drama Archives - Page 12 of 17 - Trisha Sugarek, Author, Playwright & Poet

‘A is for..Alibi’ ‘B is for…’C is for’… An Interview with Sue Grafton (part 2)

Part II ** Interview with Sue Grafton In Loving Memory

Q. Do you ‘get lost’ in your writing and for how long?

SG. On occasion, but not nearly often enough. I love that feeling but most of the time it’s just struggle, hair-tearing, whining, and complaints. I’m easily distracted. If the work is going well…call it twice a week…then I’m happy. Most of the time I’m sitting here because that’s what it takes. Comfortable or uncomfortable doesn’t make any difference. I suffer because I feel stupid and clumsy and blocked most of the time, but so what? That is all part of the process. If you’re not willing to sweat it out, you’re in the wrong business. No short cuts.

Q. When did you begin to write seriously?

SG. When I was eighteen. I wrote seven full-length novels from the ages of twenty-two to thirty-eight. Novels four and five were published. The others have never seen the light of day. The eighth novel I wrote was ‘A’ IS FOR ALIBI and that was after a long stint in Hollywood where I wrote pilots, movies for television, and the occasional film script.

Q. How long after that were you published?

SG. My first novel was published five years after I began teaching myself how to write long form. ‘A’ IS FOR ALIBI took me five years to write. I’d say ‘five’ is the magic number. It takes fifteen years of being published before you can support yourself with the writing. This is not a career for sissies or cowards. You better get used to hard work. And rejection and frustration. That’s what teaches you. You can’t side-step the anguish.

Q. and the all important: What does the process of going from “no book” to “finished book” look like?

SG. As I’ve often described, I keep a series of journals or notebooks on my computer for every novel I write. The journal is where I keep plot possibilities, ideas, research notes, character sketches, dialogue when it occurs to me. The collective journals for ‘V’ IS FOR VENGEANCE came to 967 single-spaced pages. The journals for ‘W’ came to 1298 single-spaced pages on the day I finished the book, which was February 21, 2013. It took me a year to settle on the storyline . I work by trial and error which is why it takes me so long. After a mere thirty years at this, I know what doesn’t work but I don’t always know it in advance. I write and then I think, no. I write some more and think, don’t think so. I write some more and think, are you kidding me? I write some more and I think, well that stinks. And on it goes.

Q. Where/when do you first discover Kinsey and your other characters ?

SG. I am Kinsey Millhone so that was easy enough. Other characters I discover as I go along. Character and plot can never be separated. Both have to be developed at the same time, in tandem, or a story won’t come to life.

Q. What inspired your story/stories ?

SG. Sometimes a germ of an idea will come to me. In fact many times I have the germ of an idea. That’s the easy part. What’s difficult is figuring out what you can do with an idea, figuring out how you can develop it to the point where it will carry 660 manuscript pages. You need heft and complexity and major muscle. Not every idea will yield a novel. One of my big lessons, always, is learning when to let it go. I’m ruthless when it comes to that. I might work on an idea for six months. Once I realize it isn’t working and that I don’t know how to make it work, I dump it.

Q. Have you or do you want to write in another genre?

SG. I’ve written in other forms and formats; movie scripts, television scripts, short stories and novels. I’ve never written science fiction or erotica or romance or horror or westerns. I don’t know those forms and I wouldn’t do a good job of it. I love the hard-boiled private eye novel and I love crime fiction, which is…as it turns out…where I belong.

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Biography: I was born and raised in Louisville, Kentucky where I graduated from the University of Louisville in 1961 with a degree in English. I worked in a variety of jobs in the medical field, writing after the family was down for the night. Sold a ‘mainstream’ novel, KEZIAH DANE, that was published when I was 27 and then a second novel, THE LOLLY-MADONNA WAR, that was published when I was 29. Altogether, before the alphabet novels, I wrote 7 books . The eighth novel I wrote was ‘A’ IS FOR ALIBI. Guess what I’ve been doing every since?’

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MY BLOG features INTERVIEWS with best-selling AUTHORS! Did you miss the past few months? December: British writer, J.G. Dow. January: In Memory, Sue Grafton.

