Interview with Rowena Cherry

 

Give us the 411 on yourself. You know, the basic information minus address and phone number.

 

 

At the time of this interview, I’m just back from a long drive (from Michigan to Houston and back). When playing I Spy palled, I listened to a couple of remarkable audio books. One was Clive Cussler’s “Dragon” –which wasn’t about dragons– and the other was a novel-length essay about modern espionage.

The latter included a definition of “eavesdropping” which I’d not heard before. Very approximately it was: “people who listen under windows and behind doors, for the purpose of making mischief.”

I was interested because I’ve frequently –perhaps ignorantly– described myself as a lurker, an eavesdropper, and a fact-magpie. I don’t set out to make mischief, and I never betray my sources. I collect rare insights to make my stories more convincing and more interesting.

I’ve watched carefully as Las Vegas magicians made an elephant disappear, but had to send men with brooms and buckets to make an unplanned-for elephantine bowel movement vanish from the stage. I’ve examined Henry VIII’s armour, with particular attention to the submarine-sandwich sized capsule that protected his wedding tackle. In fact, I made a minor plot point of it in FORCED MATE.

My travels have taken me from the English Shires (Warwickshire), to the mystic and fog-wreathed Channel Islands, to Cambridge University (Cambridgeshire), to Dorset, to Andalucia in Spain for a couple of summers in a Spanish castle folly near Marbella and the Puerto Jose Banus, to Harpenden in Herfordshire (where I got married), to Koenigstein im Taunus, to Detroit… with excursions along the way to the Royal Henley Regatta in company with Olympic oarsmen, to Goodwood for the Festival of Speed and for the Revival, to the corporate pace cars at the Indy 500, to the Pebble Beach concours d’elegance, and elsewhere.

The places I’ve been, the things I’ve done, and the people I’ve met are fabulous inspiration for my alien romances about gods and royals from outer space. I get a kick out of weaving uncommon knowledge into my books … such as deviant frog mating behaviors, lion taming tips, fair-use quotes from Machiavelli, and military uses for urine on the battlefield. Not all of it survives the editing!

This may sound pretentious: I set out to write a book that is like an onion, not because it stinks or because it makes you cry (blame my stiff, Brit, upper lip — I loathe books that make me cry!), but for the layers I like to build up, so that if you were to read one of my books a second time, you might see something cool that you hadn’t noticed the first time.

As for the gross anatomy of a hero, being a minor Historian, I had qualms about endowing superhuman (or super-villain) sexual prowess and dimensions on real historical figures. I have no such reservations about Darth Vader types, whether they hide out on Earth or prowl the galaxies in very large and sinister spaceships!

My editor describes what I write as Futuristic Romance. I prefer to think of my subgenre as Science Fiction Romance (because it is not set in the “Future”).

How long have you been a word ho for publishing pimps? (Er, a writer?)

 

Prince Philip, The Duke of Edinburgh, was once pleased to call me a cow… in a kind and witty reference to where I lived at the time. I’ve been called a Hoot, a Horror, and a Joy. I dare say I have been called many things by many people, but I have never considered literary or semantic prostitution …. unless you count writing about “sexual favors” instead of “sexual favours”. I don’t “do” quickies (in the sense of writing fast-reads). I don’t write for the money.

I’m too anal…

…about finding the right simile or metaphor, the “mot juste”, about getting the research right. All that
deep thought and useful “stuff” takes time.

If I’m going to write in the point of view of an elegant, sword-fighting hero, then I want to find someone who can tell me what it feels like to stab someone (legally, of course). If I plan to throw a heroine over a saddlebow, I need to know what that feels –and smells– like. I’ll try shaving my legs with the proverbial razor shell to see if a seashell makes an acceptable accessory for the desert island beauty routine. It doesn’t, by the way. The unsightly hairs look worse when they push up under, and through, scabs.

I accepted my first publishing contract in 2003. I pleased myself (and, occasionally, contest judges) from 1992 when I started writing my first novel.

All my titles are word plays on chess terms. My first romance was FORCED MATE, but although the title was thoroughly appropriate, it was widely misunderstood. Readers who wanted a violent book were disappointed. Others were deterred by what they assumed it was about. Some call FORCED MATE an alien abduction romance with a twist. It’s a futuristic take on the myth of Persephone and the god of the underworld. A dark ruler of an interstellar superpower abducts his perfect mate, never dreaming he’ll fall in love.

Insufficient Mating Material is not about a guy with E.D. It’s a chess term for a “No-win situation.” At some point in a game, the rivals realize that no matter how many bad moves the other guy makes, it’s going to be impossible to checkmate him.

Can you give us a brief VIRGIN story? I mean, give us the nitty gritty on your first sale.

 

The “Virgin” (Cherry) gets “The Call”

Prologue.
Ms Cherry doubts that she can write a brief ANYTHING. Words run away with Ms Cherry.

Writing in the best possible taste means controlling her lamentable sense of humor, especially during love scenes. Cherry has a tendency to amuse herself (and only herself). She comes to call these unnecessary, naughty bits of prose “Gorilla Testicles.”

What, you might well ask, do Gorilla Testicles have to do with overblown writing? Wide-eyed Ms Cherry once saw a wildlife program where the scientist found it necessary to measure the size of a sleeping gorilla’s testicles using a monkey wrench. No one is sure why. He must have had an odd sense of humor! The testicles were remarkably small… not worth the time and effort involved in measuring them, or in watching them being measured.

By giving a funny name to them, Cherry minds less when the naughty bits are cut.

Chapter One.
Long, long ago (in 2003) Rowena Cherry gave up on trying to be a paperback writer, and submitted (and only The Published know the full implications of “submitting” ) the book of her heart to NovelBooksInc aka NBI.

