Summer with author Cindy Jones

“Signing with an agent allowed me to write outside of the closet. Answering to an editor focused my efforts. Deadlines enforced prioritizing. And cashing the advance created a legal obligation.” — CINDY JONES

What has always been the purpose of books in your life? I’ve always wanted to live in a novel. I grew up in small towns where nothing ever happened and time refused to budge. But through books, I could ride in Nancy Drew’s roadster, wander the moors with Heathcliff, and audition with Marjorie Morningstar. In college and grad school, novels were a reward to be indulged the moment final exams ended. As an adult, I seek resonance in novels but love the escape aspect of a good story. As a writer, I spend a good part of each day living in my work-in-progress.             

 

How did you decide to finally make the leap and write, My Jane Austen Summer? Writers must write, and if ignored, the impulse will emerge sideways in other forms. Ten years ago, it was emerging from me sideways: writing a column as “Minnie Vann” for the elementary school newsletter, creating skits for cub scouts, composing catchy soccer mom emails…My husband suggested I say goodbye to all that and enroll in the SMU Continuing Ed Creative Writing Program. My writing impulses have toed the line from that point on.

 

What attributes have you always found so endearing in Jane Austen? I once thought Jane Austen was perfect, and therefore boring. When I learned that she was a young girl stuck in a country village reading and writing her way out, my interest was piqued. When I learned that she continued to write without the benefit of publication and even though it probably made her seem odd to her friends and family, I felt compassion. When I read between the lines of her fiction and found we agreed on most everything, I realized we were best friends in different time zones.  

When readers arrive at the last page of the last Jane Austen novel, they have nowhere to go. Writing My Jane Austen Summer was therapy for me and an offering to the many readers who, like me, need more Jane Austen.       

 

Growing up in Ohio, how did you manage to effortlessly transport yourself and your readers to England? What sort of research did you find necessary to accomplish this? My job was to find good details to make my readers believe they were in England, and not merely soaking up reference material. I sought details in unusual places. For instance, my hairdresser shared his photographs from a trip to Bath, where I found the level of detail you don’t find in buttoned-down publications. I read amateur travel blogs, hunting revelations not found in references. I traveled to England and found my own behind-the-scenes details to enrich the final draft. Of course, in addition to the off-beat, I consulted all of the usual suspects:  British magazines, travel guides, books, books, and more books, and a wealth of online information.     

 

How difficult was it to find an agent for My Jane Austen Summer? I was unable to find an agent until I, a.) put my first novel in a drawer and began writing something agents were interested in, b.) listened to the advice of a published friend and acted accordingly, c.) pushed my imagination beyond capacity, and d.)  listened carefully to criticism, revising my work until most of the bad things I’d stubbornly clung to were gone.  

Was there ever a time you thought it may not make it to publication? The day I received eight steadfast rejections from editors, shortly after the initial submission, I thought I was finished—not only with this novel—but as a writer. (Remember, I’d spent years revising away bad stuff). After wallowing in grief for several hours, I discovered I was unwilling to allow my dream to die. I returned to the rejections and studied the editors’ comments for a pattern. After finding one, I applied it to my manuscript, cut the middle 150 pages (again) and pushed my imagination two excruciating levels beyond its personal limit. A year of revisions later, the book sold to HarperCollins. 

          

What motivates you to write? Do you have set times that you feel most productive? As a child, I was bored out of my mind unless I was making something. Now, I understand that the process of writing makes me (dare I say) happy and fulfilled. I find I am most productive in the mornings, and I write well after a walk or a vacation.          

 

I believe that writing is a part-time job for you right now, do you see that changing in the future? How do you manage to fit it into your family and work life? In the beginning, I wrote in the wee hours while husband and babies slept. Eventually, I wrote standing at the kitchen counter while preschoolers’ macaroni and cheese boiled. I have written at the soccer field and on the steering wheel, between parent/teacher conferences and during sermons. Signing with an agent allowed me to write outside of the closet. Answering to an editor focused my efforts. Deadlines enforced prioritizing. And cashing the advance created a legal obligation. Thanks to my husband, I have the privilege and luxury of devoting all of my working hours to writing and promotion.           

What would be your advice to budding authors? Here is the good news: rejection does not mean failure. Rejection most likely means that you are querying the wrong agent or your manuscript is simply not ready. Here is the hard part: if you want publication, you must push beyond your personal blind spots concerning your writing. When you develop the ability to bludgeon your own creation on the advice of trusted criticism, when you actually do what published authors have been telling you to do but you have avoided doing because you think it doesn’t apply to you, you will begin to experience success in the marketplace.      

Falling in love with author Syrie James

This season’s must-read, Syrie James’ Dracula, My Love explores the charming side of one of literary histories most famous villains. From the bestselling author of The Secret Diaries of Charlotte Brontë and The Lost Memoirs of Jane Austen comes a tale so thrilling, so romantic, so utterly transporting, the only regret you’ll have is that it must come to an end.

A fantastic addition to the Bram Stoker legacy, Dracula, My Love deals with the lesser known story of Dracula’s lover Mina Harker.  What drew you to explore this side of the famed Dracula tale?

 

Although I loved Bram Stoker’s brilliant novel, it left me unsatisfied.  His Dracula—one of the earliest literary depictions of a vampire—is an evil, ghoulish old man, endlessly discussed and feared, but rarely seen after the first few chapters. The two female characters in the book are sweet, feminine, and sexless, and their encounters with Dracula are almost entirely off-stage and shrouded in mystery. We know nothing of Mina’s courtship or early life, other than a single, vague reference that she never knew her parents, and the fact that she and Lucy are close friends.  We get theories about Dracula’s origins, but never hear the true story from Dracula himself.

 

The book also leaves many unanswered questions. Who is Dracula? How did he acquire his uncanny powers?  Who are the three vampire women at his castle? Why does Dracula choose Whitby as his port of entry into England, if Purfleet is his intended destination? Why does Mina become his prey? And shouldn’t there be greater consequences when Dracula establishes a mental connection with Mina after she drinks his blood?

 

As I re-read Dracula, I saw that there existed a wonderful opportunity to fill in the voids that Stoker had created and bring a fresh perspective to this timeless work. I envisioned a new and more romantic interpretation, told from Mina’s point of view, which would reveal the untold story of Mina’s passionate love affair with Dracula, which was too scandalous to reveal.

 

In the book you portray a multi-layered villain manipulating each character’s dealings with him to show different sides of his personality. How do you go about humanizing a villain?

 

From the beginning, I envisioned Count Dracula not as a villain at all, but as one of the heroes of the novel.  To accomplish that, he couldn’t be Stoker’s hideous, selfish, elderly recluse; neither could he be the suave but evil charmer so often portrayed in the movies. I saw Count Dracula not only as an attractive, charismatic, and highly intelligent and accomplished being, but a sympathetic one: a man who’d taken full advantage of his gift of immortality to expand his mind and talents, a man who had a very different explanation for every terrible act attributed to him, and who’d been completely misunderstood. Surely he would surely appear in his youngest and most attractive form to the woman he wished to woo—just as the female vampires at his castle appear to Jonathan as ravishing beauties. It was important to humanize Dracula this way so that Mina—and the reader—would fall madly in love with him. To make that happen, I had to fall in love with him myself.

 

The book is brilliantly written to captivate with each page.  How do you find that fine line between suspense and frustration for the reader?

 

For me, a great book is one that keeps me turning pages. To accomplish that goal, I carefully structure and outline my novels, layering in hints and mysteries with regard to both story and character. I strive to reveal the answers to those mysteries one piece at a time, at what I hope is just the right interval when the reader feels they simply have to know. It’s not easy and I end up going over my manuscripts many times, so I’m very happy to hear that I struck a good balance for you with this book!

 

As a well-known historical novelist, what draws you to the genre?

 

I love the research, learning about other time periods, and imagining what it was like to live back then. As I delve into the lives and minds of characters from the past, flesh out their back stories, and bring them to life, it’s like being given the gift of time travel. In the case of real-life historical figures such as Jane Austen and Charlotte Brontë, who I deeply admire, in writing those books it was an honor and a thrill to “become” them.

 

How much research went into this book?

 

A great deal—including an in-depth study of life in the Victorian era and the locations portrayed in the novel, obsessive re-reading of an annotated version of Stoker’s novel in search of details and clues, and the perusal of other vampire literature.

 

Where do you do your research? Is it mainly online, at a research library, do you have a favorite place to search for facts?

 

I do most of my research from books I purchase and on the internet. It is incredible how much information is available online now.

 

With our current obsession with all things “Vampire,” in your opinion how does Dracula, My Love fit into the many offerings out there?

 

Today, readers are drawn to vampires who are “good”—smolderingly handsome, intelligent, young, immortal, sexual beings who fall madly in love with a human and constantly struggle against the evil within them. That’s a perfect description of my version of Dracula! But my book takes it to a different level by using Bram Stoker’s classic to create something sexy and modern.

 

It is my hope with this novel to appeal not only to readers who already love vampire stories, to those who enjoy a passionate, adventure-filled love story, and to those who love historical fiction—but to entice readers of contemporary vampire fiction back to the fascinating Victoria era, to meet the first and most powerful vampire of them all.

 

As a bestselling author what would you say is your secret formula to successful novels?

 

I work long and hard on every book, pour my heart and soul into it, sometimes for years. While I’m researching and writing, I obsess about the book in progress, eat, sleep, and breathe it, and never stop thinking about it. I think that’s the formula to success in anything: be passionate about what you do, give it your full attention, and don’t settle for anything but your very best work.

 

Are you ever nervous when your books finally make it to shelves?

 

I have such a great time writing my books that when they finally come out, I can’t wait for other people to read them!

 

Any advice to budding authors? 

 

Read everything. Study hard. Join writing groups. Write what you love. I believe that the secrets to success are threefold, and they all begin with P: passion, patience, and perseverance. No matter who you are, how old you are, what you do, or what you wish for … I believe that if you press on, keep your goals in sight, and put in the hard work, you can achieve your dreams—no matter how impossible or unlikely they may seem to others.

