Sunny | The Journey from Physician to Writer

I’m giving one lucky winner a signed copy of my new release, Lucinda, Darkly. So don’t be shy about posting a comment on this blog. Winner to be announced in the blog comment section the next day, so be sure to check back tomorrow.

My editor just emailed me last night with the happy news that my single title LUCINDA, DARKLY is a national bestseller. And ON THE PROWL is a USA Today bestseller—my anthology with Patricia Briggs, Eileen Wilks, and Karen Chance. So I guess that elation is definitely going to affect the topic of this blog: how I became an author.

For me, turning writer was a complete turn-about in careers at the mid-point of my life, from respectable family practice physician to penning erotic dark fantasy/urban fantasy. Which is more fun? Well, of course, the latter. This new career has lead to TV appearances on Geraldo At Large and CNBC, won me several awards—my first ever in my life!—and forced me out of my normal reserve into public speaking and meet-and-greets with complete strangers at conferences.

But then, writing those hot love stories in more explicit detail than I could ever have imagined when I first picked up that pen 2-1/2 years ago was a big step in breaking out of my shy, conservative shell. I’d first tried writing a story twenty years ago in college, failed miserably, then made several more unsuccessful stabs at it as time marched by. For me, the key to finally completing an entire manuscript, something I’d been unable to do all my life, was desire—really, really wanting it—and fearlessness. Both came when I was thirty-eight years old. It was an age when I pretty much thought I had accomplished all I would accomplish in life. And it was actually the success of my husband, an author, and my two talented children who have appeared on TV that finally sparked that crucial desire for my own success—when my then 6-year-old son was listing everyone’s talent, and mine was, “Mommy drives real well.” Chauffeuring them to their classes and auditions!

Writing, to me, was like losing weight: You can’t make anyone do that until they really want it for themselves, and start taking concrete steps to achieve that goal. That little comment by my son prodded me to finally sit my butt down and write out—and finish!—a complete story. Oh joy! Oh thrill! What a major achievement! But then as the giddiness faded, the question of “now what?” emerged. My husband was a memoirist who didn’t have any contacts in the romance field, nor had any idea on how to guide me. I ended up selling the good-old fashioned way. I drove 3-1/2 hours down to RWA’s New England Chapter’s annual conference in the Boston area, and pitched a novella to Hilary Sares, a Kensington editor there. Three weeks after my submission, I got “The Email” that she wanted to buy and publish my little novella.

Since then, I’ve attended a lot more conferences, sat in on loads of informative workshops and panels, and spoken with many other authors—an interesting, inundating process of learning about the romance writing industry these last couple of years. There are many routes other writers have taken to becoming published: some entering and winning contests, others through agents, others like me through editors, either pitching to them at conferences or submitting through the slush pile, and yet others who were recommended to either editor or agent by another published author. I’ve learned that while talent is necessary, so is luck—finding that one agent and/or editor who loves your writing. And most of all, determination and perseverance—some of them writing for over twenty years before someone finally said, “Yes, I want to publish you.” My hats off to those ladies who stuck with it for so long. I honestly don’t know if I could have done so myself.

Someone recently told me that their sister went from being a school teacher to a rock star. What I would love to hear from you is your thoughts on imaginative career changes. What you would like to do, or what someone else has actually done. Any other comments would also be most welcome.

Sunny
www.sunnyauthor.com

Lorraine Heath | Intrigued with Anglomania

When I first began taking my Texas ladies to England's shores, I had to do quite a bit of research about the Victorian period in order to understand how things would go for them. One of the best research books I found was How to Marry an English Lord. It went into quite a bit of detail about American heiresses' obsession with marrying English lords. And English lords, many of whom had fallen into an impoverished state as a result of changing times changing their income, were quite happy to provide these ladies with a title in exchange for a nice settlement.

I saw one political cartoon of the time that showed an old, crotchety looking fellow--obviously an aristocrat--kneeling before a young, haughty woman. The caption read, "American heiresses, what will you bid?" It was, of course, making sport of the American obsession with the nobility.

What will you bid? That phrasing stayed with me for a while and one day, I had a vision of a penniless aristocrat who didn't want to bother with courtship. Being pragmatic, he invited all the American fathers, who he was certain were tired of the Season, and told them that he'd marry the daughter of the man willing to pay the best settlement. The auction began, and he finds himself betrothed to the one daughter he'd hoped not to marry. Of course! Could it be any other way?