At the time Linnea Sinclair was one of NBI’s top authors and artists, and she was asked to read FORCED MATE for a second opinion. Linnea is now a RITA winning author for Bantam Books, (for Finders Keepers, I think), but she’s also written An Accidental Goddess, also Gabriel’s Ghost, and her latest book is Games Of Command.

Apparently, Linnea sat up in bed for much of the night, snorting and howling with laughter, much to the annoyance of her husband, and the next day Linnea informed the publisher that she should buy everything Rowena Cherry wrote including her shopping list… or it might have been the Cherry laundry list.

Chapter Two.
Ms Cherry was negotiating the contract that had been offered her when another of her friends, Susan Grant (who now writes for Harlequin, and My Favorite Earthling came out recently), told her that she would be an idiot not to enter the Dorchester-Romantic Times New Voice in Romance contest. That year, it was the New Voice In Paranormal Romance. Entries of previously e-published books were permitted.

Ms Cherry asked NBI’s permission, and entered.

Chapter Three.
To cut a long story short (???) the Cherry was one of the three finalists, was offered a contract by Alicia Condon, and ended up splitting the rights.

Epilogue
Meanwhile, NBI shut down for a hiatus, and later went out of business. The Cherry got her rights back, but since she had invested so much in her own cover (Cherry had personally bought the rights to the Matt Twiggs photograph for the e-book cover), and in lawyers’ fees to split the rights, and since she liked the e-book editing just as much as the mass market editing, Cherry decided to buy some ISBNs and self publish the e- version.

Moral: Linnea Sinclair (to a greater extent) and Rowena Cherry (to a lesser extent) are proofs that your published e-book can still sell to a New York print house.

Everybody’s got a fantasy. What’s your writer’s (wet?) dream?

I’m not sure that I have wet dreams. I imagine most writers’ secret ambition is to win a major award, and to place on a major best-seller list. I’d like that, of course.

 

Actors wanna be in pictures. Where do you want to be?

 

In pictures!

Not in person. I think Insufficient Mating Material would make a splendid movie, if only Peter Jackson would do it. On the other hand, I am well aware of the saying, “Be careful what you wish for. You might get it!”

This saying has been the basis for a lot of fractured fairy stories, most genie tales, and not a few Faustian takes on the devil offering a deal to a human… such as in Bedazzled.

When a novel has a hero with a bioluminescent tattoo on his penis that glows in the dark when suitably excited, you can imagine the Off-Topic fun a comedian might have. Prince Djetth’s manly decoration has the potential to be his downfall if the wrong person sees it, but not in a slapstick sense. I don’t write slapstick.
I stop short at the alien prince’s dilemma when he strikes a pose and is sitting on the edge of a filling bathtub (so many romances include a scene where the hero wants to watch the heroine take a bath) and there comes a moment when he realizes that his seated bottom is going to get wet.

Get any bad advice early in your writing career?

 

Lots. However, someone once told me that everyone in the industry lives to some extent in a fishbowl, and that one should never “break someone else’s ricebowl” (don’t deliberately ruin someone else’s livelihood). That’s good advice.

 

Word, baby. Get any good directions that you’d like to pass on?

 

Persist.

Network.

If you’re unpublished, enter contests for the advice you’ll receive. Write gracious and positive thank-you notes to your anonymous judges, even if you don’t particularly agree with what well-intentioned critics tell you.

Start your future mailing list early (always with the consent of your correspondents) so that you’ll have friends when you need them…when you’re getting the word out about your forthcoming release.

Lock in your own name for your website before you become famous. You don’t want to have to be www.theofficialyourfirstnamelastname.com. You DO want to be a dot com!

Say “thank you” often and as graciously as possible.

Keep control of your newsletter and your contests. If your name is on it, you are legally liable if someone sues you for whatever grievance.

Dream within reason, especially when it comes to money. Here are two great links which explain advances and what it costs to publish a book:

http://sfwa.org/bulletin/articles/profit-motive.html http://alg.livejournal.com/84032.html#cutid1

It’s better to have a smallish print run, and sell most of it, than to have a huge run and end up owing money to your publisher!

Carla Arpin (publicist for Linnea Sinclair) and sexy, paranormal author Sahara Kelly, and witty Dorchester author Marianne Mancusi all report that having a site on MySpace.com has been amazing—and cheap— promo for them. I haven’t seen the benefits, but that could be because I have confined my friendships to brother- and sister- authors, booksellers and librarians, and I have not been aggressive about self-promotion (mostly because I –being a techno-dinosaur– found it a pain to set up a site, and am super cautious about running the risk of having my site deleted).

I like what The Romance Studio does for me. Email: holly@theromancestudio.com. Membership for an author is around $2.50 a month. For that, you get a profile page, a link, and the opportunity to run contests and add to your mailing list.

Other sites I really like are Romance Junkies www.romancejunkies.com because they have over a million hits, and Cat Brown is so wonderful to work with. Fallen Angel Reviews is another site with great presence, and a fabulous reviewing staff in my opinion: check out http://www.fallenangelreviews.com ; And then there’s MyShelf, http://www.myshelf.com which is also highly trafficked and easy to work with.

I shouldn’t really mention so few sites. I know I have forgotten some wonderful ones. Oh, and if you have $200 to spend, everyone I know swears by a print ad in RWA’s Romance Sells.

For free, chose a good signature file, that says something about you or your book, and how to find it (your own website url). Do not quote homespun philosophy from great thinkers of the past. Most lists allow 4 lines or so of tag line and moderate promotion of other types.

For 25 tips on free ways to promote yourself or your favorite author, check out my “25 Ways” article on my website (under Research workshops). Go to www.rowenacherry.com and poke around. You’ll probably also find links to all the handouts put out by the EPIC organization for the entire RT convention.

