTLY WEDDED. And the February Linda Lael Miller title will showcase more gorgeous heroes than the “traditional” print book. The shorter format in our original digital program works well because in our time-pressed lives it is a nice option to have a “break” – a quick read you can finish over lunch! It is also a nice introduction to the technology-challenging world of eBooks. Readers are faced with multiple choices of formats and reading devices so this is a way to ease oneself into the experience. I also have to say that I absolutely love eBooks! I have worked in publishing for over twenty years. I am an avid reader and have been since I was a child but now that I have a Sony Reader my life has been transformed (it’s better than getting a TIVO). In fact, my device was stolen from my car a couple of weeks ago and while I wait for my new reader to arrive I am back to reading and buying print books. It’s okay, but I prefer my electronic device! I can carry forty books with me at a time, I can download a title at any time of day. I just love it. (I’m sure I would also love the Amazon Kindle but they don’t sell it in Canada.) What the field of digital publishing offers readers is more. First, while traditional print book readers insist they love the look and feel of print books and can’t imagine switching, I strongly believe the digital option will become just another format choice. Do I want the mass market, the hardcover, the audio or the digital? And once skeptics experience the joys of carrying multiple titles on a good reading device, they will be hooked. Authors, however, can be a little overwhelmed by this new world, especially when you throw in all the social media opportunities (my earlier reference to building relationships). The most important part of any author’s job is writing. Great books build your readership. But digital also offers the opportunity to reach a wider audience using less time. A website is essential, but so is creating a google alert for your name so that you can keep up with any blogs or website who mentions you. You then visit and comment (i.e. build a relationship). We also recommend authors create at least one social media profile (and for Harlequin authors we highly recommend creating a profile in our community) and remind everyone that there is nothing wrong with repurposing content. The Playfriends also asked about my background and my experiences as a writer and editor. I was an editor elsewhere and then at Harlequin for over ten years. I have had seven published novels, most with Harlequin Temptation (pen name Molly Liholm). I think understanding both sides of the writing business is a great plus. I can certainly appreciate the agony of waiting to hear about a submission but also understand book marketing and the business of publishing. I think these experiences have served me well in digital, whether it was as a producer for online content for eharlequin.com or launching eBooks and now original digital content. It’s still about telling a great story. We now have new formats and new tools to reach readers. But it’s still about the story. A few personal notes: After a long day I have several favorite ways to relax: going out for dinner, watching television and reading! The ideal evening includes all three. My ultimate vacation day is being at my cottage reading two or three books a day. And ordering sequels via my computer to my reader without having to drive a hundred miles to the closest bookstore! On my next trip I hope to visit Scandinavia and St. Petersburg, but the favorite trip I have ever taken was a safari to Kenya and Tanzania. Like most Canadians, I adore fall because the colors are spectacular and the crisp air makes me feel so alive. I can’t select only three keeper books, so some authors I could not live without: Georgette Heyer, Lois McMaster Bujold, Donald Westlake, Gena Showalter and C.E. Murphy. The digital team at Harlequin is always happy to hear from readers with ideas. Do please feel free to contact me and I will forward to the appropriate person: malle_vallik@harlequin.ca And you can follow us at Twitter! Linda Warren hails from deep in the heart of Texas and writes for Harlequin American and Harlequin Super Romance. Her books have received numerous awards, been on the Waldenbooks Series Bestseller lists and received top reviews from Romantic Times. You can visit her online at www.lindawarren.net. Please clear a space by the swings and give a warm Playground welcome to Linda. Playground Monitor: Welcome to the Writing Playground, Linda. Could you give us some background information about yourself and your journey to publication? Did you always want to be a writer? Linda Warren: Thank you for inviting me. I love to play and I’ll try not to bore everyone. I was born and raised on a farm/ranch in Smetana, Texas, a stop in the road. A lot of characters from my childhood show up in my books. I never planned to be an author. I just loved to read. I went to college to become an RN. In my first year at Sam Houston State University I was diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis. I was eighteen and this hit me out of left field. When I could no longer walk to class, I had to come home and deal with this crippling disease. During this time a friend gave me a box of Harlequin books. I was hooked and became an avid Harlequin romance reader. I loved those happy endings. My family encouraged me to write a book, like the ones I was always reading. I thought they were insane, but I did try, mainly to fight depression. I spend a lot of days writing in a spiral notebook. Didn't have a clue what I was doing, but I was busy. And I enjoyed it. PM: Tell us about your typical day and your writing schedule. Do you have time for any hobbies? LW: It differs some, but I try to stick to a schedule. Three days a week I’m at the pool at 6:15 a.m. for aqua therapy. When I return home, I have breakfast and read the paper. Then I read emails, answer mail, do mailings and chores like that. I have lunch, rest and then write 2-3 hours. I stop to fix dinner and spend time with my husband. I’m back at the computer by 7 p.m. and I work until the pain tells me it’s time to stop. Tuesday is my day for errands and meeting friends for lunch, so I don’t usually write on that day. Weekends are never the same. With family, there’s always something going on. My hobby used to be reading and it’s a joy when I have time to indulge that. But my favorite thing is just to go out, get away from the computer and visit with my friends, laugh and have a good time. I have to do this every now and then or my friends get upset with me. PM: You have rheumatoid arthritis, which has required numerous surgeries and confines you to a wheelchair, yet you are a prolific writer with your twenty-first book hitting the shelves in September of this year. How have you dealt with the challenges arthritis has presented? What advice do you have for other writers who face physical challenges? LW: That’s hard to answer. Honestly, it’s a struggle. I’ve learned to stop, take a break and move my joints. That’s important. But it’s also hard when I have a deadline. In my younger days with this disease I was in the mindset of poor, poor pitiful me. Why me? That only made my situation worse. Accepting the disease and dealing with it was the next step for me. It wasn’t going to keep me down. I fight every day to make sure it doesn’t. I exercise, eat healthy and on those days when my joints are hurting and I want to stay in bed, I get up anyway. I’m determined that arthritis will not control my life completely. For anyone who has to face physical challenges I say stay positive—negativity will bring you down. Believe in yourself and you abilities or no one else will. Take care of yourself. Accept help when it’s offered. And smile a lot. LW: I tried the voice recognition software and it just couldn't understand my Texas twang. I had a lot of gibberish and I spent too much time correcting it. So I went back to my normal routine--two finger typing. I'm getting quite fast at it. They say the new version is better. I might try it. PM: Plotter or pantster? Which comes first for you – plot or characters? LW: When I first started writing and I had plenty of time, I plotted. And now I even write down what’s going to happen in each chapter. Then I write. That’s when I turn into a pantster. The story changes once I get into it and all my notes go by the wayside. But I need those notes on characters, setting and plot