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Commuting with author Emily Gray Tedrowe

 

A scholar, writer and mother, Commuters marks the debut of author Emily Gray Tedrowe. Many years in the making, this captivating book explores the role family plays in budding romances, love and life. The storyline revolves around the marriage of 78 year old Winne Easton who finds love again marrying a wealthy, elderly Chicago businessman. Already being described as a standout, it will have you pondering life, love and sibling rivalry long after the last page has been turned.  

 

Commuters is your debut novel, how long has it been in the making?

 

I can actually date the first words I wrote in the first draft of this novel—it was four years ago, on the first morning my youngest daughter went to day care, after my maternity leave. She was three months old; I dropped her off, had a good cry, and stopped at a coffee shop on my way to teach a class. I sat down, opened my laptop, and banged out much of what would become Winnie on her wedding day. This was the beginning of a book I had been day-dreaming about for over a year. So I would say that from conception to publication, it took about five or six years.

 

You hold a Ph.D. in English literature from NY University, how do you think this has affected the way in which you write?

 

For a long time after I finished my lit Ph.D., and realized I was a fiction writer instead of a scholar—or maybe as well as a scholar—I agonized over what I saw as a costly mistake. I felt embarrassed to lack an MFA, which so many friends and writers I admire had. Instead, I was the conflicted owner of a very expensive degree which certified me as a specialist in Renaissance minutiae. But in truth I had loved my literature studies—I had wonderful teachers, and I was immersed in research and critical thinking and an extraordinary kind of deep, broad reading that I may never get the chance to experience again. I'm still not sure how that Ph.D. has affected the way I write; I'm coming to accept that it was an essential part of becoming the reader I am, which then led to becoming the writer I am. 

 

When writing, do you plan your novel before you begin or does it evolve as you go?

 

I tend to glimpse the entire novel, whole, and write towards that. I don't have any formal kind of outline; it all sort of hangs out in my mind. But before each scene, I might scribble notes in a kind of journal: what needs to happen in this scene, questions I have, mysteries to discover and uncover.

 

Was there one particular moment that ignited the idea for Commuters?

 

When I was a teenager, one of my grandmother's best friends remarried, in her ’70s. I was intrigued by that, then and now. Commuters tells a story that is quite different from my grandmother's friend, but it did begin there, many years ago—in my fascination with all the complexity of the relationships between these new families coming together. And then one day I happened to remember that situation, and I thought, what would it be like if one person brought a huge amount of money into that kind of late-in-life marriage?  

 

This book deals with the intricate relationships between family members using love and money as a catalyst in character interaction, how different is this family unit to yours and what concept did you want to leave readers contemplating long after putting down your book?

 

I drew on my experience of family a lot in this novel, and my own relationships as daughter, mother, wife, and so on. Woven throughout the different generations of characters are my perspectives on what it would feel like to be experiencing some of the situations that I made up for Winnie, Rachel, Avery, and the others. As for a moral . . . I don't expect readers to take any specific message or lesson away from reading my novel. My aim is to tell all the truth, but tell it slant—as Emily Dickinson wrote.

 

How long did it take to find a home for your novel? Did you go via an agent?

 

I am so incredibly lucky to have Alice Tasman as my agent. From the first moment we spoke, I could tell she "got" my novel—she had such smart ideas about how to revise it, and she was also incredibly enthusiastic and positive about its chances in the marketplace. After she sent the manuscript out to editors, it took a month to sell. And yes, that month was sheer misery in terms of my nervous waiting—but that only made it more thrilling when I got that call from Alice.    

 

What has been the biggest obstacle in seeing this book come to fruition?

 

Finding the necessary time to get the work done. It was painful, but the pre-dawn hours became my friend.

 

What's your advice to budding authors?

 

Work as hard as you can, and be kind to yourself.  

 

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Seven years with
author Claire Cook

 

NY Times bestselling author Claire Cook, wrote her first novel at age 45, seven highly successful books later, she continues to wow us with her easy-to-read tales of life and love. The author of Must Love Dogs (now a Hollywood film), Seven Year Switch is her latest instalment. This inspiring writer recently took time out of her busy schedule to chat with www.WriteNowToday.com about life as an author.

 

I love the concept behind the Seven Year Switch, was it a specific moment for you personally that led to the book being based on this specific concept of transformation?

 

Thanks! The novel is not at all autobiographical, but reinvention is very much a theme in all seven of my novels. Because I wrote my first novel at 45, after decades of fear and procrastination, I think the idea of transformation just naturally found its way into my writing. I think most of us can relate to our lives not turning out quite the way we planned, and we're all trying to figure out our own next chapters. In Seven Year Switch, Jill thought she'd have a big career as a cultural consultant. Instead, when her husband abandons her, she finds herself answering phones for a travel agency and teaching at a community center. They say that every seven years you become a completely new person, and the book is the story of how she takes that leap to the next phase of her life.

 

As a bestselling novelist, is there much pressure to reproduce your past successes and how does this affect the way you write?

 

My goal is to become a better writer with each novel, and I work really hard at that. It's the only thing I can control, so I don't worry about the rest of it! 

 

In regards to your own writing process, how detailed is your plan before you begin writing? Do you have any little writing rituals?

 

Robert Frost said, "No surprise for the writer, no surprise for the reader." I have no idea if it's true, but it works for me! I don't outline, because it would make it feel like a term paper. I just jump in and figure things out along the way. I have to say that the parts I didn't plan often turn out to be the best parts of my books, so I'm glad I allow myself to stay open to these surprises. As for rituals, I wrote my first book in my minivan, so I think when you're ready, you can do it anywhere. You have the power, not a special pen or bathrobe or office chair. JUST DO IT!

 

Seven Year Switch is your seventh book to date, have you found that each book gets a little easier or do they each pose their own challenges?

 

The only thing that gets easier is that, based on past experience, you know you're probably going to live through it. If writing a book were easy, who wouldn't have one? It's supposed to be hard, and it is. There's also great joy in it, and a wonderful feeling of accomplishment once you've finished.

 

What time during the day are you at your most creative?

 

First thing in the morning. I get up really early, pour a cup of coffee, and get right to work as I'm waking up. I try hard not to check email or Facebook or Twitter until I've finished my pages for the day.

 

What do you think is a writer's greatest obstacle?

That the world is such an endlessly fascinating place with lots of fun things to do.

 

How do you overcome that?

I chain myself to my computer till my work is done. Talent is important, but beyond that, it's all about tenacity!

And your advice to budding novelists?

Giving back to emerging writers is really important to me, so I share everything I've learned on the writing page at http://ClaireCook.com. Check it out!

 

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Dishing it up with author Carolyn O’Neil

 

Carolyn O’Neil, MD RD is an experienced writer, television presenter and dietitian. Co-author of The Dish on Eating Healthy and Being Fabulous! (Atria Books), she took time out of her busy schedule to dish the dirt on what makes a successful writing career.

                                    

How did you come to co-author The Dish?

 

My co-author Densie Webb who is also a registered dietitian emailed me and asked if I would consider doing a book with her and it was the impetus I needed to launch the project. We had never worked together but had been covering the same beat, food and nutrition, for years as journalists. Densie has a PhD in Nutrition and wrote for the New York Times and I had a Masters in Nutrition and Communication and reported for CNN. We threw ideas back and forth but knew that we wanted to write something that was a summary of the world of diet and nutrition information that we had witnessed and covered as writers for years. But we wanted it to be fresh and light and easy to read. I remember sitting in front of a blank computer screen when we began the book and my daughter Katie who was I think 9 at the time said to me, “Mom, no offense or anything. But, if you have fun writing this book then people will have fun reading it.” That was it!!!

 

What is your writing background and how has it helped you to become an author?

 

I’ve always enjoyed writing and have a minor in English as an undergraduate, along with a BS in Dietetics from Florida State University. My nutrition professors told me that they looked forward to reading my research papers because they were very creative and fun to read. I entered a Seventeen Magazine contest—to write about diet ideas for young women—while I was in college and I won! The food editor of Seventeen at the time was the legendary magazine editor Olga Rigsby, who just died last year…and when I went on to CNN…we kept in touch and I will always be thankful for her early support!!! BIG TIP: stay in touch with your mentors because they really appreciate it! My nutrition professors at FSU told me they enjoyed reading my research papers because they were always creative and fun. Guess I was just trying to entertain myself while writing about the required scientific subjects. As a graduate student at Boston University I earned a Masters in Nutrition with a specialization in Communications. So I’ve always been drawn to writing about food, nutrition and cuisine…with a twist.   

 

What is the best and worst thing about co-authoring?

 

Well my experience co-authoring with Densie was really perfect. Even though we lived in separate cities—she in Austin and me in Atlanta—we hit the keyboards daily and divided the chapters and topics almost seamlessly. She was more a home body and family cook and I was the gal about town dining out and hanging with the chefs and winemakers. Our voices seem to blend easily as we came up with the tone for the book. The best part is that you have someone prompting you to stay on task, “Did you write the section about sea salt today?”  The worst part is making sure each author gets equal credit and attention for the book. Densie told me right up front that she would not do any public speaking or TV appearances because she was just too shy and didn’t enjoy it. But, since she was the RD with the PhD in Nutrition she could carry the weight of the research and fact checking. I, with my CNN and public speaking experience, would carry the weight of the media promotion of the book. A nice yin-yang…but I was always concerned that Densie would get her share of credit for the book in the press. We split all money 50-50.

 

What sets The Dish – On Eating Healthy and Being Fabulous! apart from other diet/nutrition books?

 

It was billed as Sex and the City meets Food and Nutrition by a number of reviewers. While other diet books are all about deprivation, The Dish is about what to ADD to your diet to be fabulous! The chapters can be accessed one by one as individual lessons and you don’t have to start with Chapter One! There is no strict day by day diet plan. Instead we opted to create a chapter called, “What to Eat Today and Everyday…depending on the kind of day you’re having!” to teach strategies for real life diet decisions from home kitchens to airport eateries. We answered real life diet dilemmas of women such as “I have to have fries today!” or “I don’t want another boring salad!!” 

 

Was it hard to find a publisher/agent for the book?

