Q&A with author Cindy Gerard

I recently had the opportunity to interview author Cindy Gerard for The Big Thrill, a monthly zine published by International Thriller Writers. Below is an excerpt of my Q&A.

Cindy Gerard is a multiple New York Times and USA Today best-selling author of action/adventure romantic suspense novels. Along with numerous industry award nominations, Cindy is the recipient of The National Reader's Choice Award and Romance Writers of America's coveted Rita Award. Cindy lives in the Midwest with her husband, Tom, a very spoiled dog, two equally spoiled cats and several fat and happy quarter horses.

Cindy was happy to talk about Feel The Heat, her latest book in an ongoing series.

Tell us about Feel The Heat.
FTH is an espionage thriller that runs full throttle from the moment a national security threat is detected at NSA and launches the Black Ops Inc team into a race against the clock to avert a catastrophic disaster. The story takes us from D.C. to Medellin, Colombia and back to D.C. as our BOI hero, Raphael Mendoza, and our heroine, DIA officer B.J. Chase, lay it all on the line for the greater good. The action is fast paced, the romance is hot and the settings exotic as Rafe and B.J. must infiltrate the inner sanctum of a Colombian drug cartel believed to be financing the attack on the US power infrastructure. Did I mention lots of action? :o)

What was your inspiration behind The Men of Black Ops, Inc?
I have such admiration and gratitude for our military warriors and their families for all they sacrifice and put on the line for us every day. I wanted to write something to honor those heroics and explore the bonds these men and women make during their service as well as write compelling, action packed reads. But I was also curious about what happened to our Special Operations warrior when they parted ways with the military. My research revealed that many of them chose law enforcement post military and many more continue to use their special skills as private contractors and fight the war on terror as civilians. Black Ops. Inc. was born from that. The BOIs are not mercenaries. They don’t hire out to the highest bidder. Instead, they fight on for everything that originally called them to service.

What was the most challenging aspect of writing this novel, the fourth in the series?
It’s always a challenge to come up with a new, fresh and gripping story line as well as integrate a compelling romantic relationship between the main protagonists. FEEL THE HEAT has such a complex and action orientated story line that it proved difficult to interject the emotional conflict readers expect in my books. Having said that, however, I’m very pleased with the end result. Both B.J. Chase and Rafe Mendoza were amazing characters to write – I found them to be one of my most intriguing couples yet.

What are your future plans for the series?
I just finished book 5 in the series, RISK NO SECRETS featuring Wyatt – Papa Bear – Savage, yet another action packed, edge of your seat thriller set in Sal Salvador, El Salvador. SECRETS will be released in June 2010. After that – who knows what BOI will show up in the next adventure?

How do you keep writing fresh, fun, and interesting for your own needs?
I try to always learn something new when I tack a fresh project. Whether it’s better acquainting myself with a new and exotic locale as a back drop for a story or simply creating characters and story lines that interest me. I figure, if the story can’t hold my attention, it’s sure not going to hold a reader’s attention. And I love to explore certain personality types, figure out what makes them tick, what makes them dysfunctional and then set about fixing them :o)

You have an incredible trailer on your website, www.cindygerard.com. How did you make it happen?
I knew I wanted something short, powerful and impactful for the video to showcase SHOW NO MERCY, the kick off book for the Black Ops Inc series. So I toyed with the basic bullet points, then pared them down to a very few, laid them out in the rhythm I wanted and with the help of my webperson, fine-tuned it into what you see now. And I’m glad you like it! It turned out to be everything I had hoped for.

Tell us about your contributions to the blog, Riding With The Top Down.
I’m so honored to have been invited to ‘ride in the convertible’ with the rest of the talented authors on the Topdown blog. We try to keep things interesting over there and mix it up by tackling any and all subjects (except politics and religion :o). I’ve written about everything from ‘hair’ issues to weight to movie and tv show reviews to motivation to feng shui. We laugh a lot but we’re also serious at times and offer thought provoking pieces. Mostly, though, we just have fun – and since there are 10 contributors and we’re pretty prolific, we give away a LOT of books!

What are you working on now?
I’m just off deadline and getting ready to talk new contract with my publisher so I’m working on my house. :o) As in cleaning. Things get a bit dicey around here during the last month of a deadline. I don’t often see daylight or the world outside of my office during that last long haul. Now it’s time to play catch-up on all those little things that turned into a great, long ‘to do’ list. As for my next writing project … all I can say is, there are great things in the wind and I’m really excited to dive back in to the deep water…

Thanks, Cindy!

Be sure to visit Cindy’s website for the latest news, info, and release updates. And be sure to read more of The Big Thrill for additional author interviews and news.

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On Friday, I’ll be sharing details regarding some newly scheduled upcoming events. I also plan on sharing some thoughts on craft and writing development.

As always, thanks for reading!

Q&A with author Angela Henry

I’m pleased to present today’s Q&A feature. Angela Henry is the author of Diva’s Last Curtain Call, Tangled Roots, and The Company You Keep. She has a great website (with a gorgeous design!) at http://www.amgelahenry.com/ so be sure to check that out after you read what Angela has to say about her work. Without further ado…

Hi Angela. Can you tell us about Diva’s Last Curtain Call?
Hi Lori! Diva's Last Curtain Call is the 3rd book in my Kendra Clayton mystery series. In this outing, Kendra's self-absorbed, spoiled, actress wannabe, younger sister, Allegra, is in town to try interview aging, reclusive, legendary actress Vivianne DeArmond for the TV show Hollywood Vibe. When Vivianne ends up dead, with a letter opener in her back, Allegra is the prime suspect and Kendra has to find the real killer to clear her sister's name.

Okay, but what’s it really about?
It's really about how family can drive you completely crazy but they're still your family and you have to be there for them in times of crisis. Or something like that. ; )

What inspired you to write the Kendra Clayton mystery series?
I've been a lifelong lover of mysteries, especially small town Agatha Christie like murder mysteries where secrets lurk behind every closed door. But there aren't many that feature African-American sleuths in a small town setting. So I decided to write one myself.

What are you working on now?
I'm working on a proposal for a supernatural YA novel, getting ready to publish Schooled in Murder, the 4th book in my Kendra series, and trying not to drive myself and my agent crazy while waiting to hear about a new project of mine that has been on submission for the past few months.

Tell us a bit about your journey as an author.
My journey has been a series of ups and downs. I've written short stories since I was in high school. But I didn't attempt a novel until I was in my late twenties. It took me four years to write it. But I did manage to get an agent within a few months of finishing it. Unfortunately, she was unable to sell it and we eventually parted ways. I was unable to get a new agent and started submitting directly to publishers, which worked. BET Books, a division of Black Entertainment Television, picked up the book in 2004 and I also signed with a new agent. A year later, BET Books was acquired by Harlequin and renamed Kimani Press. I wrote three books for them before they changed direction and stopped doing mysteries. So, I'm in a regrouping/reinvention phase right now.

What advice do you have for emerging authors?
Don't give up! Keep writing and honing your skills. Educate yourself about the publishing business because it is indeed a business and you really need to know how things work.

How does social media and technology play a role in how you connect with readers?
It plays a big part in connecting with readers. When MySpace was still all the rage, I was able to connect with a lot of readers, reviewers, and fellow writers and not just in the states but all over the globe. There's nothing cooler than finding new authors to read or getting an email from a reader or a bookseller who found out about my books on MySpace. I haven't signed up for Twitter but I'm going to. I also think social media is a great way for writers to see what's going on the publishing world. Many publishers, editors, and agents blog or are on Twitter and it's fun to see what titles they are working on and acquiring. Writers who are just starting out really need to check out all the agents and editors who are blogging. There is wealth of info on those blogs.

How can readers learn more about you and your books?
My website http://www.angelahenry.com/.