Join chat lists—and I have to thank outgoing EPIC president and promo genius Brenna Lyons for some of these tips, because I’m not a great chatter—look into: ebookChatters ; enchantersloop; FallenAngelReviewChatters; karenfindoutaboutnewbooks (Karen Simpson runs Coffeetime, which is a great site with some very innovative promo services and ideas) ; Novelspotters ; RomanceJunkiesReaders ; paranormalromance.com.

Other great new places (suggested to me by Jacquie Rogers of Fairy Good Advice) to network are Bebo.com; theyack.com; wordpress.com; LibraryThing.com.

Wherever you go — and this is my best and most delicate marketing advice– remember that you never know who is watching you and reading your posts. You only get one chance to make a good first impression.

We need the 420 on where to find you and your stuff. Cough ‘em up!

In sci-fi speak, my heavy-duty mothership in cyber space is http://www.rowenacherry.com

If you dock there, you’ll find exerpts from my books, an interactive family tree to assist readers to keep all my characters and their complicated relationships straight in their minds, my bi-monthly newsletter, jigsaw puzzles of bare-chested hunks, links and research tips, podcasts of my radio shows, my promo video for Insufficient Mating Material, and lots more.

I blog about non-human lovers and other matters of vital interest with other award winning science fiction authors (Linnea Sinclair, Colby Hodge, Susan Kearney, Margaret L Carter, Jacqueline Lichtenberg, Susan Sizemore, and guests) at http://www.aliendjinnromances.blogspot.com

Animal lovers might enjoy my new cross-genre blog with authors who specialize in adding furry characters to their romances (Deborah MacGillivray, Jade Lee, and others).
http://males-and-other-animals.blogspot.com

I’ve two sites on MySpace. The Rowena Cherry space is where I befriend and am befriended by other authors, cover models, industry professionals– http://www.myspace.com/aliendjinnromance_rowena ;

The “Insufficient” site is more fun for me– http://www.myspace.com/insufficientmm ;

If a book could talk, this might be what he’d say. “He” overcompensates for his unstudly name (Insufficient) by chatting up librarians (“Will you have me between your stacks, dear Library Lady?”), booksellers (“My greatest dread, dear Book Lady, is that you will strip me in public,”), book lovers, and boldly asking all comers to take him to bed. “He” is territorial, so will not tolerate glitter, sissy images (rabbits, bling, flowers, fairies, other naked men) on his profile page, nor will he befriend anyone with children on their avatars… because he has adult interests, and he does talk dirty.

And last, but not least, there is Amazon-Connect.

Hope to see you there.

Rowena Cherry

Rowena Cherry
http:// www.rowenacherry.com

INSUFFICIENT MATING MATERIAL

Read the fine print.

It’s amazing that writers are the worst ones when it comes to reading the directions or fine print. It’s a joke, but it ain’t funny, honey. Especially when you’re the one that reminds other writers to be careful on this and then get caught doing the exact same thing.

 When you submit your work to a publisher or a contest, read everything carefully. Make sure you understand the terms.

Are they asking for your First North American Rights? If so, is there an exclusivity clause for a certain time period? You can sell subsequent rights, have your work republished elsewhere, after that time frame lapses.

Do they take all rights? Do they promise to give you a byline or copyright credit, or intend to run it without your name.

I’ve sold stories to True Confessions Magazine (Dorchester, NY) and they take ALL rights. You can’t use or sell that story ever again.

In the event that you’ve “accidentally” given all rights, and want them back, you can simply send a letter requesting said rights. Most publishers will release subsequent rights. You can ask for those rights before you sign the initial agreement.

I recently submitted some stories to a contest online. The rules said they would always make sure that the author would be given a copyright line when the stories were used. Great, right?

Another line said they assumed all rights to the stories submitted. It was easy to assume that meant ONLY THE STORIES THAT WON. But the “outfit” did indeed mean they would use all stories and hold all future rights.

After submission, I re-read the rules and saw that wording and requested that I have all future rights reverted.

Also, they published my story without my name on it–which means they violated their own rules AND copyright law. That gave me leverage, I think, when I stated that, and requested my rights be reverted.

They gave me a letter that stated they released the future rights. It was easy, done by email, and nothing to stress over–but I did stress. And I reminded myself once again not to be stupid, or unprofessional in future. You GOTTA read that fine print. Pour over those rules/submission guidelines, make sure you understand what you’re giving up.

Speaking Engagements

Ever wonder how people get on the speaking panels for conferences?

<>They go to the conference website, see who is in charge of programming, and send them a press kit, virtual or physical, meaning via email or hard copy in regular mail.

Wait. Did you think that they were just so wonderful that someone said, “Wow. I want them to speak at my conference.”…?

Sure, that happens. IF YOU’RE Stephen King!!

But, if you’re not THERE yet, you have to realize that the way you get known is by word of mouth, and usually that means YOUR word of mouth. You have to toot your own horn by sending out information about who you are, and what you can do.<>

<> I, for example, have been doing motivational speaking for 20-25 years. It doesn’t matter what topic you need addressed to your group, I can research it, and present it in the way you need it put out there.

So, this is an example of how I let people know that I am available for speaking. I post it on my blogs and websites. I send emails to conference planners. I post regularly on my blogs where I will be next.

Who is this person? You may ask that. I’m pretty much a beginner writer who understands some basics about professionalism because I was professional in other areas before I decided to write pro. And I know how to make goals and achieve success. If you or your writing friends are struggling with that, you might want to have me come and speak.

If you’ve already stopped and said WHOA, I’m not listening to a beginner, think again. Read on.