 

I think the biggest reason we were able to secure a great agent and land a publisher (our book went to auction and seven publishers bid on the book) is that we had top class platforms—Densie with her NY Times background and me with my CNN experience—also we were proven writers in other genres …and the proposal was just really pretty damn good.

 

In terms of publicity, what is your advice to writers looking to promote their work?

 

Right now, I’m thinking …woah!!!!! I should be taking advantage of the momentum behind Sex and the City 2, since The Dish was dubbed “Sex and the City meets Food and Nutrition”. You have to constantly think of promoting your book. Publishers don’t do much, they move to the next book very quickly. We were lucky to have Atria Books fund a multi city book tour…but I was shocked at the low numbers of people who show up at book stores for signings. They are the worst places!!! Much better to organize a special event. In our case we packed the house when it was a Women’s Health Center or Girls Getaway Weekend kind of thing. Think about who would buy your book and find out where they go and what they like to do, find them so they can find your book. Today, that can mean like minded blogs and websites, virtual stores and link to Amazon or wherever to sell your book.

 

How do you keep motivated when it comes to writing?

 

Deadlines are key—whether from an editor, a colleague or promise of cash! But, you have to enjoy the process and the information you’re writing about. And I like to imagine the reader having a good time and appreciating the content I’ve researched and summarized for them. In my case, I write about diet and nutrition, so I am motivated to cut through the clutter (and crap) that’s out there on the  subject and tell people what’s new and true to help them decide what to eat, what not to eat and why. 

 

Do you have any writing rituals?

 

Really, really wish I did. Guess I hit the computer each morning, but I like a flexible schedule, so I write in the afternoon and evenings too. I find it easiest to write at my home computer in my office. I am terrible at writing on lap top on airplanes, for instance. I end up playing solitaire or feeling weird about the person next to me looking at what I’m writing. But when I write, now that I think about it, I start with a really snappy start to get me going and then do sort of an outline and then fill it in. Guess I learned that doing CNN scripts. Grab ‘em with the first line. But, here’s a secret. I actually wrote the last page of The Dish first. It is a summary statement of the book, that’s because as a TV news reporter you often have to write the “stand up close” while on the scene, way before you write the rest of the story script back at the office. You know, the “and so it goes etc etc, Carolyn O’Neil, CNN, London.” So, I guess I think carefully about the beginning and the end first, before filling in the middle of my writing projects. Ta da!     

 

An experienced journalist, TV host, dietitian and fabulous woman of the world, how have you seen the industry change and what do you think writers need to do to be successful in today's world?

 

Thanks for the “fabulous” part! I say it’s important to stay relevant. No matter your age—Samantha Jones is fabulous at 52! And Betty White rocks at 88! — writers never outgrow the need to meet audience demand for information and entertainment that’s relevant to today’s times and concerns. And, that includes meeting audience demand for how they like to find information. That said, multi-platform writing is mission critical. Twitter, Facebook, blogs, e books…all that jazz. But, I really believe that none of those mediums are as important as the message. Have something to say and mean it. One of my favourite bits of writing advice comes from the great advertising man Leo Burnett, “Make it simple, make it memorable, make it inviting to look at and make it fun to read.”

  

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Chasing storms with author Jenna Blum

 

New York Times bestselling author Jenna Blum took time out of her busy schedule to talk to us here at www.WriteNowToday.com. Author of Those Who Save Us, her recent novel, Chasing Storms hits shelves May 27^th and like her debut, is destined for great success.

 

Your first novel, Those Who Save Us spent nearly two years on the New York Times bestseller list. Did you have any apprehension when planning your follow up?

 

The second novel is often notoriously difficult for writers, and I am no exception. But actually, Those Who Save Us being a New York Times bestseller was helpful, because I had many readers writing to me every day about the second novel and cheering me on. Their support meant more to me than I can say. Unlike Those Who Save Us though, The Stormchasers was sold while it was still in the architectural stage, so for the first time in my life I was writing fiction on a deadline. This freaked me out so much I had to run away from home to do it!  For two months I lived with my black Lab in a motel in southeastern Minnesota, writing—and going on the occasional stormchase when the day’s work was done.

 

Was there anything you wanted to do differently this time around?

           

With The Stormchasers, I wanted to make the writing descriptive and muscular. For Those Who Save Us, which is a historical novel set half in Nazi Germany, I aspired to a formal, elegant cadence I hoped would read almost as though the novel had been translated from German. The Stormchasers is a contemporary, extremely American novel in which the characters see and experience amazing things, and my goal was to translate those experiences as accurately as possible, so the power of the storms in the novel—emotional, mental, atmospheric—would speak to readers for themselves.

 

As the title suggests, the story revolves around storm chasing. Do you have any personal experience with this kind of thing?

 

Absolutely. I’ve been fascinated with severe weather since I was four and saw a tornado in my grandmother’s southern MN hometown—an experience I replicated in The Stormchasers.  When I lived in Minnesota in my 20s, I chased as an amateur, often with my poor mom in tow; I’d see a storm on the Weather Channel and drive us toward it, often with results like our hiding in a barn with the storm coming and the animals running away. Eventually I figured out I should stormchase with professionals, so for five years I’ve followed Tempest Tours, a professional stormchase tour company out of Texas. I look forward to chasing again with Tempest this June and leading my own tour, which will show readers and storm enthusiasts, big weather and how it translated into the novel. For more information:  www.tempesttours.com, Tour 10.

 

The subject of bipolar features quite heavily in the book. What has been your experience with this disorder? And why did you feel it important to include?

 

To me, the central characters’ struggle with bipolar disorder and its consequences IS the main story in The Stormchasers.  Like many of my readers, I have beloved people in my life who are bipolar, and for years I’ve watched them cope with the disorder’s highs and lows. One thing that has always struck me is the impossible conundrum people with bipolar disorder have to face: either take medication to comply with polite society but not feel like themselves, or don’t take medication and feel like themselves but not be able to function in polite society. And while I was researching bipolarity I was also struck by how often it is likened to storms—mania, for instance, is described as being caused by a storm of electrical energy in the brain. So I wanted to write about bipolarity in a storm context, to explore these “storms in the mind’s eyes” through The Stormchasers’ twin protagonists: Charles, who has the disorder, and his sister Karena, who doesn’t. Charles’s mood storms and their consequences comprise the heart of the novel.

In regards to your writing style, how do you go about planning your novel?

 

I am very strict about novel-planning and spend at least a year exploring what the novel is about and how I will structure it before I start writing. I’m a structuralist, a big believer in outlines—writing a novel is such a huge task in itself, why approach it without a map?  Despite all the planning however, the novel will shapeshift as I get to know it better, so although I know the basic story before I set out, I’ll constantly be revising my outline. For The Stormchasers, I had 15—and the final one was a storyboard I drew, in which each scene was laid out like a square on a board game and illustrated with colored markers.

 

Do you write as if it's a business, set hours, office etc. or do you work around when you feel most creative?

 

My life as a writer is seasonal, like crop rotation. When I am writing a novel, that’s all I do—in seclusion, in the Writer’s Protection Program, obsessively. With The Stormchasers, I got about three hours of sleep a night, because the novel and its characters kept waking me up.  When the writing and revision is done, it’s time to promote: visiting readers on tour, in book clubs, and at events. I love meeting readers!  Eventually I’ll settle down to start researching and planning the next project—and then it’s time to immerse and start writing again.

 

What is the most important thing, you believe, that contributes to your writing success? What do you think is the one thing readers find in your books that they don't perhaps find in others?

 

My readers are the biggest component in my books’ success. They passed Those Who Save Us from mother to daughter, book club to book club, hand to hand—and that’s why the book enjoyed the success it did. What I think readers responded to in Those Who Save Us and will find in The Stormchasers is a good story, well told. It sounds simple, but there are many beautifully written books in which not much happens, and there are many lively books whose writing is, well, not so great. It’s rare to find a book that’s both written well and contains a good story, and that’s what I aspire to provide my readers.

 

Do you have any words of wisdom for budding authors?  

 

I will quote Winston Churchill:  “Never give in, never give in, never give in.” 

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The good, the bad & the ugly with author Lisa See

 

She is by far one of my favorite authors and indeed for any lover of fine fiction, you’ll be hard pressed to discover a more captivating author than Lisa See. Her break out novel, Snow Flower and the Secret Fan was released in 2005 with high praise from fellow author, Amy Tan, describing it as “achingly beautiful, a marvel of imagination.” A critically acclaimed hit, Peony in Love (2007) soon followed becoming an instant best seller. Her latest release Shanghai Girls is destined to follow in their “best seller” footsteps with readers impatiently waiting for the next See installment.

Born in Paris and raised in L.A., See is a true professional striving to delve deeper with every novel effortlessly transporting you to another time and place, to drop you amongst the lives and relationships of strangers who are soon to become friends. Many of you may have heard of See’s work however, some may be unaware that See is also a mystery writer of the highest caliber with three mystery novels under her belt. She took time out of her busy schedule to talk to us here at www.WriteNowToday.com and we are forever grateful.  

 

How do you approach your writing, is it something you do as a business (with set hours and a designated space) or do you write when creativity strikes? Do you have any special writing rituals? 

 

It’s a business and you have to approach it as a business. People always ask, “How do you have the discipline to sit down and write every day?” It’s easy! I have a deadline and this is what I do—it’s my business. I’ve never missed a deadline and I don’t plan on missing one in the future either. That means you can’t wait until the last minute to write a book (this isn’t like writing an essay for school or cramming for finals) and you can’t wait for inspiration to strike (because you could wait a long time). Writing is an art. Art—painting, playing the violin, being a world-class dancer or even tennis player--requires daily practice. You’re not going to be great every day. You may not even be good every day. But you have to keep doing it every day to get to the good stuff. I don’t have much in the way of writing rituals, except for: a cup of tea, music without words, and a sense that what I’m writing today might not be that great but I can fix it and mold it as I go through many drafts.

Many people don't realize that you have a mystery series as well as your highly successful fiction novels, what draws you to the mystery genre? Were you ever told diversifying would be detrimental to your career? 

