Interview With YA Author JILLIAN BOEHME

JILLIAN BOEHME writes MG and YA science fiction and fantasy and runs a successful blog for aspiring authors. She is the homeschooling mom of 5 incredible offspring and wishes someone would make gourmet meals for her and clean up the kitchen every night. Or at least rub her feet while she's writing. She lives with her husband and children in the rolling knolls of Middle Tennessee.

     I met Jillian many moons ago on a website for stay at home parents. We we won't go in to how many moons ago because that could give away some age details. We all know you never ask a woman her age! We have been online friends for most of that time .Jillian has been willing to indulge my amateur interview skills. Someday ( hopefully in the not to distant future) Jillian will be a famous author! 

   
1) When did you realize you wanted to be a writer? Have you always just known? Or was it one particular event? Maybe it was gradual?

          It's funny; when I revisit my childhood, I can see so clearly that I've always been a storyteller. I wrote my first rhyming poem when I was six, and my collection of illustrated picture books grew large over the years. I was one of those kids-who-like-to-do-lots-of-things, though, and in the end, my love of music won out. I got a degree in Music Education. It wasn't until I was in my 30s that I rediscovered my love for writing. There was a web site called Themestream that paid its writers 10 cents per click. I made hundreds of dollars and paid for Christmas that year! Unfortunately, the site's business model was flawed, and they eventually ran out of money and shut down. I came away from that experience calling myself an "essayist" and believing that I could never -- I mean NEVER -- write a novel.

Silly me. I think I was meant to write novels all along. :)


2) How did you figure out what genre you really wanted to write? What is your genre of choice.
          

          My first novel was fantasy -- no surprise, since that was always my first love. Like all first novels, it ended up with the label "practice novel" and tucked away. But my love for science fiction and fantasy hasn't changed. I'm not sure why I decided, at first, to write for teens, but now I can't imagine writing for any other audience. So my genre of choice is definitely YA, and I've written fantasy, dystopian, and--my latest--a paranormal.


3) How do you find time to write without the distractions of life around you? I know as a home schooling stay at home mom your time must be limited. 

          Actually, quite the opposite is true! As my children enter high school, most of their work is independent, via CD-ROMS and such. I outsource the higher sciences, so they take those classes at a tutorial. My four-year-old naps from 1-3, so that's my writing time. Period. In fact, it's SACRED. I won't make appointments or anything during that time. (And woe is me, because my daughter is starting to outgrow her naps!) Also, my kids are supportive of my writing, and that helps. If they were wee, things would be a lot harder. But the older and more independent they become, the easier it is for me to write, and to work on all my writing-related things.


4) I know you are like me in that you like to start your writing in a notebook. Letting it flow on lined paper with a pencil just seems to work so much better than sitting at a computer and letting my fingers type away. The big question is can you read your own writing? I know For me I struggle a bit to figure out what I wrote LOL. 

          My handwriting is AWFUL! I think way faster than I can write, but for some reason I keep trying to catch up anyway. I use my notebooks for working out plot, and sometimes even sketching characters (very badly -- I mean, seriously!). But once I start the actual draft, it's all on my laptop. Scrivener is my tool of choice!


5) Speaking of reading a topic you and I have discussed on occasion. What is your favorite genres to read?
          Fantasy! Though I also love nineteenth century novels; Jane Austen is my favorite author. But I was one of those kids who read Nancy Drew and was frustrated that the ghosts and magical elements always ended up being someone pretending. Once I discovered the world of books that contained magic *for real*, I was hooked!


6) I know you are a self-published Author of “My Lima Beans Are Allergic to My Spoon” . This Is a book every parent or soon to be parent should read. Do you think you will ever self-publish again?
          You know, if I were to write another non-fiction book, I would definitely self-publish. It was a great experience! But I don't believe self-publishing is necessarily the best choice for fiction. Not unless you have many thousands of dollars to invest in order to do it right. Pursuing traditional publishing can be VERY frustrating, but I'm blessed with a great agent who is enthusiastic and supportive.


7) I know you have a new book in the works. Are you at a point you can share a little bit? Or are you still in the hush hush stage?