Since I write in every genre and have won over 115 awards in 3-4 years, and some of those are in every genre–I may have some simple tidbits that can really boost your writing. Also, in that short time, I’ve had cover articles on national and regional magazines, and have signed many many contracts (over 25 this year alone.) I’ve had 5 books released THIS YEAR and have more coming.
The point is…not to be obnoxious in telling my credits, but to let you know that there is a fast track to success. There are tricks to the trade. Like the first one I mentioned here about setting up speaking engagements. Some will pay well, but when you start out, most likely you will pay your own travel, and hotel expenses.

But in exchange, you will get your name in a program book that all attendees will read. You will get an opportunity (maybe more than one) to let people know what you write. And through that, other writers will learn your name, and you will be considered a professional peer.

Other engagements will follow, and they will soon begin to pay–in growing readership/fans and professional friends you can network with, and all that translates to positive word of mouth, and ultimately to higher sales.

The easiest way to advertise your book in person is to get on a panel at a conference. Someone else draws the crowd. Someone else puts the program book together that brags about your accomplishments. All you have to do is show up, be clean, and contribute with a positive energy and hopefully some good information.

The trick is…making the audience feel good about you being there. If the panel is about writing, give out some useful information. If the panel is geared to meeting the fans, make sure you’ve got something to make them feel good. Bottom line, get some eye contact with your audience. Smile. Be happy to be there.
When you talk, use the mic. If there’s no mic, speak very loudly. Half of every audience is deaf or going deaf. Never think you don’t need the mic. That’s the dumbest thing any speaker ever says. I can’t say that enough. And make love to that microphone. Put it as close to your lips as you can without touching it.

Speaking at conferences?

I have spoken at a lot of conferences this year, including Epicon (national ebook conference, VA Beach), Romantic Times (Houston), AggieCON (Texas A&M), CONquest 38 (KC), and SoonerCON (OK City).

And I’ve done readings at the National Poetry Convention (OK City) and hosted a room party at the Oklahoma Writer’s Federation Inc. Conference (Also in OK City). I will be speaking at the White County Writer’s Conference in Searcy, Arkansas on Labor Day weekend.

And I’m working on getting some other speaking “gigs” set.

So, you want to promote your books? You want to start your speaking career?

You may be surprised to find out that most speaking engagements are settled by the author offering to speak, or listing themselves as “willing to speak.”

Feel free to contact conference programming chairmen to offer your services. Be sure and list your credentials. You can send a hard copy press kit, or a query via email.

Some speaking engagements pay, some provide room, travel expenses, and meals, as well as a speaking fee. Some are “free entrance into the conference.” Some offer free conference entry for your family.

When you start out, you need to be willing to compromise, and meet the conferences half way, and appreciate the fact that they’ll be putting you in their program book, on their website, and giving you speaking time, even if it’s only on a panel.

If you’re good, people will request you back, and spread the word about how great you were. So, to make sure that happens, be prepared on your topic, and learn panel etiquette, which means “not monopolizing the conversation” but being willing to fill in the quiet spots if other panel members aren’t as equipped on the subject. Also, learn how to keep things on topic, or to bring thigns back to topic, and make sure you’re not the one leading the panel off topic.

Think about these things:

A speaker should educate, entertain, and motivate. If they don’t do that, they aren’t a very good speaker. If they do one thing, they’re okay. Two means they’re good. Three means they’re great. Aspire to be a great speaker.

ALWAYS use the mic if it is available. Remember that half your audience is likely deaf or going deaf. Even if you think you have a booming voice, you need to use the mic. This is one of the biggest mistakes speakers make.

(More on speaking in other posts.)

COLORFUL PHRASES

Janny Wurts, a very good fantasy writer, caught my attention when she mentioned he watched the woman walk away, MARIGOLD SKIRTS SWISHING.

I often think about that sentence. They may be two flowery for some works, but we, as writers, should be thinking about our prose. Janny’s words had a “purple prose” feel, meaning it was poetic, almost too pretty.

I, however, love the phrase and look to add flavor like that to my fantasy works. There is alliteration in that line. Watched the woman walk away. Look at the w’s and a’s. Consonant repetition is called consonance. (I know, that’s a DUH. But, until someone points it out to you, or explains it, it’s hard to grasp.) Marigold doesn’t add to the alliteration, but it gives us vivid color and imagery in a single word. Swishing skirts. S’s add more consonance, and the w in swishing draws the consonance from the first half of the sentence into the last part.

The phrase is just plain eloquent, the kind of thing that has mesmerized my thinking processes often. Did she know she had done that? Or does she have a natural knack for poetic prose, and not even know it? IS SHE A POET? Yes. She must be, even if she doesn’t realize it.

I’ll have to ask her if she intends to be poetic or if it simply happens as she writes. Not that it matters. I recommend her, if you’re a writer who struggles with active prose that has color and flavor. Read just one of her novels, or even several pages of one, and you will see what I’m talking about.

She doesn’t waste words. Use of WAS is minimal. She demonstrates active and rarely slips to passive writing. All in all, I believe she is a fine example of the type of writer we should aspire to be. You can learn a ton, and absorb a lot, just by reading her works. (And she didn’t pay me to say this! She doesn’t know me from Adam.)

To find Janny’s work, you can go directly to her website: http://www.paravia.com/JannyWurts/website/index2.html

Spread the word…

The written word is an amazing thing. Contracts bind people. Novels spellbind people. Nonfiction helps people–whether in self-help or in information.

And the internet is an amazing way to spread the word about something. That’s why websites for authors are so important. And search engine optimization–which is the keying in of metatags to your website so that you’ll come up first in a search engine. If you google your name, and it doesn’t come up on top, you need to take a look at your metatags. If you don’t know how to do that, you need to look up the directions or get a web designer that has a clue. You can hire someone to maintain your website, if you aren’t web saavy.