This question made me chuckle.  In the early days, my publishers refused to put the word “mystery” on my book jackets. They thought it would hurt my reputation. I always thought that by not having “mystery” on the jackets hurt the sales of the books. My publishers kept telling me that I was too literary to write mysteries. That’s an insult as far as I’m concerned.  It’s an insult to mystery writers and the mystery genre. But it was also an insult to me.  Literary writers are also stuck in a genre…typically a genre that doesn’t sell. Anyway, the diversification—if you want to call it that—came when I stopped writing mysteries to write Snow Flower and the Secret Fan. That was a “literary” novel and it was my big breakout book, right? So it’s a curious thing. Were those publishers right? Is that the kind of book I should have been writing all along and I didn’t realize it? 

 

You were born in Paris and grew up in Los Angeles, how have your personal experiences, in regards to culture and travel, affected what you write about? 

 
I come from a family of wanderers, but I wander and travel far less than they did.  Still, I have that in my blood and the urge to hit the road and go exploring is with me all the time.  I don’t know that this affects my writing though.  However, I’m always thrilled when I get to go to some remote place to do research.

 

The majority of your novels (if not all?) are set in the East—either in terms of location, character or culture—what draws you to this part of the world? And how do you strive to keep the material authentic? Is it a matter of research or living and breathing it? 

 

I’m part Chinese and I come from a very large Chinese-American family. I write about the people and things that matter to me and that I know something about. (They always say write what you know, right?) The way to keep the material authentic is to do tons of research. I’m a research fanatic. That said, there are times when I smooth the edges of the truth a bit to make a story more understandable for what I guess I’d have to call Western readers. For example, my Chinese characters are more physically affectionate that most Chinese are in real life. Many Chinese and Chinese-American readers say this isn’t authentic.  Physical displays of affection, even in families, is discouraged, taboo even. But other readers will sometimes ask why a character didn’t hug her daughter or kiss her husband? Americans in particular are physically quite demonstrative. So I’m often walking a fine line between what’s acceptable culturally and what readers can accept as emotional truth.

 

A book such as Shanghai Girls, how long does that take from idea to shelf?

 

I never know how to answer this question. I think about books for a long time before I sit down to write them. So, is it the two years from the day I decide this is the one until I deliver it to my publisher? Is it the five to eight years that I’ve been thinking about the idea and maybe collecting little bits and pieces of research? Or is it my entire life, because I feel like I put in everything I know—about life and relationships up to this point—in a book?

 

Does it get easier with each novel or do you feel more pressure to succeed having had so much success in the past? 

 

It gets harder with every novel, but not for the reason you’ve mentioned. I know this may sound strange, but how or if readers like my books or if they’re successful is very far down on my list of what’s important. With each book, I’ve tried to go deeper—to cut to the bone—to get to the emotional truth of the story. That’s not easy and it certainly isn’t fun.

 

Do you ever set yourself writing goals, both short and long term, in regards to what you’d like to write about and when? 

 

I guess in the short term, my goal is to write a thousand words a day. In the long term, there are some stories that I’ve thought about writing but don’t yet feel that I’m old enough or ready. That better come pretty soon though, because I’m not getting any younger!

 

In your opinion, what are the ingredients of a bestseller?

 

Are their ingredients? If so, could you tell me what they are? If anyone knew those ingredients, then wouldn’t we all be writing bestsellers? I can say the obvious things: great characters, honest emotions, believable characters. But those things are just one small part of a bestseller. These days—what am I saying? In days past too—so much depends on the publisher’s commitment. Are they going to buy co-op space with the bookstores? Are they going to buy space at the front tables at the chain bookstores, so your book is the first thing customers see when they walk in the door? Will they run any ads? Will they send you on a book tour? These things have nothing to do with the quality of a book, but they have everything to do with getting a book into readers’ hands.

 

You've had such phenomenal success with your books did you ever think this would be your full-time profession? Was there ever a moment when you thought, ah I’ve made it?

 

I don’t see myself as having had phenomenal success. I get that on paper I’ve had it (I’m not stupid, or at least I don’t think I am.) But I don’t see myself in those terms at all. I’ve written for a long time. I’m writing my eighth book right now, I collaborated on three other books, and I worked as a journalist for a long time. I still have the same desire to write my best, dig deep, work hard, and be persistent that I’ve always had. I still have fear of failure and worries that I’m not getting something right that I’ve always had. I still don’t feel like I’ve made it in the way I think you’re suggesting. However, I have had some moments along the way that have tweaked my brain: being asked to be a judge for the Miss Chinatown pageant, my first full-page ad in the NY Times, having a giant poster of the French edition of one of my books in the Paris Metro, and every single time my book hits a bestseller list anywhere.

 

Any advice for budding authors? 

 

Write a thousand words a day, five days a week. That’s only four pages. At the end of the week, you’ll have a chapter. Write what you really care about. You need to be passionate, because it takes a long time to write a book and a lot of bumps happen along the road to publication. Love, love, love what you do.

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On the witch hunt with author Katherine Howe

A captivating novel that effortlessly seams together the modern day world with the turbulent times of the 1690s Salem witch trails, The Physick Book of Deliverance Dane is the first novel by New England based author Katherine Howe. Currently studying for her Ph.D. in American and New England studies, she took time out of her busy schedule to share some insight with www.WriteNowToday.com.

The Physick Book of Deliverance Dane melds two worlds together, traveling between the modern day and the witch trials of Salem, what drew you to this particular time in history?

For me, the mental world of the Puritans has always been difficult to understand. They are so far away from us in time, and so many of their fundamental views of the world are no longer held, that I felt that the story needed a modern interlocutor to help us access the action that takes place in the past. Of course, for narrative purposes I had to disallow certain elements of modern life: cell phones and internet research especially. So my modern protagonist had to live in a time that felt like the present, but was itself also part of the past.

How much research was involved in the making of The Physick Book of Deliverance Dane?

I worked on the research for about two years, reading all the major secondary sources about witchcraft in colonial New England and much of the primary source record as well. I also read about the material culture of the time period and read a few linguistics papers to try to understand how the English language has evolved over time. One of the great pleasures of historical fiction, I think, is to feel transported to another time and place, and I wanted to make the details as accurate as I could.

The look and feel of the book definitely adds to the mystic of the story, did you have a say in the design? And how important do you think cover artwork is to consumers?

I am a very visual person (my undergrad degree is in philosophy and art history—my first "real" job was in an art museum), and so the look and feel of the book was very important to me. I think that the publisher did a marvelous job. The cover design is evocative, intriguing, and conveys some important elements of the story in Physick Book. We definitely had similar ideas in mind for how to create the best possible cover for the book.

There is a sense of the “magical” when it comes to plot in this story, do you strive to create a fairytale feel or is it part of the allure of the setting?

I was interested by the fact that magic in the colonial world was very small and personal in scale. I wanted the story to take place in the real world, which assumes that magic can't possibly be real. So the magical things that happen are also quite small, but they are shocking by virtue to taking place in a non-magical world. Maybe I was trying to borrow the sensation of magical realism, though as it is a first novel, I think it stops well short of that goal.

How have readers reacted to your book? Do they seek you out via the web or are book signings the best way to interact with your audience? 

I have had the good fortune to meet a number of readers, both out in the world at book events and in cyberspace. The easiest way for readers to keep up with me is via the Katherine Howe page on Facebook, which is easy for a Luddite like me to update, and via the Twitter feed, where I post as katherinebhowe. I also receive a number of emails at connieandarlo@gmail.com, which is a great way to stay in touch as well. There are two websites, www.physickbook.com, and www.katherinehowe.com, which have fun links, as well as the incredible book trailer. It's so spooky, it even freaked me out a little.

I believe you have a Ph.D. in American and New England Studies from Boston University how has this affected the way you write and research?

Alas, I don't have it yet! I'm still technically in grad school, if you can believe it. But I definitely approach my research like an academic. The hardest part, for me anyway, is giving myself permission to stop researching. The more I learn about a topic, the more I perceive the holes in my knowledge. That can be an endless loop of incomplete information, if you let it.

What's next for you?

In August Signet Classics is issuing a new edition of Nathaniel Hawthorne's The House of the Seven Gables, for which I wrote the introduction. I am also at work on another novel, which will be similar in tone and theme to The Physick Book of Deliverance Dane. It will be historical fiction with a little twist, set in Boston in the 1910s, right after the sinking of the Titanic, and a Boston family who lost someone on the ship will be caught up in the world of spiritualism and séances. And somewhere in there, I should finish my dissertation and actually get that PhD. We hope.

Any advice for budding authors?

Be selfish with your time. Not everyone will understand that writing is important work for you. Also, don't be bashful about discussing your work with your writer friends and colleagues. Virtually every published author I know had help along the way to publication, from a friend or someone in a professional network. But no one can be on your team if you don't talk about what you want to do.

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Rockin’ out with author Pete Fornatale

 

It defined a generation. It created a cast of characters like no other. Woodstock was, and remains on of the most poignant events in history. In the recently released, Back to the Garden award-winning broadcaster, Pete Fornatale gives unique insights into this momentous event. The author of Simon and Garfunkel’s Bookends, Fornatale shares intimate tales, from all works of life, to give those fans both old and new a unique look at what it means to be a part of rock history.

 

How much research was involved in Back to the Garden?

 

40 years! Seriously, I’ve been collecting first person accounts about Woodstock from people backstage, on stage and in the audience since the festival originally took place in 1969. We did the proposal for the book in late 2007 and spent the entire year of 2008 researching, filling in the blanks, doing new interviews and readying the final manuscript, which was delivered in early 2009.

 

In your own words, how does this book shed new light on Woodstock?

 

The guiding light for this book was something called the Rashoman effect. It’s based on the late Japanese director Akira Kurosawa’s landmark 1950 film, Rashomon, in which four individuals witness the same exact crime, yet describe it subjectively, in four radically contradictory ways. The idea is that despite our different experiences of the same events, each account can still be plausible. Each person has a unique set of life experiences that influence the way he or she experiences the world. Our goal was to shed new light on Woodstock by providing the reader with the widest assortment of first-person accounts dating back to the historic weekend itself, as well as those sifted through the mists of time during those four rapidly passing decades. We believe that our 113 “eye-witnesses” offer multi-layered “truths” from which the readers can draw their own conclusions about the festival.