to get started. A scene usually comes first and then the characters. My March 2009 American, THE SHERIFF OF HORSESHOE, TEXAS, I created from a scene my husband and I saw as we traveled home one evening. A highway patrolman had a blonde in a red convertible sports car pulled over on the side of the road. His arm rested on the top of the windshield as he leaned in talking to her with a smile as big as Texas. I told my husband she wouldn’t be getting a ticket. The scene captured my imagination and I started creating characters. The blonde became a wealthy socialite and the patrolman became a sheriff. The whole story came together after that. PM: What’s next for you? Are you working on a book now? LW: As I just mentioned I have an American, THE SHERIFF OF HORSESHOE, TEXAS coming out in March 2009. It’s part of the promotional theme Men Made In American. My hero is a small town Texas Sheriff. The heroine is a party girl (think Paris Hilton). She’s speeding through the hero’s town in a red sports car. He stops her. She’s late for a party in Dallas so she figures a country bumpkin sheriff could use a little money. She tries to bribe him to let her go. He arrests her and the party really begins. Then I have a trilogy for Super Romance, Texas Belles. The first book comes out in July, 2009. A powerful Texas rancher has three daughters who he feels need husbands instead of running a ranch. The eldest sets out to prove him wrong. She just has one problem; the neighboring rancher who wants her land. And her. In his bed. PM: Now for some fun. Don’t worry; it’s harmless. Coffee or tea: LW: Both. Coffee in the morning with milk and sugar. Iced tea for lunch and dinner. PM: Chocolate or vanilla? LW: Chocolate! Always chocolate. Anytime—day or night. PM: Crispy or original recipe? Or maybe you prefer a big, juicy Texas-sized steak? LW: I’m not much of a steak eater and I’m a Texas gal. My husband makes up for me. I’m a sucker for the original recipe. Finger lickin’ good. Mmm! PM: What would our readers be completely surprised to learn about you? LW: I’m a great dancer. In high school my partner and I won a jitterbug contest and a polka contest. I was a dancing fool. Now, sadly, I’m just a fool. <grin> I love Dancing With The Stars. PM: Complete this sentence. My readers... LW: ...mean the world to me. They keep me writing. They keep me going. Readers and their wonderful letters and emails keep me smiling. Linda’s September Harlequin American TEXAS HEIR and her June Super Romance Everlasting ALWAYS A MOTHER are still available online from eHarlequin.com. September 2008 – Lynn Raye Harris Fellow HOD chaptermate Lynn Raye Harris is having the best year ever. First, she beat out 600 other entries to take first place in the Harlequin Presents Instant Seduction Contest, then she finaled in the Golden Heart with her romantic suspense manuscript. She’s well on her way to achieving her dreams of publication and we couldn’t pass up the opportunity to have her here on the Playground during these exciting times. We can say we knew her when... Smarty Pants: Welcome to the Sandbox, Lynn. You’re a fixture on our blog, but our website readers might not know you, so to start off, how about a little background on yourself? Lynn Raye Harris: Hey, I love the Playground! I started visiting before I moved to Alabama. It was like a lifeline as I came to a new place, and y’all have been nothing but welcoming since the day I arrived. So thanks for asking me to come talk about myself. :) I’ll try not to bore… I guess I should first say I’m a military brat who married a military man, so that means I’ve lived in a variety of places. I’m also an avowed shoeaholic (which is perfect for fitting into the Heart of Dixie chapter!). These days I make my permanent home in Northern Alabama with my handsome husband and two crazy cats. And I’m thrilled, believe me! Hawaii was awesome, Europe was amazing – but Alabama is where it’s happening (shh, don’t tell or everyone will want to come here). :) When I’m not shopping for new shoes or the perfect antique for my collection, I write about sexy alpha warriors (military and tycoons) and the heroines who bring them to their knees. SP: Can you tell us a little about The Spanish Magnate’s Revenge, the manuscript that won first place in the Harlequin Presents Instant Seductions contest? LRH: The Spanish Magnate’s Revenge was a gift. Seriously. When writers say they sat down and it poured out, that was what happened to me. But only with that winning chapter (maybe because I wrote it, submitted it, and went back to work on something else instead of finishing the story). The rest has definitely been a learning process. Basically, I wondered what would happen if an independent woman with her own international company learned that her business had been taken over by an ex-lover with a serious grudge. Since the story was for Presents, he had to be alpha, amazing, and exotic. Hence my Spanish magnate. When Alejandro Arroyo Rivera de Ramirez summons Rebecca Layton to Madrid as his new employee, the sparks are going to fly! SP: As the winner, you received the guidance of a Harlequin editor for an entire year. How has that process been? Have you learned a lot working with your editor? LRH: Working with an editor has been amazing! It can be intimidating too. I don’t have a contract, yet I write the story and get nearly instant feedback. It’s not like having a critique partner though. It’s something entirely different. My editor’s way of thinking about my story is more analytical, I guess. She makes suggestions, but tells me to use my own ideas. I have learned so much in the last few months, not the least of which is humility and patience. :) Yes, I can hammer out 50K in a matter of weeks. But then I get the revision notes and I see how I need to go deeper. SP: You’ve lived all around the world and traveled to places most people just dream about. What has been your favorite place to visit? How have these experiences contributed to your writing? LRH: I love traveling to new places. I’ve hiked up a Korean mountain to see a giant stone Buddha, floated in a gondola, and stood on the tallest peak in Germany. I’ve also been inside the Kremlin and ridden a train through Russia. I love something about everywhere I’ve been, but I probably love Venice the most for its uniqueness. I lived there as a local for a glorious week and got to see the city without its tourist hordes. Another favorite place is Madrid. Oh those Spanish men! So courteous, so masculine. I used Madrid as my setting in The Spanish Magnate’s Revenge. Living in so many places has given me a global voice, I think, which I’m able to explore as I write for the Presents line. SP: Your Golden Heart entry – Hot Pursuit - is actually a romantic suspense title. That’s a far cry from a Presents. I hear you’re also a fan of Historicals. Which genre did you start writing first? How do you manage going back and forth between the different styles of writing? LRH: I always wanted to write a novel, but I didn’t know how to do it. So I got smart. I went to the bookstore and took a look at the shelves. Romance novels had the lion’s share of the shelf space, and historical romance seemed to dominate everything. So I grabbed a few and went home to read. And, wow, I was hooked. Now I’d been a romance reader as a teen (Harlequin Presents in fact), but I’d never read a historical. So, once I did, I knew I wanted to write it. I loved history; I’d lived in Europe and been inside castles and walked through wonderful old cities like Paris and London so it seemed a natural fit. I forget how I chose the Middle Ages, but I wrote this huge sweeping (read: overwrought, melodramatic piece of crap) Medieval romance about a Welsh princess and an English knight. Making the switch to romantic suspense came a few years later. I’d stopped writing for a while (after writing a Regency and starting another Medieval), and when I got back to it, a contemporary story came out. The hero was in the military, though it took me another book to realize I should add suspense to the mix. That book was Hot Pursuit. I’m still able to switch between the military romantic suspense voice and the Presents voice – I even think I could write historical or paranormal if the idea was there. Because romance, for me, is about the characters. Especially the hero. My heroes, whether they are knights, dukes, commandos, or tycoons, are alpha males. It’s not much of a stretch from a military man to a tycoon—they are both, after