          The novel I'm currently tweaking with my agent is a YA paranormal set in a small beach town in New Jersey. It's funny, because when I started writing it, I was sure it was going to be urban fantasy. It sort of turned into a paranormal all by itself!


8) Is there anything else you would like to share about your writing that you have always wanted to explain to others?

          I gave up trying to explain myself to others a long time ago! ;) But I think I would like people to know that when I'm sitting and staring out the window or at my blank screen, I'm actually WORKING. Because plotting is hard--it makes the inside of my head hurt! Logic doesn't come easily for me, so the plotting really stretches me. I guess I'm trying to say that writing novels is HARD WORK. That doesn't make me wonderful; it's just the truth. I'm glad I didn't know how hard it was when I first started, or I may have given up!

Interview with RS Author Betsy Horvath

BIOGRAPHY
     Betsy Horvath was raised on MGM musicals, old skool Harlequins, and Nancy Drew, so it should not have come as a shock that one day she'd be writing romance novels. The biggest surprise was that it took her so long to actually buckle down and do it.
     After mild flirtations with other genres and the completion of her B.A. in English, Betsy took a good look at her bookshelves. She realized that although she owned about a million romances, she hadn’t picked up anything by William Faulkner or James Joyce in years. An epiphany ensued and Betsy embraced her destiny as a romance author.
     Betsy lives in quiet, tasteful, splendor at the Palatial Horvath Estate surrounded by four cats, an elderly zebra finch, and far too much technology. You can usually find her at her website (www.betsyhorvath.com), on Twitter (www.twitter.com/BetsyHorvath), or hanging around Facebook (www.facebook.com/BetsyHorvath)

     I discovered Betsy through author Toni Anderson. It all started over an invite to Google+ I had one to give and Betsy wanted one. At that point I had no idea she was an author about to have her first book HOLD ME  released by Carina Press .  Once I discovered Betsys secret identity as an RS author me being me had to buy it and read it. I know big shock right? I fell in love with her leading lady Katie! She was brave, cute and wholesome all at the same time. Lucas wasn't bad as a leading man either :-) He had sex appeal, charm and self doubt.

Now on to the interview! 

1. I think most readers are under the misguided impression that all authors are rich and all they do is write for a living. I use to be one of those misguided readers, but I have learned a lot since talking to authors. I know you have a day job. What do you do for your “day job”? ( no need to give away company secrets!) 

     That's the dream isn't it? And boy, I WISH all authors were rich! LOL I think authors are like actors - there's a small percentage who can support themselves by writing, and the rest of us merely aspire to reach that point. :D I do indeed have a day job. I work with an extremely large marketing database - basically I write query language to help the marketers implement various projects and strategies. It works for me, because it's actually pretty creative - you ask me for "female, age 50-60 in Florida" and I figure out the best way to get the database to cough up that data. On the other hand, it's nothing like writing, so I don't use up all of my fiction juice before I get home. Plus, working with computers so much helped a lot when I was setting up my blog. :D 

2. You talked on your blog about things you have learned from the process of becoming a published author. Your first book HOLD ME came out on September 5th 2011 What one thing sticks out most? 

     Yes, this is the first book I've ever had published, and MAN, have I learned a lot by going through the whole publishing process. I have to say that one of the biggest things I've learned is that I can do it. I CAN get edits back on time. I CAN make my deadlines. I CAN network and blog and participate in a community. The other thing I've learned is how to handle people actually reading my book. Some people like what I've written, some people don't, and I have absolutely no control over who reads it or how they feel (or what they say about it). It's been both a joyous and humbling experience. So, okay, that's two things, not one - LOL 

3. As you were going through the process of finding a publisher and getting HOLD ME published what was the best part of the process? What was the worst part of the process? 

