Interview with Barbara O’Neal

Welcome, Barbara! Thank you so much for taking the time to drop by and chat with us this month. We’re so excited you’re going to be the guest speaker at our annual meeting, but for those who can’t make it to RWA Nationals this year, it is great that you came by the blog on your way to NYC.

1. Would you consider your current books to be Women’s Fiction, Romantic Women’s Fiction, or something else?

I always have a thread of romance in my books. I like it, and I strongly feel that most of us want a partner.

That said, my last few books have leaned hard into the Women’s Fiction realm, since the stories focus a lot on other parts of the main character’s life. In The Art of Inheriting Secrets, a woman grieving her mother has to figure out why her mother lied to her, and what she wants to do with her inheritance. She’s also falling in love, but the main story is the house and the mystery. In my upcoming When We Believed in Mermaids, the focus is on two sisters who shared a magical and terrible childhood, but there’s also a romantic thread.

2. You’ve been writing for a long time (clearly you were first published when you were twelve) and you’ve changed genres at least once. Can you tell us why, and if you like one genre the best?

I love women’s fiction the best. When I first started writing books for myself, that was what my genre was—it’s just that there was no commercial market for that kind of book. You could write gothic mysteries or big historical romantic fiction or maybe cozy mysteries, but the WF market just didn’t exist. It started to gather momentum in the late 90s and that’s when I started getting serious about it.

Before that, I wrote WF smaller in my category romances. They’re still all about issues in woman’s lives. Even my historicals are about women trying to find a life of meaning in a world that isn’t structured to give her what she wants. The Lark O’Neal books are Young Women’s Fiction, again about a young woman trying to figure out what life she wants to live.

They’re all my books. I only change names for the sake of branding. It’s crazy, but a lot of women’s fiction readers wouldn’t be caught dead reading romance. I have the discussion a lot at book clubs.

3. You have a new book coming out soon (the week of Nationals, in fact!). Can you tell us a little bit about it?

When We Believed in Mermaids is the story of two sisters who had a magical and terrible childhood on the beach near Santa Cruz. Josie, the troubled one, was blown up in a terrorist attack fifteen years ago, but one night, Kit, who is now an ER doctor, sees her dead sister on the news from a night club fire in Auckland. It’s so unmistakably her that Kit has to try to track her down. It’s told in two storylines, the past of their childhood as the children of a restaurant on the beach and in the present day as Kit tries to track down the mysterious woman on the news. It’s about love and sisters and there is, as always, a great love interest. I truly love Kit as much as any character I’ve ever created.

4. What kinds of things do you do to keep the creative fires stoked?

Keeping the well full is one of my crusades. I strongly believe that a writer—an artist of any kind—has a responsibility to her muses to keep them supplied with inspiration. I’ve been writing a long time, so I’ve built a life that incorporates that element. I have a ton of hobbies that fill the well—gardening, watercolors and drawing, photography, cooking. I make sure to talk to my friends and get away from the computer once a week or so to go out into the world. Of course, we have to keep regular hours and set limits on leaving the house (I have rules about that, too. Mondays and Thursdays are stay-home days. I can go for a walk or go outside in my own garden, but I can’t leave in the car, not even to go to the grocery store.

5. You probably get asked this all the time, but are you a pantser or a plotter? Do you have a specific writing routine?

I’m in-between, and I plot entirely from character. I have to know the characters very well before I can begin, and I plot from their flaws and hungers. I like to have a few strong turning point scenes and a solid idea of what the ending will be, and I wrote a long synopsis (15-25 pages) to tell myself the story. Once I get going, I like to plot out scenes about 15-20 at a time, and I at some point, I always turn to Robert McKee’s “the negation of the negation,” which is the way he phrases the dark moment of a book, reversing the story values of the work. It’s a little mind-bending at times, but I really love the way it takes me deeper, deeper, deeper.

6. If you could give one piece of advice to an aspiring Women’s Fiction writer, what would it be?

Finish what you start and when you finish a book, start a new one. It’s the way to learn to craft inside out, and also figure out your voice.

Here’s a little about Barbara in case you haven’t had the chance to read her books. Barbara O’Neal is the author of twelve novels of women’s fiction, including The Art of Inheriting Secrets, How to Bake a Perfect Life, and The All You Can Dream Buffet. Her award-winning books have been published in more than a dozen countries, including France, England, Poland, Australia, Turkey, Italy, Germany, and Brazil. She lives in the beautiful city of Colorado Springs with her beloved, a British endurance athlete who vows he’ll never lose his accent.

The author of more than 70 novels, Barbara has won seven RITA awards in four categories (mainstream with romantic elements, contemporary romance, category romance, and historical romance). She was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2012.

http://barbaraoneal.com | Facebook | Twitter | Website | Newsletter

Big News! Barbara’s our featured speaker at the RWF Chapter AGM and Social at Nationals this year! Register NOW at www.rwa.org.

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Interview with Avery Cove

I’m excited to have our first interview in 2018 be with our new RWF President, Avery Cove.

RWF: What started you down your writing path?

AC: To make a long story short, I’d gone back to college to finish my liberal arts degree and had decided I’d major in Technical Writing. After complaining about some of the most gawd-awful-boring classes, my advisor told me I should go for a Creative Writing degree. A university from a neighboring city was offering new degrees in Writing and they’d just built a brand-new building to house both Communication and Writing Majors. I didn’t hesitate long over my career change.

RWF: What do you write?

AC: My first love is writing historicals. I’ve gotten valuable feedback on the one I’ve finished and shared. It still has some editing to be done and I’m slowly working through that. I’ve got at least four, maybe more, unfinished stories that I’d love to get back to but with time constraints…hopefully, one day.

I’m currently writing a contemporary series loosely based on a combination of two towns – one in Arkansas and one in Tennessee that I love to visit. I’ve got all four stories going – two of the books are moving along nicely. I’m really enjoying writing these!

RWF: Do you have a “day job”?

 AC: Yes. I’m head cataloger for a regional library. I spend my time cataloging library materials and I oversee the technical processing of eight libraries. Outside of writing, it’s the BEST JOB EVER.

RWF: As president of RWF, what are your plans?