But it is by word of mouth, and one by one contact, that we gain a fan base. If I can give you one word of advice today, it would be to value each person you speak to. Do not ever act like you’re looking for someone “better” to talk to.

I see this all the time. People are talking to a writer, but the writer is looking over their head, hoping to find someone else to reach now that they’ve made contact with this one. You would do better to give full attention for several minutes to the one you’re speaking with.

This is a basic “people edification” skill. Edify the one you’re with, with your complete attention. They will feel so good from those few moments with you, where you listened to what they like or dislike, and where they are coming from, that they will ring your praises. I swear this will work to spread your name.

Conversely, if you act like you don’t have time for someone, they will speak of you poorly. He was abrupt. He was rude. He walked away before I finished my sentence. Don’t let that be the trail that follows you.

Look people in the eye. Tell them, without a doubt, why you think they’ll like your book. But listen to them for a minute to find out what they like, then skew your presentation of your work to fit them.

For example, my novel The Price of Peace…when I talk to people who are into history, I say, “This is set in 13th Century Wales. Reviewers say it has great flavor and is highly recommended.” I also mention that Deborah McGillivray, a famous Scottish historical romance writer, reviewed the book and loved it. (See the reviews on my website: http://www.jenniferdicamillo.com/ )
When I talk to people into fantasy, or sword slinging things like Lord of the Rings, I say “This is a sword slinging novel.”

When I talk to romance readers, I say “This has an epic romance in it.” I bring up Deborah McGillivray’s review, and also the review I have by Rita Gerlach, Nora Roberts’ cousin who also writes romance. (and has a great newsletter for writers, by the way.)
When I speak to mystery readers, I say “This has a lot of suspense, and it’s based on a mystery. This woman has planned the downfall of five clans. You’ll want to put the pieces together as you read, and try to figure out why. Oh, yeah, and there’s murder and suspense and a lot of other things like that in this.” I also add that National Best Selling author Barb D’Amato, past president of Mystery Writers of America, and Sisters in Crime International, said some really good things about my novel, too.

See how I went out and got reviews from people others will be impressed by? We listen up when we hear names of famous people. Also, those names are great to put in your metatags.

Back to The Price of Peace…It’s also a literary novel. If you think about it, you will see that it views a wide range of what people will do for peace. Some will fight for it. Some will die for it. And some will compromise everything they have for it. Some will sacrifice beyond measure.

And there’s an underlying theme about faith. Nothing that will beat you to death. But, in the end, it points you to a fact that it doesn’t matter what you believe, we all pray to a higher power. (atheists excluded, of course.) But, it starts with pagans and is set by an abbey, at a time when paganism and Christianity were vying for followers in Wales. See? The conflict on this may appeal to inspirational readers because it is an inspirational read. It may appeal to pagans because the protagonist is a pagan, and her daughter is torn between that and Christianity and finding her own path.

But more than anything I always say it’s EPIC. Because that one is.
I don’t bill my second novel as epic, though, because it isn’t. My Courting Disaster novel is sword slinging, tongue lashing foreplay. It’s fun. It’s a romp and stomp farce written for men and women, a double romance written, my editor says, in the flavor of Shakespeare in Love. There are a couple murders, but it’s not mystery. There is intrigue, though–and that will appeal to mystery readers.

And it is set in a place I made up, but has a historical feel. Most importantly, there are several main characters and they seem very different, like most people do, but in the end, you can see that they are all looking for the same thing. See how this can be examined and the appeal to ANY reader can be presented.

One reader told me, “I loved three of the four main characters, adored them! But that Prince, I’d like to run him over with a truck.”

Loved main characters. Hated someone enough to email me. She WILL remember my story, and my name and she’s told me she talks about it to her friends, some of which have read it now.

People who read The Price of Peace in 2004 when it came out still email me, saying, “I was thinking about that story again.”

What’s important is that I connected with those people on a deeper level. I have since met them in person. I went out of my way to go where they would be, and they are true fans.

Love your readers. Listen to them. Know who your audience is. Set up your website so that there is an easy email button for people who read your work to email you. That is how you set up a fan base. And get a newsletter list. Even if you only email it once a month, or every other month, stay in touch with your readers, and tell them what you’re doing as a writer.

And by all means, get a blog. Even if you only blog once a month. Get guests to come and blog. Post interviews of other writers, like I do here. Go on virtual tours, spreading the word about your books and works by commenting on other author’s blogs, signing with your website underneath your name. You can spread your word a lot by sharing fan bases with other writers.

GREAT Interview with Cat Muldoon

First, give us the basics. Who are you, personally? Got a family? Any deep dark secrets you’d like to share? Wanna tell us wear you hang your hat or pantyhose or something?

My name is Cat Muldoon.  I have 2 children, both girls.  They are wonderful felines.  I’ve never been married but am open to the possibility.  Currently, I’m living in the Ozarks, but I have lived various places. 
 

Ireland and Scotland are a couple of my favorite places to be, but I enjoy spending a good deal of my time in, shall we say, “other worlds.”  If you ever hear that I’ve gone to Ireland and never returned, perhaps I found a Faerie hill and went inside.

Second, what do you write? And how do you do it? Spill it all. Are you a shower poet? Pet your cat while you type one handed? Get the name of your next character by what appears in your Alphabet soup or cereal?

I’ve never been one for alphabet soup, but I do like the idea of naming characters that way.  Maybe I’ll try it sometime. 

Anyway, what I write is whatever comes to mind.  Typically my stories are fantastical.  I love wordplay and I love creating interesting “what if” scenarios. 

My characters are real to me in that I write dialogue by hearing them interact.  Occasionally I have to break up fights or tell them they don’t get their own way. 