all, alpha warriors determined to slash and burn and succeed no matter the cost. I love both types of stories because they allow me to write the kind of hero I love: dark, dangerous, sexy, and wounded. Whether he wears Armani™ or camouflage, he’s still a warrior on a mission. SP: What was the RWA Conference experience like as a Golden Heart finalist? If you’ve gone to Conference previously, how did it differ for you? LRH: Oh wow, it was amazing. San Francisco was only my second conference. Dallas 2007 was my first. And I had a blast in Dallas! I decided, since it was my first, to go without any expectations or pressure to do anything. I had no pitch appointments, no meetings with agents or editors, nothing. Just an open schedule, some friends to see, and plenty of time to learn and be inspired by the experience. Now fast forward to San Fran 2008. I’d left Dallas fired up, and I went back to my book with a vengeance. I entered the Golden Heart for the fourth time, though it was the first time for this book and this genre. My other efforts had been historicals. When I got the finalist call, I was thrilled. And what an experience! Not just the conference, but becoming friends with the other finalists. The Pixie Chicks are an amazing and talented group of women. I was so thrilled to meet many of them in person after spending several months together on an email loop. (The loop is still going strong.) Attending the finalist reception in SF was fun; through no prior planning at all, Linda Howard ended up getting my finalist certificate to present to me. We had a Heart of Dixie moment, you can bet! There was screaming, hugging, and posing for a picture. It was awesome. SP: Writers can often get discouraged. This is a rough business. Your recent success is a shining example of what hard work and dedication can bring and yet, you were not immune to it and stopped writing for quite a while. Why did you stop and what made you pick up the pen and start writing again? LRH: I don’t think any of us are immune to the slings and arrows of a writer’s life. In my case, I was silly to stop for so long. I wrote a book, a terrible book, and didn’t sell it. Boohoo. But I had some other things happen that ground my confidence down and I just stopped writing. I moved to Europe and went back to school, so it wasn’t all a bust. I finished college and went on to get a master’s degree. And I wrote stories, but not books. I’d gotten away from romance for a while as I read a lot of depressing literature for my degrees. But then I had an idea, and I started writing that contemporary I mentioned before. It was a terrible idea too, but I rediscovered the joy in the process. See, I thought that real writers wrote these nearly perfect stories the first time out. And mine were such messes, in need of fleshing out and changing, so how could I be a real writer? But that was silliness. I am, unfortunately, a perfectionist. And I didn’t understand that those beautiful stories I read by my favorite authors had been reworked and reshaped until they were beautiful. So when I finally realized that, I rediscovered the joy. Here’s a quote I try to live by now. I don’t know who said it, but it’s important for someone like me to remember: Perfectionists always lose. SP: Let’s talk about process. Are you a plotter or a pantser? Which comes first for you—characters or the situation? LRH: I am a pantser. It’s unfortunate in some ways. I can’t plot a story beforehand to save my life. And I always get characters first. I have one I’ve been thinking of for years, but I don’t yet know who her hero is or what the problem is. But I know her name and some of her issues, though not all of them. One day, I might get the rest of the story. :) I suspect I’m going to have to fake plotting in the future. You can’t sell without a synopsis. I can make a lot of stuff up, but that doesn’t mean that’s how the story will turn out. Just ask my Harlequin editor. SP: What was the best advice you have received (you don’t have to tell us whether you heeded the advice or not, but we’d love to know!)? LRH: Don’t give up. Persistence is the key. Seriously, this is the best advice I know. I didn’t always listen, but I will now. No more giving up. The published writer is the writer who didn’t quit. I know someone who recently sold in a two-book deal to a major NY house. She’s been writing for 16 years – she always said she would give up if she hadn’t sold in 15. When 15 came, she stopped for a few months. But then she got an idea, started working, and sold it. NEVER give up. SP: What was the one piece of advice you wish you’d ignored? LRH: “Write what you know.” I didn’t feel like I knew anything! Okay, so I know one end of a horse from another. I can saddle one, etc. I know the military. I know moving around. I know how to drink wine. I can operate a vacuum cleaner and cook a mean Alfredo. But if I restricted myself to writing what I know, I’d have a very narrow path to tread! I spent a lot of time trying to figure out how to write what I knew, but in reality I’ve come to discover you should write what you want to know. Someone said that, and I don’t know who, but I so agree. SP: What advice would you give to an unpublished author trying to break through in today’s market? LRH: Do. Not. Give. Up. Write what you love, accept thoughtful criticism, reject negative criticism, and don’t change what you know in your heart is right. Words, commas, sentences can be changed. Rock star heroes? If you love him, keep him. They used to say the same thing about sports heroes. Tell it to Susan Elizabeth Phillips or Rachel Gibson. Be prepared to accept rejections, but if you love what you write, keep writing it. Oh, and one more thing: don’t compare yourself to other writers. You will only depress yourself. You write your way, not Nora Roberts’s way, not Linda Howard’s way, not Susan Elizabeth Phillips’s way. Your way. So don’t compare. SP: Ok, now for a couple fun questions...Coffee or tea? LRH: Coffee. Preferably Kona, though I don’t often get that anymore since moving from the islands. SP: Something most people would be surprised to know about you? LRH: Surprised? Um. Hmm. I used to show horses and wanted to be on the Olympic Equestrian Team some day. Is that surprising enough? LRH: For once, I’m going to pick somewhere I’ve never been. Tahiti. I’ve been an island girl in Hawaii, but I’d like to visit somewhere even more exotic. SP: If you couldn’t be a writer, what would you do for a living? LRH: Olympic Equestrian Team? No? If I wasn’t a writer, I might like to be an editor. I once thought college professor would be cool. But then I realized I don’t like talking in front of an audience…. SP: What are you working on now? LRH: Revisions. *sigh* SP: Thanks for stopping by, Lynn! Come back any time. We look forward to hearing about good news in your future. As y’all know, my first book will be released in the UK in January 2009. Turns out, I’ll be sharing shelf space with best-selling and award-winning author Trish Wylie! If her fabulous books weren’t intimidating enough, her awards from Romantic Times Reviewer’s Choice and CataRomance would tip the scale. Add in the amazing info on her website for aspiring authors, her personal blog that’s full of great info and fun stories, plus the Pink Heart Society Blogazine, and the woman is a force to be reckoned with. But she’s super nice as well—she’s made this newbie feel very welcome and a little less lost in the big world of publishing. I’m so tickled she’s making the trip to the Playground this month! So scooch over and give Trish a seat in the shade—I’d hate for that lovely Irish skin to fry in the Alabama sun. (Trish would like to point out this is a very real risk. One summer it hit 23 degrees at home and she walked into a chemist and asked them for an asbestos suit in a can. They didn’t have one funnily enough. Factor 50 Sun Cream anyone?!) Problem Child: Hi, Trish, and welcome! And can I just say again how super-fabulous you are? Trish Wylie: Only if you come with me when I’m shopping for clothes and say it regardless of how the sizes have changed since my last book… The sign of a friendship made in heaven I feel. Plus it’s important to take a friend to help you back OUT of the clothes you tried on in the size you USED TO wear. But thank you sweetie! In that intro you made me sound like I know what I’m doing (anyone who knows me has now choked on whatever they’re eating/drinking as they read…) PC: You are a very busy woman—I get