Q:How long have you been writing?
28 years.
Q:How long did it take you to publish?
My first rejection letter is dated 1981.
Q:How many manuscripts do you have hidden away/under the bed/in storage?
At least eight, but I don’t count anymore.
Q: Do you have a writing schedule and if so, what is it?
I write from 8 am—Noon, then go swimming. I may write or edit a few hours in the afternoon. I do this at least six days a week.
Q: Do you have a critique group? If yes, how many are in the group?
No. I write too fast to work with a critique group and, for many years, I lived fifty miles from other writers. I have two friends I critique with online.
Q: When developing an idea for a new story, which comes first – the plot or the title or the characters?
The first line comes first and then the first ten pages.
Q: How do you handle new story ideas that pop up when you’re in the middle of a project? (ex: notebook by the bed/ separate word file, etc?)
I keep a notebook by the bed for ideas that pop up at night, but usually I keep a file on the computer filled with ideas. I write everything I can think of—sometimes as much as thirty pages and a sketchy synopsis—to get it out of my brain so I can keep writing on the WIP without being distracted.
Q: Have you ever gotten to the middle of a project and got bored or lost your momentum? If so, how did you handle it?
ALWAYS! By the middle, I always hate the book I’m working. It gets so hard to write about then. I force myself to keep writing and begin to like it again during the last fifty pages.
Q: Finish this sentence: If I could write anything I wanted and knew it would sell, it would be…
My two paranormals—one humorous, the other a fantasy.
Q: What is the best advice you ever received?
Keep writing! If I had stopped, I wouldn’t be published.
Q: What is the worst?
Stick to one genre. I’ve been published in Regency, contemporary, and inspirational and currently am working on a romantic suspense. I wouldn’t be published if I’d kept with one genre.
Q: What is your favorite part of the writing process?
The first chapter.
Q: What is your least favorite?
The rest of the book.
Q: Which came first for you – the editor or the agent?
Editor
Q: How many contests did you enter before you sold? How many did you final in?
I entered probably sixty contests over ten years. In the last two years before I published, I probably
finaled in twenty-five.
Q: How do your promote your books?
I do interviews, write guest blogs, remind people that my book is coming out, make gift baskets.
Q: Free form – your chance to tell us anything you’d like – tidbits, advice, funny stories, pet peeves, hopes, dreams, etc.
I always disagreed with the advice to sit down and write every day. As a high school Spanish teacher, I worked 50-60 hours a week. I didn’t have the energy to write everyday. What I did learn was to write fast every time I had the opportunity: weekends, vacations, during boring teacher workshops. I also learned to set a schedule I could keep and allow myself time off when I needed it.