Thanks, Angela. I appreciate you taking the time to talk about your latest news!
Thanks for having me, Lori!

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Stay tuned for more later this week regarding my trip to Kentucky, The Ambassador Poetry Project launch party news, and info about the book release party for stains: early poems. Remember to click to follow the blog to make sure you’re entered into this month’s random drawing for a signed copy of one of my titles!

Happy reading….

Q&A with author Jennie Nash

One of the benefits of socializing on sites such as shewrites.com is getting to know other writers. It wasn’t that long ago I had the pleasure of meeting Jennie Nash, author of The Only True Genius in the Family. Naturally, I recruited her for an interview and am pleased to share this Q&A with you today. Please join me in welcoming Jennie Nash!

Hi Jennie. Can you tell us about The Only True Genius in the Family?
It’s a story about three generations of artists and the concept of whether or not talent is inherited. There is a famous landscape photographer, a prodigy painter, and a mother in the middle who is having a crisis of faith about her ability to make art. In the opening sentence, the famous photographer dies, and the book is very much about what his legacy will be, both in a traditional public sense and in a private sense for his progeny. The characters in the book are constantly creating – sweeping photographs of majestic mountains, paintings of the sea, commercial photos of high end chocolate, the perfect roasted chicken – and they struggle with what it means to succeed, creatively speaking.

Okay. But what’s it really about?
A woman in search of her creative voice, the resentment a daughter has for her father, the jealousy a mother feels for her child – how, in other words, your family can really mess with your creative impulse.

What sources of inspiration led you to write this novel?
I was originally inspired by a magazine article about the 12-year-old prodigy painter from Russia known as Petit Picasso. Her paintings were being sold for hundreds of thousands of dollars – and all I kept thinking about was her mother. What would it be like to be the mother? I did quite a lot of research on prodigies and genius, and was particularly moved by the Joan Aconcella book, Twenty Eight Artists and Two Saints. (Aconcella is the dance critic for The New Yorker, and is something of a genius herself.) One thing I learned was how much the people around very talented people tend to suffer – especially if they have the impulse to create themselves. I began to visualize my characters, and very quickly ended up with three generations of artists who each had very different ideas about the source of creativity.

That’s the “technical” answer. The personal answer –and really, the one that is by far more important -- is that The Only True Genius in the Family was the second novel in a two-book deal. The novel that came before it, The Last Beach Bungalow, was my first novel, but it was my fourth book. I had made a genre switch, and I wrote for three years not knowing if I could even finish a work of fiction, let alone sell it. The agent I had worked with on my non-fiction was not interested in representing my fiction, which was another big worry. So getting a new agent, and then getting the two-book deal on the first novel was just a huge vote of confidence. I had an editor who was waiting to publish whatever I wrote next, and was paying me in advance, to do so. Talk about being given permission. I felt absolutely validated as a writer, completely “legitimate,” and free – for a blessed short time – of any doubt about what I was doing or my ability to do it. I know what it’s like not to feel that; every artist does. And so The Only True Genius in the Family is, simply, a story about that – about a woman coming out of the darkness of creative doubt and into the light of creative sureness. At its heart, it’s a story about my getting to write the story.

What can you tell us about The Last Beach Bungalow?
It’s the story of a breast cancer survivor coming up on her five year cancer-free anniversary and not knowing why she survived – not knowing what the point of surviving really was. She falls in love with a quirky old house, because she thinks that it will give her life -- and her marriage -- the meaning it lacks. You know the way an old house feels – comfortable, and lived in, and resonant with story? That’s what she’s after. The house in question is being sold in a contest by a recent widow who has lived her whole adult life within its walls. The widow wants someone to buy her house who will cherish it the way she has because she, too, is looking for an external validation that her life had meaning. In the end, both women find what they need, but not in the way they expect.

I’m a breast cancer survivor – ten years now, actually – and I was very interested in what happens after you make it. I wrote about the illness part of the story (in a memoir called The Victoria’s Secret Catalog Never Stops Coming and Other Lessons I Learned From Breast Cancer) but that wasn’t the whole story, in my mind. The Last Beach Bungalow was the continuation of the story – and I loved wrestling with these questions in fiction rather than non-fiction. I loved creating drama and imagining possibilities. I was tired of writing about my own life, and was ready to break free.

Tell us a bit about your journey as an author.
I always knew I wanted to be a writer. My dad was a professor and a writer, and I loved the sounds of his typewriter and the quiet in his study. When I was in fourth grade I had some poems published in a school book – mimeographed pages, a cardboard cover – and I was just completely taken with the whole concept of my words underneath my name and other people being able to read it.

I had my first piece published the summer before I went to college, in the Wellesley alumnae magazine, which was the institution where I was headed. I was an English major and I wrote an honors’ thesis that was a collection of narrative essays. I thought that the next step was to go to graduate school, but I had a very wise advisor. He refused to write me a recommendation. He said he thought I would hate it. He said he thought I should go to New York and try to make it as a writer.

I followed his advice – but only halfway. I think what he thought I should do was go and really dig in and write a meaty book. I went to New York and got a job as an assistant editor at Random House, and then I got a job as a magazine editor, and then I began writing for magazines. I was too scared to really just write. I published a memoir (about getting married) at age 25, but honestly, it wasn’t a very good book. I wrote the breast cancer memoir, which I am very proud of and which allowed me to reach a large number of readers, but I followed it with another memoir (about parenthood) that wasn’t very good, either. I didn’t trust my voice, didn’t know what I wanted to say. I was writing out of fear – fear that I would be known as “cancer girl,” fear that I better write another book fast. The Last Beach Bungalow was very healing because I allowed myself to go back to cancer as a topic, and I allowed myself the freedom to write fiction, and I allowed myself the time I needed to get it right. It was a big risk for me, and it paid off. It was a thrill to land that two-book deal.

I have just finished my third novel for the same editor who bought my first two (see below for details), and I feel incredibly grateful for her trust and support. I know that she wants me to succeed, and that she is doing everything she can possibly do to help me build an audience and a career. It’s everything a writer could ask for.

What advice do you have for writers starting out?
Make sure you have something to say and give yourself permission to say it. These things sound very simple, but of course they’re not. It took me about 25 years to finally get it.

I also like the advice Elizabeth Gilbert (of Eat, Pray, Love fame) gives, which is to forgive yourself – for your false starts and wasted pages; for wanting to be a writer in the first place; and if you’re lucky enough to achieve it, for your success. Being a writer takes a lot of self-forgiveness.

As for practical matters, I’m something of an evangelist for Twyla Tharp’s book, The Creative Habit. Tharp teaches you how to do it – how to actually live a creative life. It’s all well and good to have a story to tell or a facility for putting words together on a page – or both – but you have to also know how to pin down an idea, how to organize your day, how to open your mind to inspiration.

How has social media and technology changed the way you connect with readers?
Social media has made me realize that it’s my job to reach out to readers, to answer their questions, to pique their interest. It’s not something I squeeze in when I’m not writing; it’s an important undertaking in its own right—and becoming even more so. Readers no longer want their favorite writers to be unreachable. They want to interact with them, learn about their creative process, know something of their lives. I’m desperately trying to learn how to be an effective blogger and twitter-er while still being a good writer – oh, and a good wife and mother, too! I feel like I’m scrambling to figure it all out, but I also know that I’m hardly alone in the struggle.

You’re also a fan of meeting readers at book clubs. Care to share some experiences?
I love visiting book clubs, both in person and virtually. It’s just such a thrill to be in a roomful of people – usually woman, in my case – who have shared the experience of reading my work. I feel very humbled by it, because people see things in my work that I never knew was there. My oldest daughter’s AP English class read The Only True Genius in the Family this year, and it was an amazing experience. I walked away being simultaneously humbled and boosted up – humbled by their ability to analyze text and boosted up because I was able to clearly see what my subconscious had wrought! They kept saying things like, “I loved how you brought back the light/lightning motif in the storm scene,” and I would be thinking, There’s a light/lightning motif? Really? I couldn’t wait to get out of there to go check out all the places where I had mentioned light and lightning.