I had to change a character’s name in my novel Rue the Day, and he wasn’t at all happy about it.  He wanted to be called Aiden, but that name too closely resembled the main character Aislinn, and her name had to stick.  But he got used to Cian and liked its meaning well enough that he settled down quickly.

How do I name?  It depends.  For the Faerie folk Rue the Day, I chose the names carefully based on their meaning in Celtic traditions.  Now for the Selkie, I made them up. 

Corlath simply had to be Corlath.  It has no special meaning in any earthly language (a far as I know), but it expresses his essence well. 

If I am not sure what to name someone, I will use letters like YYY until I figure it out, then do a universal find/replace (because what word has YYY in it?). 

At one point I had too many B names and had to rename someone.  The bard “won,” and her name changed from Brighid to Eliatha, which she likes better anyway.

Sometimes I choose names based on meaning and sometimes on “feel.”How do I write?  Mainly by feel, but it is typically based on the interaction of characters rather than an idea. 

Oh, an idea may spark the story, but the characters are definitely in charge, and I do let them live their stories (with the occasional reigning in as necessary).I think a writer should let things flow and not get in the way. 

So if I’m writing a scene and it’s 5 pages of dialogue at first, I don’t stop to put in gestures or bits of action or have someone order pizza. 

Flow is a beautiful thing and should never be interrupted to worry over a word or fuss over details.  I spiral back through the story to fill in details or movements or whatever is missing. 

This means my scenes have bits of setting sprinkled through them, for the most part, and not in huge clumps.  I like to let readers see through the eyes of the characters.

Spiraling…I adore spirals, and when I think of how Rue came together, I really did spiral my way through.  I didn’t do “first draft,” “second draft” as such.  I spiraled through to add or change as the needs came to me. 

BUT I did have a sense of where the plot was going at all times right from the moment I realized this was not a short story.Suspense is one of my favorite features in a story, and there is a lot of suspense in Rue the Day, and in many of my stories. 

I was a bit surprised Wings ePress put the book as fantasy romance, because I had always thought of it as fantasy suspense, or maybe epic fantasy.Which brings me to how this book came to be. 

It all started because of a misty Ozarks morning with fog so thick you lost the world in it.  I thought of stories in which someone crossed through the mists into another realm, like Mists of Avalon and some of the faerie lore. 

I honestly did think I was writing a short story for a while with only 3 characters (one of them a cat named Bree).  Then all sorts of interesting characters and situations came to me and I realized I needed to write a novel.

Funny thing is, there are so many people who dream of writing a novel, and I never did.  Not that I’m opposed to it.  But writing a novel never occurred to me until then, and here I was writing a complicated suspense story with a couple of suplots and minor characters who could easily hold their own in their own book.

Third, how long have you been writing professionally? Any cool stories about how you got started? Or mistakes you’ve made. Feel free to elaborate. Just paragraph in between, but, by all means, ENTERTAIN US.

In some ways, I don’t feel like a professional.  I love writing and I do work at writing better and better all the time, but I really did fall into being a novelist. 

Now I am planning out the next in the series that took its first breath on a foggy morning. Short stories are also fun for me, but I have to reign myself in so that I don’t add too many complications for a short piece.

Fourth, any cool stories about meeting other writers or industry professionals that have influenced or helped you? We like to hear the silly stuff. Ever stutter at an agent? (I have.) Ever sidestep an editor? Or have a margarita downing contest with one? (Pleading the fifth on that, myself.)

This isn’t really what you asked, but the margarita contest put me in mind of it.  One time I was writing a story that’s a bit randy, and I had to drink a couple shots of Brendan’s before I could write it.

So for your question…I had an opportunity to pitch a “big New York Agent.”  Not a big person, just a well respected agency.  Because I was there at the writer’s conference the night before the “real” event, I had the opportunity to spend a fair amount of time with this agent and another author in a hotel room. 

This is what’s interesting, and it is an important principle I want you to write down and maybe even tattoo on yourself somewhere. This agent and I did not choose each other, but what I want to point out is that as I listened to her talk, I knew there was NO WAY I could work with her.  It was not the right fit.  Always follow your gut or your instinct or whatever you wish to call it on these things.

Another time I heard an agent speak at a conference (a different one), and I thought, “This person has all the energy of a slug on a slow day.  She couldn’t work up a spark of passion if I lit her butt on fire.” 

So there again, I knew this was not someone I could work with.  I’m not suggesting she’s a bad person or an ineffective agent, but I’m a focused person, and we’re not the right fit.

Now this is a funny story for you.  One time I was pitching an editor and…well, let’s just say the hormones were alive and well that day with the particular editor in question.  That was the most interesting pitch experience I have ever had.  I did manage to stay focused, and I definitely was not nervous, but the hots added a whole new dimension.

Fifth, tell us about your first published work. What was it? When did it come out? 

“Seal Skins” is a short story that takes place in ancient Kirkwaa (now called Kirkwall) in the Orkney Islands of Scotland and features the Selkie.  Perhaps I should say that the Selkie are shape-shifters from Celtic mythology who, in the tales, can take off their seal skins and take on a human form.  They tend to enjoy dalliance with humans.  There are a number of stories in which a man hides the seal skin of a Selkie woman and forces her to marry him.  The first scene ends with a human husband shooting at the Selkie who has tarred with his wife.  This story is in a book called WomanScapes, available through Amazon.  The other stories in the book are wonderful! Got any awards to brag about?  