 

As we come up to the 41st anniversary of this momentous event, how do you think Woodstock has affected our lives and how important is it for the next generation?

 

The passage of time gives one perspective. There’s a quote from Graham Nash in the Introduction to the book: “The legend, the myth of Woodstock has grown. It was undeniably a tremendous social event. A lot of great music. A lot of good times had by a lot of people. I think as we get into the future, the legend, the myth of Woodstock becomes greater than the actual reality.” Woodstock captured a moment in time that can never be duplicated. There was nothing like it before and nothing like it since, and, in our post 9/11 world, there will never be anything like it again. That uniqueness has left an indelible mark on everyone who experienced Woodstock as a current event, and an insatiable curiosity about Woodstock in those who missed it by an accident of birth.

 

When it comes to writing, how difficult was it to find the time to put it all down on paper?

 

I wrote a couple of earlier books while I was holding down a full-time job and raising a family. THAT was tough! I’m at a point now in my life and career where I can devote as much time as I need to any other projects outside of my once a week radio program “Mixed Bag.” That was the case with Back to the Garden and it was a tremendous luxury to be able to devote as much time to it as I needed.

 

If you had to name one of the best discoveries you made (either personal or professional) from writing this book, what would it be?

 

Woodstock teetered on the brink of disaster many times over the course of the three days, but managed to circumvent most of the obstacles thrown in its path (Governor Rockefeller’s threat to have The National Guard vacate the premises on Saturday morning, the raging storms, the very real danger of mass electrocution when mud brought concertgoers perilously close to live electrical wiring on Sunday). Many participants firmly believe that divine intervention came into play that weekend at Yasgur’s farm. I’ll keep my own opinion about that to myself, but let me say this, the festival moved from the town of Woodstock, New York to Wallkill, then finally to Bethel. I was quite surprised when I looked up the word Bethel in Hebrew and discovered that one of its primary meanings is “a sacred place!”

 

Any advice to budding authors?

 

“Write about what you know!” Seriously, that’s my story and I’m sticking to it. There is nothing quite as satisfying as doing battle with a blank piece of paper, or, these days, the blank screen of a word processor. Other writers have described the process as “going into the cage.” It is that visceral. Pulling words, ideas and stories out of the universe or out of your own mind or imagination is one of the purest means of self-expression available to the human species. The ecstasy is definitely worth the agony.

Back to the Garden out in paperback May 11. 
 

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Taking to the stage with author Kathryn Wagner

With her debut novel recently hitting shelves, Washington based author Kathryn Wagner, weaves a magical tale of life, love and the pursuit of art in Dancing with Degas. A historical fiction of the highest caliber, Wagner holds a B.A. in journalism with a minor in art and has worked as a staff writer and columnist for several newspapers in North Carolina, Massachusetts and Virginia. Currently at work on her second novel, we look forward to the next installment from one of literatures hottest rising stars.

 

What drew you to Degas as a subject?

 

I've always loved Degas' ballerina paintings and while taking an art history class in college, my professor pointed out that the man behind the curtain in "The Star" (L'etoile [La danseuse sur la scene]) was a "John." I never would have guessed that—not that long ago—some ballerinas had an ulterior motive for dancing. It stuck with me, and when figuring out what subject to tackle, Degas' ballerinas immediately popped into my head.

 

Obviously there are a lot of dance references, is this something you've experienced or was it purely research?

 

It was mostly research with a little bit of my personal experience mixed in. I took ballet lessons when I was a little girl, so I could draw from that memory when I was writing Alexandrie’s dance beginnings. As she grew as a ballerina, I relied on research and my impressions from going to the ballet.

 

You managed to effortlessly bring to life the many characters in the story, how much research did you do and how much creative license did you allow yourself?

 

I spent years researching the life of Degas, Impressionism, and late 19^th Century Paris. Even so, my intention for Dancing for Degas was never to re-tell history through a research-heavy read. I wanted readers to learn about art history through an entertaining story that would take them into another world and escape from their daily lives. The main character, Alexandrie, and the entire cast of characters at the Paris Opera Ballet are fictional. Her world is loosely based on fact, yet the character of Degas stays pretty true to history. The story is very much informed by the research I did, but there are areas that I chose to take liberties with. I don’t want to give away any spoilers, but for those curious, I discuss the specifics in the Q&A section of Dancing for Degas.

 

How long did it take to find a home for Dancing for Degas? Did you approach an agent?

 

Finding a home for Degas didn’t take as long as finding an agent did. I took about a year to write the book before I shopped around for an agent... and received a lot of rejections. It’s very subjective, and it can be frustrating because you don’t get a solid reason why they don’t want to represent you. I got a lot of “I’m just not in love with it.” After about 6 months I found a great agent – Kirsten Manges – who loved the story and, even better, was willing to work with me to further develop it before sending it to the publishing houses. It took another 6 months to get the manuscript where it needed to be and I signed with Bantam quickly after that. Dancing for Degas was published about a year after receiving the contract, so the entire process took 3 years.

 

Recently released, the book is getting rave reviews, were you nervous when it finally made it to shelves?

 

I was definitely nervous! I had spent so much time working on Dancing for Degas and I really hoped that readers would enjoy the story. When I sent back the final copy-edited manuscript, I thought to myself, “That’s it – that’s what everyone is going to read.” It’s exciting and scary at the same time. I had to tell myself that the accomplishment is having a published novel, and anything else that happens with it is just an added bonus. That keeps me sane because you could drive yourself crazy wondering what everyone thinks of it, and checking its sales rank on Amazon every hour.

 

What was your greatest obstacle in putting pen to paper?

 

Finding time. It took a lot of discipline because the last thing I want to do when I get home from the office is turn on the computer. I fell into a routine where I would do research after work, write on the weekends, and use vacation time for rewrites and edits. It was all consuming, but it was something that was very important to me and I loved every minute of it. I like to joke that it’s a luxury to have writer’s block. I always feel like I’m in a race against the clock, so one day I hope to be fortunate enough to indulge in writer’s block.

 

Any advice for budding authors?

Make the time to write, stay dedicated to it, and don’t have an ego about your work. Take the advice that agents and editors give you and improve your manuscript. They’re the pros, they know how a story should flow, and if you’re trying to get published, they know what will sell. If you’re lucky enough to come across someone in the publishing world that is willing to help you, by all means take their advice and leave your ego out of it.

 

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A heart to heart with
author M.L.Malcolm

 

Although born in New York, M.L. Malcolm spent most of her childhood in Florida, both in a small town on the Gulf Coast, and in the state capital of Tallahassee. Her education gradually brought her back north, as she earned a B.A. and an M.A. in political science from Emory University in Atlanta, and a J.D. from Harvard Law School in Boston. Between college and law school she spent a year in Aix-en-Provence, France as a Rotary Foundation Fellow. However, after practicing law for three years, M.L. determined that "she and the law were not meant for each other," and she is now a self-described "recovering attorney."

 

M.L. has won several awards for her fiction, including special recognition in the prestigious Lorian Hemingway International Short Story Competition, and a silver medal from ForeWord Magazine for Best Historical Fiction Book of the Year 2009.  Her novel, Heart of Lies, will be published in June of 2010 by Harper Collins.

 

The cover for Heart of Lies is so beautiful, who designed/photographed it? Robin Bilardello designed the cover for my publisher, Harper Collins, but I can take credit for getting that gorgeous vintage photograph to them. The picture came from an on-line stock photo collection, and at first I was just struck by how beautiful it was. Then I did a little digging and discovered that the photographer was none other than Lucien Aigner, the renowned Hungarian photojournalist who was arguably the world’s first paparazzi. He took some truly iconic pictures, including that famous series of a very rumpled, wild-haired Albert Einstein teaching at Princeton. Well, the photo on the cover was taken in Budapest, and the woman on that bridge was Lucien’s wife. Her name was Anne but her nickname was “Mady.” In Heart of Lies the main character, Leo Hoffman, is Hungarian, the story opens in Budapest, and Leo’s daughter’s nickname is “Maddy.” Also, like Leo, Aigner had to leave his own country to avoid persecution. I found all that to be a remarkable coincidence, so I was thrilled when Harper bought the rights the use Lucien’s “Mady” on the cover. I considered it a very good omen.

 

How much say do you personally get in your cover artwork? My editor, Wendy Lee, has been very gracious about asking me for my opinion; I think that Harper is very solicitous of its authors. However, because I was so pleased with what they came up with right from the start, I didn’t have to test the theory that the more books you sell, the more input you get! 

 

How important do you think a cover is when it comes to selling a book? It’s wildly important, and marketing studies back this up. Most people are attracted by the cover, pick up the book, read the blurbs on the back, and then skim part of the first page. Buying decisions are made in less than a minute. Whoever said, “You can’t judge a book by its cover,” misspoke. Maybe you shouldn’t judge a book that way, but without an intriguing cover, a book is much less likely to pique the interest of a browsing buyer.

 

Who is your greatest confidant when writing? My closest confidant is my husband, who gets to see hear bit and pieces of stories as they pop into my head (whether he likes it or not), and reads each chapter hot off the press. However, I’m often motivated by readers who email me asking, “What happens next?” Connecting with my readers is always inspirational. I especially love to visit with book clubs, and always encourage candor, which invariably helps me improve my writing. Lately I’ve found that Facebook, in addition to being a great avenue of communication between me and my readers, also provides an easy way to tag up with other authors, which for me is both entertaining and comforting. It’s nice to know I’m not the only one capable of writing my character into a corner!

 

How much research went into Heart of Lies? A ton. Years. And I did most of it the old fashioned way: in the library. The information you find on the internet is often just too shallow to do anything other than point you in the right direction, so I spent hours in the basements of many an academic institution, reading microfiche copies of newspapers from the ’20s and ’30s, and sifting through old letters, diaries, and other contemporaneous accounts. In Heart of Lies I wanted to write about people caught up in actual historical events, so everything in the book, from the Hungarian counterfeiting scandal to the bombing of Shanghai did occur, very much the way I describe it. The public relations department at Cartier was also very helpful, even though I kept telling them that the necklace in Heart of Lies would be a stolen necklace. No such thing as bad publicity, I guess.