     Well, the best part about finding a publisher is the acceptance call! LOL But I think that goes without saying. :) Other than that, I think my favorite part was getting personal rejection letters from editors and agents. I learned so much about what they were looking for, and why they thought my book wouldn't work for them - they gave me an incredible amount of useful information. My favorite rejection letter was from the lady who became my editor at Carina Press, Rhonda Helms. HOLD ME was initially rejected, but I was invited to revise and resubmit. I'd made call-backs! And, obviously, I did revise and resubmit and the rest is history. :D 

     For me, the worst part about the hunt for a publisher is writing the query letter and the synopsis. It's not that I can't write them, because I can. It's just that I'm never sure they're GOOD enough. And there's so much information out there about writing a query and a synopsis that you can drive yourself crazy. I stew and stew over those darn things until I'm finally satisfied. Then I look at them a month or two later and find things I wish I had changed. 

4. In an effort to get to know you a little better I spent some time reading over your blog. So you can sing the entire score to Oklahoma? WOW can you expand on why you can do this? J Oh and I think the wind swept house on the Oregon coast would be wonderful! Then I could come for a visit when I go on vacation. ( for more on this topic see Betsy’s Blog entry ) 

      Okla-homa! OKLA-HOMA! OKLA-HOMA!!! I know the entire score to Oklahoma because I was stage manager for our high school production. I wasn't a very GOOD stage manager, but I was there! LOL I also know it because my mind is a trash can full of knowledge - stuff goes in there and just sticks sometimes. By the way, I know the score for Carousel because I played a dancing bear. While I fainted from heat exhaustion in my costume, the music swirled around me. :D 

And doesn't the windswept coast of Oregon sound nice? Someday....someday.... 

5. I always ask how a person figures out what genre they want to write, but you answered this question in your Bio. So instead I will ask what do you think interests you most about the Romantic Suspense genre? What parts do you like writing the most? The suspense or the romance? 

      I love how the romance and the suspense work together in the Romantic Suspense genre. In a good RS story, the strong emotions generated by a dangerous or life-threatening situation only serve to heighten the sense of intimacy between the hero and the heroine. All pretense is stripped away. 

     And for me it's all about the romance, baby! Some authors are different - for them the romance is a backdrop for the suspense. But I want the suspense to serve the romance. I want the suspense to be the vehicle that brings the hero and heroine together. 

6. What did you do to celebrate the release of HOLD ME? Anything fun and exciting? 

      Oh, it was VERY fun and exciting. I was on the computer most of the morning answering emails and tweets and such, and promoting myself on another blog. Then I cleaned the house. Living the dream. LOL 

7. Anything you would like to tell your readers that you may not have yet? 

       The only thing I have to say is, don't give up. If you have something you love to do, if you have a dream you'd like to pursue, then don't give up on it. It may take you a while, you may not get there as quickly as someone else, but you CAN do it. The only way to eat an elephant is one bite at a time. :D

Interview with Romantic Suspense Writer Toni Anderson

Biography

Toni Anderson is a former Marine Biologist turned Romantic Suspense writer who now lives in the Canadian prairies with her husband and two children.  Her stories are set in the stunning locations where she’s been lucky enough to live and work—the blustery east coast of Scotland, the remote isolated mining communities of Northern Labrador, the rugged landscapes of the U.S. and Australia. Check out Toni’s website for a list of current titles, her blog and Facebook Author Page for writing news and her personal Facebook page and Twitter for constant nonsensical chatter. She is also part of a wonderful group blog—Not Your Usual Suspects. Come introduce yourself.


   
     I discovered Toni Anderson on a lark. I was in need of a long book to listen to while I did some work around the house. I checked out the Romantic Suspense genre at Audible.com ( one of  my favorite genres). Toni had the longest book in the list of books that looked interesting. That book  SEA OF SUSPICION . I was hooked. After finishing this book I looked  to see if she had any other books. WOOHOOO to my delight she had two more books on the shelves. STORM WARNING   and her first book published HER SANCTUARY .


     After reading all three books, I wanted more to read and I wanted to tell the author how much I enjoyed her books. I hit google up and found her on facebook.  I messaged her and told her just how much I enjoyed her books and how I really hoped she had another one coming out. Luckily for me she didn't find me as stalker-ish as I'm sure I sounded and accepted my friend request on facebook.  Toni has been nice enough to indulge me in my amateur  interview skills and is granting me an interview for my blog. Toni describes her books with the tag line  Atmospheric Tales of Love & Murder. I have to agree.  Now on to the Interview. 