Rue the Day was a semi-finalist in the ArcheBooks 2005 First Novel competition.  One of my short stories took a door prize in the Writer’s Weekly 24-hour short story competition.  That contest is fun because you have no way to prepare and no idea what you’re going to write.  The judges do NOT appear to like anything fantastical, though, so I’ve actually had the challenge of writing something “normal.”  This last time, I wrote something that seemed as if it might have fantasy or paranormal elements but did not.Do you have any dreams as a writer? Go ahead, give us your best fantasy.I want Rue the Day to become a movie.  I’m putting it out there right now.  I think it would translate well to the screen. 

What are you up to now, writing wise? Got any projects in the works? Please tell us it’s amazing and give us a short excerpt or something to make us HAVE to go and buy it. What makes it so great?

I have a couple of stories I’m playing with, and I’m working on an anthology.  Whether they are great is for readers to say, not for me, but I will say this.  I love working with interesting characters and playing in other worlds.  When you go to my website http://CatMuldoon.com, you will read and hear excerpts of Rue the Day, and when you sign up to receive excerpts in yor inbox, you’ll get more of Rue and also bits of 2 other stories that are published.  You can also go to my page on Author’s Den http://www.authordeden/catmuldoon  

Do you have any tidbits of help for other writers that you’d like to pass along? Please, by all means, inspire us. Point us in the right direction.

Follow writer’s guidelines and contest rules absolutely to the letter. “Get attached” to the process of creation, not to the results.  If something is rejected or doesn’t win, simply send it elsewhere and don’t take it personally.Trust your own instincts.  Yes, you want to improve your craft, but every writer works differently.  You need to discover what works for YOU. If you meet an agent or editor you can’t stand to be in the same room with, or who sets your teeth on edge, you will do well to look elsewhere.Be careful of scams.  Be a wise consumer.

Talk to other writers.

And finally, the only way for you to find your true writer’s voice is to WRITE WRITE WRITE!  It’s not delivered by the stork.  You have to put out a lot of words to find your own flow. 

Do you have any suggestions as to what a writer should avoid?

Any mistakes you made that you could give us fair warning on?I think I’ll let my answer to the previous comment inspire you.  I can’t think of a mistake, and rather than saying “don’t,” I prefer to teach you by saying, “do.” 

Give us links to your websites, blogs, etc.?

My website is http://CatMuldoon.com my blog is http://blog.myspace.com/CatMuldoon  and I’m on Author’s Den http://www.AuthorsDen.com/catmuldoon  

Thanks for giving us your fifty cent interview. Come back and see what other authors and readers have to say. Send your friends this way, too. K? 

Of course! But this interview is worth $50 at least! Cat 

Picking a genre?

 Science fiction conventions are geared for the readers. The weekend is all about fun, and creativity. Readers/attendees are encouraged to dress up in fantasy or science fiction or paranormal costumes. There are also a lot of renfaire outfits, too. Just watching the parades of people is fun. They hold masquerade contests, dances, and sometimes karaoke competitions. The night life is serious party time and the booze flows free. Really free.

The best part is that the conventions are cheap. They stay in a moderately priced hotel, and it’s totally common for people to bunk in together, to save money. The attendees don’t dress up fancy (except for the costuming crowd.) So, you can come as you are, comfy in jeans and t-shirt and you’re among the masses without judgment.

There are usually writing workshops for writers, too, but it is an excellent opportunity for writers to meet their readers. In fact, I think it is the best set-up fan base for a writer. Every weekend there is a science fiction convention somewhere, and usually not too far (within 8 hours driving?) from wherever you live. I’m not kidding.

So, if you’re a writer trying to figure out what will be the best genre to write because the promotion opportunities are easier and more affordable because they are alreaedy set-up–and open and loving to writers–then the sf genre is the one for you. I think  you’ll be seeing a whole lot more in that genre out of me.

At first, I thought 55% of the reading market goes to romance. That is true, give or take a few percentage points. But so does that percentage of writers. So, the competition to get published is a lot tougher there.

But there aren’t a lot of reader conventions. The Romantic Times Convention was originally set up for readers to meet writers, but there tends to be about 400 writers and only 4-500 readers. It IS fun for all. But it’s expensive. (All told, this year’s RT cost me around a couple thousand. The con is $450, then you have travel, meals, and hotel, and they always hold it in places like Hiltons and Hyatts. I stayed up the street in a cheaper place and still had that kind of money out of pocket.) Although, I do have to say that I’ve been twice and thoroughly enjoyed it both times.

Anyhow, if you’re sitting in front of a blank WORD screen trying to think of what to write next, consider going sf. There are quite a few sf/fantasy/horror magazines that publish short stories. And a lot of publishers have asked me for futuristic lately. So, I know there’s a demand.

All I’m saying is think about it. The advertising is cheaper to get your name out if there are cons everywhere. All you have to do is mail your freebie promotions stuff to the con chair and it will go on the table. If you want to speak on a panel, all you have to do is mail the program staff at the con and say you’d like to participate. You get to do readings and signings, too.

There’s a lot of opportunity for budding writers to make their own name popular if they go the sf route.

Who are you writing for?

I write for myself, first and foremost. I figure if I entertain myself, then none of the time I spend writing is wasted or lost. It’s one of the ways I justify all the time I put into sitting in front of my keyboard, or hovering over a notepad.

Second, I write for my readership, or fans. I think about who my audience is. Do you?

When I write mystery, I know that I must put in clever details that will get them thinking, “Is this something important?”

When I write romance, I know that I must provide an emotional attachment, reasons to get sucked into the life of my characters. This is really true no matter what genre I write, but I learned it from writing and reading romances. What do you learn when you read? Do you read with an eye to the question of “What is great or awful here? What should I try to take from this and apply to my stories?” OR NOT.

When I write science fiction, I know that I must provide the details of science that are well based in fact. SF fans are brilliant at figuring out the holes in your science fiction theories, equipment, and futuristic toys. But this idea is true no matter what genre you write, too. Make sure you know how a gun works. Or the engine if your hero has to mechanic on something. Or whatever.