AC: My goal for RWF is to make it into a group that offers every member a place to share, learn, and grow. I want our members to step away and feel they’ve gained something from being a part of this chapter, no matter what stage they’re at on their writing journey. I want them to feel as comfortable as if they were at a physical RWA chapter meeting – where hugs and cookies are plentiful. Maybe that sounds fanciful and maybe it is, but this group is a work-in-progress just like we all are. I’m a big believer in ideas and trying them. Sure, many of those ideas fall flat and simply won’t work, but without trying, where are we? I’m always open for ideas – share them, and if you’ve the time and the inclination why not talk to us – you could head the committee. Or we could possibly weave them into what’s going on.

RWF’s new board is a good team with lots of heart, and we have a webmistress, too, a.k.a., our past president. We are just getting started, stay with us, watch us, grow with us, and please get your money’s worth by participating. Pretend we’re all in a box together as writers and authors – how do we want to spend our time? What are we wanting to gain? Why are we here? What are we wanting to learn? Got questions? Afraid to express them? Email one of the board members – we certainly don’t have all the answers, but we’ll do our best to find them for you. If you want something more from the group than you feel you’re getting, talk to us. Let us try to fix it.

RWF: Tell us something about you.

AC: I’m more of a private person who is like an open book. Closed, I appear quite ordinary and unnoticed, but once open I’ll tell you most anything. If you want to know about “what not to do,” I’ve learned plenty of those lessons. As for a little of my life, I been married to my Renaissance Man for close to forty-three years. Together we have four children, eleven grandchildren, with another on-the-way, and three great-grandchildren. Hubby and I stumble and bumble around our home hiding from five demanding cats and one very spoiled dog. I write as often as possible and read more than I should. I love traveling and meeting new people, even though I can be shy to the point of seeming backward. If you meet me – talk to me, I will talk back.

RWF: Thank you Avery and we look forward to continued amazing leadership at RWF.

Avery Cove has been PRO for several years. Her current plan is to finish her contemporary series, loosely based on a town in the Ozark mountains. Time permitting, she reads, writes, dabbles at drawing, and pretends she’s making music on her keyboard. Ms. Cove lives in the hills of Arkansas where four-legged critters outnumber the people. Avery is a member of RWA and many online chapters. You can find her on Facebook and Twitter. Her website is www.averycove.com and she writes at Sheila’s blog.

The Power of Words

“Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words can never hurt me.”

I heard that a lot when I was growing up when someone called me names. Today we call that bullying and encourage our children to tell someone so we can hopefully stop it.

I remember repeating that phrase hoping to make it true. It never became true.

As an adult, I realize it is one of the biggest lie I was ever told.

Words don’t just hurt you, they have the power to destroy you.  They can cripple your motivation, creativity, and emotional wellbeing. Families have parted ways, friendships have been destroyed, marriages ended, jobs lost, and careers ruined all because of words.  Heck, wars have been started because of words.

We all understand that words are a powerful weapon.  So, who are these enemies that use words against us?

One of them would be the person you talk to the most, right?  And who is the person you talk to the most…yourself.

We talk to ourselves more than anyone else every day.  We are often our worst critic.

We don’t really set out to harm ourselves. Maybe we just repeat what someone said to us at some point in our life and we’ve internalized the words over time. Sometimes these negative words are born from an unnamed fear.

Everyone has said “I can’t do ___” at some point in their lives. At least, I don’t know anyone who hasn’t said it to themselves or even out loud.

Okay, so I really can’t stand on my head. I know adults who can, but I’m not one of them. But frankly, I’m not willing to put the effort into practicing standing on my head until I’m able to do it. So, the real truth isn’t that “I can’t stand on my head”, it’s “I don’t want to stand on my head.”  There is a big difference.

What we say to ourselves can be so toxic that we defeat any good that is in our lives.

If we say we can’t do something, pretty soon we are convinced that we can’t do it, and then we give up before we ever try. All because we believed what we’ve told ourselves.

“I’m stupid.” “I’m not good enough.” “I don’t measure up.”  The list is endless.  Some of those things may keep people in very unhealthy relationships and keep us repeating bad habits.

As a writer I fight my Evil Internal Editor (EIE) every time I sit down to write. Sometimes I begin fighting my EIE when I start thinking about sitting down to write.  “I’m tired.” “I’ll do it later,” “I’m not motivated.” Or my favorite.  “I’ll do it after I get X, Y and Z done.”

Do you KNOW how many Xs, Ys and Zs I can come up with?

There are books written about the power of words. I’m not even going to try to list them here. But visit a self-help section of a bookstore or online and you’ll find plenty of resources. There are so many books written because turning negative words into positive ones isn’t easy.

It takes five positive words to replace one negative word.

The first step is to acknowledge the negative things we think or say. You can’t change what you don’t acknowledge.

Second, take every one that comes to your mind and turn it into a positive. Will it be easy? No. Will it be worth it? Yes.

At first you may be tempted to say “I can’t ___” and turn it into “I can ___” followed immediately by “Who are YOU kidding?

Every time I catch myself saying “I can’t write this book” I stop myself because “I can write this book.”  If you catch yourself saying “I don’t know how to write this book” turn it around to “I am learning more about writing every day.”

It takes daily effort to turn our negative self-talk into positive self-talk. It’s not a quick or easy fix. Remember that it takes five positives to erase one negative.

While words can be negative they can also be life giving.  If you’ve had a parent, teacher, friend or family member say, “you look nice” or “you did a great job” then you know it made you feel good.

As your words become positive, your attitude will grow more positive, and soon you will be able to accomplish the things that are important to you.

Good luck on your journey of changing your self-talk.

It will be worth it!

Mary Gardner wears many hats as a Christian, mother, grandmother, writer, reader and manager of her homeowner’s association. She writes romance and romantic women’s fiction with small town settings. Although she is not yet published, she has been a finalist in several contests and won her category in a few. She was a 2007 RWA Golden Hearts finalist and the 2nd runner up in the 2008 – Harlequin Superromance® Conflict of Interest Contest. Mary is a member of RWA and is a RWA PRO. She lives with her cat near her family in a small town in Indiana.Her website: www.maryrosegardner.com

Meet the Author on RWF

It’s the first day of autumn, and we have our hard-working President here for an interview.

RWF: Would you say you write women’s fiction or romantic women’s fiction?

JL: Romantic women’s fiction. I need my romance! See my article here for my personal definition of the genre.