exhausted just looking though your website and blogs. So I’ll ask the burning question: how do you make time for everything? Please share the secret! TW: Ahh now. Being as and how I write fiction for a living I could probably come up with something REALLY good here. But the truth is much more boring. Being single and sans children helps (an extra ten to twelve hours a day right there if what my friends tell me is true). Plus I live in the left kidney of the ***hole of nowhere and as its Ireland it rains 90% of the time so I’m a part time recluse. Oh and an insomniac apparently. This does however mean at conferences and the like I’m a tad hyperactive – so be warned! Bottom line; I tend to keep going till I drop and then I sleep to Olympic standards. PC: You write for both Modern Heat (released as Presents in the US) and Harlequin Romance. Is it hard to switch gears? I won’t ask you which one you like best (J), but what draws you to each of the lines? TW: Do you have any idea how much trouble you could get me to get into if I had to answer which one I like best? Just as well you didn’t ask really… I started out with Romance so I owe that line a lot. Without that first sale to them I wouldn’t be here so it’ll always have a special, irreplaceable spot in my heart. Modern Heat I pitched for when I was making the decision to give up work and write full time. So it was a financial decision as well as an excited interest in where the new line might go; I’ll be honest about that. Plus with my ‘day job’ I was working between a forty-five and sixty hour week and writing in the evenings and weekends so I was very, very worried about filling my days ;) But it did mean I was pitching *blind*. The books weren’t even on the shelf yet so I couldn’t read any to see what they were like and the editorial notes at the time were so open it was almost scary! In the end I just wrote something I’d enjoy reading myself and thankfully it sold. I LOVE Modern Heat and really do feel I’ve *found* myself there writing wise. (I even think my Romances have improved thanks to it) Right now I’m contracted for four books at a time (per contract that is, not four all at the same time *shudder*) so I alternate between the two; a Romance then a Modern Heat then a Romance then yada yada yada… As to switching between the two. Ah now. Used to be at the start I took a week and ‘switched voices’, cos I thought they had to be different but when I foolishly said that to the lovely head of the Romance line in idle chat at the Dallas Conference last year I was almost slapped for it (in the nicest possible way). Turns out the uber contemporary voice they like so much from me in Modern Heat is what she wanted from me in Romance too. So now the only real difference is the sex. And having said that, my Romance characters have decided in the last few books that they’d like to partake of a little themselves, thanks anyway. We just don’t go into the actual logistics of the docking procedure - if you get my drift… PC: Tell us about the Pink Society Blogazine. How did it get started? What are your goals for it? TW: LOL. Ohhhh you’ll LOVE how it got started. It came from a rant. I’m prone to them; it’s the Irish gal in me. And yes, being female I do tend to rant more in one week out of every four… but between Christmas and New Years I was blogging and ranting on the subject of how category/series romance is sneered at by the literary reading fraternity - and the ex-promotions gal in me got a tad carried away. Next thing I knew I was chatting to three friends online (gotta love MSN messenger really) who had sold at the same time as me, one of them brought up the subject of a joint blog and two odd hours later The Pink Heart Society was born. Basically we’re there as a community to stand together and say loudly we love series romance and that no-one should tell us what we can and can’t read. I’m a great believer in that. So we talk about all the things we love about the books; hot men, dream locations all over the world, how authors put books together, favorite books we’ve read, hot men, writing tips, romantic movies, hot men… well you get the idea. We have fifty-eight author members from all over the world and across the lines, almost three hundred members on the loop, a brand new Shelfari group and regular columnists and author guests who blog with us six days a week. It’s been fantastic to be a part of and it’s such a fun place to hang out since we launched in 2006. I can honestly say that the four of us who started it are all really proud of it. PC: Are you a plotter or a pantser? Want to tell us a little about your writing process? TW: Panster. Hands down. But one with a *system*. Initially I’ll have a grain of an idea, one or two scenes I can see very clearly, but with no idea of how I’m linking them together. Then I have a method I call ‘Backwards Casting’. Even before I started writing I was fascinated by movies and how they were put together, so I guess I was always going to be a visual writer. So imagine a movie starts with a script, then looks for locations and props, and then casts the actors… I do that backwards. I start by casting pics of how I see my hero and heroine, then I find pics of all the locations and props and then I work on the ‘script’. Last year I worked with collages made from my pics but for the last two books I’ve taken that a step further and started storyboarding. So I’ll put a set of pics together for the scenes I had to begin with and then make new ones as I go along and new scenes form (hopefully). I find this really helps with descriptive elements and continuity et all. Plus, if I were to plot the whole book in one go before I start I know I’d never finish it cos I already know the ending. And I think I’d miss some of the fairy dust along the way – can’t tell you the number of times I’ve worked on something and outta nowhere I get info I hadn’t even considered before. So being a panster allows a fluidity I don’t think I’d get otherwise. PC: You’re up for a Bookseller’s Best award this year (all the Playfriends will be keeping their fingers crossed for you!). Does a final in a contest like that bring satisfaction, validation, or just excitement? TW: I think any writer who is honest about it will say they’re needy. We live for validation. Editor likes what you’ve done; you feel better – even if the revisions make you crawl into a corner with cake. Book sells; you feel even better – and you know you can afford cake for next time. Book sells well on the shelf; you feel much, much better and you know cake will be there in a years time when the royalties start to appear. Reader takes the time to comment and say nice things about your book; you GLOW and the need for cake diminishes exponentially. Then you balance all those great moments with things like bad reviews, the people who hated your book and want to use it as a doorstop, the number of times you enter a contest and never get into the final. And yes, it can get to you. You tell yourself it doesn’t but it does. I don’t think it’s that we need to be regularly patted on the head (though bringing us cake would help obviously) its just human nature that you want to do the best job you can and when you’ve put your heart and soul into something… you know? Over time I’ve learnt to deal with the bad times better (theoretically and with cake) and celebrate the good times as much as humanly possible without being arrested. And I KNOW I’ve been INCREDIBLY LUCKY with contests but I’ll never ever get blasé about them. At the end of the day, simple lass that I am; one person enjoys a book and tells me they did - I’m happy. I’ll pull that email out and read it when I’m in the corner with cake and it gives me the courage to crawl back out again… (The book nominated for the Booksellers Best Award is a Modern Heat and was released as a Presents in May under the title Her Bedroom Surrender. Overweight heroine plus Middle East Bodyguard turned personal trainer for a hero (based on the visual image of Irish bad boy Colin Farrell) and yes, you can still get it from Amazon…) PC: You’ve put out a lot of great info for aspiring authors. If you could make one rule all hopefuls HAD to follow, what would it be? TW: Write the book you’d READ. If you love something you’re far more likely to put your heart into it and if you do that your voice will SHINE. It’s the voice that sells, trust me on this. Everything else can be worked on. In the London offices the editorial team has a fantastic approach; they