What title(s) can we look forward to next?
I just finished my third novel, which is called The Threadbare Heart. It’s a love story inspired by something that happened to my mother on her first weekend at Wellesley College in 1956. There’s also a mother-daughter component to this book – an intergenerational disagreement about what love is, and how you get it and hold onto it and what it means when it’s gone. It’s due out from Berkley Books in May 2010.

I feel the stirrings of my fourth novel, but they haven’t yet taken shape.

How can readers learn more about you and your writing?
Visit me at http://www.jennienash.com/. Write me emails at jennie.nash@verizon.net. Invite me to visit their book clubs.

Thanks, Jennie! I appreciate you taking the time to talk about The Only True Genius in the Family and your latest news.

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There are more great interviews with authors around the corner. I look forward to the many insider tips, personal stories, and successes upcoming authors will share. Too, if you have any suggestions for the author Q&A – or any other aspect of this blog – feel free to let me know your thoughts. I always welcome mail from readers!

Thanks for joining in today. Until next time…

guest blog: how to be a writer

You’ve met the fantastically talented Erica Orloff during the author Q&A on July 22nd. I’m so excited Erica has offered up one of her past blog posts to share with us today. The following was originally posted on Erica’s blog here.


how to be a writer
by Erica Orloff

Despite the title of my post, I really have no idea. I can teach people all sorts of rules of writing. I can mentor, guide, critique, even heavily edit someone's material. But I can't TEACH someone how to be a writer. Not really.

However, I have come to realize the people who succeed, those that I know personally over the years who have gotten contracts, big and small, who are still in the game years later, who seem to have a fan following, all of that . . . they seem to share some common traits. I am sure you notice a few yourself if you read enough blogs and talk to enough writers.

I have come to the conclusion that persistence is overrated. [Before you shriek, wait for the rest of this.] If you persist in sending a steaming pile of meh out, the same steaming pile of meh, a hundred times, you might wear down some poor underling editor at a small house, but I don't think you'll embody success. I have seen bull-headed writers insist they are the next Hemingway or Salinger or Fitzgerald, and no amount of critiquing--gentle or otherwise--seems to stand in the way of their delusion. They are PERSISTENT. Persistence can be learned, but there is also a personality type that simply refuses to give up. Call it delusion. I used to know a woman married to an actor--a singularly unattractive man who could not act his way out of a paper bag, but refused to get a day job lest he miss his "big call" while she slaved away long hours supporting his dream. Nope . . . that is supporting a delusion.

So I think before persistence, there must be a willingness, an incredible OPENNESS to learn craft.

Then persistence.I think writers also have to have an understanding that this isn't easy. That's it's a marathon, not a sprint. That your first novel might sit in a drawer forever because it was like kindergarten and it might be your fifth or sixth or tenth novel that really gels.

The writers I know that I consider successful never stop learning.

Note these are all TRAITS more than "don't overuse adverbs."

So what would you add to the list? So far I have:

Openness
Persistence
Endurance
A mind open to learning

Maybe it's that there is a difference between learning HOW TO WRITE and learning HOW TO BE A WRITER. What do you want to add to the list?

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Be sure to visit Erica’s blog here and don’t be shy. Leave her a note, ask a question, and go ahead and follow her blog. You can also visit Erica’s website at http://www.ericaorloff.com/.

Q&A with author Abby McDonald

Please join me in welcoming today’s guest author. Abby McDonald has authored novels for both adults and the YA market, with titles such as Sophomore Switch and The Popularity Rules. She’s worked hard to develop a following and will not only share what’s new for her in the coming months, but also share tips on how writers can stay in the game.

Hi Abby. Can you tell us about The Popularity Rules?
Here's the official blurb: All's fair in love, war and popularity...Kat Elliot is no social butterfly. She's spent her life rebelling against phony schmoozing - and it's led her nowhere. Just as she's ready to give up her dreams and admit defeat, in steps Lauren Anderville. One-time allies against their school bullies, Lauren and Kat had been inseparable. Then one year Lauren returned from summer camp blonde, bubbly, and suddenly popular, and Kat was left to face the world alone.Ten years later, Lauren's back. She wants to make amends by teaching Kat the secret to her success: The Popularity Rules. A decades-old rulebook, its secrets transformed Lauren that fateful summer. And so, tempted by Lauren's promises of glitzy parties and the job she's always dreamed about, Kat reluctantly submits to a total makeover - only to find that life with the in-crowd might have something going for it after all.But while Lauren has sacrificed everything to get ahead, is Kat really ready to accept that popularity is the only prize that counts?

Okay. But what’s it really about?
Many things! It touches on social hierarchies, modern feminism, the every-day compromises we make to our beliefs and ideology, the allure (and truth) of the make-over myth... But, to me, the heart of this book has always been female friendship, specifically, those deep, intense relationships we have in our teens/youth which - however they turn out- affect all the interactions we have after in a profound way. Whenever I got talking to a female friend, they would always mention one of these, and how the end of it shaped the way they see and trust other woman. I wanted to take two women whose teenage friendship had pretty much determined the course of their lives, and highlight how unresolved their emotional issues were; how much they still needed each other, despite what they told themselves.

You’ve already had considerable success with YA. Why the move toward adult novels?
The move actually went the other way: I was writing adult lit for about 3 years before I was inspired to branch out into YA. I thought that the kind of books I love to write (commercial, pop-culture influenced, strong female characters) would work for a teen audience too, and it's been a lot of fun switching between the age groups. My teen books are much lighter, and more fast-paced, so it's a different challenge: making things immediate, and vivid, in a shorter format. With my adult books, the hard work comes with creating more complex relationships and layers to the characters, creating subplots and subtext that make the story rewarding over 100k, 120k words.

Congratulations on your success with Sophomore Switch. It received such great reviews. What was your inspiration in writing it?
Thanks! It actually came to me in a flash-- or rather, a traffic jam. I'd been working on another Oxford-based YA for a while without much success: editors loved the setting, but thought the murder mystery elements were too dark. So, I was joking along with a friend about the lightest, fluffiest Oxford-based concept I could think of, and the framework of Sophomore Switch was born. Of course, being me, I couldn't help but slip in deeper themes about feminism and identity along the way, but it's that balance that readers seem to enjoy, so I'm pleased with how it worked out.

Tell us a bit about your journey as an author.
Long and twisted, like most writers... A lot of people assume that because I'm relatively young, my career has been an overnight success for me, but the reality is far less glamorous. I wrote my first novel at 19 (an adult chick-lit book), signed with an agent, and embarked on years of rewrites and near-misses before finally putting it aside. It was disheartening at the time, but it served as a kind of apprenticeship for me: teaching me not just about the workings of the industry, but also the skills of editing and how to construct a plot. When it came to my next novels, I was much better equipped, and I like to think that I've grown a lot as a writer since that first attempt.

What advice do you have for writers starting out?
Perseverance and practice. It can be incredibly frustrating to work on a book for so long that is ultimately rejected, but sometimes you have to look past the goal of publication and remember that all the writing you do is valuable in the long term. So much of the industry is luck and timing, and factors out of your control. For example, that first book of mine not only coincided with a deadly slump in the chick-lit market, but also revolved around a blogging premise, so, once it was no longer a 'hot topic', it was essentially useless-- if I only judged it in terms of publication. But, I learned so much from the process, and hardened myself against rejection, which served me well when it came to my next adult book The Popularity Rules. When I think of all the chances I had to quit, and just walk away, I can't even count them. The saying is an old one, but so true: the only difference between a published author and an unpublished one, is that the published one didn't give up.