And so Just Wicked Enough came to be. I was really in the mood to write a dark, brooding hero, and Michael Tremayne was agreeable to the role.

As a writer, I always feel like I should be in charge of the characters, but the truth is that they're usually the ones in charge--down to the minutest detail, including their names. I recently was struggling with writing a story, changed the hero's name, and the story flowed along swimmingly after that. Who would have thought something so simple could provide such a stumbling block?

Have you ever read a novel and thought--this character's name is wrong? Who was the character and what should his name have been?


My best,
Lorraine
Visit Lorraine's website

PS. I thoroughly enjoy writing my stories set in England, but as you may know my earlier stories were set in Texas--which I also thoroughly enjoyed writing. My mom was British, my dad a Texan, so I'm quite fond of both settings. But going back to my earlier writing roots (although before I wrote my first Texas-set book, I was writing medieval-set stories--did you know that?), I recently joined forces with a group of writers who write westerns and we just launched http://www.petticoatsandpistols.com. Its purpose is to provide a place where readers who love western romance can find information on the latest books and writers of romance can find sources. It's a lovely group of ladies, and I'm pleased to be included with them. I hope you'll drop by and visit. We have a very yummy cowboy puzzle that you can have fun with.

Robyn Carr | Plano Book Club August 2007 Guest

Meeting with reader groups and bookclubs has been my favorite thing for a long time, and when I had more time I belonged to two bookclubs of my own. From the author's perspective, at least this author's perspective, these are readers who are so focused on the story and characters, I learn more from them than they learn from me.

It's always great fun to hear what readers like about your work, that goes without saying, but the value to me as I continue to write is learning from them where the story didn't jive for them, where they wanted more and they are never shy about telling you what they want to see next. A favorite bookclub selection of mine has been The House On Olive Street – and one reader group took issue with the beginning, which several agreed was hard to get into. My immediate response was, "Oh yeah? Well you should've tried writing it!"

There have been some fun surprises. I was asked to join a church bookclub as they discussed my book, Runaway Mistress. Runaway Mistress for the church ladies? Oh man, I thought, they’re going to chew me up and spit me out. While certainly a far cry from an erotic novel, that particular book wasn’t exactly chaste. And then I faced twenty five women, the youngest of whom was perhaps forty, and thought, I'm toast. But they were all about plot and characterization, focusing on those scenes that added emotion and drama, what made them laugh, where they cried. There was a pet's death in that story and one woman who’d lost her beloved pet rather recently wept as she talked about how that made her feel. The love scenes never even came up. Unable to let sleeping dogs lie, I had to ask how they felt about those scenes. Was it too much? Where there too many? Too graphic? Did it ever seem gratuitous? They looked amongst themselves, shrugging, head shaking, like they hadn't thought about it much. Then one woman in her late sixties or early seventies said, "My dear, where do you think we get little Christians."

Since the release of the first Virgin River novel to the present, after all three have been available, I've had hundreds of letters. These readers don't hesitate to tell me exactly what they want. They're very clear about who their favorite characters are and who they’d like to see have a Virgin River novel focused on. I'm not just another pretty face, man – I listened. I have changed direction a couple of times to give my readers exactly what they want.

It's my pleasure to announce that the publisher wants at least three more Virgin River novels, a task I'm more than up to. I got a piece of news just a couple of days ago that has me walking on air – Virgin River will be listed as one of the ten best romances of the year by the American Library Association's Booklist Magazine. It doesn't get any better than that.

Robyn Carr
Whispering Rock, June 2007
Shelter Mountain, May 2007
Virgin River, April 2007
http://www.robyncarr.com/

Tara Taylor Quinn | In Search of a Hero...or Heroine...

I have a book due -- well three chapters of it -- and I can't seem to find a heroine. Or a hero, either, really. But I have two villains. And some dead people. And a missing woman and her almost four year old son. And to complicate matters, I have grown to like one of the villains, but he's done such heinous things that I can't redeem him. I've never been in this position before. But I have to find a way out because this is the third book in the Ivory Nation Trilogy -- a series about a white supremacy organization.