say they don’t buy books - they invest in authors. If you have a distinctive voice and a well told story then even if it falls between the lines they’ll work with you to get it to where it needs to be. Over-think every word your muse will pack a bag. And leave with the cake. Need I say more? PC: What was the best piece of advice you ever received as a writer? Is there a piece of advice you wish you’d ignored? TW: First one was from an author who is now a great friend; she told me you can’t edit a blank page. So I allow myself to write crap. Crap can be edited. Surfing blogs, jumping from one Youtube clip to another and Googling hot men won’t help me meet my deadline - even if I try telling myself its “research”. Second one I stand by to this day is for anyone subbing and that’s to finish the book before sending the partial. If you can’t finish it then how can you send it when you get the request for a full?! And I’m living proof of this cos when I subbed my first ms I sent the partial end of November and had the request for the full by Christmas Eve. If I hadn’t had it finished I’d have been screwed, especially over Christmas. And yes, it sold. I KNOW. I’M SORRY. Ok. No I’m not. But if it helps any then the fact I’ve never been rejected means I’m constantly waiting to be told I suck and it was all a huge mistake. Am I forgiven now??? As to ignored? Erm. Lemme see. I don’t think I was ever actually ‘told it’ but I’ve learnt that you really don’t need to spend as much time and money on promotion as you think you do at the start… at least not in series romance. I’m not saying don’t do ANY but I am saying it doesn’t need to break the bank. All the main promotion and marketing and branding is done by the company already. We’re very lucky that way with Harlequin. We can certainly do stuff that backs that up but the best thing we can do to get our name bandied about the place is to keep writing the best books we can. Readers are amazing people. They’ll talk books all day long and share the joy of a book they love and thanks to them word of mouth does a lot of the work for us. I don’t think they realize what a difference that passion makes to our careers. Mind you, let them down a few times and there’s a chance… I’m not even gonna complete that sentence in case it brings bad karma my way. But then that’s where a lovely editor comes in. The lovely editor keeps us on track. The lovely editor makes sure we keep doing the best job possible. Lovely editors are like really fine gold-dust. I know. I’m on my fifth one since I sold… PC: Complete this sentence: My readers…TW: Are the kind of people I know I could be friends with in real life. And I’m not being corny about that. I’ve met some truly amazing people thanks to this job and every single one I’ve met face-to-face has been lovely! (and made me blush) But then I think we put a lot of our personality into our books so if anyone likes what they read there’s a pretty good chance you’re gonna get on. I for one LOVE that!!! PC: What part of Ireland are you from? Tell us something neat about your corner of the world. TW: I was born and reared in County Antrim in the North of Ireland and now live near Donegal and Fermanagh. Close to the lakes. And a half hour from the sea. Oh and a stones throw from Yeats County. A friend asked me last year if I had to use one word to describe Ireland what would it be and I answered WISTFUL. It’s a very wistful country; as green as you would imagine and in every shade possible (thanks to the rain) and it’s steeped in a history you can feel when you breathe in. I’ve visited every single one of the 32 counties and can honestly say that I LOVE where I live. From castles to fairy rings to bays that can look positively Mediterranean when the sun actually decides to make an appearance it’s simply stunning. I’m lucky enough to live in the heart of the country; inside a hundred and fifty acres of forestry commission land with one lane roads that don’t have names on them (our postman carries a duplicate book for accidents!), a river complete with miniature waterfall and fields full of horses and ponies. Life doesn’t get much better than that! And yes; everyone does wave when you drive through small towns and yes – if you’re lost and stop for directions they will still suck in a breath and say ‘Well I wouldn’t start from here if I were you…’ PC: Do you have a favorite theme or place you revisit in your books? Is there a story you’ve always wanted to tell but haven’t yet? Is there anything you don’t ever see yourself writing? TW: Until the last six months all my books were set in Ireland. I’m the only Romance and Modern Heat author who was doing that. Then last summer I started travelling more and my books reflect that. I hope it’s a trend that’ll continue ;) Italy, Greece, France; another of the joys of being single is I can go pretty much anywhere anytime and take my work with me. Have laptop, can travel. And honestly? It’s exactly what I dreamed of when I wanted to be a writer. Having said that; Irish heroes tend to be popular ;) If I could find a way to get the accent in there I’d be elected! Theme wise I like to play around – take traditional themes and bring them into modern day life… and I do like a strong male turned inside out by the right woman. Who doesn’t?! One I’ve always wanted to tell but haven’t? Hmmm… Well, okay then I’ll fess up. I do have a longer book that’s been languishing on my laptop for nigh on two years now. It’s pretty much finished but I’ve never done anything with it cos originally it was just for me. Problem is. I now don’t have a clue what to do with it cos theoretically we’re supposed to know where it belongs to pitch it, right? And it doesn’t really ‘fit’ neatly into a particular area. Then naturally a week ago it decided it wanted to be part of a series of stories. So I’ve taken notes. Second problem is I’m currently writing up to six books a year and they’re more likely to pay me if I finish the ones I’m contracted for I’ve found. So we’ll see. Plus I know this one would need an agent and frankly? They scare the bejesus out of me! Don’t see myself writing? One word: CLICHES. Particularly some of the press favorites like bodice ripper and man-sword and…uh-huh! But even when it comes to clichéd themes inside series romance I would seem to have taken it as a personal mission to push the envelope. Hence why I think I’m getting so many rebel billionaires and millionaire bad boys in my titles… If anyone reads my books and thinks they are clichéd, please feel free not to burst my bubble. Or the cake gets it! PC: What’s next for you? TW: Okay. Deep breath. Right now I’m working on a new book for the Romance line; it’s a Hollywood/Scriptwriters story so I’m having a blast with that. Copy edits or what you know over there as galleys for the January Modern Heat that’s on the shelf with you in January 09 precious! (Am kinda hoping they come before I fly away.) Plus I’m looking forward to them cos the hero in that book? Hubba hubba. Then on a plane to the States where I’ll be visiting New York, San Diego, San Francisco and L.A. for a month long trip (no doubt with revisions along the way) Am doing ComicCon in San Diego before Nationals in SF cos yes, my inner geek requires it and yes, I do feel the need to see the actors from the likes of Heroes and Lost and Supernatural and… drooling over actors is research, right?! (And of course WE get to meet in SF darlin! Drinks all round! Prepare your liver now. Cos that rumor about Irish people and alcohol? Yuh-huh…You’ll be singing the Fields Of Athenry before you know what hit you. Especially with TWO Irish gals there.) Then back to finish another book for the end of September, promote the book of my heart that’s coming out that month in the Romance line, go to London for posh lunch and publishers do, fly back to sit on a panel at a Literary festival in Trim Castle, sit on another one at a women’s Literary Festival in Dublin a week later, possibly do a library talk… Well, that takes me to October anyways ;) PC: Some just-for-fun questions: PC: Rugby or soccer (sorry, football)? TW: No Gaelic football in the options?! My ten year old nephew would be outraged! But for me it has to be American football! Have been a fan since the eighties. How amazing was the Superbowl this year?! I had to stay up till like four in the morning to shout and yell and sing along with Tom Petty. Just as well I’m a night owl really. PC: Heels or flats? TW: Flats for everyday. Heels for going