How does social media and technology enhance the way you connect with readers?
Since I'm based in England, it's pretty much been my only way of connecting with readers so far. Because teens are so web-based, I set up a dedicated website for the book at sophomoreswitch.com, with fun additional content like social network profiles, playlists, and a form for email. I also blog, and try to be prompt getting back to every reader who writes me (I love fan mail!), and I'm a big fan of twitter, which is a way of connecting on a more every-day level.

What else can readers expect from you in the near future?
A lot! In September, Sophomore Switch will be published in the UK (as Life Swap), and The Popularity Rules hits shelves. Then I'm busy writing for a while, before a hectic 2010: Sophomore Switch paperback in Feb (with a cute new cover), my next YA Boys, Bears & A Serious Pair of Hiking Boots published in April, and my next adult book, The Good Girl's Guide to Deception out in May.

How can readers learn more about you and your books?
My website abbymcdonald.com is a good base, and then I blog at poptext.org, and tweet at twitter.com/abbymcdonald.

Thanks, Abby! I appreciate you taking the time to talk about your latest news and upcoming releases.


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Be sure to visit Abby at her website to learn more about her work.

Until next time….

Guest Blog: Querying Grief

Kiersten White, a fabulous YA author who blogs at http://kierstenwrites.blogspot.com/, was kind enough to share this previous post of hers with us today. Please welcome our guest blogger and make Kiersten feel at home!

The Five Stages of Querying Grief
By Kiersten White

Stage One: Denial
This can't be happening to me! Novel is so good! I was supposed to get an agent within days of sending out that first query! There must be some sort of mistake--it's already been three weeks. Sure, everyone else has to go through a long, drawn-out querying process, but not me! There's going to be a request for a full in my inbox RIGHT NOW, I just know it.

Stage Two: Anger
What?!? [Insert Author Name Here] got an agent on her first try! And my book is at least as good as hers! And WHY won't anyone get back to me? I personalized and everything! Don't they understand I'm checking my email every twenty minutes? I HATE THIS! QUERYING IS THE WORST THING EVER! JUST READ MY FREAKING BOOK ALREADY!

Stage Three: Bargaining
Okay. It's okay. If I can just get a request for a full, if an agent will just read the whole thing, I'll be happy. No matter what, I'll be happy then. No? A partial. Just read a partial, I swear then I'll be happy, I won't complain or freak out or want to give up. Just a partial? No? Just respond. Anything. Just respond, and I'll be okay, really, I promise. Just a response? Please?

Stage Four: Depression
It's been three weeks. This is it. No one is going to want Novel. They'll never read it, so they'll never know how much fun it is, how well-written it is, how much potential I have as a writer. I'll never get an agent, which means I'll never get published, and there's nothing I can do about it. I suck. I suck, I suck, I suck I suck I suck. And the worst part is that I don't suck, but it doesn't matter, because no one will ever know. I'm never going to be an author. It's over. I'm going to bed. And I'm not getting up again.

Stage Five: Acceptance
Well, it is what it is. I’ve put in the work, I’ll keep at it, and I know I'll be published someday. Maybe an agent will fall in love with Novel. Maybe not. It's more luck than anything else at this point, and I can accept that. Either way, I'll keep writing, and someday, someone will represent me. In the meantime, I’ve got this shiny new idea over here just begging to be written…Of course, eventually you will make it out of this cycle. But that leads us to the stages of agented submission grief and there’s like 87 of them. One step at a time, right?

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Thanks to Kiersten for sharing this post with us today. Please check out her blog at http://kierstenwrites.blogspot.com/ for more wisdom and wit.

Until next time… happy reading!

Q&A with Lydia R. LeRoy-Williams

I recently met Lydia on SheWrites.com and knew I simply had to interview her and share it with you here on the blog. So, as a special author Q&A during my busy month of much-ado-about-August, I present writer Lydia R. LeRoy-Williams.

You’re a mom, a wife, and a writer. How do you manage to make time for writing?
This is a constant struggle. When days go by and I have not written anything, I feel as though a piece of me has been neglected so it is important to get writing time in.

The other night I worked on a piece, on my laptop, while my daughter was in the bath. Sure, I got a few water drops and bubbles on my screen but it was worth it. I have to MAKE the time, even if it is only at ten minutes intervals.

Also, I wouldn’t be able to accomplish anything if it weren’t for my husband, who's completely supportive, or my mom, who's there when I need some quiet writing time.

In the perfect world, what would your writing day be like?
That is an interesting question and I am going to take this question and run with it without borders.

I would have a quiet room or office of my own that overlooked the Oregon Coast, (this would require me to move) it’s an inspiring place for me. My space would be Shabby Chic, with candles lit everywhere and a fireplace. I would have a sofa with lots of pillows and throws, as well as a desk. There would have to be a fridge with water and champagne (when I want to feel glamorous) and snacks, for the comfort of it.

My day would start around 9 o’clock (need my sleep) and work until lunch. Spend that with my family and then get back to it. I would write until I knew what I wanted to start with the next day rather than write until I was blocked.

Quite honestly, I think the environment in which I write is what I have dreamt of. Usually I write where there is a moment of quiet i.e. bathroom, bed, car. It would be brilliant if I had that quiet, private, inspirational space, of my own. Virginia Woolf was right when she said every woman needs a room of her own.

You write fiction, poetry, and non-fiction. Tell us about your writing.
Poetry was my start. My first poem, that I remember, was titled: ‘Boys.’
Boys are toys/they’re sometimes joys/but be careful/or you could be/a toy to a boy.

I have continued to write poetry, some have been published. I began writing fiction during school. When given an assignment in school all the other kids would sigh with distaste. I, on the other hand, would be so excited to sit down and write.

I decided that I wanted to be a screenwriter when I was in my early twenties. I had a mentor at that time who taught me amazing things in regards to writing. He encouraged me to write the screenplay. I did, I even finished it, knowing it was terrible.

After that reality set in (that screenwriting was not my area of expertise), I decided to try my hand at a novel. This felt more like me. I have also, throughout the years, written some essays and articles; a few, I have had published.

What have you written that you are most proud of?
I would have to say, surprisingly, that my screenplay is what I am the most proud of because I continued, stayed with it, and gave it all I had at the time. When later, after sharing it with my mentor and my family, I was informed how raw and imperfect it was, I was sad, but I was so proud that I had finished it! I worked on it every single day, come rain or shine.

Think of all your favorite authors and books. What book do you wish you had written?
My absolute favorite book is The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath. I admire Plath as a writer because she wrote out her guts, no matter what anyone else thought. Her writing was her life, wrong or right, no one could accuse her of not putting her soul into what she did.

I want to be that kind of writer. With all the responsibilities that one may have, one must give their souls to their work, pour it out, lay it down, raw and with honesty.

What are you working on now?
I am always doing poetry, it’s in my blood. My current work in progress is my first novel. I have been working on it for too long and my main goal is to finish it. I am also working on articles for a new online magazine that I will be freelancing for. I have recently started a blog and have been working on that as well. In addition, I love to journal.

How do you stay connected with other writers?
I have recently been involved with online groups, which has proved to be outstanding and extremely motivating. My favorite online community is www.SheWrites.com.

If you could commit to one thing, in the next year, to benefit your writing life what would it be?
To get back to Wellspring House in Massachusetts. I was able to spend a full week there in October 2008. It was the best experience I have had in regards to my personal writing growth. I would also make sure to finish my novel!

What are you reading right now?
I’m currently reading: The Collected Stories of Eudora Welty, Mommywood by Tori Spelling, and Jodi Picoult’s My Sisters Keeper.

What books are on your to-be-read pile?
Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides, Time and Again by Jack Finney, I Know This Much Is True by Wally Lamb, Everyone is Beautiful and The Bright Side of Disaster by Katherine Center.