The first book, IN PLAIN SIGHT was a prosecutor's story. It was out last October. The second, BEHIND CLOSED DOORS, is a victim's story. It's out next month. My readers and I are going to need a third book. There are just too many questions unanswered, too much pain left unresolved. Too much fear surrounding us to allow us to just walk away. And here I sit with the words Chapter One staring at me and nothing more.

My heroine's name is Hannah. I don't know why. It just presented itself last week. I thought she was a judge. This book is the judge's story. I've known that for more than a year. But maybe the judge is a man. Maybe he's my missing hero. Or not. And maybe I don't need a hero AND a heroine. This book is a thriller. Suspense. Does it have to have a leading relationship? Maybe that detective down in Tucson -- the one in BEHIND CLOSED DOORS -- plays a part.

The answers aren't coming to me today. And I wonder, am I really a writer? I have to work. I have contractual obligations. Life obligations that will require me to be away from the work. And here I sit without words to write.

The story is there. I know that it is. I can feel so many parts of it, pushing inside me, needing to get out. So I'll sit here some more. Ask my questions. Wait for the answers. And hopefully, not too long from now, be able to tell you that book three of the Ivory Nation trilogy really does exist.

In the meantime, I hope everyone enjoys BEHIND CLOSED DOORS. For an excerpt visit www.tarataylorquinn.com. I'd love to hear opinions! Write to me at ttquinn@tarataylorquinn.com.

Beryl Singleton Bissell | One Writer's View

Have you ever written to tell an author how much you've loved their book and then waited, hoping for an answer, in vain? I'm not one of those unresponsive authors. I love getting fan mail and make a point of answering every letter I receive. I even invite readers to stop by should they be traveling through this area, and I get quite a few such visitors, all of whom are stunned by the view of Lake Superior my writing desk provides.

"How do you ever get any writing done with a view like this?" they ask. Yesterday I had several such visitors -- a reader from Wisconsin who brought her daughter and her husband, another reader from the Twin Cities who arrived with her hubby and four ears of freshly grown corn, a young man and his two small children who wanted to see the small shed where I write.

This view is actually one of the reasons I became a writer. Moving to this pristine and fairly remote area nine years ago changed me from a writing hopeful into an actual author. Prior to moving here, I'd worked for a literary publisher in Minneapolis where, surrounded by great writing, I'd wondered what I had to say that others hadn't said already -- until I overheard my son proclaim that he thought he was damned because his mother had been a nun and his father a priest.

Daily, I'd walk the lakeshore pondering how best to construct this story for my children. Writing memoir forces the writer to examine the beliefs, events, and choices that have shaped a particular portion of their lives. Mine demanded confronting doubt and darkness as well. The lake's unbridled power showed me how ruthlessly I'd need to plumb the depths of my heart to summon the truth. Six years and eight drafts later an agent grabbed the manuscript and sold it within days. Within the year, my memoir, THE SCENT OF GOD, hit the bookshelves and the letters started flooding in.

I am now working on the sequel to that memoir and two weeks from now, on Friday, August 24 at 10:45 a.m., will speak about it on Minnesota Public Radio (MPR). The host of MPRs Midmorning Show, Kerri Miller interviewed me last summer when THE SCENT OF GOD was released and wants to know how the sequel, which deals with the sudden violent death of my beautiful, tormented 24-year-old daughter, is progressing.

Like all mothers who have lost children to murder or suicide, I wrestle with overwhelming grief and a sense of failure that my love could not protect or save my daughter. As I gather hundreds of pages of notes from my journals and medical and psychiatric records, I find myself -- not trying to resolve the mystery of my daughter's death (which remains unsolved in the files of the homicide division of Minneapolis police department) -- but in trying to uncover the child that lay beneath the façade she presented to others. I realize that I really did not know or understand my daughter and so I think of this book as a "looking for" rather than a "losing of" Francesca. And daily, as I did with my first book, I walk Lake Superior's shoreline to ponder how best to tell this story. And then I return to my writing shed to summon the words I need.

I wonder how the places you've lived have affected or changed your lives. I am offering a free signed copy of THE SCENT OF GOD to one of you who shares your experience in a comment to this blog. Wishing you peace and every good.

Beryl is the author of THE SCENT OF GOD and was named "Best of 2006 Minnesota Authors" by the Minneapolis Star Tribune. Her book was a Book Sense notable for April 2006.

You can visit Beryl at her website: berylsingletonbissell.com, or, at Gather, or her blog/