 

This book was based on your family history, how did that help weave the story? I kept collecting family anecdotes. My family is the inspiration for the Irish Catholic clan in the book. My husband comes from an Austrian-Hungarian Jewish heritage, and some members of his family escaped the Nazis in rather ingenious ways. For example, his grandparents left Germany to go on a ski vacation in France in 1933, and never came back.  Another relative forged a Siamese (Thai) transit visa, and used that to smuggle her family out of Rumania onto the Tran Siberian express and into Shanghai. A great uncle changed his name, indeed, his whole identity in order to survive World War II, only to find that hiding his past eventually caused a long-term estrangement between him and the daughter he’d tried to protect.

 

As engaging as these tales were, I didn’t want to write about World War II, so I started doing a lot of research into what was happening in Europe during and after World War I, a time frame I’d become interested in while living in France. When I uncovered information about the massive post-WWI anti-Semitic backlash that occurred in Hungary (and several other eastern European countries) I knew that I could use that harrowing discovery as one reason why Leo Hoffman had to leave Europe and flee to Shanghai, a city that had fascinated me since I first visited in 1988. For nearly one hundred years it was the only place in the civilized world that you could enter without a passport or a visa, and just try to start over. It was a no-holds-barred place, for better and for worse. I took some real-life characters from Shanghai and inserted my fictional ones into their lives, using many stories from my husband’s family history, but presented in a different context.

 

Describing yourself as a "recovering attorney," what led you to become a published author? Well, hard work and more than a little luck enabled me to become a published author, but I’ve been writing forever. I wrote my first short story when I was six, about a rabbit who makes friends with a giraffe, and just never stopped. I wrote essays and short stories, won writing contests, worked as a journalist, and was always an inveterate letter writer. Writing is just how I process the world. I went into law because I didn’t think that I could make a living as a writer then finally decided I would never be a writer if I kept practicing law.  

 

What inspires you on a daily basis? The knowledge that the mortgage payment is due.  No, seriously, I find inspiration everywhere, from articles in the paper to tidbits of overheard conversation, to a flash of memory or an off-hand comment made by someone at a cocktail party. Some fragment of information will just ignite a spark in my imagination, and the next thing I know I’m watching a movie in my head, trying to keep up with the actors long enough to copy down their dialogue and describe the scenery. Of course sooner or later I have to carve a coherent story out of all of those vignettes. I suppose that because I’m so interested in history, I find myself drawn to real historical figures, and wondering about their lives. Not just famous people; in fact I think I’m more fascinated by the largely unremembered people connected with those whom historians care to write about. 

 

What's your advice to budding authors? If you’d like to see your work published someday, learn how to accept criticism, and take time to learn your craft from someone who knows how to help you improve; don’t depend on people who love you to tell you that your writing is perfect. Even professional athletes have coaches. Also, write a lot. Jot down a paragraph that’s related to nothing. A concert pianist doesn’t just sit down a play a symphony; she’ll warm up by playing the scales. Finally, finish the book, finish the book, finish the book, and then never, never, never give up. 

 

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First contact with author
Evan Mandery 

Evan Mandery is the author of two novels, Dreaming of Gwen Stefani (Ig Books) and First Contact: Or It’s Later Thank You Think (HarperCollins). He has also written two works of non-fiction including The Campaign (Westview). Evan is a graduate of Harvard College and Harvard Law School and a professor at John Jay College of Criminal Justice in New York City. He took time out of his busy schedule to chat with www.WriteNowToday.com. 

How did a Harvard Law Graduate and Professor of Criminal Justice become a satirical novelist? The real question is how a satirical novelist ended up at as a lawyer. I have been writing books of various sorts since I was three years old. I had the usual childhood dreams – professional athlete, politician, train engineer – but in my visions they culminated in my writing a book about the experience. I went to law school for the worst possible reasons: it was a well-defined career path, I was good at school, and I didn’t know what else to do. Had someone set “novelist” as a possible career path, I might have chosen that, but the truth is I was too scared as a young adult to step outside the parameters of what society expected of people with my sort of background and qualifications. As anyone who has read anything I have written knows, I am neither Pangloss nor Leibniz, but I do think I found my best destiny. I love to teach and having the security of a professorship allows me to write what I want, as opposed to what I think I will sell the most. It is easy enough for me to imagine a life in which I were a writer of legal thrillers. This would hardly be a death sentence, but I am happier doing what I do.

What gave you the idea for First Contact? I wondered what would happen if a God-fearing, science-doubting, Francophobe President were in a position where he could really do some harm. The specific hypothesis I chose – alien contact – no doubt comes from my embarrassingly geekish taste in science fiction. I also wanted to write something in honor of Kurt Vonnegut’s death. I admire him uniquely among writers.

How long did it take, from draft to book store? I am a character in my own book, so in a very real sense the process took 42 years. The more direct answer is two and a half years. I wrote the book in the year following the publication of my first novel, Dreaming of Gwen Stefani. It sold shortly after I finished. It then took approximately eighteen months to reach bookstores.

How do you motivate yourself to write when it's the last thing you want to do? I always want to write. I love what I do.

What do you think makes a great writer? Without characterizing the quality of my writing, I do think that I have a good sense of — and connection to — my audience. I am very tied into contemporary culture (I watch way too much television), and I believe I ask the questions that are most on the minds of this generation. Like so many other authors, I write to try and make sense of the world me and the nature of human existence. I just happen to use Hostess snack cakes as a vehicle for this exploration more than most others. 

Who are some of your favorite authors? As I mentioned, I revere Kurt Vonnegut. Among serious novelists, I love Graham Greene, George Orwell, and Dostoyevksy. Audrey Niffenegger’s The Time Traveler’s Wife is my favorite novel of the past five years. A Confederacy of Dunces sets the all-time standard for comedy. I was never happier than reading The Lord of the Rings as a teenager. But I like non-fiction as much as fiction. I read widely in evolutionary biology and admire Jared Diamond and the late Stephen Jay Gold enormously. I think Michael Lewis is a brilliant and funny writer and an unconventional thinker.     

What's next? My new novel, Q: An Unlived Memoir, will be published by HarperCollins in late 2011 or early 2012. On the eve of my wedding, I am visited by my future self, who urges me not to get married. I do not and am thereafter visited, with increasing rapidity, by other future selves, each increasingly disgruntled with each new path I have chosen for my life. I am also writing a non-fiction book about the history of two landmark Supreme Court decisions dealing with the death penalty. The Killing Court will be published by Delphinium Books in mid-to-late-2012. 

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Falling from the sky with author   Heidi W. Durrow

 

Heidi W. Durrow is the author of The Girl Who Fell From the Sky (Algonquin Books). Winner of the Bellwether Prize for Literature of Social Change, she took time out of her busy schedule to chat with WriteNowToday.com about what it takes to be an award winning novelist.

 

What inspired you to write the book?

I was inspired to write the book after reading a newspaper story about a family that died in a tragic accident, but the young girl survived. I was haunted by the fact that this little girl still had a future—but what would her survival look like? I wanted to give her a voice. I wanted to write a story that gave her a chance to identify with something other than that terrible tragedy.

 

What can readers expect from The Girl Who Fell From the Sky?

I think they can expect to be drawn into a story about a young person who is struggling to define herself beyond the labels that she’s been assigned. It’s very much a coming-of-age story. But it’s also a bit of a love story and a mystery. It’s a mystery because you think you know exactly how the accident happens at the beginning of the book, but it becomes much more complicated. And it’s a love story—well, really an odd love story—because it’s not focused on two characters falling in love, but I hope that you as the reader fall in love with my protagonist, Rachel—that you become her cheerleaders and a kind of support system that she doesn’t have on the page.

 

How long did the process take you from draft to sale?

Forever. I started the book in 1997 and first struggled to write it, struggled through dozens and dozens of rejections. And struggled to revise and refine it—I finally hit on gold when I submitted to the Bellwether Prize for Fiction and Barbara Kingsolver chose the manuscript as the winner. She is my hero!

 

What do you do to keep writing when motivation wanes?

I make a plan!  I give myself deadlines from Poets & Writers magazine, and I send out my work MORE.  It’s strange to say but the more rejections I got, I also knew that I had to be closer to an acceptance.

 

This is your debut novel, how did you feel the first time you saw your book on shelves?

I was ecstatic.  I saw it for the first time at the Los Angeles airport and I just went over the moon.  I asked the bookstore manager if I could sign the copies—and they agreed. And then I managed to attract a little crowd—the strangers in the bookstores started congratulating me. I realized I was making a scene and finally ducked out. I sure hope one of those folks bought the book! 

 

Have you been surprised by the accolades?

I have. I tried to write the very best book I could, but it’s really gratifying to hear that others have connected with it, and get it, and love the characters as much as I do.

 

What is your advice to budding authors?

I would say that the most important thing is to not share your work too early. I know it sounds weird to say, but the hardest part about writing is writing. What I mean is that the blank page is scary and if you’re getting criticism about your work too early then you won’t go back to the blank page. You may not feel confident enough or motivated enough to continue. Write and write more. And don’t stop when you get a no or a rejection. Try to figure out whether the no or rejection has information you can use to make your work better.

 

So what's next for Heidi W. Durrow the author?

In all honesty, there’s been some clamoring for a sequel. It’s not something I really considered when I was writing –really, at least, not until I heard from so many readers that they would like a sequel. So that’s a possibility. I would love to spend more time with some of the characters, in particular Brick. But meanwhile, I’ve been at work on a historical novel set in the late 1800s in Paris and London. The main characters are a mulatto strongwoman, a hairy Laotian girl, and Edgar Degas!