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PI, Kinsey Millhone is Hot on the Trail, Again! an Interview with Sue Grafton

An Interview with Mystery Writer, Sue Grafton (Part 1)

Author, John D. McDonald died suddenly back in 1986 and took Travis McGee with him. I owned and had read every book of McDonald’s…..Now what was I suppose to do?? I didn’t read many mysteries (back then) but I was especially fond of Travis and his bear-of-a-man friend, Meyer. So back in the eighties, (when you shopped at a real book store), I looked through the aisles for someone worthy of replacing John McDonald. There I found “A is for Alibi” with the formidable and quirky, Kinsey Millhone. I’ve been reading Sue Grafton ever since. TS
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this entry from Sue’s journals;

Dear Shadow . . . Self . . . and Right Brain, Doing everything I can here to make life possible. I’ve abandoned the old story . . . cleaned out my computer . . . sorted and tossed and filed away old notes and articles. Now I need help in launching myself again. Please speak to me. Please let me know where the new book is coming from. I really need your assistance and I’m hoping you’ll spark something so I can get to work.

Look forward to hearing from you.

Love & kisses,

Sue

Response from Shadow Self: How about an old-fashioned unsolved murder case? Parents are angry because nothing’s been done. Case is old & cold, with no new leads coming in.
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Q. Where do you write? Do you have a special room, shed, barn, special space for your writing?

best sellers, Sue Grafton, — Sue Grafton’s work space

A. I have an office in both my homes; Montecito, California and Louisville Kentucky. The two are different in terms of size and style but I can’t tell you that I’m more productive in one than in the other. I like lots of light. I like tidiness. I like space. I like quiet. When I’m working my desk is usually a mess, but I do make an effort from time to time to restore order. The creative process is messy enough. I don’t need to look at chaos as well.

Q. Do you have any special rituals when you sit down to write? (sharpened #2 pencils, legal pad, cup of tea, glass of brandy, favorite pajamas, etc.)

A. Often I do a short stint of self-hypnosis which helps quiet the chatter in my head and helps me focus and concentrate. I learned the technique from a book on the subject that I got at a book store and it’s been a wonderful way to keep ‘centered’ if you’ll forgive the term.

Q. What is your mode of writing? (long hand? Pencil? Computer? Etc.)

A. A computer, of course. Which I claim has greatly improved my skills. In the ‘olden’ days of white out and cutting and pasting, I got hung up on whether the page ‘looked right’. I hated adding anything that forced me to repaginate because I didn’t like all the extra work. If I deleted 11 lines, I got so I could exactly replace the missing lines with something that would work as well so that I didn’t have to retype everything. To my way of thinking, this is not the key to writing well. On a computer I can and do write every line over and over until it suits me. The tinkering is infinite. I when a line is right and when it’s not, I revise and refine and cut and amend until it sounds right to my inner ear.

Q. Do you have a set time each day to write or do you write only when you are feeling creative?

A. I’m usually at my desk at 8:00. I check emails and make a brief visit to my Face Book page where I chat with readers. I never feel truly creative. I work until lunch time when I take a short break. go back until mid-afternoon when I usually take a walk with one of a number of friends. I work seven days a week because it’s easier to stay connected to the writing. In completing “W” I worked double-sessions, returning to my desk after dinner. I cut out our social life. I nixed all the walks which I found interrupted the work too often. I didn’t run errands. I didn’t stop to get my hair cut.

Part 2 of this Interview will be posted August 6th

And to read more in the fascinating Journals that Sue keeps for each book, go to: www.suegrafton.com
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DON’T MISS UPCOMING BLOGS. INTERVIEWS with other best-selling AUTHORS! A SERIES, “The Writer’s Corner”

I have had a wonderful response from other authors and will feature an interview once a month . These authors have already responded and you can read their interviews by clicking on their name: Ann Purser, Susan Elia MacNeal, Karen Robards, Mark Childress, Rhys Bowen, Dean Koontz, Sheryl Woods, Jo-Ann Mapson, Jeffrey Deaver, Elizabeth Gilbert, Raymond Benson, Amber Winckler, Heidi Jon Schmidt, Robert McCammon, Sue Grafton, Walter Mosley, Nora Roberts, and many others.