out. Can never have enough of either. PC: Stripes or polka-dots? TW: Stripes. Vertical ones. (see earlier comment on shopping for clothes and weight gain since writing full time…) PC: Dogs or cats? TW: Both! Though currently I have to make do with the rest of the family’s dogs cos it wouldn’t be fair on them with my lifestyle… I have two of the obligatory writer’s cats. Both of which regularly stomp over my keyboard demanding to be fed. One of whom is either a huge fan or a critic of my work. PC: Dream vacation spot? TW: Bali. Though after last year I’m passionately in love with New York. PC: Favorite ice cream flavor? TW: Haagan-Daz Cookies and Cream. (Usually until I feel sick.) PC: Thanks so much for coming and we hope you’ll visit again soon! TW: Thank you for inviting me over to play! Can’t WAIT to hook up in San Francisco so I can meet you in person SHELF BUDDY!!! And HUGE CONGRATS again for joining the family! We LOVE new authors. And it really is such a fun line to write for – you’ll have a blast, trust me! Visit Trish (and learn lots) at her sites: www.trishwylie.com, www.trishwylie.blogspot.com, and www.pinkheartsociety.blogspot.com. July 2008 – Jennifer LaBrecque Blaze author, Jennifer LaBrecque, is near and dear to all of the Children’s hearts. Not only is she a close friend of the Playground, she’s a fabulous writer and Soapbox Queen extraordinaire (and frickin' hysterical). We’re tickled to have Jen join us in the Sandbox this month. We’ll try not to get her crown and robes dirty. Jennifer LaBrecque: Thanks so much for having me here. I absolutely adore time spent at The Playground. I’m sure that my crown is askew and I’ve probably got a salsa stain somewhere on my robe cause even though I try really hard I never manage that picture-perfect look. Well, okay, I’m a heck of a long way from it already, but as long as I get the swing, I’m willing to deal with a little dirt. Smarty Pants: The swing is all yours. Can you tell us how you got into the writing business? How did your first sale come about? JL: I was a reader first and foremost. I was freelance writing for an athletic footwear business periodical (can you say dry as dust?) when my husband suggested I try my hand at writing a romance -- “You certainly read enough of them.” I argued I couldn’t do it and he argued I should at least try. I tried. I found and joined a local RWA chapter. I entered a contest and got noticed by an editor. She didn’t buy me but she passed me along to Brenda Chin. Brenda didn’t buy that manuscript but she said she’d like to see something else because she liked my voice. I sent her something else. Three sets of revisions later, I got “the call” and the rest is print history. And this sort of sounds as if this all happened within a few weeks or months. We’re talking about a 3-year span o’time here. SP: Many of our readers juggle not only a love for writing but also family and full-time jobs. How do you find that balance between your writing and life? JL: I am SO good at this. Honest, I just seem to have a natural knack for balancing writing and the “real” world. I have not struggled with this for FOREVER. Um, sorry about that. Really, I know rumors have floated about that my house is close to being condemned by the health department and that I’ve had to bugger out on as many field trips for my daughter’s class as I’ve actually chaperoned because “the book wasn’t finished.” Damn rumors. And, for real, my friends hardly ever take offense when they call and I pick up the phone and yell, “I can’t talk now. I’ve got to get his book to her in a week/a day/half an hour from now.” Where’s the harm in packing on 5 to 10 pounds the last two weeks of writing a book? What’s not balanced about letting the mail pile up unopened for weeks at a time? Trust me, I’m a virtual circus act I’m so friggin’ balanced. SP: You’ve written for Duets, Temptation and most recently Blaze - all great choices with your niche in funny, sexy stories. What made you decide that the Blaze imprint was the line for you? And why do you think it is such a popular line? JL: Well, after killing Duets and then going on to shut down Temptation, I thought I’d target Blaze. Okay, see, I’m not as funny as I think I am. It’s really been a very organic transition for me to write longer, sexier stories. I love writing for Blaze. I like the level of sensuality and the freedom to explore it in a variety of formats. IMO, this is also what readers like about the line as well. SP: Let’s talk about process. Are you a plotter or a pantser? Which comes first for you—characters or the situation? JL: I’d be dead in a ditch if someone ever held a gun to my head and barked, “Plot now or die.” I am very much a pantster. Oddly enough, the characters and situation tend to come hand-in-hand for me. Most of the time, it’s like a single vignette in my head – characters in a particular situation. That may or may not be the opening scene of the book. SP: As writers we’re always being told how important characterization is, that having a hero and heroine the reader can identify and empathize with is one of the most critical things an author can do. Who has been your favorite hero or heroine to write? And why? JL: Wow! This is a tough question. I just keep coming up with what I liked best about writing each hero and heroine and why their story was special. I really, really, really liked Holly Smith and Gage Carswell, the h/h in my June Blaze, Nobody Does it Better. By nature of what Gage was, a spy, he was emotionally inaccessible. I also loved Cade Stone and Sunny Templeton from The Big Heat. Cade wasn’t polished and urbane like Gage. He was kind of rough around the edges, but he was a man who stepped in and stepped up and did what had to be done. However, Darach MacTavish and Kate Wexford from Highland Fling were absolutely the hardest characters to bid farewell. Writing The End was difficult. I didn’t want to let them go, even though I knew they’d be okay. (I’ll confess I even ordered myself a scarf/shawl in the MacTavish plaid from Scotland – I know, sadly invested in one’s characters.) SP: Well, shoot. If I'd known, we could've picked up something when we kidnapped Queen Rhonda and took her to Scotland with us. So, 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!)? JL: When I finaled in the Maggies and a Harlequin editor asked if I’d finish the manuscript for her, I told her I would but it might take some time because I was seven months pregnant at the time. She said, “Your baby will only be a baby once and you’ve got your entire life to write.” I’ve tried to carry that with me. SP: What was the one piece of advice you wish you’d ignored? JL: It wasn’t one piece that came specifically from one person, but I distinctly remember attending workshops where graphs and character cards and plotting charts were “the way” to do it. I was so raw and so not tuned into what kind of writer I was that I thought I was doing something wrong if I couldn’t/didn’t fill out that chart. It kind of shut me down for a bit to figure out that my process was far more right-brained. SP: The Soapbox Queens is a great place to hang out. I visit daily, you guys are so much fun. How did the idea for that come about? JL: It was November 2006 and Vicki, Rhonda and I were sequestered in Sedona on a BentQuillPosse retreat when the idea came up. It turned out to be a good idea, no? SP: Okay, the next few questions are just for fun. Complete this sentence: My readers… JL: ...are the reason I write. I don’t write for myself. SP: What’s something about you that we’d be surprised to learn? JL: I am almost painfully shy. Of course, once I get to know you, you really can’t shut me up. And I do okay if I’m speaking on a topic – public speaking doesn’t bother me because then I have a topic to blather on about. However, cocktail parties, parties in general, meeting new people makes me curl up inside. SP: What’s your idea of a relaxing day? JL: Reading. Curling up and losing myself in a book is sublime. SP: And how do you celebrate turning in a book? JL: Sleeping. I am always exhausted because it is always a mad, mad push at the end and I’m usually running on just a few hours of sleep. It used to be this intense euphoria and then exhaustion. Anymore, it’s simply the exhaustion. SP: Dream vacation spot? JL: Either Costa Rica or British Columbia for sea kayaking and I’d love to spend time in Europe. I’d particularly like to go to Prague. I am, however, pretty darn happy to simply be going to Florida’s west