RWF: Do you write in other genres?

JL: I’ve written a couple of short stories in other genres. Second Chance Dress has no genre that can I name, but you can get a copy of it for free when you sign up for my newsletter. 😉 The other one is a time travel (yes, me!) that I’m waiting on for rights reversion before I self-publish.

 

RWF: What is your last published title?

JL: Sight for Sore Eyes. Here’s the blurb.

How many stick and stones can one woman survive?

Emma Finn once dreamed of being a photographer, capturing exotic landscapes and poignant vistas. Then a series of tragedies tore her life apart. All she craves now is stability—reliable, boring, safe.

How many bumps and bruises can one man take?

Ophthalmologist Asher Stockdale left big city life when his ex-wife took his young son away. When he met Emma, he pictured her as the centre of his new life in Clarence Bay. So why is he encouraging her to resurrect her old dream and go gallivanting around the globe? Dare he ask her to stay?

How many roadblocks can one romance encounter and still cherish the love?

If Emma goes to India, will she be able to heal, or will she regret her choice?

Carpenter ants, a rescued Pirate, and a pair of scheming seniors help Emma and Asher to see what really lies before their eyes.

You can read an excerpt at www.JoanLeacott.ca

 

RWF: What would be your number one tip you’d give to someone who’d just finished their first manuscript?

JL: Celebrate the amazing thing you’ve accomplished! Treat yourself to something special. Then let yourself, and the story, rest for three weeks before you start editing. That way you’ll both be fresh and ready to go. For the first pass, just read; resist the urge to edit. Note where you catch yourself smiling or are confused, angry, or tearful. The places of confusion get your attention first.

 

RWF: Do you have a running theme?

JL: Reconciliation. I didn’t start out with that in mind; a friend pointed it out. I find the revelations and growth required for honest reconciliation to be an endless source of conflict and resolution.

 

RWF: Where do you find inspiration?

JL: In the bottom of a pail of dirty water. 😉 When I’m engaged in mindless chores like washing floors, I reflect on events (large, small, recent, and past) in my life and that’s my greatest source of inspiration. My first story grew out of the sentence, ‘A woman goes home to help her sick mother’. I was cleaning my mom’s house while she was receiving chemo treatments.

 

RWF: Do you have a job outside your writing?

JL: I’m self-employed as a book formatter and Microsoft Word educator. You can see more at www.WovenRed.ca. The job came out of the technical skills I acquired as a self-published writer.

 

RWF: Are you a plotter, panster, or combination of both?

Definitely a plotter—I Y Excel to weave plot lines and keep a series bible.

 

RWF: What’s a surprising or little-known fact about you?

JL: I’m taking piano lessons. My parents were immigrants with five children and not a lot of money. Once I had the time and resources, I realized a life-long dream to make music.

Thank you, Joan, for taking time out of your busy schedule to come share a bit about yourself and your writing.

 

Joan is a renaissance woman. She is skilled in many arts—sewing, knitting crochet, cross-stitch, painting, and piano. Oh, and writing contemporary romantic women’s fiction. The skill favored by her husband and son is cooking. She spends her winters in Toronto attending plays, ballets, Pilates and Yoga classes. Whew! Her summers are spent on the shores of Georgian Bay relaxing with a book and a glass of wine on the deck.

When does she write? In every moment left over!

 

Interview with Anne Parent

For our interview today, we welcome Anne Parent.

Good morning, Anne.

RWF: Would you say you write women’s fiction or romantic women’s fiction?

AP: Women’s fiction with romantic elements and contemporary romantic fiction.

RWF: Do you write in other genres?

AP: Not currently, but I hope to write an early 20^th century historical. In addition, I have an idea for a late 19^th century romance.

RWF: Want to tell us what you’re working on?

AP: I’m working on the story of a divorced professional woman who is willing to do anything to have a child of her own, including making a deal with a man for his sperm. She has to face the complications of her first pregnancy, which ended in miscarriage and guilt. This leads her to break the agreement with the man who provided the sperm, creating chaos in both of their lives.

RWF: What are your favorite books to read?

AP: I read a wide variety of books: women’s fiction, contemporary romance, craft books, mysteries, and classics.

RWF: When writing do you read in genre your writing in or something else?

AP: I prefer to read in other genres while I’m plotting, but I read in my genre once I’m well into the book to see how other authors have dealt with specific situations. I read craft books for inspiration and to learn new techniques all through my writing process.

RWF: Do you have a running theme for your books?

AP: I always include a social issue to add depth to my books.

RWF: Do you read non-fiction? What kinds?

AP: I read a wide variety of craft books, as well as books on subjects that interest me: gardening, knitting, travel, and photography. I was an essayist prior to writing fiction, so I enjoy reading well-written essays.

RWF: Which do you feel you learn more from – an online class, local workshop, or writer’s craft book?

AP: This actually depends on what I’m looking for. When I first began this journey, I took online classes for everything. Now, I limit my online classes. I’m willing to pay more for a class that pushes me, such as Mary Buckham’s power plotting webinar. I love conferences, but this year I’m devoting my time to finishing this book. I’m a sucker for craft books. I have a library to rival the bookstores. They are my go to inspiration, as well as problem solving resource. I have bookmarks (my book darts) and notes throughout many of them. People have asked if I’d read all of the books in my library. My answer: bits and pieces of all of them, and cover to cover for quite a few of them.

RWF: Where do you find inspiration?

AP: For my current book, the inspiration came from my daughter, who discovered a health condition which caused her miscarriage. Thanks to insightful doctors, she now has two beautiful children. My book is my way of giving back. Other inspiration comes from things I read which interest me, as well as daily living. I had a college professor who told me inspiration is all around us and writers are observers of life. This was the best writing advice I ever received.

RWF: Do you have a job outside your writing?

AP: I am fortunate to be able to give my time to my writing. I had to retire early due to an illness, which was actually a gift to my muse.

RWF: How do you fit writing into your life?

AP: For the past two years, I let my writing become secondary to building a house and moving in. Prior to that I was actively involved in my local RWA chapter, which allowed me to use it as an excuse not to write. However, I now have a commitment to my writing I’ve never had before. I use a Franklin planner and record my writing time, as well as distraction time. When I see my writing time is slipping, I set it as my priority. This is helping me stay on track.