So come along with me; we shall sneak into these writers’ special places, be a fly on the wall and watch them create! July features Rhys Bowen. Sue Grafton is August’s author with a bonus chat with Cathy Lamb later in the month. September will feature Tasha Alexander. Jeffrey Deaver is November’s author and slick mystery writer, Andrew Grant will join us this winter. Loretta Chase will be featured later this year. Raymond Benson is my January author. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

To receive my posts sign up for my Go to the home page; On the right side you’ll see a box where you can enter your email address. Click on “join my blog”. You need to confirm in an email from ‘Writer at Play’ . Thanks!

World Renowned Mystery Writer, Sue Grafton visits my Blog!

DON’T MISS IT! Starting tomorrow, my interview with Sue Grafton, most famous for her best selling alphabet series!

August 1st and 6th, Sue shares with me and her readers her process as she writes her best sellers. Beginning back in the eighties she wrote “A IS FOR ALIBI” and the rest is history. What happens when we get to “Z”?? Will that be the end to Kinsey Milhone, PI? Oh, no!!!

How Did I get Started Writing children’s books?

I stumbled upon these wonderful images and said to myself, “that’s Cheets if he were a girl.” Things like this inspire me to keep writing.

For me there’s a story here in this little faerie’s pensive look.

Is she looking back to see if Rainey, the lost unicorn (Emma and the Lost Unicorn) is still following her? Or has she heard a noise and isn’t quite certain what it is? Or did she stop and turn to better listen to Donald, another faerie. (The Exciting Exploits of an Effervescent Elf)

…or has she just left the reading circle that Bertie, the bookworm holds every week in the forest clearing. Anything is possible.

This could be my character, Donald, the faerie.

(Stanley, the Stalwart Dragon)

….or this could be Cheet’s brother.

(Bertie, the bookworm and the Bully Boys)

How did I get started writing children’s books? Back in 2004, I was sound asleep at 3AM, when Cheets, my elf, had his very big feet in the middle of my back and was yelling in my ear. “You must write about me…you must do it NOW!” By the time I got up, got a cup of tea made and stumbled to my computer most of the characters already had names and Cheets was directing the show! Prince Rainier had been bewitched into a unicorn and dropped into the Fabled Forest. Emma discovered him and, befriending the shy creature, vowed to lift the curse and return him to his home.

My children’s books are fables and all carry a lesson about loyalty, good works, greed, friendship, ecology, running away and literacy. I’m not on a soapbox; it just happened to work out that way.

Leave yourself open! (opps! Am I repeating myself again?) You never know where your writing will take you. I was the most unlikely writer to end up writing children’s books as part of my repartee. For the most part, my ‘black’ Irish heart writes drama, serious gut wrenching stuff and it never crossed my mind to write for children. LUCKY ME! Cheets was insistent and would not be turned away.

These images, courtesy of Chopoli.blogspot.com © are whimsical, enchanting, and inspiring.
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DON’T MISS UPCOMING BLOGS. INTERVIEWS with other best-selling AUTHORS! A SERIES, “The Writer’s Corner”

So come along with me; we shall sneak into these writers’ special places, be a fly on the wall and watch them create! July features Rhys Bowen. Sue Grafton is August’s author with a bonus talk with Cathy Lamb later in the month. and September will feature Tasha Alexander. Jeffrey Deaver is November’s author and slick mystery writer, Andrew Grant will join us this winter. Loretta Chase will be featured later this year. Raymond Benson is my January author. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

To receive my posts sign up for my On the home page, the right side you’ll see a box where you can enter your email address. Click on “join my blog”. You need to confirm in an email from ‘Writer at Play’ . Thanks!

Got Secrets in your Family? Write about Them!

family stories, family secrets, story telling, writers — (left to right) Brother, Jack, Mom, me, Sister, Doris

Secret: I was the baby in the family, born 11 and 8 years, respectively, after my siblings. Not until just a few years ago did I hear that my mother “farmed out” my sister and brother to strangers. The term usually referred to children who were sent to a relative back in the day, but in my siblings’ case it was an indenture. My brother and sister had to work for their keep, ages six and 11.