How can readers learn more about you and your writing?
Well, I have a blog (it is very new so be kind) http://lydiawilliamswritenow.blogspot.com/ as well as my profile on www.SheWrites.com. I am also on Twitter: lydiaruth77

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Be sure to visit Lydia on one (or more) of her web links above. And be sure to come back Monday for another guest blog from author Kiersten White.

Until next time….

Q&A with Daphne Uviller

I’m pleased to introduce Daphne Uviller as today’s Q&A guest. An editor, a novelist, and a third-generation West-Villager, Daphne will share the news related to her latest publication, Super in the City.

Hi Daphne. Can you tell us about Super in the City?
Super in the City is a sexy, urban caper about an overeducated young woman who unwillingly becomes the super of her parents’ Greenwich Village building and uncovers unsavory activity among the tenants. (It’s also a shameless love letter to my native neighborhood.)

Okay. But what's it really about?
It’s about the search for professional identity among twenty-somethings, a time in life (for the financially fortunate, to be sure) that David Brooks once generously termed “the odyssey years.” There’s this paralysis that grips many educated people, an inability to pick a profession and stay the course. It’s not laziness, not by any stretch – it’s an overabundance of opportunity, and it struck me as a great battle for a main character. It made me think of one of my favorite short stories, James Thurber’s The Secret Life of Walter Mitty, which was published in 1939. My heroine is a new millennial, female Walter Mitty – similarly prone to wild occupational fantasies and self-reinvention.

It’s also about real New Yorkers, those of us who don’t stay up til 4am, drinking $20 martinis, wearing $200 Pradas and who still milk the city for all it’s worth.

What sources of inspiration led you to write this novel?
My agent wanted me to write another book for him to sell. Seriously, that was the main fire under my butt. I’d written four screenplays, landed some meetings in Hollywood, but after five years, still had no film agent. Then, when my first book, Only Child, was finished and in stores, I thought, well, hey, now I have a literary agent. Why not write something for him?

It seems you like variety. Have you any other odd jobs worth sharing?
Immediately after college, I worked at a New York City law enforcement agency that investigates crime and corruption in the public school system. They didn’t let me carry a gun, though I sometimes pretended (usually to guys on first dates that were not going well) that I was on the verge of getting my license.

What can you tell us about your contribution to Only Child?
Only Child: Writers on the Singular Joys and Solitary Sorrows of Growing Up Solo is a collection of 21 original essays by well-known writers on the subject of traveling through life without siblings. I co-edited it with my dear and talented friend Deborah Siegel. She hated being an only, I loved it, so we did a book. My essay, “Dodging Laurie,” imagines the sister I never had, imagines her failing to come through for me in the way my friends and husband did when my dad was dying.

Tell us a bit about your journey as an author.
I’ll skip the syrupy part about being six years old and drawing little books and saying, “I want to be an author.” After my stint in law enforcement, I worked as an unpaid intern at The Paris Review. My parents and I had agreed that in lieu of tuition for an MFA, they would support me for two years. (I think an MFA program is great for making connections and gaining discipline and I was lucky enough to already have both, so I passed and took the money.) At The Paris Review, I read other people’s short stories and realized that mine were like many out there – quite good, but not good enough. I didn’t want to be holed up for ten years working on some opus that might or might not see the light of day. I needed and still need lots of interaction with the real world. So I started writing book reviews for Time Out New York and later became an editor there. I went on to write for Newsday, The New York Times, The Washington Post, and also wrote for Allure and Self, where I had a column in the late ‘90s.

What advice do you have for writers starting out?
1) Make sure you love the act of writing (not all the time, of course, but most of the time) and not just a romantic idea of being published. It is not romantic. It is often quite ugly. Do not expect to get rich.
2) Regularly turn off your internet connection. There is no way to dive deep into a story if you’re constantly checking e-mail and Facebook and whether Michael Jackson is still dead. (I promise you he will not Twitter from the grave. RIP).
3) Some writers must have solitude. I am not one of them. I schedule writing dates in busy cafes with other writing friends. We sit, laptop to laptop, working on different things. Do not underestimate the power of having someone expecting you at a certain place at a certain time to complete a certain task. Sometimes I park myself at my husband’s office and write there, to have his company (he’s a biologist). If you’re having trouble, write with someone! (If you have any doubts about the legitimacy of this method, know that Malcolm Gladwell, that bestselling hound, writes at my cafe, too, though he doesn’t know me from Eve.)
4) Hound editors until they read your stuff. Call them again and again and again. Stop calling if they’ve read it and don’t like it. Go call someone else.
5) Read Anne Lamott’s Bird by Bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life. Right now. Go. Read it.

How has social media and technology changed the way you connect with readers?
I don’t use social technology very well, mostly because I don’t have the time. I joined Facebook to promote my books, but wound up not interested in friending people I don’t know. I have an e-mail list of about 550 people that I call my “books and babies” list – I send them announcements when I deliver either of the above, or am doing a reading. I maintain a website, which is the best way to find out about my work. And I jump at the opportunity to do interviews like this! But, aside from writers who hire people to maintain their reader communication, I don’t understand how they find the time to keep writing. Publicity is a full-time job in itself.

What is your current work-in-progress?
I have a two-book contract with Bantam Dell and I’m writing a continuation of Super in the City.

How can readers learn more about you and your writing?
Visit http://www.daphneuviller.com/ or email daphneuviller@gmail.com

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Thanks to Daphne for joining us here! Remember, there are more interviews and guest blogs coming this week and this whole month of August. If you haven’t yet read the interview with Christina Baker Kline, keep on reading below.

Until next time… happy reading!

Q&A with Christina Baker Kline

This news is just too good not to share. Author Christina Baker Kline has just released a fantastic new book, Bird in Hand, and it’s available… now! So, to help her celebrate her new release and see what the new book is about, what better way than to ask the author herself. Please join me in welcoming our guest for this special author Q&A.

Hi Christina. Can you tell us about Bird in Hand?
Bird in Hand opens with a car accident that sets in motion a series of events that changes the (interconnected) lives of four people. It moves forward in the present day through the alternating perspectives of these four characters, and it also moves back in time through their perspectives to a specific moment in the past.

But what’s it really about?
That's a good (and funny!) question. Well, at one point in the book a character wonders, "Who breaks the thread, the one who pulls or the one who hangs on?" I wanted to write about love and loss and betrayal and renewal. I wanted to write about characters who don't know quite what they want, or how to get it, and are pushed into decisions by circumstances beyond their control. One of my epigraphs is a quote from The Age of Grief, by Jane Smiley: "Confusion is perfect sight and perfect mystery at the same time." This holds true for all of my characters in different ways.

You’re quite prolific and diverse. How did you fall into writing both novels and non-fiction?
I'm not really that prolific. I've just been on the planet for a while! Writing novels is my passion. But writing fiction is a solitary pursuit, and another side of me wants to be out in the world, interacting with people and exchanging ideas. All of my nonfiction books have been, in a sense, collaborations -- I wrote a book about feminist mothers and daughters with my mother; I've edited or co-edited four essay collections. I realized the other day that my blog on writing [note: hyperlink?], A Writing Year: Ideas and Inspiration for Writing Fiction, fulfills this social/intellectual need. I can share my thoughts about writing with other people, and work with guest bloggers on their own ideas. I love doing it.

Tell us about what you do at Fordham University.
As Writer-in-Residence, I teach creative writing to undergraduates and graduate students and oversee creative-writing masters' theses. I serve on the Creative Writing committee and help bring visiting writers to campus; I also facilitate creative-writing events and contests. It's a wonderful job, and I wish I could have it forever, but it's a three-year appointment, sadly!