RWF: How do you fit editing into your writing life and the one you actually live in?

AP: Ah, editing! I love making my writing stronger, but I have to have complete silence with no distractions when I edit. When my office door is closed, my husband knows not to enter unless it’s an emergency. I can write with distractions around me because I’m putting the story together, but editing requires my full attention.

RWF: Are you a plotter, pantser, or combination of both?

AP: I’m both plotter and panster; however, on the continuum between the two, I definitely lean in the direction of plotter. I like to know the key points I’m writing toward. I’m willing to let my characters lead me in some instances, but it usually ends up down a path with a dead end. Thus, the struggle with my current WIP. I let the panster take over and I’m now re-writing the last third of this book.

RWF: Do you plan your writing time? Or do you go with the flow of family to-do’s and work out your writing in between?

AP: I tried going with the flow when I lived in Wisconsin because I helped my daughter a lot. Since my husband’s retirement to Tennessee, I’ve found I’m much more productive planning my time. Distractions still arise, but I can limit them more here. I have trouble saying no to family. Although I try to keep my mornings free Monday through Friday, things still creep into my time if I’m not diligent.

RWF: Are the stories you write based more on the woman’s journey or more on the romance?

AP: I like to have a strong romantic element, but I focus my writing on the woman’s journey.

RWF: Do you prefer to write at home or go somewhere to write?

AP: I prefer to sit at my desk and write; however, if I’m stuck I may go to a park or coffee house to clear my head. Sometimes it helps, but not always. I’m fortunate to live on six wooded acres which allow me to find various spots to set my muse free, so I take my laptop and walk until I find a place of inspiration.

RWF: Do you participate in NaNoWriMo?

AP: I’ve participated in NaNoWriMo in the past, but I’m a slow and deliberate writer. I find it pushes me to put words, not clarity on the page. It has been counterproductive to me and my writing style.

RWF: Do you first come up with a setting or character for your story idea?

AP: This is a difficult question for me. Setting plays an important role in my writing and becomes a character to some degree. I usually start with a question and let the setting and character lead me to see if there is substance to it.

Thank you, Anne, for sharing a little bit of your writing world with us.

Anne Parent  married her soul mate and they raised three glorious children. She now has six phenomenal grandchildren. She comes from a background of vital women, including a beloved grandmother, the last of the true Southern ladies. She has always stayed in touch with her Southern roots through her best friend Wanda, who happens to be the daughter of her mother’s best friend and the sister of her brother’s best friend.

She began her journey into higher education at the age of 18 at the University of South Carolina (nursing, math, and journalism) before finally deciding she needed life lessons in order to decide on a career. She pursued engineering at Greenville Technical College, before figuring out this wasn’t the direction either, and studied at Butler University (couldn’t decide between English and journalism). She took some time to build more life lessons in raising children before deciding on her final path, a degree in English from Indiana University – Indianapolis with a minor in American Studies, at the age of 45. A true late bloomer!

Anne now lives in Tennessee where she writes romantic women’s fiction set in Southern towns, both imaginary and real. She adds a contemporary social issue to her books as part of the woman’s journey. Her hope is that her characters will take her readers away from reality and they will come away feeling ready to tackle whatever they find holding them back in their own lives.

You can find Anne at – www.anneparent.com; FB : Anne Parent and Anne Parent Author; Twitter: https://twitter.com/AnneWParent

 

 

 

Interview with Betty Bolté

Today we have author, Betty Bolté, sharing some of her thoughts.

RWF: Would you say you write women’s fiction or romantic women’s fiction?

BB: I’m writing a series of historical fiction about famous American women that have romantic elements since each of the ladies was married, which I think should qualify as romantic women’s fiction.

RWF: Do you write in other genres?

BB: I also write American historical romance and paranormal romance (think witches and ghosts…). I’ve also written and published in nonfiction books and in magazine/newspaper articles.

RWF: What is your last published title?

BB: In May, I released The Touchstone of Raven Hollow (Secrets of Roseville Book 3), a paranormal romance set in the forests of southcentral Tennessee. You can read an excerpt of it and my other books on my website at www.bettybolte.com.

RWF: What do you think helped you get from unpublished to published?

BB: Hard work, persistence, and a bit of luck. I determined in the 90s that I wanted to be an editor of a children’s magazine, but I needed a degree to be considered. So I went to Indiana University and got a Bachelor of Arts degree in English. Then decided I wanted to write, not edit a magazine! I worked at freelancing articles for magazines, newspapers, and did tech editing from home. All the while, I wrote my stories and worked on improving the craft of writing fiction, which is a very different animal from writing nonfiction! I joined RWA and went to chapter meetings to learn about the industry and craft. Bought craft books, attended conferences and workshops, etc. In 2006, I decided I wanted a master of arts in English with a concentration in literature to further study and analyze story, which I received in 2008. Slowly but surely over the course of 20 years, I learned how to write fiction that others want to read. In fact, my first romance to be bought by a small press was the result of a tweet pitch I did in January 2014. As of 2017, I’ve published 9 romance novels and will release my 10^th, a novella, in Dec 2017.

RWF: What would be your number one tip you’d give to someone who’d just finished their first manuscript?

BB: Congratulations! Don’t be in a rush to publish. Take the time to make sure the story is really ready by having beta readers provide feedback. If you’re going the indie route be sure to hire a professional fiction editor to assess and help you refine the story. Your reputation as an author is determined by your storytelling and writing skills. Be sure to put your best foot forward!

RWF: What advice would you give an author who has just published her first book?

BB: Don’t panic. Take one day at a time, one task at a time. Then get busy writing the next book to the best of your ability.

RWF: What are your favorite books to read?

BB: I enjoy women’s fiction, historical romances, light paranormal romance, some contemporary romance, historical fiction, mysteries, and some of the classics.

RWF: When writing do you read in the genre your writing in or something else?

BB: I’m an eclectic reader so am reading a variety all the time. I tend to read more nonfiction when I’m writing my historicals for research into the time and place of the story.

RWF: What type of non-fiction?