They told me these stories as part of my research while writing, ‘Wild Violets’, a romanticized version of my Mother as a flapper and entrepreneur in the 1920’s in San Francisco. As I was writing and the family secrets unfolded, the romanticism flew right out the window. And that’s okay; remember what I told you before about your story taking hold and telling itself?

history, family stories, Wild Violets, writing — Violet’s Fulton Bar & Grill in San Francisco, 1929

But the enormity of my mother’s actions still didn’t really sink in….grab my heart. ‘It happened so long ago, it happened in a different time, it didn’t happen to me’, I told myself.
Until.…I began to actually write that part of the story. Here were these two little kids dumped at the front door of a farm house by their mother and her current boyfriend. The kids had no warning, no time frame, didn’t even know if they would ever see their mother again. And for no good reason. The family wasn’t destitute….she owned a bar and grill in San Francisco. There were no addiction problems unless you counted our mother’s addition to men.

As I wrote those pages, I finally became invested in what had happened to my brother and sister over seventy years ago. And my heart broke. To finally see why, in part, they became the people they are today. Why, at times, my sister bitterly resented me. Why my brother was an overachiever and obsessed with family.

In my own way, I too was abandoned by our mother. No, she never farmed me out. Nothing so overt as that. But she chose her men over me, time and time again. Her desires always trumped my childhood needs.

family histories, family secrets, story telling, writers — My Mother, Violet and me (age 5)

I was a left-over. A possession that she could put down or pick up again on a whim. Show off to her current beau or friends and then set in a corner, like an old broom.

And if you, my readers, hear bitterness leaking through my words….it’s not for me and how I was raised. Because I have overpowered my past and empowered myself to be the fierce, tough and resilient woman that I am today. Seeking and honing my talent and achieving my goals. (Yes, I still have abandonment issues).

The bitterness and heartache you hear, in my voice, are for those two little kids dumped at a stranger’s door!

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Writers! Do You Know the Basics of good grammar?

Like this infographic? Get more content marketing tips from Copyblogger.

Are you like me? Even though I know it’s ‘its‘ that I want, my fingers type ‘it’s‘ when what I really meant was ‘its’. Just this morning I caught myself using ‘whose’ when what I really meant to say was ‘who’s’. Thank goodness for grammar check! It surprises me every time I see someone who doesn’t know the sometimes subtle differences between nouns, verbs, and adjectives and the infamous dangling participle. For writers who want to present themselves as professional this is the kiss of doom. Your reader will be jarred and thrown off ‘the cadence of reading’ by your goofy grammar. I loved this article and graphic offered by copyblogger.com. Really a good one to save!
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DON’T MISS UPCOMING BLOGS. INTERVIEWS with other best-selling AUTHORS! Join us at the Writer’s Corner! I have had a wonderful response from other authors and will feature an interview once a month . I have invited such luminaries as: Ann Purser, Susan Elia MacNeal, Mark Childress, Rhys Bowen, Dean Koontz, Sheryl Woods, Jo-Ann Mapson, Jeffrey Deaver, Elizabeth Gilbert, Amber Winckler, Heidi Jon Schmidt, Robert McCammon, Caroline Leavitt, Sue Grafton, Karen Robards, Walter Mosley, Nora Roberts, and many others.

So come along with me; we shall sneak into these writers’ special places, be a fly on the wall and watch them create! July features Rhys Bowen. Sue Grafton is August’s author and September will feature Tasha Alexander. Jeffrey Deaver is November’s author and slick mystery writer, Andrew Grant will join us this winter. Loretta Chase will be featured later this year.
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The birth of CSI …an Interview with Rhys Bowen (part 2)

I SAT DOWN WITH Rhys Bowen (wish that were true) and HERE IS PART II of my INTERVIEW WITH HER.

Catch up with Part I of this great interview!

Q. and the all important: What does the process of going from “no book” to “finished book” look like?

A. I write historical mystery series so I come to a new book knowing a lot about my main character, a lot about her background. So I am not starting from a blank canvas each time. I usually start from a setting, an environment. I know I’d like to send Molly to an enclosed convent in search of a missing baby. I have no idea what will happen there or who I will meet until I start to write it. My books always go in directions I hadn’t suspected. (sound familiar?)