How do you balance your writing life?
It's hard. I rarely feel that I achieve balance; what I've learned over the years is that sometimes things will be out of balance, and that's okay. Sometimes I don't have time to work on my fiction (like now, while I'm in London teaching and working on nonfiction articles and interviews). And sometimes I'm focused on my family -- my husband and three boys (two teens and a nine-year-old) and just want to be in the moment with them. I'm not sure whether it's my nature or whether I've learned to do this because I have a complicated life, but I'm pretty good at hunkering down and working on my novel when I need to. When I'm completely consumed with writing, other parts of my life suffer -- laundry piles up, for example, and we do a lot of takeout. My family is pretty understanding; they know it's all part of the process, and will be over before long. They all have their own passions as well!

Tell us a bit about your journey as an author.
In my senior year of college a visiting novelist took my short stories to her literary agency, and a young agent (Beth Vesel, who is still my agent) called me up and said she wanted to represent me. This gave me confidence at an early age -- the idea someone believed in me and cared about my work. Though I know this is pretty unusual, and I was lucky, I always tell my students that what's most important is that they find someone -- a mentor if possible, a friend, even a parent -- who believes in their work and encourages them to move forward. After college I went to graduate school in literature and didn't write a creative word, but this agent called every few months, just checking in: "Are you thinking about your novel yet? How are you going to carve out time to make that happen?" She encouraged me to apply for MFA fellowships so that I'd have two free years to write. And that's what I did -- I went to the University of Virginia, did an MFA in Fiction Writing, and wrote my first novel.

What have been some of the challenges in your career as a writer?
The biggest challenge for me came after I'd written my second novel and was working on a third. A lot of things changed at once -- I moved from New York to the suburbs; I had three children in fairly quick succession, I started a full-time teaching job. As a result, I lost the thread of the novel I was working on and couldn't figure out how to find it. Eventually I abandoned that novel and wrote another very quickly, The Way Life Should Be, which was lighthearted and funny and had recipes. Writing it was a pleasure! After that, I had the clarity to return to the novel that became Bird in Hand. Though it was a long and difficult process, I learned a lot about myself and my writing in those years. And I think that ultimately Bird in Hand is much stronger for it. I truly think it's the best thing I've written.

What advice do you have for writers starting out?
Well, as I said before, find someone who encourages your writing. Avoid people who are "toxic," to use an old self-help phrase -- people who are competitive with you or otherwise sabotage your writing. Set clear goals for yourself ("I will write a draft of a novel in one year," "I will write one short story a month") with daily goals as well. When I'm writing a novel I set myself the task of four pages a day. Sometimes I write more, sometimes less, but that's always the goal.

How has social media and technology enabled you to connect with readers?
It's transformed my ability to connect with people. I'm pretty accessible; I have a website and a blog and an email address that's easy to find. As a result I get a lot of mail from readers, which is a terrific way to learn about the impact your work has on others.

What can readers expect from your blog?
I started my blog, A Writing Year, as a way to talk about the creative process. Essentially, I write my blog the way I teach -- with an emphasis on tips and ideas for getting words on the page and turning them into readable prose. I also "commission" pieces from guest bloggers, published authors with specific things to say about craft and the life of a writer. Unlike many blogs, mine is not stream-of-consciousness; it's not a diary of my experience. Though I sometimes talk about my personal life, I'm more interested in talking about ideas and inspiration.

What’s up next for you? What can readers look forward to?
I'm working on a new novel that traces the journey of Vivian Daly, a now-90-year-old woman, from a small village in Ireland to the crowded streets of the Lower East Side to the wide-open expanses of the Midwest to the coast of Maine. In 1929, after a terrible accident in a Lower East Side tenement destroys her family, nine-year-old Vivian is sent on an orphan train to Minnesota. Stripped of her identity, she has to learn how to survive on her own. She never tells anyone the whole story of what happened to her -- until a 17-year-old troubled girl comes into her life when she is an old woman. As Vivian begins to face the truth about what happened long ago, the past becomes more and more present for her.

How can readers learn more about you and your books?
Go to my website, http://www.christinabakerkline.com/, and my blog, http://christinabakerkline.wordpress.com/. (You can also reach my blog through my website.) Over the next month or so I'll be doing guest blogs and interviews all over the web and linking to them on my blog. Feel free to comment on blog posts -- I love to hear what readers think!

Thanks, Christina! I appreciate you taking the time to talk about Bird in Hand and your latest news.
Thanks so much, Lori

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You can pick up Bird in Hand at your local brick & mortar store, or order online from amazon here.

If you love the author Q&As, be sure to see this week’s interview with Daphne Uviller. Remember, too, there are several guest blogs this week and during the rest of August.

Until next time….

rolling out the well-read carpet

You may recall I mentioned August is going to be a particularly busy month for me. Rather than take my chances that I may or may not be able to commit to my thrice-weekly blog posts I am pleased to announce I have recruited some fantastic guest bloggers and interviews for the entire month. Not only does that give you a break from me (ahhhh), but you’ll also have an opportunity to meet and interact with some very cool authors.

You may have noticed Kiersten White in the comment sections before and you’ll certainly notice her now; she’ll be a guest blogger on August 10th and 17th and will also be my interview subject for the author Q&A on August 26th. Perhaps you’ll recall the Q&A with mega-talented Erica Orloff? She’s contributed a guest blog scheduled to appear August 24th. Author Jude Hardin will be guest blogging on August 28th. In addition to these guest posts, the regularly scheduled Q&As will be appearing, featuring interviews with authors Daphne Uviller, Lydia R. LeRoy-Williams, Abby McDonald, and Renee Miller-Johnston. So while I may not be here all the time, you shouldn’t notice an absence in activity this month. Plus, I’ll try my darndest to come by and check on your comments and questions, so don’t feel like you’re being left in the dark!

What the heck is keeping me so busy this month, anyways? Well, I am wrapping up some edits on my work-in-progress. I’m also knee-deep in promoting and marketing my latest book, stains: early poems, which is out now and at a really great discount at Barnes & Noble. There are a few editorial meetings I need to hit out of town in addition to meeting with some venues for future readings and signing events. Plus, I’m doing some behind-the-scenes work that is a bit consuming (but fun!), since I have recently been recruited to act as Managing Editor of Marick Press, a not-for-profit publisher of literary non-fiction, fiction, and poetry. So… it’s a busy month and I want to make sure I take care of what I need to take care of, but not let this blog gather dust. Thus, I hope you will enjoy the bounty of authors I am leaving in your care and I’ll look forward to sharing all sorts of news upon the return to my usual ‘schedule.’

Remember, while I am running around this month, I’m not that far away. So you can still feel free to email me, find me on twitter, leave comments in the blog, or find me on facebook. I’ll be sure to check in any moment I can spare. Oh, and the contest for a personally signed copy of one of my books is still on, so if you haven’t yet clicked to ‘follow this blog’ go ahead and do so now. I’ll be randomly drawing a winner from the list of followers at the end of September.

Until later… happy reading!

Q&A with author Kyra Davis

This summer, the fourth installment of the Sophie Katz series arrived after much anticipation. For today’s Q&A we have the series author, Kyra Davis, here with us to share details about Sophie’s adventures, Kyra’s path to publication, and what’s next for this killer – and comedic – writer.

Hi Kyra. Can you tell us about Lust, Loathing, and A Little Lip Gloss?
Sophie has finally decided that she is ready to make a lifetime commitment to the one she loves…a three bedroom Victorian with a yard. She wants the house so badly she’s willing to deal with her obnoxious ex-husband who is the realtor representing it and she’ll meet all of the seller’s crazy conditions. She’s not dissuaded by the house’s possible dark history or even the accounts by some that it’s haunted. It’s not until people associated with the house start dying that she becomes concerned particularly when she begins to suspect that she might be one of the targets.