BB: I read a lot of historical biographies, analysis of conflicts or lifestyles during the conflict, and documents about people and places related to my historical fiction. I find books in historical site gift shops, in the library, and online, sometimes dating back to the 1700s. I’ve also found it fascinating to read about medicine and cooking in the 18^th century. I’m in the process of adapting some 18^th-century recipes to modern cooking techniques and tastes and sharing the results on my blog at www.bettybolte.net. It’s been quite a challenge but fascinating, and gives me fresh insight into how cooks managed to put together a meal with limited resources.

RWF: Do you have a job outside your writing?

BB: I’m fortunate to be able to write full-time now. I used to run a freelance writing/editing business, and previous to that a word processing business, from home during the 1990s through about 2002. From 2004-2012, though, I worked full-time as a tech writer/editor for a major corporation and wrote on the weekends as I had time around my family obligations. I’m not mentally functional before 6 am nor after 10 pm, so I don’t have the option of writing before or after work like some authors I know. Thankfully, now my time is my own.

RWF: Do you plan your writing time? Or do you go with the flow of family to-do’s and work out your writing in between?

BB: I write Monday through Friday, 8 am to noon, unless there’s a very good reason for me having to be elsewhere or handle some other task. Like this past spring when my hubby and I moved from our farm in Tennessee to a house in Alabama. Writing didn’t happen for almost a solid month while we dealt with packing, movers, shedding clutter, and unpacking, and a myriad of tasks and issues in between. Now I have an office again for the first time in 20 years where I have an actual desk to work at. Talk about being in heaven!

RWF: Do you participate in NaNoWriMo?

BB: I have never had an interest in pressuring myself into writing a book. For one thing, since I write mainly historicals, I want to have the time to understand my characters and their world. The interaction between who they are and the limitations on them from their environment and societal expectations as well as the facts of day-to-day life play a major part in determining the action and setting of the story. For example, questions need to be answered before I can write a scene about how my character traveled from point A to point B – on foot, horseback, carriage, boat? The kinds of situations each mode of transportation would present varies drastically. Rushing through a draft would mean upping the likelihood of major revisions later, so I’d rather not go down that path.

RWF: Do you first come up with a setting or character for your story idea?

BB: It depends on the story. For my A More Perfect Union historical romance series I defined the first three women first – Emily, Amy, and Samantha, and then added Evelyn and Elizabeth’s stories later. Their situation and viewpoint was a direct result of reading an essay written in the 1780s about how women should not have the same education as men or they’d become masculinized or perhaps even injure their brains! I wanted to bring to life their reality during the American Revolution and how the women of that time actually sowed the seeds of the women’s rights movement in America. For the historical women’s fiction, the ladies actual history dictates the story details. My paranormals in my Secrets of Roseville series tend to blend both the characters and the setting as the basis for the entire story, so I can’t really divide them. They work together to guide the story, in other words. Each story presents its own challenges and appropriate approaches. I just have to be willing to be flexible. Most of my stories are written in third person, but the ladies’ stories are all in first person, which is a new adventure for me!

Thank you, Betty, for sharing a little bit about yourself and your writing world.

 

Betty Bolté writes both historical and contemporary stories featuring strong, loving women and brave, compassionate men. No matter whether the stories are set in the past or the present, she loves to include a touch of the paranormal. In addition to her romantic fiction, she’s the author of several nonfiction books and earned a Master of Arts in English in 2008. She is a member of Romance Writers of America, the Historical Novel Society, the Women’s Fiction Writers Association, and the Authors Guild. Get to know her at www.bettybolte.com.

 

Interview with Mary Ann Clarke Scott

Good morning, Mary Ann!

RWF: Would you say you write women’s fiction or romantic women’s fiction?

MS: It’s funny that everyone talks about this now, and it’s so accepted. I sat firmly on that fence for years, while teachers, agents and colleagues said, “You have to decide! You can’t sell a book that’s not either women’s fiction or romance.” And I sat there, obstinately. So I’ll take Romantic Women’s Fiction, thank you. It perfectly describes what I do, and what I love to read, too. I focus on the heroine’s journey, the character arc, the growth and personal challenges, even when it’s also the hero that’s experiencing that arc. The function of the romantic relationship is as a catalyst to change. And, I guess, it’s the prize at the bottom of the box. But for me, it’s always there. Other WF writers use friendship or familial relationships as that foil. For me, it’s always the love interest.

RWF: Do you write in other genres?

MS: I write some science fiction. I have a feature screenplay in the Cyberpunk genre that I’m going to novelize one day soon. And I have a plan for an ambitious, branched Steampunk Time Travel story. I also have a plan for a middle grade series. Someday.

RWF: Do you have a new book out?

MS: I have two! After agonizing for years about the publishing journey, I made my decision and self-published my first book, Reconcilable Differences, in August 2016, and my second, The Art of Enchantment, in March of 2017. Now I’m in a hurry to finish and release the other three manuscripts I’m sitting on.

RWF: What do you think helped you get from unpublished to published?

MS: Frustration, impatience, or patience, depending on how you look at it, growth, risk-taking, a belief that I could. Finally. The desire to move to the next stage of my career, and write for others as well as myself. Self-publishing is an enormous undertaking. I think in my gut I knew that, and put it off until I felt I “knew enough.” Or was prepared to commit to the hard work.

RWF: What would be your number one tip you’d give to someone who’d just finished their first manuscript?

MS: Put it away and write another one. And another one. Don’t get hung up on your masterpiece. No matter how brilliant it is, the next one will be better. You can’t see it now, but you will. We never stop growing and improving at our craft. Don’t assume because you’ve sweated blood that there isn’t more to learn. Do NOT spend ten years tweaking your first book. Waste of time. Give it some air.

RWF: What advice would you give an author who has just published her first book?

MS: PM me! We can cross-promote! LOL

RWF: What are your favorite books to read?

MS: I’m an eclectic reader. I read a lot of romance and women’s fiction, but all kinds, depending on my mood and what I’m looking for or looking to escape from. I also love science fiction, a little mystical, magical realism sometimes, literary fiction, an occasional action/suspense with romance mixed in.

RWF: When writing do you read in the genre your writing in or something else?

MS: I shift into sidelines – romantic comedy or historical, or literary. Reading really good WF kind of intimidates me. I get inspiration from them, too, but, you know. There’s always someone who’s so much better than you, and that knocks the wind out of you sometimes.

RWF: Do you have a running theme?