Q. Where/when do you first discover your characters ?

A.With Molly Murphy I knew I wanted to write a feisty first person female who didn’t know when to shut up. With Lady Georgie I wanted to write the most unlikely sleuth I could think of—royal but penniless.

Q. What inspired your story/stories ?

A. The Molly books were conceived because I visited Ellis Island and was so emotionally overcome by what I saw and felt there, I just knew I had to set a story there. The Royal Spyness books started from wanting to write something fun and funny and about British aristocrats in the 30s.

Q. When is your next book coming out? (or) What are you working on?

A.March 5. It’s a Molly book, The Family Way. My next Royal Spyness book will be out on August 6, called Heirs and Graces. (reviewed here in August). I’m currently writing the 13th Molly book, called City of Darkness and Light. It takes place among painters in Paris.

Q. As a fan of your work I am currently reading “Royal Blood” (from the Royal Spyness series). What inspired the story line? Had you visited ‘Bran Castle’? Met royals? Attended a royal wedding, perhaps?

A. I wrote Royal Blood because vampire novels were suddenly so popular that I wanted to write a spoof on all things vampire. I haven’t visited Bran castle but I have been to plenty of similar castles in Germany, Austria, Czech Republic so I had a good feel for it.

I have met plenty of real royals… all English. I had tea with the current queen. I was presented to the queen mother. I met Princess Margaret and saw Queen Mary when she was very old but still so regal and stately. But alas, no royal weddings. I’d have liked to be at William and Kate’s.

Q. Have you? Or do you want to write in another genre`?

A. I suppose like all writers I’d like to write that one definitive literary novel.

Click here to read Part I of this interview
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A review of Bowen’s “Oh Danny Boy”, another Molly Murphy mystery.
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DON’T MISS UPCOMING BLOGS featuring INTERVIEWS with other best-selling AUTHORS! A SERIES, “The Writer’s Corner”

I have had a wonderful response from other authors and will feature an interview once a month . These authors have already responded and you can read their interviews by clicking on their name:: Ann Purser, Susan Elia MacNeal, Mark Childress, Rhys Bowen, Dean Koontz, Sheryl Woods, Jo-Ann Mapson, Jeffrey Deaver, Elizabeth Gilbert, Amber Winckler, Karen Robards, Robert McCammon, Sue Grafton, Caroline Leavitt, Heidi Jon Schmidt, Walter Mosley, Nora Roberts, and many others.

So come along with me; we shall sneak into these writers’ special places, be a fly on the wall and watch them create! July features Rhys Bowen. Sue Grafton is August’s author and September will feature Tasha Alexander. Jeffrey Deaver is November’s author and slick mystery writer, Andrew Grant will join us this winter. Loretta Chase will be featured later this year.
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Review…Trisha Sugarek’s “Song of the Yukon”

MIDWEST BOOK REVIEW ~~ ‘Song of the Yukon is a powerful historical novel that opens in the Yukon in 1923 where LaVerne’s new cabin is being erected by a team of helpful neighbors and friends, and tells of one strong woman’s long-held dream of homesteading and how the Homestead Act led her to build a new home, sweetened by her discovery of gold on her property.

In the next instant readers are transported to 1921 Washington State, where LaVerne shares a single room with her sisters in a crowded farmhouse and longs for something different in her future. It is here that her dream of a better life in Alaska evolves: an uncrowded life offering opportunities to ‘rule and obey’, and plenty of space.

Song of the Yukon begins with this dream and works outward as it follows LaVerne’s efforts to hone and realize her desires upon discovering that the Alaskan frontier offers her a unique opportunity to “…chase your dreams there, be whoever you want to be…no one telling you what to do and what not to do…”

From boat rides on the Yukon River to encounters with native tribes to filing homestead papers and working the land, LaVerne uses newfound frontier wisdom as a basis for expanding both her music and her perceptions: “No man owns what Mother Spirit does not freely give.” Joe replied. What a charming folk tale, LaVerne thought. And Joe seems to believe it. I could use the story in one of my songs.”

It is here she encounters her first real friend and learns the realities of frontier life and homesteading: experiences that will shape her life, help her create music, and lead her in directions no woman has explored before.