What sort of trouble does Sophie come across this time?
Oh, she’s finding more dead bodies and someone seems to want to kill her again. Just another day in the life.

Has it been difficult to sustain the character of Sophie through all her stories?
It’s not hard to sustain the character. Any well-developed character is going to evolve over time. We all have layers and as an author I enjoy exploring different aspects of Sophie’s personality, history and emotional development. The challenge is coming up with new and different ways for her to stumble into a murder investigation.

You have Vendettas And A Little Black Dress up next. What can you tell us about it?
A very important character from the series is going to be shot. Note that I didn’t say they would die (although I didn’t say they wouldn’t either). The point is that lives are going to be turned upside down and Sophie and those around her will be forced to reexamine everything. Anatoly and Sophie’s relationship will also have some twists and turns and the two of them will need to make some pretty big decisions.

You’re very prolific. How do you explain your staying power?
I’m honestly not sure I have a good answer for that. I’ve seen so many amazingly talented authors lose their contracts and their challenges make me appreciate both my good fortune as well as the precariousness of my position. I CAN say that a lot of people relate to Sophie. She’s become a friend to readers all over the world and I think it’s harder to give up on a long term friend (by not passing her up in the bookstore) than resist the temptation to acquaint yourself with a new one (by buying a book with previously unknown characters). In other words it helps that I have an on going series instead of a bunch of unrelated titles.

Tell us a bit about your journey as an author.
I didn’t know I wanted to be a writer until I started writing the first Sophie book (Sex, Murder And A Double Latte). I was just messing around at the time I started penning that story. It didn’t occur to me that I might want to publish it until I was about fifty pages into it. Now it’s more than an idea… more than a dream. It’s a career. I am so blessed to be able to make a living doing something that I love. For me that’s the definition of success.

What advice do you have for writers starting out?
Embrace constructive criticism. It’s hard to hear anything that isn’t 100% positive about a work you have poured your heart and soul into but you have to remember this is a craft. Nothing you ever write will be perfect and if you’re not able to listen when others try to help you improve on your project you're not ready to be published.

How would you say the industry has changed since your debut?
It’s totally and completely different. For one thing half the editors have been laid off as the publishing houses have rushed to downsize in order to survive the recession. Big book tours are becoming increasingly rare even for the most popular authors and bookstores are struggling and are watching their inventories like a hawk. Advances for new authors are down and everybody’s trying to figure out how Kindle is going to play into the equation. Oh, and Chick-Lit has become a dirty word. I realize that none of that sounds good but I have faith that things will work out for the publishing world at the end of the day and so far Sophie still seems to be going strong despite the economic climate and shifting publishing trends so I don’t have a lot to complain about.

How has this impacted your role as a working writer?
As I said, it hasn’t impacted me too much yet. Except for the “Chick Lit” thing. A lot of professional reviewers won’t give my books a second glance because they know that I was part of that whole Chick Lit Mysteries revolution that was “so 2005.” On the other hand I’m one of the few authors who were part of that revolution who has also managed to stay around and remain successful. I actually take pride in that. The funny thing is that because “Chick Lit” is “out” I can explore my characters in more emotional depth with the full approval of my publishing house. It’s okay to be a little “darker” now because they think it helps distance me from the Chick Lit thing. So oddly enough the decline of the very genre I used to champion has allowed me to grow as an author.

How has social media and technology changed the way you connect with readers?
It’s changed it completely. I feel like I know my readers now. I interact with some of them several times a week. I know which of my characters are their favorites and what kind of adventures they hope to see Sophie take part in. It’s really awesome because if you think about it my readers are my employer. They quite literally pay my salary and keep my career afloat. So thanks to Facebook, Twitter and Myspace I can find out what’s going on inside my bosses’ heads. It’s great!

We’ve talked about your upcoming releases. What else can readers expect from you in the near future?
I would really love to write a YA fantasy novel. Hopefully that will happen within the next two years.

How can readers learn more about you and your books?
They can always check out my website: http://www.kyradavis.com/

Thanks, Kyra. I appreciate you taking the time to talk about your latest news and upcoming releases.

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You can order Lust, Loathing and a Little Lip Gloss from Barnes & Noble here, where you’ll also see links to Kyra’s other books, including the entire Sophie Katz series.

I hope you enjoyed today’s Q&A with Kyra Davis. There are plenty more author interviews on the schedule, so make sure you bookmark the site or follow this blog – and also be entered into the contest for a signed copy of one of my books!

Also, as previously mentioned, the month of August is an especially busy one for me so I have recruited additional authors to make guest appearances, share news in extra Q&As, and offer tips for emerging writers.

With such a jam-packed blog schedule, this month will go by fast but I hope you are able to enjoy the guest appearances and make each author feel at home. Here’s a tip – authors love comments from readers and are generally very happy to answer questions. So, don’t be shy! Leave your comments and questions, as each author is no doubt going to pop over to see what discussions are going on here.

Thanks for stopping in. Until next time… happy reading!

Q&A with Allison Winn Scotch

If you haven’t yet read Time of My Life from Allison Winn Scotch, now’s your opportunity. Today marks the release of the paperback edition and, thus, we have a special author Q&A outside of our regularly scheduled programming. Allison has a great story about her start as a writer and she’s super fun to chat with, so please join me in welcoming today’s featured author…

Hi Allison. Can you tell us about Time of My Life?
Sure. Time of My Life is the story of Jillian Westfield, a contented but not truly fulfilled, stay-at-home mom who has lingering “what ifs” about her past and her happiness. She wakes up one day seven years in her past and has the opportunity, should she so choose it, to rewrite her future.

Okay, but what’s it really about?
I think it’s really about our capability to make our own happiness and our sometimes inability to accept that like it or not, this is the life we have chosen for ourselves. And if you DON’T like it, what can you do to get back on the path that you once envisioned. To me, this isn’t a book about a woman who wonders about an ex-boyfriend and what might have been (though, certainly, there’s that element), rather it’s a book about how small choices in life can accumulate such that sometimes you wake up and say, “How did I get here? Where did my life go off the rails?” And once you ask yourself that, how you find the strength, courage and insight to regain control of the life you once hoped for.

What are some of the “what-ifs” you have encountered in your own life?
Oh gosh, well, I’m mean, of course I’ve entertained those “what ifs” about past loves, like I think nearly every woman has. But I’m the first to say that I think that’s an entirely normal, human emotion...that sometimes, when things get difficult or murky, it’s a lot easier to want to jump off the train and pretend that another path would have been easier. (I should also say that I’m happily married!) I’ve also had the “what if,” of if I hadn’t been in the right place, right time of meeting my husband (we met at the gym! What if one of us hadn’t joined or I hadn’t introduced myself to him!), and what if I hadn’t left Los Angeles, where I was at one point, to move back to NYC, where my whole life changed, including me opting to pursue writing and meeting my husband. I don’t know, I suppose the “what ifs” could be endless, but that said, I have a wonderful and happy and content life, and I really do fall into the mindset that nearly everything works itself out in life as it should.

Tell us a bit about your journey as an author.
Well, as I alluded to above, I wasn’t always determined to be a writer. I was always good at it, and people always told me I should pursue it, but to be honest, when I graduated from college, it simply didn’t seem viable. I mean, how does someone make money as a writer? It seemed ludicrous. I tried on a few different career hats, and one – doing an internet start-up – led to a bunch of freelance writing gigs (I was doing the web copy for the site, as well as the press releases, which led to being hired by a bunch of the site’s partners). From there, I was retained by a leading PR company to ghost-write for celebrities, and from there, on a total fluke, I was hired to ghost-write a wedding book for The Knot. With that under my belt, I landed some national magazine articles, and one thing led to another. (Though I don’t mean to make this sound easy. It was feast or famine for a while, and I worked MY BUTT off to establish myself.) Eventually, I wanted to try my hand at something other than service pieces for mags, so I wrote a novel that landed me an agent but didn’t sell. So then I wrote another novel, which I loved, but said agent did not. We parted ways, I found my current (and fabulous) agent, who sold that book – my debut, The Department of Lost and Found - in a four-way auction. As I said before, sometimes, life works out as it should.