When I write historical, I know that I must do my homework. I can’t write about, say, England circa 1600, without having a clue as to who was in the aristocracy of the time, especially the monarchy. And flavor details like terminology are really important.

When I write fantasy, creative details, like description of the world, or paranormal are ultra important. I have to set the scene with interesting bits of info that readers won’t skip over. Huh. Ideally, I would do that in any genre. Huh?

Readers of different genre will keen in on different details and skip over others. A Great American Novel should have such a perfect balance of emotional suction and intrigue, and details so finely put together that anyone who picked up your book, no matter what genre they normally prefer, would fall in love with your characters and story IF THEY ONLY READ A LITTLE BIT. You know, they would get so involved that they couldn’t put it down. Even if it wasn’t really their cup of tea.

Wouldn’t it be wonderful if all we wrote was so good that any audience would love it? Think about the details of your genre, and the details your audience will want to clue into. That’s all I’m saying.

I ask people all the time to explain to me “Why do YOU think a reader would like this opening or ending?” And “How can you make this appeal to my dad, a plumber, my friend, a hotel night clerk, and me, a housewife?” Is there something that you can add that will draw us ALL in?

Or will you stomp your foot and say, “But I don’t want plumbers and night clerks reading my stuff. I just want housewives who are bored!” Or what? Asking yourself why your stuff would appeal to your targeted readership might help you hone it a little better.

Recently, I wrote an opening for a science fiction story. A novel. My critique group liked it, but said it didn’t snag them as an opening scene. They are not sf readers. It was too tekky. The next week, I brought an opening that had a total romance feel. Too emotional, not enough action, they said. But, the romance readers liked it. Next, I brought an opening with a murder on the first page. Well, an exploding shuttle. The mystery fans liked that best. Last week, I took another opening. It had problems too.

What I learned is:

a) The audience wasn’t really appropriate for measuring the specific genre appeal. It needed work if I wanted it to go into a mainstream audience.

b) I can slant any story to any readership, if I am so inclined.

c) I learned something about my characters and my action by letting a wide scale critique group check out my story pieces.

d) In the end, I am the one that has to decide which way I want to go with my story. I take their suggestions and narrow in on where I want to go with my work, but I can’t let their negative comments affect whether or not I finish something. Take the constructive, eliminate, and let go of the stuff that doesn’t help you. Their opinions are directed by their personal preferences.

In the end, my best advice is:

Write what you want to write. There IS an audience out there for everything. You can’t be the only one in the whole world that likes what you like.

MANUSCRIPTS NEED FLAVOR

My first novel, The Price of Peace, is set in 13th Century Wales. I had read a plethora of novels set in England, Wales, Scotland, and Ireland of that time period and thought I was “up” on the lingo. Ha!

When I began working on the manuscript, I used a lot of YE and DINNA and some contractions like no’ instead of not. I’d seen those in a ton of stories.

That caused me a lot of work later when I had to go back through and remove the majority of them to make it an easier read. And, really, that is what we want most–for our readers to enjoy the book, which means it has to be smooth. If they have to stop regularly to sound out or figure out what the character is saying because they have a thick brogue, then you’ve taken the out of the story and that’s not good. You want them to inhale your words and take the tale in so fast that they can’t get enough quick enough.

The rule of thumb is “Set the tone then use good English and grammar with occasional references to the brogue, or colloquial.”

And do your research. When I put the first draft of my WELSH manuscript in front of the WELSH historian, the first thing he said was, “Well, lass. You’ve got this entirely too Cornwall.”

He explained that the YE’s were more appropriate to ENGLAND at the time. He also argued the map that is in the book. Not in accuracy, but in relevance. I show the IRISH SEA above the land mass of Wales. It’s really there. But the Welsh (him) were not real fond of the Irish and he didn’t understand why I’d want to mention them at all. Even if the sea is called THE IRISH SEA.

But, I figured my initial readership would be American like me. Therefore, needing a map to get a clue as to where the story took place. To Americans, England, Wales, Ireland and Scotland are pretty close together, like little states. But to the Europeans, they are completely different COUNTRIES. DUH. Are you laughing at me, or with me?

Okay. I knew they were countries. But the way of thinking is different, if you get my drift.

When I lived in Nevada, we used to go 20 miles one way to get our gas tank filled up. Down the road usually referred to many miles. It was a way of life. We didn’t even think twice of going the distance.

Now I live in Missouri, and it’s 2 miles to the gas station. Going 10 seems like we’re visiting a whole other country. That move helped me to “get” the difference in thinking. Distances in that novel of mine became more real to me when I realized they were walking or on horseback. That 20 miles was a long way and 50 was a serious journey.

My second novel, Courting Disaster, had a different publisher and editor. And many of the same sort of things were addressed in the process of bringing that book through edits and into print. Time for travel had to be counted and figured. Contractions discussed. In the end, I just let the editor do it how she wanted and stopped arguing small points. The flavor is there. But she had her own way of seeing contractions and how they spoke (preconceived ideas?), and even the layout of the castle in her head. She didn’t get the concept of alcoves versus rooms. She says she does but she changed wording to put people in rooms with doors open. She saw ante-chambers that I didn’t, and put them in. The logistics of whispering versus speaking loud enough for a voice to carry became a problem.

You have to think things like that through. You can’t build a fire in an ante-chamber of a bedroom and expect it to heat the bed area. Not in an old castle in cold stormy weather. Think of the logistics. Envision the place. And then describe enough to get the reader in the room with your people–but don’t put so much in there that they skip whole paragraphs.

Rule of thumb: Keep descriptions to no more than 5 lines, and preferably down to 3 at a time.