Author Interview
2
1. When did you first realize you wanted to be a writer?
As soon as I was freed from my career job (Intellectual
Property Paralegal) and was home starting a family, the burning desire to
create was overwhelming. I guess you might consider me to be a late bloomer
because I was about 30 when this urgent need came over me. I’ve always been an
avid, life-long reader with a BA in English, but I never thought I could do
something I love for a job until I started writing creatively. Since then, I
haven't looked back. I know writing fiction is what I want to do with the rest
of my life.
2.
How long does it take you to write a book?
My
first book (Rematch) took the longest. It took 4 years of hard work and many,
many (many!) drafts before it became what it is today. The second book (Double
Fault), the followup to Rematch, materialized much quicker. It was so much
easier with the 2nd book since, not only did I know my characters and the plot
line of the story on a deeper level, I also figured out my writing style.
Visited, my latest release, also took about a year to write.
3.
What do you think makes a great story?
For
me, there has to be a deep connection with the main characters. I want to feel
what they're experiencing until I get so involved, I start to become mixed up
about whether the story is happening to them or to me.
4.
What is your work schedule like when you're writing?
I
mostly do all my writing in the hours between 9:00am and 4:00pm. If I'm in an
exciting point in the story, sometimes I'll come back to it again at night, but
I'm usually too spacey by then. Weekends, too, I might work a few hours, but my
family usually keeps me too busy.
5.
How do you balance family and writing?
Honestly,
it's difficult not to get frustrated at the demands of my family life when all
I want to do is work, but during those times I have to remind myself that this
career choice isn't a sprint, it's a marathon. My project isn't going anywhere,
Twitter won't disappear if I miss tweeting a few days, and Facebook will take
me right back as if I never left. At times, I get so wrapped up in writing my
story or promoting my books, it's easy to forget what's important in life.
Thank God I do have a husband and kids because I would probably become a
complete hermit, never wanting to leave my quiet house.
6. Where do you get your information or ideas for your
books?
So far, I think the ideas have all been planted in my
brain by God. That's the only way I can explain it. It's like little
messages from a song or a news story on the radio or TV will reinforce the
beginnings of a theme in my head. When I sat down to write Rematch, I was aware
of the elements I liked in YA fiction, so I knew I had to create a story with a
supernatural side to it, that there had to be a love story in there, and that
the plot had to be unique. I live about an hour's drive from Sedona, Arizona.
As my series is called The Vortex Series, it was my visits to Sedona and its
vortexes that ultimately inspired the fantasy element in the series. There is
something truly magical about that place. It feels out of this world, fragile.
I knew I had to create a story that led my characters to this incredible place.
7. What was one of the most surprising things you
learned in creating your books?
That I just don't get sick of doing it. I can work on a
book for hours at a time, but it will feel like only a short time has passed.
8.
How many books have you written? I have three published novels. Which is your
favorite?
I
guess a writer will always feel something special about their first baby, so I
have to go with Rematch. Although, I'm starting to have some readers tell me
their favorite of the two in the series is Double Fault. Encouraging sign
they'll want to read the final book in the series (Deuce) when it's released.
9.
Are your characters based on anyone you know?
There
are elements of friends of mine, famous musicians (Brandon Boyd and Dave Grohl
for example), students I've known over the years in my time as a youth group
leader, and a little of myself in all the characters. In the end, though, each
character becomes their own person by the time I'm done writing the story.
10.
Do you have a favorite place you love to write?
I'm
the most productive in my office at home, butt in chair, and complete quiet in
the house.
11.
How hard is it to get published?
To
be traditionally published, it's incredibly difficult these days. Unless you're
a celebrity or a proven best selling author, you most likely won't get a sniff
by any agent as a new writer on the scene. You have to absolutely floor an
agent in two paragraphs of your query letter for them to consider reading the
first 50 pages of your work. Agents tell us they receive hundreds of query
letters in a month. It's a freakin’ miracle if they happen to choose your query
letter as one they will followup on. The good news is that self-publishing is
not quite as painful. Oh, to do it well it's not exactly easy--finding a solid,
reputable editor, hiring the right cover artist for your story, and then
affording all these expenses on your own, can be nerve wracking and stressful
to say the least. However, in the end, your labor of love is out there for the
world to receive instead of being shoved into a drawer of failed dreams.
12.
What do your family and friends think about your books?
They
have all been wonderful supporters of my writing career and have been surprised
by how much they now like YA fiction. My kids, especially, were so proud when I
got invited to speak at their school and can now find copies of my books in
their school library. Most of my friends and family have known that this was a
lifelong dream of mine and are thrilled to see it begin to take shape into a
tangible thing.
13.
What do you like to do when you are not writing?
I
do like to exercise--Vinyasa yoga, tennis, running with major tunes blaring in
my ears, or hiking mountain trails are a few of my favorite activities. When I
get my exercise done, though, I love to read (surprise, surprise). I love YA
books just as much as any blogger and Goodreads user out there. And if I have
any time left on my hands, which is rare, I love, love to play drums. I would
say I play at an intermediate level, but I fantasize I'm keeping up with Jose
Pasillas of Incubus and Taylor Hawkins of the Foo Fighters. My husband tells me
to "dream on."
14.
Do you have any suggestions to help aspiring writers better themselves and
their craft? If so, what are they?
My
best advice is to continue reading as much as possible, and not just the genre
they write in, but in all genres. Don't let too long a stretch of time unfold
without doing some sort of writing while you're plotting your masterpiece in
your head.
15.
As a child, what did you want to do when you grew up?
I have to admit, I just don't remember. Is that
terrible? Besides being a
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