But Sugarek in her third novel, Song of the Yukon, covers more than music growth, more than homesteading in the wilderness, and even more than testing one’s abilities against a foreign environment. Most of all, it’s about one woman’s determination to achieve her dream against any odds – and it provides readers with not only a solid background in frontier experiences, but a sense of self and accomplishment that heroine LaVerne learns through hard experience.

It is a commanding saga recommended for a range of readers. Thank you for the opportunity to look at your fine title! ~~ Diane Donovan, Midwest Book Review ~~

Tip: You can find legitimate book reviewers to review your book BEFORE you publish. This is important because then you can use a tag from the review on the front or back cover. Example: “….A commanding saga…” Midwest Book Review. I know you’ve seen these tags on book covers and they are powerful marketing tools.
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Estimated release date Fall, 2013. Look for it wherever you buy your books and here in my bookstore!
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Start your month off right!! DON’T MISS UPCOMING BLOGS. INTERVIEWS with other best-selling AUTHORS! A SERIES, “The Writer’s Corner”

I have had a wonderful response from other authors and will feature an interview once a month . These authors have already responded and you can read their interviews by clicking on their name:: Ann Purser, Susan Elia MacNeal, Karen Robards, Mark Childress, Rhys Bowen, Dean Koontz, Sheryl Woods, Jo-Ann Mapson, Jeffrey Deaver, Elizabeth Gilbert, Amber Winckler, Robert McCammon, Sue Grafton, Caroline Leavitt, Heidi Jon Schmidt, Walter Mosley, Nora Roberts, and many others.

So come along with me; we shall sneak into these writers’ special places, be a fly on the wall and watch them create! Mark Childress is our April author. Robert McCammon is scheduled for May. Caroline Leavitt is June‘s author. July features Rhys Bowen. Sue Grafton is August’s author and September will feature Tasha Alexander. Slick mystery writer, Andrew Grant will join us this winter. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Inspiration Mixed with Research = New Novel! (part 2)

I am taking a small break this morning from writing. I have written 37,000 (of 75,000) words of my new novel, “Song of the Yukon”. One of the Guyer sisters, LaVerne, has run away to Alaska to write her music. (far left in photo) This novel was inspired by the true story of my auntie living in Alaska and the poetry of Robert Service. By the way, have you read anything by him? It’s worth it, I promise!

I wanted to talk about research for a moment. Just fifteen years ago research for this book (set in the 1920’s in Alaska) would have meant hours and hours in the library and a mountain of reference books. NOW?!!??

It’s just two clicks of the mouse and I can find anything I need on line. How long to sail from Seattle to Anchorage in 1922? Was there rail service to Fairbanks in the 20’s? Was there river travel from Fairbanks to Tanana where my story will take place? What was the name of the trading post in Fairbanks back then? AMAZING!!!

I have even been able to research the languages of the Upper and Lower Tanana native Alaskan.

Then I got a bright idea! My heroine is writing music, right? So the very least I should do is have some of her lyrics in my story. I am not a musician other than singing in the shower. So I called on my dear friend, Ben Rafuse, who is a professionally, trained pianist and composer. He is collaborating, with me, on the music that LaVerne writes and with luck, we will end by publishing the sheet music for Ben’s original songs in the back of the book and even offer a download. I’ve mentioned before how much I love to collaborate with others.

So, if you can’t reach me…..it’s because I’m deep in the wilds of the Yukon….at least on the inside!
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NOW Available! My new novel, “Wild Violets” for sale here and on www.amazon.com
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DON’T MISS UPCOMING BLOGS. INTERVIEWS with other best-selling AUTHORS! Join us at the Writer’s Corner! I have had a wonderful response from other authors and will feature an interview once a month . These authors have already responded and you can read their interviews by clicking on their name: Ann Purser, Susan Elia MacNeal, Mark Childress, Rhys Bowen, Dean Koontz, Sheryl Woods, Jo-Ann Mapson, Jeffrey Deaver, Elizabeth Gilbert, Amber Winckler, Robert McCammon, Caroline Leavitt, Sue Grafton, Karen Robards, Walter Mosley, Nora Roberts, and many others.