MS: The more I write, the more I see that there are ideas I revisit, dressed up in different ways. I guess that’s how my first stories evolved into series. I saw that I kept coming back to the same ideas: identity, belonging, balance, self-knowledge, empowerment. Learning to be one’s true self, even if there are reasons why you’ve been denying that, as a survival mechanism. I think this is very true to life, and I like to explore it in different ways – that turning point in a life that changes everything – and brings you closer to yourself. The universe. Authenticity, I guess. And a touch of spiritual awakening, in a vague, non-religious way. A kind of Zen thing.

RWF: Do you read non-fiction? What kinds?

MS: Most of it’s too slow for me. I can’t stand self-help. I read the dust jacket and the introduction and feel – ok, got it, or I already knew that! I don’t read much non-fiction, unless I’m researching something for a book – then I’ll gobble up all kinds of weird stuff. History, geography, different professions, astrophysics or chemistry, philosophy or religion, sports, botany, whatever. And I read writing craft. Lately I read far, far too much about book marketing. 😉

RWF: Are you a plotter, panster, or combination of both?

MS: I am a plotter. I can’t write without knowing where I’m going, and that I’ve worked out the structural underpinnings of my story. The more I write, and the more I study craft, the more this has become true. Maybe because I was an architect? I don’t know. I like patterns. And symbols. And archetypes. I love story structure. It actually stimulates my imagination, and helps me problem solve. It’s fun. Right now, I’m being more conscious of navigating the heroine’s journey in a nuanced, conscious way, hitting the right notes. But even when I don’t plan everything, it’s in there, so I suppose I should trust myself more. It’s just that I like it, the planning process. A lot. It’s like a big juicy puzzle. But the reason it’s fascinating to me is that it’s inherent in us, collectively. That’s why there are both kinds of writers.

RWF: Do you plan your writing time? Or do you go with the flow of family to-do’s and work out your writing in between?

MS: Ah. Chaos. I’m a binger. I either have my writing hat on, or my publishers hat. I can’t seem to do both simultaneously, on a schedule. One is introspective, meditative, creative and immersive. The other social, rational, linear, frenetic. And I tip back and forth. Whichever job I’m doing consumes me, happens continuously, and life flows around it. I’m lucky my family is pretty self-sufficient these days, and so I attend to them when I can, and when I can’t, they manage. I’m always juggling though.

RWF: Do you prefer to write at home or go somewhere to write?

MS: Oh, I write from home. I’m very lucky to have my own lovely office, and live in a beautiful place. I also have a great coffee machine. That’s all I need.

RWF: Do you participate in NaNoWriMo?

MS: I have done, the past four years. For a long time I thought I wouldn’t like the pressure – but it turns out I like it – the focus, the frenzy and the community of crazy writers all pushing so hard to get words down. There’s something freeing about not having time to fret about whether they’re any good. I’ve got a few new ‘partial’ manuscripts out of NaNoWriMo. Too bad my books are 100k words or more! It takes me six months or more to write the second half.

RWF: Do you first come up with a setting or character for your story idea?

MS: Well, mostly I begin with character. But sometimes with a scenario that might be inspired by a place, an event, a song, or the stories that are embedded in them. But in those cases, the first thing I do is come up with a person who finds themselves there and then build up from that, around the character. Why are they there, in that situation? Where did they come from? How are they damaged or deluded? What do they want, and what, or who, can I throw in to make their life hard, transformative. I especially like dreaming up two characters who can do that for each other simultaneously.

RWF: Thank you, Mary Ann, for sharing your time and a bit of writing world.

 

M A Clarke Scott is a Chatelaine Grand Prize winner for The Art of Enchantment, first in the Life is a Journey series of romantic women’s fiction about young women abroad who discover themselves and fall in love while getting embroiled in other people’s problems. Reconcilable Differences is first in the Having It All series about professional women in Vancouver struggling to balance the challenge and fulfillment of career with the search for identity, love, family and home. She also loves to weave dramatic relationships into steampunk and cyberpunk adventures.

She’s been a telephone operator, a dental hygienist, an architect, a gerontologist and an education savings advisor, and is now affectionately known as ‘Doc Maven.’ When not writing, she meditates while hiking wooded mountain trails, does yoga and Pilates to fend off decrepitude, reads eclectically, contemplates wormholes, experiments with painting abstract expressionism, kills plants and tries not to burn dinner. Her geeky fascinations include time travel, archeology, European history, French films, neuroplasticity, metaphysics, Jungian psychology, using big words 😉 Clarke Scott lives in beautiful Vancouver, Canada with three large men and four small mammals, all of them hairier than she. Although she knows she lives in Paradise, she still loves traveling the world in search of romance, art, good food and new story ideas.

You can read more about M A, her books, and ideas that strike her fancy at http://www.maryannclarkescott.com. Join her mailing list to receive a bundle of free goodies.

Website: http://www.maryannclarkescott.com

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Food & Fiction – Delicious Together!

by Kristi Rhodes

Beef up your next writing project with a few well-placed food references. I know. Forgive me. Sorry to start with the food words in the very first sentence…

I love to read about food in my fiction, whether it’s a couple sharing a tropical fruit parfait in a Hawaiian romance or a detective devouring a hot, buttery lobster roll in a Maine-set mystery. Including food references in your work can add another enjoyable dimension.

Below are a few easy ways to sprinkle culinary terms into your writing:

1. Food Words are Delicious Describers:

Looking for that perfect word to add interest to your sentence? How about sticky, steamy, bitter or bubbly? In Kathy Temean’s article, 101 Descriptive Words for Foods, she gives page-after-page of delicious describers. This list makes it easy to add sizzle to your next writing.

Another exceptional find for fabulous food words is in Ingrid Sundberg’s article, The Color Thesaurus. It is a fascinating block of color shades and names associated with them. She uses labels like coconut, for a color that is pinky white, or butter that is just that perfect shade of soft yellow, or honey that is a deeper mix of yellow and brown. 

2. Foods Words are Fabulous in Simile/Metaphors/Comparisons:

Food words are relatable and common enough to provide easy comparisons for your work. The only caveat is to avoid overused idioms like sizzles like bacon or juicy as a peach, but unexpected food comparisons can delight your readers. Try …quick as the breakfast waitress at Dot’s Corner Café, or …refreshing as cold chunks of watermelon on a ninety-degree day. I’m sure you’ll come up with much more clever ones, but that gives you an idea.