coast. SP: If you couldn’t be a writer, what would you do for a living? JL: That’s easy! Exotic dancer. I’m very nubile, lithe, limber, graceful, and look at least twenty-five years younger than I really am so I think I could go a long way with a pole and a cowgirl costume. That or a dominatrix. It’s sort of a toss-up. SP: What are you working on now? JL: I’m in the noshing-it-around-in-my-brain stage of a new book. It’s part of the Harlequin Blaze 0-60 miniseries that will be out next year in celebration of Harlequin’s 60th anniversary. The tag line is “From Hello to How Was It” so it should be a fun write. SP: Jen, thanks for visiting with us in the Sandbox this month! We really enjoyed having you and hope you stop by again soon. Don’t forget to visit Jennifer at her website http://www.jenniferlabrecque.com or her blog with Vicki Lewis Thompson and Rhonda Nelson at http://www.soapboxqueens.com. Look for Jennifer’s latest, Nobody Does it Better – in stores and online now. Karen Rose Smith’s career began in 1991 and has flourished every since. A USA Today bestselling author, she has wowed readers for a long time with her touching stories that tug at the heartstrings. Her recent publications for Harlequin Special Edition and Everlasting Love are a wonderful example of great fiction. Please join me in welcoming Karen to the sandbox! Instigator: Karen, many of our readers are aspiring writers. Can you share with us a brief description of your road to writing? KRS: Writing has always been a creative outlet for me. As a teenager I wrote for the high school newspaper and, when I was bored in class, wrote poetry. When one of those was published in the literary magazine, I liked the feeling of seeing it in print. It was validation not only of skill but of content and my feelings in the poem. In college I continued to write poetry and one summer with my cousin co-authored a script for the Monkees TV show. We sent a copy to many of their concert venues via certified mail. My creative writing stalled as I got married, taught school and had a baby. But then I had back surgery and was mostly flat on my back for four years. During that time I began writing short stories. When they became too long for publication, I wrote my first book. I completed thirteen manuscripts in six years. Then… I sold two manuscripts in one week to two different houses! I've been writing full-time ever since, usually three to four books a year. In: Many of our readers juggle not only a love for writing but also family and full-time jobs. How do you find that balance between your writing and life? KRS: I've been dealing with back pain and fibromyalgia throughout my writing career. So my life is a little different from most writers. However, since I sold my first manuscript, I've always treated writing as a career and full-time job. No matter what, I adhere to my quota for the week and personal and professional deadlines. Many weeks my writing is my life. I take breaks to have lunch with friends, play with my two cats, spend time with my husband and family. But writing has always been a priority. It's a passion, a creative outlet and a vocation. In: As unpublished writers, we’re told that characterization is key to success. Have you found any tips/hints to characterization that you could share with us? KRS: For me, emotion as well as characterization have been key elements that have established my voice. I strive to keep my characters real with backgrounds that affect their lives. I believe our lives on earth are about healing childhood hurts and building relationships that urge us to be caring adults. That's evident when I structure a character. I try to build characters who readers can identify with and who will move them to laughter and tears. In: You’ve written for several different lines/publishers over your career. What have you found most difficult about switching from one to another? Do you find you approach a project differently based on the intended line/market? KRS: Since the beginning of my career, I've taken an analytical as well as a creative approach to writing. Each line publishes a specific type of hero and heroine, a specific type of plot, a specific type of conflict. I tried to find outlets where I fit as a writer. I enjoy writing stories about families, small towns, children and pets. So those are the lines I gravitated toward. However, I like to stretch out of my zone now and then, and that's why I also wrote science fiction short stories for The Sun! The difficulty in switching from one line to another comes from not only my storyline fitting but from what a publisher or editor wants from me specifically and where they see a need for my type of book. I definitely approach each project for its intended market. I don't feel storylines are interchangeable. When I begin to structure a conflict, plot and characters, I have a specific line, market and word length in mind. In: The Bracelet, your release last year for the Everlasting Love line, received great reviews and wonderful publicity. However, the line itself has recently been cut from the Harlequin line-up. Did you have any other projects with the line? And if so what will happen to them? Do you have other women’s fiction projects in the works? KRS: THE BRACELET was the most personal writing experience of my career and a departure from my category work. I definitely enjoyed writing that type of book. But the Everlasting Line novels never found their market. Fortunately, I did not have any more projects with the line. I do have a woman's fiction project in the developmental stage, but I have a commitment for a three-book series for Silhouette Special Edition and that's my main focus right now. In: Could you share with us what books/authors currently reside on your keeper shelf? KRS: On my keeper shelf, I have FEAR NOTHING and SEIZE THE NIGHT by Dean Koontz, THE FLAME AND THE FLOWER by Katherine Woodiwiss, THE HORSE WHISPERER and THE LOOP by Nicholas Evans, STATE OF FEAR by Michael Crichton, SAVING GRACES by Elizabeth Edwards and most recently added THE FIRST PATIENT by Michael Palmer. In: We always like to ask some questions just for fun – is there anything special you like to do after completing a book? KRS: After completing a book, I like to shop, spend a few days doing anything but writing, visit with long-distance friends, celebrate by having ice cream at Cold Stone Creamery. In: If you could vacation anywhere in the world where would you most like to go? KRS: If I could go on a vacation anywhere in the world, I would go to Albuquerque, New Mexico. The red cliffs, the cave dwellings, the multi-cultural city creatively fill me up. In: What’s one thing we’d be surprised to learn about you? KRS: I was once an avid cyclist and swimmer. Thanks for visiting with us Karen! Don’t forget to check out Karen’s upcoming releases - Her Mr. Right? and The Daddy Plan both available now from Silhouette Special Edition. And be sure to stop by Karen’s website www.karenrosesmith.com. New York Times Bestselling author Gena Showalter writes it all - breathtaking paranormal and contemporary romances, cutting edge young adult novels, and stunning urban fantasy. The Playfriends are very excited to welcome Gena to the Playground. Smarty Pants: Welcome to the Sandbox, Gena. To start off, how about a little background on yourself? Gena Showalter: This is always the hardest thing for me to do in an interview: talk about myself, rather than my books J But here goes, I’ll give it a try. I’ve always been a mix of the wallflower who wants to remain in the shadows and a quirky, attention-hogging wild child. How’s that for variety? I married my high school sweetheart, have three English bulldogs I adore (Mary Ann, Ginger, and Lovey), and am an avid romance reader. SP: You sold your first book at 27. (I feel so unaccomplished and I’m only 29. Sigh.) What was the spark that caused you to make the leap and write your first book? How long were you writing until you finally sold? GS: The first spark was desperation. I could not decide what I wanted to be when I “grew up” and it was way past time I figured it out. I had jumped from major to major, unhappy, and always ended dropping out because what I’d picked wasn’t “it,” the one, the only career for me. I had a love of romance novels and had tried to write my own a few times, but it was major work so I had always stopped. But when I truly thought about it, weaving my own love stories was the only thing I could see myself doing for years to come. So