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Making a Difference with author Andrew Mersmann

 

Andrew Mersmann has volunteered on service projects ranging from working and living with the homeless on Los Angeles’ Skid Row to saving stranded pilot whales in Key West to a humanitarian excursion by horseback in Rajasthan, India. He is a travel writer and Editor in Chief of Passport Magazine and has been a restaurant reviewer, entertainment writer, and celebrity profiler. After a long run with non-profit arts organizations in both Los Angeles and New York, he stepped into travel writing via an extraordinary journey to Machu Picchu. He has been a featured speaker, interview guest, or moderator on several travel talks, from the New York Times Travel Show and the 92^nd Street Y-TriBeCa to Oprah and Friends on satellite radio. Andrew blogs about volunteering at home and abroad at www.changebydoing.com Not only is he an amazing person but he is a fantastic writer, we are very thankful he took time out of his busy schedule to speak to www.WriteNowToday.com. His latest offering, Frommer’s 500 Places Where You Can Make a Difference is out in book stores now!

How did the book come about?

Frommer’s had the plan, as part of their new-ish “500” series, to do a book on volunteer vacations. I had heard about it through market email alerts at my other job (as Editor in Chief of Passport Magazine), and tossed my hat in the ring. I had already begun specializing in volunteer travel and doing some radio and panel discussion appearances, as well as trying to wedge the topic into other articles as often as possible. It is a category of travel that lights me up, and I always thought could do the same for other folks as they learned the scope of what they can do around the world.
    The process with Frommer’s (actually with parent company John Wiley & Sons) then was a bit of an audition, with first submissions of CV, cover letter, and published clips, then a phone interview followed by a writing exercise on the topic as they whittled down the field of applicants.

What drew you to the subject?

I’ve been lucky enough to have traveled to some of the world’s most amazing places, and have, sometimes by accident and sometimes by design, been able to find opportunities to “give back” to the communities I visit. It has made each trip so much more powerful in my memories, and the sense of attachment and newfound advocacy and passion that gets inspired, I would wish on everyone. I contend there is something out there in volunteer travel to light you up, no matter who you are and what your priorities are in life.

What difficulties did you face when putting the information together?

My most daunting obstacle was timing. This was a huge undertaking with an inhumane schedule put onto it. I continued working my regular job through the process, so I was writing very early mornings and very late at night, and it was the winter and spring of no weekends and never feeling like I could come up for air.
    The other difficulty was in limiting the field to only 500—there are so many outstanding projects around the world — 500 is only the tip…and OK, a bit more than just the tip, of the iceberg.

Was there a particular format you had to use when working for a series?

My editor, with whom I was blessed to form an almost instant rapport, had a list of 16 proposed chapter categories before they ever hired me as the writer (it later became 15). He and I hashed through and finessed them, changing the focus sometimes, each of us occasionally feeling like we needed to go to bat for something about which we felt strongly. We turned those chapters into subdivided sections, and went from there. There was lots of back and forth—some of it needed to fit into the format of the existing series of other books, and in some instances, we reinvented the wheel as we saw fit. I felt truly lucky that our collaboration felt like a genuine partnership.

What do you wish you knew (before you started the book) that you know now?

How better to budget my time. It’s not that I procrastinated outrageously, but I didn’t hit the ground running as fast as I could when I began researching and writing this big ol’ thing…and running as fast as I could became my only option as I tried to finish a 480-page book in six months.

What advice would you give to budding travel writers and potential authors?

Write about what you know, and be generous with us as readers with the specifics of your point of view. Never be a generalist. Don’t decide that just because you are going to travel to Phoenix for vacation that an editor will want your perspective, unless you have been many, many times and know something quite particular about it that hasn’t been done to death.
    The other big thing is to not fall into the trap of thinking that travel writing is only about place—people are what make the articles most interesting. Interview locals and get a true on-the-ground perspective. That will give readers much more insight than any listing of ten hotels and fifteen gourmet restaurants.
    Lastly, never assume that rejection from an editor (or silence, even harder to take but much more common) is about your skill as a writer or even the quality of a piece you’ve written. Editing is as much about what fits on the page or into an issue with other elements, the balance of stories and range of destinations covered, ad buys (a brilliant story will get bumped out of any magazine in a heartbeat if a resort buys a two-page ad spread), and so much more that has nothing to do with literary merit. Work on your skill and making your voice specific and unique…and then make it even more specific so you do your one thing better than anyone else. Anyone can be versatile, but only you can write the way you do.

For more information head to www.changebydoing.com.

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Everything Sux with author Hannah Friedman

 Hannah Friedman is a writer/director from New York. She was one of the youngest people to have been published in Newsweek Magazine for her 2004 article "When Your Friends Become The Enemy" about the college application process. Friedman attended Yale University, graduating in 2008. She was the winner of the 2007 Yale Playwrights Festival. In 2008 Friedman won the P&G/ New York Television Festival Flying Solo competition. The show premiered at the NYTVF and on mylifetime.com, and chronicled the writing process for her first book Everything Sucks, which was published in August, 2009 by HCI Books. Here she took some time out of her busy schedule to answer some questions for www.WriteNowToday.com. 

1)      Describe your book in three sentences.

How about a three sentence summary haiku?

Sex, Drugs, SATs.
Music, Humor, teenage angst.

Simian Sister.

2) What was the most difficult thing about putting it all together?

Believing that all the scraps of ideas would actually evolve into something cohesive was the toughest part about this project. I'm a checklist type of person, so it was hard to give up on the fantasy that one day everything would just magically click into place and be "right." Once I gave myself over to the strange rhythm of the writing process and let myself have fun with crazy wacky ideas it took some of the pressure off.

3) How did you find an agent/publisher? Did it take a long time?

I contacted about 100 agents and publishers, a dozen or so responded. A few responses resulted in meetings, and after about a year I landed the deal.

4) How do you keep motivated when writing is the last thing you want to do?

Oy. I try to treat the projects as a very elusive exotic animal that you have to catch unawares. I'll pretend that I'm just going to work on character names, or that I'm just going to brainstorm about a certain very small scene section way on the other side of the cerebral Savanna, and eventually my inner critic gets out of the way and BAM I hit upon something fun that engages me in the excitement of the project again, something I didn't expect.

5) How do you deal with edits and re-writes?

Copious intoxication and lashing out at loved ones.

6) Have you been surprised by the success of the book?

Everything Sucks really fills a niche. I wrote as candidly as possible about everything I wish I had known growing up but was never able to find in modern non-fiction, so I wasn't too surprised that young women were really connecting with it. I have however been surprised by all the messages I've been getting from men and mothers! I've even gotten a rave video review from a 97 year old woman last week. My grandmother will hopefully not be among the older women browsing my chapters though...

 
7) What's your advice for other budding authors?

Don't give up - your project will always look like a huge disaster before it finds its footing, so the key I think is to be persistent and patient with yourself. Also here's a little video I made about the process of writing the book: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bh1lpi_HLaI&feature=channel_page

Weaving magic with author Heather Barbieri

 

Heather Barbieri is the author of Snow in July (Soho) and The Lace Makers of Glenmara (Harper Collins). Snow in July was praised by Jacquelyn Mitchard and Gail Tsukiyama, and became an IndieNext Pick, Library Journal Notable First Novel and Glamour Magazine Riveting Read. The Lace Makers of Glenmara has fans such as the great Joanne Harris and Margot Livesey. It has been designated an IndieNext, Parade Magazine Pick and a More Magazine Summer Reading Selection. Heather lives in Seattle with her husband and three children. She recently took some time out of her busy schedule to answer some pressing questions for www.WriteNowToday.com.  

 

1) The Lace Makers of Glenmara weaves together the lives of some very memorable character through one particular activity. Why did you choose lace making to from the basis of your narrative? I liked the notion of exploring lace making as a means of forging deep personal connections, as well as joining threads; of the potential healing and communal qualities of craftwork.

 

2) Set in Ireland, how did you manage to recreate the village atmosphere? Was it something you researched or were you able to live it? My husband and I spent time in Western Ireland with special focus on the Gaelic villages there. (My ancestors were originally from Counties Tipperary and Donegal, eventually settling in Butte, Montana to work in the copper mines. Butte had the largest Gaelic speaking population outside of Ireland at the turn of the century.)

 

3) What gave you the idea for the book? The trip to Ireland, my own Irish-American background, and a brief mention in the NY Times Magazine fashion supplement about a Polish village priest who threatened the lace makers in his parish with excommunication for designing lace undies.

 

4) This is your second novel, do you find it gets easier the more you write? There’s always a challenge and a leap of faith involved—and yet the process continues to be a magical one.

 

5) Do you start with a well detailed outline or do you simply begin? I just begin, then after a chapter or two or three, construct a loose, then more detailed outline.

 

6) How do you deal with re-writes? They’re a necessary part of the process, polishing the words, sentences, and chapters until they shine.

 

7) What motivates you to write? It’s innate—something I have to do and that, despite inherent struggles, is richly rewarding for the artistic act itself.

 

8) How do you find the time? If I’m compelled and disciplined enough, I’m generally able to carve out some time to write. It can be tricky at times, though, what with raising a family and leading a busy life.

 

9) Was it hard to find a publisher/agent? I was fortunate to find an agent who believed the novel, and who, in turn, found an editor who fell in love with it as well.

 

10) Any advice for budding authors? Love the process, be unflaggingly determined, and never give up.

Fielding fiction with author Indu Sundaresan

 

 

Indu Sundaresan is an award-winning author having published four books to date including the amazing historical novels The Twentieth Wife, The Splendor of Silence, The Feast of Roses and her latest, a collection of short stories, In the Convent of Flowers. Born in India, Sundaresan travelled the world as a child following her father, a fighter pilot, to various naval bases. After an undergraduate degree in economics from India, Indu came to the U.S. for graduate school at the University of Delaware but the storyteller in her refused to be silenced. Now a full time writer she shares with us some of her writing magic here at www.WriteNowToday.com.

 

How much research is involved with your books? Is it a matter of months or years?

I read and research intensively for my novels.  I tend to read a lot, for months ahead of the actual writing, noting dates of events (births, marriages, deaths, wars) looking for the story, making connections.  I usually have a vague outline in mind before I start writing, but I also research as I go along.