 

 

3. Food Words Immerse Readers in Time Periods:

Food references can pinpoint time periods. My childhood is full of fond food memories. Jello salad was my favorite at picnics. Pineapple upside down cake meant birthday celebrations. Twinkies were my after-school treat. Fondue was mostly for adult parties, but I loved to sneak a forkful of bread dripping with cheese. My top of the list, though, was banana pudding. The kind with layers of pudding and bananas and ‘Nilla wafers. That was reserved for when my mom really wanted to spoil us. Whenever I see those foods in books, movies or magazines, I’m transported back to the sixties and seventies in my house with my family.

My friend Suzy is writing about twin princesses living in a castle around the Middle Ages. To add authentic detail to her holiday celebration scene, she researched the ingredients and decorations used in making gingerbread houses during that time period.

Food references can help the reader be more in touch with the time period of your work. I know they thrill me when I read them in fiction.

4. Food Words Reinforce Your Setting:

Food references can make your setting more identifiable. Tex-Mex in Texas, avocados in California or peaches in Georgia – certain foods bring a place to mind. By mentioning the food in your setting you can reinforce that location to your reader. If your protagonist is living in Connecticut, maybe she eats a fresh-picked apple from the tree in fall, or enjoys chowder by the shore or stops at a diary farm for a wedge of a heavenly local cheese. All are opportunities to give a local flavor to your writing.

Splattering your work with food words can enrich your sentences with juicy adjectives, or make your seventies-set novel come to life or have your Florida scene pop.

Do you use food references in your writing? Share your favorite in the comments section.

  

Kristi Rhodes has been the Treasurer for RWF since January 2016. Her current MS, The Tropical Transformation of Joanie Weston, was recently selected as a finalist in the Women’s Fiction category of the WisRWA Fab 5 contest. In her spare time, she loves to cook and entertain, especially using tropical ingredients. Foodies will enjoy the references sprinkled throughout her work. Contact Kristi through her website, on Twitter or on Pinterest.

Fun Fact: There is a genre in fiction that is called Food Fiction. A list of these foodie treasures can be found here: http://literaryfoodie.blogspot.com/p/food-fiction-list.html

 

 

 

 

Interview with Virginia McCullough

Today we have with us author, Virginia McCullough.

RWF: Would you say you write women’s fiction or romantic women’s fiction?

VM: Originally, I called my work family drama/love stories, and then as the term women’s fiction became the term of art, I realized that my books fit the current definition of romantic women’s fiction.

RWF: Do you write in other genres?

VM: I also write romance, and just had a Harlequin Heartwarming release, GIRL IN THE SPOTLIGHT, book 1 of my Two Moon Bay series. I plan to submit another proposal for a second series. I’d like to try my hand at historical novels as well—we’ll see.

RWF: Are you traditionally published, self-published, or both?

VM: My fiction career is now hybrid, like my nonfiction career has been for many years. I like the idea of publishing both traditionally and independently.  I think indie publishing is a great development for writers because it removes the power of the “gatekeepers.” Like everything else, publishing has changed enormously since I first started writing. Although indie pubbing has its problems, the technology of publishing has been a great equalizer.

RWF: What do you think helped you get from unpublished to published?

VM: Having an agent helped me. I know that’s not always true for series romance, but that’s how it worked out for me. With my indie novels it was a case of “if not now, when?” I’m not getting any younger! Looking at the question in a broader way, I’d say love of the writing process itself is critical to establishing a long writing career.

RWF: Do you read non-fiction? What kinds?

VM: Since my career has been fueled by writing nonfiction (mostly as a ghostwriter and coauthor), I’m drawn to nonfiction…history, current issues, memoir, biography.

RWF: What are your favorite books to read?

VM: I read a lot of women’s fiction, and I find myself drawn to novels with multiple women characters who are sisters or friends—those beach reads we all seem to like. I also like the WWI and WWII eras and other 20^th century period fiction. And family sagas.

RWF: When you write, do you read in the same genre you’re writing in or something different?

VM: I pretty much read the same types of books all the time. Whatever strikes my fancy at the moment.

RWF: Do you first come up with a setting or character for your story idea?

VM: It’s happened both ways for me. I like water settings—islands, waterfronts on lakes, rivers, oceans, so all the ideas that come to me seem to fit into one of those lovely environments.

RWF: Do you have a running theme?

VM: Well, my brand is hope, healing, and second chances. That covers a lot of ground. The books always involve a family, sometimes friends, and some of the time what I call the “special child,” meaning the child whose birth changes everything forever—of course, that’s universal, but I like to explore it. In a few of my books, the child drives the story, whether a primary character or not. In AMBER LIGHT, for example, a pregnancy results from date rape and the narrator’s life is profoundly changed. What does she do and how does she manage? In GIRL IN THE SPOTLIGHT, the child relinquished for adoption ends up driving the story many years later. In ISLAND HEALING, a 13-year-old ends up being the catalyst for healing on many levels in two families. In all the books, the characters have a wound to heal and in the process they gain their second chance, not just for a romantic relationship, but for happiness in life.

RWF: Where do you find inspiration?

VM: From all of you! And from every person who ventures into the creative life. Other people’s writing-life stories inspire me to keep trying to get better.

RWF: Which do you feel you learn more from – an online class, local workshop, or writer’s craft book?

VM: I’ve learned so much from all three methods I can’t say one is better than the other. I think one of the great pleasures of RWA National is choosing the workshops! And I sign up for online classes, too, but many decades ago, I started my writing career based on what I learned from craft books and writers magazines.

RWF: Do you prefer to write at home or go somewhere to write?

VM: I work at home most of the time, but I sometimes hide out at the library or a café for a change of pace, and often to jumpstart a project by jotting notes and just free-form writing about the situation or setting. I believe a change of scene can work wonders for the creative brain—it can wake it up.

RWF: How do you fit writing into your life?

VM: It’s always a balancing act, writing and editing my work versus and editing and coaching for clients. It’s really about scheduling. But my kids are grown, so my time is my own. I know this isn’t a popular position among romance and RWF authors, but I really like living alone. I enjoy—even crave—solitude. But I’m not isolated. I love my close circle of friends—many of whom are my colleagues in the Wisconsin chapter of RWA. Other friends are located across the country in the various places I’ve lived. I love to travel, and I’ve always been active in various social issues and causes, too, so I have to protect writing time.