I sat down, started writing, and didn’t allow myself to quit. I was determined to make a success of it, no matter what was required of me. SP: Unlike some who go from category to single-title publishing, you jumped straight into the single-title market. Many of us get trapped in the “need an agent to publish single title, but need to publish before you can get an agent” loop of despair. How did you break the cycle? GS: Each time I finished a book, I would query agents. I’d get a lot of rejections with a few requests to read the book in the mix. Those ultimately ended in rejection, as well. I would then send that book to the publishing houses I thought it fit. More rejection. By that point – this can be such a slow business -- I had usually finished another book and I’d start the cycle all over again: agent hunting, and when that failed, editor hunting. Finally, I sent the right project to the right agent at the right time. She signed me. Took us two years, but we made a sale. Then another. And another. My dreams were finally coming true! SP: You seemed to go from unpublished to multi-published in a flash – 13 books in 4 years with 11 more in the hopper. Did you have a bunch of manuscripts hidden away under your bed or do you really write that quickly? Any tips for those of us who manage 1 book a year? GS: I sold the seventh manuscript I’d written, so I did have some books under my bed. However, about half of those have not and will not see the light of day. Here's the breakdown: of the 6 other books I’d completed before selling, only 2 ½ have since been published. (The 1/2 is for a book I had written and then completely rewrote, using only the idea.) As for writing quickly, I’ve changed my methods. Used to, I would write the entire rough draft longhand and then type everything in, editing as I did so. That really freed me from that nasty internal editor who likes to hover over my shoulder and tell me “the book is crap, I’m crap, how could I have written that?” But a time came when I had to write a book in 2 months (Savor Me Slowly). I didn’t have time to use my old method (which took me 3 months). So I typed a chapter a day until the rough draft was done. That took me about a month and a half. Then I spent the next two weeks reading over what I’ve done, editing, adding, layering in things I’d previously missed. I totally fell in love with the new method and have been writing that way ever since (though I do allow myself 3 months now). SP: You write in several different genres – urban fantasy with a sci-fi twist, paranormals, contemporaries...even YA fiction. How do you juggle all those different writing niches? Do you have trouble switching back and forth, you know – any aliens itching to pop up in your contemporaries? GS: I think writing in so many genres keeps me from burn out. With each genre, I’m able to tap into a different part of myself. The urban fantasies unleash my darker side. The paranormals, my quirkiness. The contemporaries, my fun side. The young adults, my inner kid. (I think my mother just shuddered) The biggest mistake I’ve made because of my love of all those genres happened while I was writing The Darkest Pleasure, the third in my Lords of the Underworld series. An Atlantis novel was up to bat next, and its world/mythology kept trying to creep into my brain and thereby into the non-Atlantis story. I had many “Hades” references that had to be deleted. SP: What is your favorite genre to write? GS: Without a doubt, the paranormal romances. I love the possibilities, the “what if” factor, the alpha men and hell, I just love everything about them. SP: Let’s talk about process. Are you a plotter or a pantser? Which comes first for you—characters or the situation? GS: I am a pantser. Lately I start with the flash of a scene in my mind, almost like a bit of a movie trailer playing over and over. I see bits and pieces but don’t know the whole thing until I actually sit down and dive in. I figure if I’m surprised, the reader will be too. 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!)? GS: Write what you love and never write to trend. The trend will end, but if you’re writing what you love that love will shine through and there’ll be magic in your book. SP: What was the one piece of advice you wish you’d ignored? GS: Write category to get your foot in the door. I just didn’t have the voice for it, and my attempts failed miserably. However, I have since developed a love for several of the series lines and think I could do a much better job now. I even have some ideas. . . SP: What advice would you give to an unpublished author trying to break through in today’s market? GS: Do not heed every piece of advice you’re given for “fixing” your work. Sometimes, people are dead on right. Sometimes, they are absolutely wrong. Learn to take what works for your story and discard the rest. SP: Your new release schedule is jam-packed, starting with the first of the Lords of the Underworld Trilogy – The Darkest Night, followed by The Darkest Kiss and the Darkest Pleasure. Can you tell us a little bit about this new series? GS: My new favorite subject! The backstory is that the gods entrusted Pandora, the greatest warrior of her time, to guard the sacred box. But a group of immortal warriors fought and won it, opened it, and unleashed the vile horde of demons locked inside. Because of this, the gods punish each warrior to house a demon inside his own body. So the warriors become the box, so to speak. It’s not an easy pairing, either, for the demons make themselves known and thirst for things the warriors abhor. Maddox, the hero of The Darkest Night, is possessed by Violence. I tried to stay true to his character and show his fierce struggle with the demon. Sometimes, he does not win that struggle and the demon overtakes him. And because of past actions, he’s been given a second curse: to be stabbed and killed every night, only to awaken the next morning knowing he has to die again. His heroine, Ashlyn, is able to stand in one location and hear every conversation that’s ever taken place there. Lucien, the hero of The Darkest Kiss, is possessed by Death. He’s been ordered to escort the goddess of Anarchy’s soul to the hereafter. The tempestuous and fun-loving Anya views his attempts as a game. (At times, Anya’s somewhat warped sense of humor had me rolling on the floor. She steals unabashedly, spent some time in an immortal prison, and isn’t afraid of the Lords. To me, there’s just something so magical about her.) Reyes, the hero of The Darkest Pleasure, is possessed by Pain. He’s forbidden to know pleasure. Actually, pain has become his pleasure. Danika, his heroine, is being chased by his best friend, the demon of Wrath, for reasons the warrior does not yet know. SP: Last year at Nationals, you offered a drawing to win the worst prize ever – a garden gnome. I lost. I can’t even win the worst prize ever. What do you have in store for everyone in San Francisco this year? One of those pink, plastic flamingos, perhaps? GS: You know, Jill Monroe and I never plan these things. They just happen. We’ll be talking, laughing, one of us will say, “You know, we should do. . . ” And then the trouble starts happening. SP: Complete this sentence: My readers… GS: Are dear to me. I would not have a career without them and I know it. SP: Ok, now for a couple fun questions...Coffee or tea? GS: Coffee. Tea sucks. (sorry, but it does) SP: Something most people would be surprised to know about you? GS: I live in sweat pants, no make up, hair pulled in a bun. If that’s not surprising enough, I’ll add this: I can eat anything while talking about anything, gross factor doesn’t matter. GS: Ireland, maybe. SP: If you couldn’t be a writer, what would you do for a living? GS: Sponge off my parents. SP: What are you working on now? GS: Twice As Hot, the sequel to Playing With Fire. Belle, Rome and the gang are back and, well, hotter than ever! SP: Thanks for stopping by, Gena! Come back any time. Absolutely my pleasure! I had a blast. Be sure to check out Gena’s upcoming releases – The Darkest Night, the first book in the Lords of the Underworld Series, available in stores now. The 2nd - The Darkest Kiss, comes out in June 2008 and the 3rd - The Darkest Pleasure, is out in July 2008! You can also learn more about Gena, her writing, and more at www.GenaShowalter.com or blog with Gena at genashowalter.blogspot.com. 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.
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