1.     I know you had a full career in marine biology before you became a published Author. When did you know you wanted to be a writer? Well a fiction writer anyway? I’m sure you did plenty of writing as a marine biologist J

     If you want references to my old papers I am sure I can track them down...just kidding J. The weird thing is I did a lot of writing as a kid. Poetry, songs, torturous diary entries, but then my older sister read my diary and exposed my secrets to the world and I don’t think I wrote another thing—outside science—for 20 years. Then when I moved to Canada in 1995 (for the first time) I discovered romance novels and this really gave me the impetus to at least think that I could try my hand at writing a novel. When I was back in Scotland, expecting my first child, I finally got the time to give it a go.

2.       How did you figure out what genre you wanted to write?

     I knew what genre I loved to read—Romantic Suspense—and the types of TV shows I love to watch (CSI, Criminal Minds, NCIS), so Romantic Suspense and Mystery seemed like a good fit. I love the idea of people falling in love in difficult, even dangerous, circumstances. Actually, I did once write a straight contemporary aimed at Harlequin Presents (it’s still on my PC). It was the hardest thing I’ve ever written (perhaps barring my current snow leopard story) because you have to maintain tension without any external help. No bullets or bombs to bring the hero and heroine closer together or to drive them apart. It opened my eyes as to how something so simple can actually be incredibly hard to achieve

3.     I know you have shared writing strategies on “Not Your Usual Suspect “ blog such as WIP organization and character naming. Do you enjoy sharing your writing strategies with others? I know I enjoy learning how others go about things.

     This is a difficult question. I do enjoy sharing writing strategies, but I’m never sure I have that much to offer other people. There are so many more established writers out there, and some fantabulous writing books, that what I’m sharing seems very minor. However, if I do help anyone, offer encouragement or inspiration, well, that’s a good thing

 4.      You have your 4^th book  EDGE OF SURVIVAL. Coming November 21st, 2011, from Carina Press. I know your readers are excited for its release.  (if I could I would have stood over you with a whip until you were done! )  When you published your first book HER SANCUARY  could you imagine your 4^th book coming out just a short 2 years later (ok not so short for us readers!) 

*Ouch*. No whips. I’m work hard, honest J. And thank you for being excited J.

     When you say four books in two years it actually sounds pretty good, huh? But, yes, I could imagine it because I’ve been working on these stories for a long time. I’ve been writing for 12 years so no overnight success for me. One thing I would say, I’m not someone who is easily satisfied and I’m never 100% happy with my work, but I am cognizant of the fact that there is a time when you must let it go. I’m getting better at letting go.

5.   Is the release of this book as exciting to you as the first time?

     Yes! Actually I really love all my books. They might not be as perfect as I envisage them before I start writing, but I really love the stories and the characters in my books. I was super excited to write a story set in Northern Labrador and I adore my hero and heroine (just hoping others do too!).

 6.      Do you do anything special to celebrate each release? Like send the kids to a sitter and enjoy some peace and quiet J or do you and your husband go out for a nice dinner and night on the town?

     We go out as a family for a meal, usually fish and chips in the great British tradition. To be honest my hubby is Irish and any excuse for a night on the town, he’ll take it J

7.      I know you are a stay at home mom. When school is out how do you manage to get time in for writing with the little ones running around?

     It can be pretty intense being a mom and a writer. At first you have to pound it into people that you aren’t at home, you’re writing. When the kids are out of school my sanity is strained (understatement). This summer, I took to getting up at 6 am to write. This is totally out of my natural sleep rhythm. I’d write until midday and then I’d do stuff with the kids. I also use earplugs—isn’t that awful? J But my workspace is on the ground floor in an open plan house, so I put earplugs in and ignore everything except blood and broken bones.

8.  Is there anything else you would like to share with your readers?

     I’m always thrilled to hear from readers (well, less thrilled if you didn’t like the book but thankful you paid your hard-earned money to buy the book J). And I love connecting with people online (just ask Doris J) so drop me a comment on my blog, Facebook Author Page or Facebook page.

Again Thank you Toni. I appreciate your willingness to play along. 

Next Author Interview will be with up and coming YA SFF writer Jill Schafer Boehme.