What advice do you have for writers starting out?
Be open to criticism. I say this all the time, but it’s just so imperative. I think one of the biggest mistakes that aspiring (and established) writers can make is assuming that they’re as good as they think they are. I should know: I thought that initial manuscript that never sold was GENIUS. When I went back and reread it several years later, it was HORRID. Just horrid. Thank goodness it never sold! I’ve been fortunate enough along the way in my career to glean some truly constructive criticism, and if I’d never listened to it, I’d never have grown as a writer. Take your ego OUT of the equation, and try to improve yourself with every opportunity.

How does social media and technology play a role in how you connect with readers?
You know, I’m the first to admit that I was a HUGE Twitter skeptic, but I’ve become a total convert. I think what Twitter does is humanizes you to your readers and humanizes your readers to you. You find shared interests (of late, The Bachelorette!), common ground, funny almost insider-y jokes, and for me, personally, it’s been so much fun to put names and faces to people who read my books. Or don’t read them. Plenty of people don’t, and I like them anyway. I don’t know, it’s weird, this concept of connecting with strangers, but I enjoy the hell out of it. I also run a blog for writers, and again, it’s just been a supercool way to connect with people I otherwise wouldn’t have. Truly, some of my good internet friends are people I’ve never actually “met” in real life.

Tell us about The Happiest Days of My Life.
Well, for one, it’s getting a title change! :) Not sure what that will be yet, but no one was quite in love with that title, so, out she goes. But this book sort of turns the concepts of TOML on their heads: it’s about a small-town guidance counselor who thinks that she has everything in her life that she could ever want. But when she’s granted the unwelcome ability to see into the future, she uncovers a mess of secrets that prove that not everything is as it seems, or perhaps, more accurately, not everything is as she’s CHOSEN to see it. I think it gets to the fact that sometimes, we delude ourselves about what’s truly happening, and of course, it also deals with the theme that I get to with all of my books: that of steering yourself toward your own happiness. I’m a big believer in being responsible for yourself and your future and where your life takes you.

What else can readers expect from you in the near future?
Well, I guess just some promotion of my book. :) No, I’m also still doing celebrity interviews and profiles, so if you fly on American Airlines, flip open the mag, and you’ll often still see my byline. And other than that...? The next book in 2010.

What’s the one question you want me to ask, that I didn’t, and what’s your response?
Hmm, how about whom I’d like to see cast in the movie?

I have a lot of different thoughts as to who could and should play Jillian, and the good news is that the producers agree with my thoughts. On the short list? Keri Russell, Reese Witherspoon, Jen Garner, Anne Hathaway, among others. For Henry? Probably Michael Vartan, though I’d be open to plenty of others – Ryan Reynolds, Mark Ruffalo, Ben Affleck, the list goes on. And for Jackson? Any hot late 20s/early 30s guy: Chris Pine, Scott Speedman, John Krasinski, Bradley Cooper...I could do this forever.

How can readers learn more about you and your books?
Drop by my site: http://allisonwinn.com/

Thanks, Allison. I appreciate you taking the time to talk about your latest news and Time of My Life.

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Remember to visit amazon.com to pick up Allison’s book, or check with your local indie shop to grab a copy of the paperback.

Stay tuned for Wednesday’s regularly scheduled author Q&A since you won’t want to miss Kyra Davis.

If you haven’t noticed, I also added a special post today related to my own news, so read on for more info below about my current newsletter and… the release of stains: early poems!

Until tomorrow… happy reading!

the teen scene: hot, new, and introducing…

Earlier this week, the newest YA imprint on the block launched its debut title. After much anticipation, My Soul to Take by Rachel Vincent was released from Harlequin Teen. Yes, that’s right. I said Harlequin. But hold on just a second. Maybe you’re thinking…. bodice ripper? Fabio? Swooning lovers? This is the part where I tell you how so very wrong of a perception that is when it comes to this new, exciting imprint from quite possibly one of the best-selling publishers in the world. Yes, the world.

You see, Harlequin has always had its finger on the pulse of what’s new, what’s hot, and what readers want. Through chick lit highs there was Red Dress Ink. With the woman-as-hero influx came Bombshell. No matter the demand, Harlequin has consistently stepped up to bat to give their readers satisfaction. While it has been a long time in development – wanting to do things the right way – we all knew it was only a matter of time before this mega-publisher introduced a program featuring books for the YA market.

What is noteworthy is the crafty marketing behind the imprint. The team behind this new adventure decided to use the Harlequin brand to their advantage, while offering something new, young, and cutting edge that distinguishes it in a class of its own. If you go to the Harlequin website, you won’t see the Teen books splashed all over the main page. However, in targeting the appropriate audience, you will find a devoted website to the new imprint. Oh yes, they have done their research. In fact, an entire Teen Panel website is dedicated to the lengthy research conducted with readers aged 13 to 17. What better way to discover the types of stories teens want to read than by asking them directly?

With the mega-parent Harlequin brand backing them, the new Teen imprint aims to give young adults exactly what they want: a variety of stories about them and the various challenges young people go through and push to overcome. It’s about the kinds of characters teens and tweens can relate to. That doesn’t exclude adults from enjoying the scope of titles coming soon to a bookshelf near you. In fact, as editor Natashya Wilson has discussed all week in her Harlequin Teen blog tour, the authors and stories will likely appeal to a much wider audience than your niece, nephew, and babysitter. Adults are eating up the YA market, too, which is no surprise when you consider the quality of character development, story arcs, and author voices houses like Harlequin are seeking.

Where Harlequin Teen is super smart, is in recognizing a good thing and making it better. Yes, paranormal and fantasy are both hot right now and thus we are introduced to the titles My Soul to Take, Intertwined, and Elphame’s Choice. However, not everyone on the planet (although it may seem so at times) is as addicted to these hot genres as others may be. Which is why Harlequin Teen is keeping their catalog open to offering a variety of genres and styles. The blog tour stop at YA Book Nerd is an exceptional preview for those who want to discover exactly the variety I am talking about. Editor Natashya Wilson shared the many exciting titles coming out over the next year, including a re-issue of Carrie Pilby (quite possibly one of the most moving and funny books I have read, ever) by Caren Lissner, Tagged by Mara Purnhagen, and The Oracle of Dating by Allison van Diepen. Teen readers can also look forward to books based on the ABC Family series GREEK! With a line-up of such diversity, you can see why I think Harlequin Teen is onto something good here.

In writing, and especially in teen fiction, it’s impossible to keep up with the trends. By the time a writer realizes a trend is hot, hot, hot… the trend is already on the downswing. Considering the diversity of the scheduled titles Harlequin Teen is touting for the next year – and beyond – the one thing they are guaranteeing is variety. Whatever those teens in the research panel said must have taken hold with the editorial team behind Harlequin Teen, because we – the readers and the writers – are in for some surprises, bodice-rippers not included. But that’s exactly the kind of fiction-forward thinking that is behind the scenes at this new imprint.

So what about you, dear reader? Are you a fan of Gena Showalter and can’t wait to devour Intertwined? Have you already consumed Rachel Vincent’s My Soul to Take? Are you like me and eager to get your hands on Tagged? Share your thoughts here and be sure to bookmark the Harlequin Teen website and share it with your younger friends. Also, I highly recommend following Harlequin Teen on twitter so you can catch links to the rest of Natashya Wilson’s blog tour.

One last question: if you were a trend-setting YA author (and maybe you are) what are the kinds of stories you hope to see Harlequin Teen publish?