RWF: Do you have a job outside your writing?

VM: I’ve had my nonfiction ghosting/editing business virtually all of my adult life. Coaching came more recently. I had to make it a priority to carve out time to learn how to write fiction. It never would have happened otherwise and it took a fairly long time to learn basic craft. Today, I do less ghostwriting, and more ghost-editing and coaching. So, like all small business owners, which is what writers really are, I’ve always worked on a schedule. I like to work days—I’m not sharp at night.

RWF: Are you a plotter, panster, or combination of both?

VM: A combination, I think. I like to know where I’m going in a general way, and I often make a lot of notes about characters and conflicts, but I’m not good at detailed outlining. I like surprising developments.

RWF: Are the stories you write based more on the woman’s journey or more on the romance?

VM: I tend to think of the woman’s journey and the romance is a part of that. (I may enjoy living alone, but I like some romance, too.) Even with traditional romance, I think about it as a journey of two characters.

RWF: What would be your number one tip you’d give to someone who’d just finished their first manuscript?

VM: When you think a manuscript is finally done, read it aloud and you’ll catch all kinds of small things, especially repetition and awkward phrasing and dropped words. I also believe in entering contests to get feedback and to get work in front of agent/editor judges.

RWF: What advice would you give an author who has just published her first book?

VM:  I still need so much advice I’m not sure I’m qualified to give it out. But I know I can’t do everything myself—VAs and Author Assistants are one of the new cottage industries for writers—along with formatters, cover designers, and so forth.

RWF ~ Thank you Virginia for sharing some of your thoughts on writing.

Virginia McCullough considers herself incredibly fortunate to have had the opportunity to write the stories of her heart, including GIRL IN THE SPOTLIGHT, the first book in her Two Moon Bay series for Harlequin Heartwarming. (Book 2, SOMETHING TO TREASURE, is scheduled for release in January 2018). A three-time Golden Heart finalist, her award-winning romance and women’s fiction titles include THE JACKS OF HER HEART, AMBER LIGHT, GRETA’S GRACE, THE CHAPELS ON THE HILL, and ISLAND HEALING.

Born and raised in Chicago, Virginia has lived in six states and U.S.V.I, and currently calls Green Bay, Wisconsin home. She started writing nonfiction, first articles and then books as a ghostwriter and coauthor. She’s written well over 100 books for physicians, lawyers, business owners, professional speakers, and others who have information to share or a story to tell. Her coauthored healthcare books include THE OXYGEN REVOLUTION, written with Paul Harch, MD, a pioneer in hyperbaric medicine.

Virginia’s books feature characters who could be your neighbors and friends. They come in all ages and struggle with everyday life issues. The mother of two grown children, you’ll find Virginia with her nose a book, walking on local trails or her neighborhood streets, or she may be packing her bag to take off for her next adventure. And she’s always working on another story about hope, healing, and second chances.

 

Advice on Attending RWA Nationals with Heather Burch

Hello ladies!

I’m looking forward to meeting some of you at the conference in Orlando in July! I made a quick note of a few things that might help you along your way. These are things I’ve learned over the years. I attended my first RWA national conference in the early nineties. Now, I haven’t been every year, but I’ve got at least ten RWA national conferences under my belt.

Here are my helpful hints…

Luggage Hacks

Before I leave for conference and even before I pack my suitcase, I try on each outfit. Then, I take a snapshot on my phone. Now, the arduous job of packing has just been made simple! I even get an idea of which outfit I’ll wear each day. At conference, all I have to do is refer to my photos and BAM! There’s my clothes, shoes, and accessories all in one place.

     

Pace Yourself

There’s so much to see and so much to do. But it will be around for the entire conference. You don’t have to get everything in on the first day.

Make a Plan

Whether you are a paper copy note maker or a tech savvy schedule maker, you need a plan before you go. Yes, it will change. But it’s worth the time and effort to have something to glance at. RWA provides a lovely schedule when you arrive, but let me tell you, it can be overwhelming. Go to the website and check out the list of workshops far in advance. If a few of them really speak to you, make a note so that when you get the copy of all the events, you’re not overwhelmed. In past years, I believe RWA even sent the schedule ahead of the conference. Still, I try to familiarize myself by spending some time on the RWA website.

Make Time for Friends

Every year, I look forward to just sitting and catching up with my writing peeps. Whether you drink or not, the hotel bars (especially lobby bars) are a great place to connect. Whenever I have downtime, I just make a loop through the bars and sure enough! I run into friends.

Attend the Parties. Go to the book signings.

One of the things I love most is the signings that feature specific publishers. An entire row of authors will be there signing complimentary copies of their newest releases. It’s a book lovers’ heaven! I will be signing on THURSDAY morning at 8:30-9:30 at the Montlake and Lake Union signing. If you make it to that one, I’ll sign a copy of my book for you! Plus, I’ll give you a hug just for reading this article.

Wear Comfortable Shoes

You will walk and walk and walk. Make sure your feet aren’t screaming by noon. Do your footsies a favor and wear shoes that are already broken in and comfy on your feet.

Don’t Forget to Join the Conversation!

Are you on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram? Use the #RWA2017 hashtag on all your upcoming conference related tweets. And while you’re there, find me and let’s start a conversation.

A little bit about me…I write for Lake Union Publishing (Amazon’s women’s fiction) currently. I’ve also written for Montlake (Amazon’s romance publisher) and I’ve done four books for Harper Collins. In 2014 my novel One Lavender Ribbon was named one of the year’s most quoted books by Kindle readers. My Montlake and Lake Union books are translated around the world. All in all, it’s been an incredible adventure and at the very heart of it is community. I couldn’t do what I do without the amazing writer friends I’ve made. I owe so much to RWA and my fellow authors! I’m a member of Tampa Area Romance Authors, my local chapter of RWA. I hope you’ll find me on social media so we can get connected and start visiting about the conference!

https://m.facebook.com/heatherburchbooks

https://mobile.twitter.com/heatherburch

https://www.instagram.com/heathereburch/

https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/4983102.Heather_Burch

You can see all of my books on my website

https://www.heatherburchbooks.com/