 

My next novel, Shadow Princess (out in the US March 2010), is the story of Princess Jahanara, who becomes the chief lady of her father's harem when her mother dies, assuming all the burdens of a queen without actually being one. Jahanara's father, Emperor Shah Jahan begins building the Taj Mahal in memory of her mother, Empress Mumtaz Mahal, and in his grief he leans upon his oldest daughter to the extent that she (though only 17 years old when her mother dies) never marries, and becomes powerful in her own right. Shadow is the story of this princess who comes of age in the shadow of the monument her father builds for her mother, a woman who fights to put one of her brothers on the throne after their father--and does not succeed despite all of her influence.

 

Readers of my first two novels, The Twentieth Wife and The Feast of Roses will recognize the setting for Shadow Princess  -- as 17th century Mughal India; the first two novels take place at a slightly earlier time period. All this explanation, to say that Jahanara's story has been on my mind since I researched my first two novels--some fifteen years ago--it was then, during the readings that I stumbled upon her story. So this latest novel, has in fact been many years in the making!

 

What draws you to your historical characters?  

The Twentieth Wife, The Feast of Roses and Shadow Princess are all novels about powerful women, who stepped beyond the conventions of their societies and communities and spoke through their actions--this is why history remembers them, and why I found them fascinating.

 

Was it difficult to find a publisher?

I spent five years looking for a literary agent, perhaps a search that is almost as difficult as finding a publisher. I remember that the early reactions from agents (who rejected my work) were more about who Mehrunnisa was and why--when the Taj Mahal wasn't built for her--she was an important enough figure to write about, or why her story mattered at all.

 

My agent is Sandra Dijkstra, and I remember her excitement when she read the first fifty pages of The Twentieth Wife, her passion for the book, her questions, her edits. Sandy was my dream agent, one I had hesitated to approach for a long while, because I thought that she would be the perfect person to represent me and I didn't want to be rejected by her. But she loved the work, and when she sent it out, we had interest and a sale in a matter of a few days.

 

Being an author of multiple books, is it easier to write the fourth than the first?

Yes, and no.  Easier to write, yes, only in that I know I can finish what I am starting. But the thinking, reading, researching, the early writing--all this is as hard as it ever was. I will agonize over minor details, I will write and rewrite and then there's a point in the novel when everything seems to click and the writing seems effortless--I know the characters, I'm in their heads, I know the story, where it’s going, what it's going to do.

 

There's also the little matter of knowing now how my books have been received--it's an effort to put aside negative comments (and really also the positive ones) and focus on the current book as a project all of itself, and give it the undivided attention it deserves.

 

How long does it take you to write each book?

I write full time but each book is different, but I'd say about a year to a year and a half is average. 

 

Your latest instalment, In the Convent of Little Flowers, is a collection of stories were these something you had collected over the years or something you put together especially?

When The Twentieth Wife was first published (February 2002), the easiest way people categorized me was as a historical novelist. And looking back on my four novels so far (TTW, TFOR, THE SPLENDOR OF SILENCE and the upcoming SHADOW PRINCESS)--it's an accurate assessment. But in between writing novels, I have written and published contemporary short stories set in India mostly, sometimes as something to do for a break, sometimes because the subject matter of these stories deeply moved me.

 

My fourth book, In the Convent of Flowers, is an anthology of these stories, previously published and not, a departure from my usual (novel) writing, and still very dear to me.  So yes, I've been writing the stories in Convent over a few years now.

 

For more information head to www.InduSundaresan.com

Swapping smarts with author Ellen Meister

 

In her latest book, The Smart One, two-time author Ellen Meister takes us on a page turning journey into the lives of three sisters. A sister plot with numerous twists and turns it was recently named one of the top ten beach reads by Woman’s Day. Here, she talks to www.WriteNowToday.com about her creative process.      

 

1) What was the major catalyst that led to the creation of The Smart One? Was it a professional or personal?

It's always personal for me. It starts with some thought or question that pokes at me begging to be explored. With The Smart One, I was thinking about the family dynamic and how it influences us as adults. In particular, I was contemplating how children sometimes get labeled, and how hard it can be to break away from that.

 

Note: In The Smart One, the three adult sisters find their labels both a blessing a curse, and need to understand this before their relationship can move to a healthy place.

 

2) How long did it take to get published?

This one moved fairly quickly because it was my second book and was sold based on a proposal (seven chapters plus an outline, in this case). My first book, Secret Confessions of the Applewood PTA, was a much longer journey. It took about two years to write, nine months to find an agent, six months to rewrite and get an offer from a publisher, and then two more years before it found its way to bookstores.

 

3) The Smart One has so many twists and turns, how hard was it to layer the plot and keep track of everything that was going on?

Sometimes it can get tricky to stitch together a complicated plot and keep track of it all. I write notes to help myself figure out where I am and where I'm going. I hope no one ever sees these. They look fairly schizophrenic. The funny thing is, now that it's done I often can't remember what I left in and what I took out. So sometimes people ask me about the book and I give them the wrong answer!

 

4) What was your greatest challenge?

When I first starting writing The Smart One, I thought the humor was going to be a challenge. One of my characters is a comedy writer and I worried that it was a pretty ambitious thing for me to do. But once Kenny was fleshed out, the jokes just came. And I have to admit, it was kind of fun.

 

Writing, of course, has all sorts of challenges. I know authors who are natural storytellers and struggle when it comes to crafting sentences. For me, the story is the hardest part. Once I know what's going to happen in a scene, the writing is easy ... sometimes even joyous.

But the hardest part of the whole process? Waiting. The publishing business is all about waiting, and I'm just terrible at it.

 

5) What motivates you?

Groupies! Kidding. It's the drugs. No, no. Kidding again. I'm motivated by deadlines, readers and the ideas themselves.

 

6) Any advice for budding authors?

Don't listen to all the horror stories about the state of publishing industry, and don't try to write for any specific market. Just focus on the idea you're in love with and write the best book you can. Also, read. If you're paying attention, every book has something to teach you.

 

For more head to EllenMeister.com

 

 

 

Chewing the fat with author Paul Bacon

Paul Bacon is among the new crew of creative non-fiction writers, penning the hilarious Bad Cop: NY’s least likely police officer tells all. He has been garnering great reviews and takes time out to dish the dirt with us at www.WriteNowToday.com. For more check out PaulBacon.com.  

 

1)                  What prompted you to write Bad Cop?

In the beginning, I wanted to show how cops, who often come off as mean and violent, are just everyday people working under trying circumstances. As the project evolved however, it became more about how I personally wasn't cut out to be a cop. In the process of making cops look human, I made myself look like an idiot. Strange how things turn out.

 

2)                 How long did it take you to find a publisher?

It took about five months, which I don't think is extraordinarily long, but it seemed to take forever. Spilling one's guts on paper is an emotionally charged endeavor, so it felt like waiting for an answer to a marriage proposal.

 

3)                 How difficult was it to put your life into a formatted structure?

The structure wasn't too complicated in my case; I just started at the beginning and referred to my personal journal of the experience. The hard part was leaving out funny anecdotes and details which didn't necessarily serve the greater story. All told, I wrote about 200,000 words; only about 85,000 made it into print.

 

4)                 Have you been surprised by the reactions of friends and family? How did your fellow NYPD react?  

I had a hunch people would take to it because it had a lot of things people usually like in a book: crime, humanity, physical comedy, and a self-effacing narrator. But I was surprised at how well it was received. My former NYPD coworkers praised the book for its accuracy, and more than a few civilians told me they read Bad Cop in one or two sittings. I couldn't have asked for more - from a critical standpoint, that is. I am still waiting for a big check to arrive in the mail.

 

5)                 What was your biggest challenge?

Not jumping off of a bridge during the four long, confusing years between the book deal and the pub date. There were times when it looked, at least to me, that the work would never be published.

 

6)                 Any advice for those budding authors wanting to put their experiences down on paper?

Be as transparent as possible in your storytelling. Reveal all your relevant weaknesses and motivations, no matter how embarrassing or crass they may seem. The more you admit to your readers, the more they will trust you and care about your story.

 

Killing time with mystery writer Catherine O'Connell

A Chicago native, Catherine O’Connell is the author of three books. The first two, in her mystery series; Well Read and Dead & Well Bred and Dead are fantastic reads for lovers of mystery (and anyway who simply loves good writing). A member of the Mystery Writers of America and Sisters in Crime, she sits on the board of the Aspen Writers’ Foundation and oversees the foundation’s weekly writers group. She is also a literacy advocate through the adult education program, English in Action, and has served as a moderator of the Great Books and Sharing Shakespeare programs at the Aspen Institute. Here at www.WriteNowToday.com she shares with us some of her literary secrets.

 

 In your opinion, what’s the most important element of a mystery novel?
The most important element of a mystery novel is creating that page-turning tension without creating confusion. A great mystery is simple and clear without so many suspects that the reader can't keep track of who is who. It's also necessary to avoid the 'deus en machina' - the creation of convenient resolutions to the plot. There has to be a reason for everything and everybody.

 

How do you keep track of the many layers?

It's not easy. I generally write my mystery and stick to my initial idea. Then I go back and fix things up in the timeline ect. If I had to correct my layers--as you call them--every time something changed during the writing process, I'd never finish the book. However, it's extremely important for me to go back and adjust them once I've finished.

 

When formulating a series, what are your main concerns?

My main concern is to avoid predictability. Will something happen here that sends the protagonist's life on another trajectory? It's very important to keep her/him fresh and subject them to life changes during the book. I also want each mystery e.g. crime to be solved, differently in each novel. I make it a huge goal to not reference a previous mystery for the reader, to know what the character is like or where the character is in his/her life.

 

How long did it take you to get published?

Forever--twice. My first book (second manuscript) was published in 1993 after about a year of trying to find a publisher. Then I lost my publisher when he was sold to another house, editor, when she left the business, and agent, when he dropped me. Fourteen years and five unpublished manuscripts passed before I was published again.

 

What motivates you?

One thing and one thing only. I am a writer.

 

Any advice for budding mystery novelists?

Don't give up. Perfect your craft. Don't think you'll get rich overnight, but keep writing until you perfect that perfect book that makes your reader stay up all night to learn the conclusion.

Check out more at www.WellReadandDead.com