So come along with me; we shall sneak into these writers’ special places, be a fly on the wall and watch them create! Caroline Leavitt is June‘s author. July features Rhys Bowen. Sue Grafton is August’s author and September will feature Tasha Alexander. Later this year we will feature Andrew Grant and Karen Robards.
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An Interview with Caroline Leavitt (Part 3)

Part III. Caroline was so generous with her time in this interview. Following is the final segment. Enjoy!! (click here for Part I)

Q. and the all important: What does the process of going from “no book” to “finished book” look like? (cont.)

Once I have the synopsis, I write a first chapter. I can’t go on without a good first chapter because often, when I am in the middle of the book, and I feel it’s a mess, I need to go back and say, “Well, I wrote a really great first chapter, I can’t give up now, can I?” And I don’t.
Then comes the writing. I write and rewrite, sometimes up to 30 drafts. And I show it to about 4 different readers. Then it goes to my agent, and she usually wants some rewrites. Then it goes to my editor who always wants rewrites. But I love the rewriting process. To me, that’s the real creativity.

Q. Where/when do you first discover your characters ?

A. I do a lot of character work. I make maps about the characters trying to figure out what’s haunting them? Where are their hidden scars they need to heal? What is it they want and how is it different from what they really need? (That’s my Rolling Stones method of writing!)

Q. What inspired your story/stories ?

A. Usually it’s a question that has been haunting me for years. How do we forgive the unforgivable was the question that sparked PICTURES OF YOU, though I was also mulling over my phobia about driving. To me, the worst thing in the world would be to kill someone in an accident, and so I began to write about it, thinking I could heal myself that way. IS IT TOMORROW asks the questions, how do we become a part of a community that doesn’t want us? I was thinking about what an outcast I was as a child because I was Jewish, asthmatic and very smart, in a community that was Christian and working class and suspicious of anyone different.

Q. When is your next book coming out? (or) What are you working on?

A. IS IT TOMORROW is coming out May 7, 2013 and CRUEL BEAUTIFUL WORLD will be out sometime in 2014 or 2015. I sold it on the basis of a first chapter and a synopsis, so I have a lot of work to do!

Q. Have you? Or do you want to write in another genre`?

A. I don’t like the word genre because I think it compartmentalizes women. I refuse to use the term women’s fiction, commercial or literary. I tend to think a good book is a good book is a good book!

Thank you so much for these great questions!
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BIO: Caroline won First Prize in Redbook Magazine’s Young Writers Contest for her short story, “Meeting Rozzy Halfway,” which grew into the novel. The recipient of a 1990 New York Foundation of the Arts Award for Fiction for Into Thin Air, she was also a National Magazine Award nominee for personal essay, and she was awarded a 2005 honorable mention, Goldenberg Prize for Fiction from the Bellevue Literary Review, for “Breathe,” a portion of Pictures of You. As a screenwriter, Caroline was a 2003 Nickelodeon Screenwriting Fellow Finalist, and is a recent first-round finalist in the Sundance Screenwriting Lab competition for her script of Is This Tomorrow.

Caroline has been a judge in both the Writers’ Voice Fiction Awards in New York City and the Midatlantic Arts Grants in Fiction. She teaches novel writing online at both Stanford University and UCLA, as well as working with writers privately. Caroline has appeared on The Today Show, Diane Rehm, German and Canadian TV, and more, and she was featured on The View From The Bay. She lives in Hoboken, New Jersey, New York City’s unofficial sixth borough, with her husband, the writer Jeff Tamarkin, and their teenage son Max.
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Start your month off right!! DON’T MISS UPCOMING BLOGS. INTERVIEWS with other best-selling AUTHORS! A SERIES, “The Writer’s Corner”

I have had a wonderful response from other authors and will feature an interview once a month . I have invited such luminaries as: Ann Purser, Susan Elia MacNeal, Mark Childress, Rhys Bowen, Dean Koontz, Sheryl Woods, Jo-Ann Mapson, Jeffrey Deaver, Elizabeth Gilbert, Amber Winckler, Robert McCammon, Sue Grafton, Caroline Leavitt, Walter Mosley, Nora Roberts, and many others.

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