On the first of each month, I intend to post an interview featuring a different Avalon author so that our readers can get to know the men and women behind the books. L. W. Rogers is my first victim...er...interviewee. I hope you are as delighted with these answers as I was.
Q: Tell us the first thing, in 50 words or less, that pops into your head when I say: Tell us about yourself.
A: I Think, oh my gosh, I’ve lived with myself all my life, but what do I really know about me?
Q: And the second thing in 100 words or less.
A: I’d like to pretend I was someone really exciting and glamorous, that way when people read about me they’ll think that because I write entertainment fiction that my life is as adventurous as the people and places I write about.
Q: When did you know you wanted to be a writer? What was the biggest influence on this decision?
A: Long before I was old enough to hold a pencil in my hand and know how to spell words, I’ve been making up stories. My audience was either the animals on our farm or my dolls. When my daughters were little girls, I used to make up stories for them. Then as an avid reader, I’d read stories and think, “Hey, I could write better than this.”
Q: Tell us about the first thing you ever wrote.
A: I think I was about seven years old, and I wrote a sermon. I used a cardboard box as my pulpit, and my younger brother was my only audience. My mother came outside and wanted to know why I was yelling at my brother and telling him that the big bad wolf was going to hell for eating the three little pigs.
Q: Tell us about your decision to write about the old west? Why there?
A: The elementary school I attended didn’t have an in-house library, so students had to wait once a month for the rolling library to visit. As we were only allowed to check out six books, I was always hungry for words. My father was an avid reader of Westerns. Back in those days, the word ‘damn’ was a huge no-no. For this reason Daddy kept his Zane Grey and Louis L’Amour books hidden in his sock drawer. I’d sneak his books and read them, making sure I carefully put them back in their hiding place. Thus grew my love for the Western genre. I write about the old West because there is a mystique that lures me to outlaws, horses running wild on the Plaines, the lawmen and the frontier women who lived in this time period. It’s almost as if they are begging me to tell their stories.
Q: What do you like to do besides write?
A: When I’m not sitting at my computer, I enjoy taking trips with my husband on our Suzuki motorcycle, and of course, I relish the quiet moments with a good book. And then there’s my grandchildren. . .need I say more?
Q: What would you like us to know about you or your writing above anything else?
A: I write because the characters inside my head won’t leave me alone; I write because it gives me joy; I write because hopefully my novels give readers a pleasant place to escape.
Q: Where else can readers find you, besides clicking on your Avalon Author link on this page?
A: www.lorettacrogersbooks.com www.twrpcactusrose.blogspot.com/ www.historicalhussies.blogspot.com/
Friday, May 1, 2009
Thursday, April 30, 2009
Orlando Bloom In Town Filming A Movie
We are greeted by this headline when we turn on the evening news at WTVD Channel 11, Durham, NC. Then video clips of star sightings roll across the screen.
I am hooked.
I don’t know about you, but when working on a story I “cast” my characters. Before I can write a word I need to visualize my heroine and hero. Usually, I choose people I enjoy watching on the screen so my characters start out as friends.
Not this time. Though I watched “Pirates of the Caribbean”, I wouldn’t consider myself a Bloom fan. Still, after days of watching him smile at the cameras, Orlando Bloom jumped right into my imagination. What’s a writer to do?
Resist.
I don’t need this new idea grabbing hold of my writing time. In one of the earlier discussions, I mentioned I always get in trouble with ideas “ripped from the headlines.” But here is this tantalizing new character, reaching out to me from the news, morning and night …Colin Firth, Orlando, Ellen, Amber …they’re all here.
Still, I battled the temptation. I’m taking two on-line courses. I’m up to my chin in revisions for two completed ms. Then there’s life. But the idea pulls at me a little more each time I watch the news...or read about the movie in the newspaper.
I’m lost.
Though I resisted for days, I finally give in, open a NEW blank document and start putting thoughts on paper.
When I finish, I have eleven pages of a new wip. And two new characters living in my head. Now what? I’ve been slogging through revisions for the finished stories, but this new idea is so tempting.
What do you do when an alluring new idea pops into your head? Do you finish the work in progress? Or do you give in to temptation and experience the exciting thrills of a new story and new people?
PS…the movie is Main Street, due out next year. Durham isn’t my home, but I do live in NC. YAY UNC Tar Heels! GO Hurricanes!!!
I am hooked.
I don’t know about you, but when working on a story I “cast” my characters. Before I can write a word I need to visualize my heroine and hero. Usually, I choose people I enjoy watching on the screen so my characters start out as friends.
Not this time. Though I watched “Pirates of the Caribbean”, I wouldn’t consider myself a Bloom fan. Still, after days of watching him smile at the cameras, Orlando Bloom jumped right into my imagination. What’s a writer to do?
Resist.
I don’t need this new idea grabbing hold of my writing time. In one of the earlier discussions, I mentioned I always get in trouble with ideas “ripped from the headlines.” But here is this tantalizing new character, reaching out to me from the news, morning and night …Colin Firth, Orlando, Ellen, Amber …they’re all here.
Still, I battled the temptation. I’m taking two on-line courses. I’m up to my chin in revisions for two completed ms. Then there’s life. But the idea pulls at me a little more each time I watch the news...or read about the movie in the newspaper.
I’m lost.
Though I resisted for days, I finally give in, open a NEW blank document and start putting thoughts on paper.
When I finish, I have eleven pages of a new wip. And two new characters living in my head. Now what? I’ve been slogging through revisions for the finished stories, but this new idea is so tempting.
What do you do when an alluring new idea pops into your head? Do you finish the work in progress? Or do you give in to temptation and experience the exciting thrills of a new story and new people?
PS…the movie is Main Street, due out next year. Durham isn’t my home, but I do live in NC. YAY UNC Tar Heels! GO Hurricanes!!!
Wednesday, April 29, 2009
Visit to Avalon Books
Upon arriving in the city on a crisp April morning, we navigated the busy New York streets to a nondescript building where a tiny elevator delivered us directly to Avalon's offices. We were immediately greeted by a sweet older gentleman, Bob Hirsch. His workspace was right off the small reception area. Bob just may be the pulse of the organization. He shared with us that the last Broadway show he saw cost about $4.80 per ticket and it was on his 25th wedding anniversary. He was delightful.
A few feet away bookcases lined the walls. These shelves held every book Avalon has published since the 1970's. I was impressed to witness this wealth of publishing history and to know my book would soon join the library.
We were fortunate to meet everyone in the office from Editor, Faith Black; Assistant Editor, Chelsea Gilmore; an intern I called Molly, I still don't know what her name is; and finally the lovely woman who runs Avalon, Ellen Mickelsen. Every one of them was friendly and welcoming. They seemed as excited about having visitors as we were to be there. Faith showed us the book room, a small office filled with multiple copies of recently published books and ARCs. She said it is everyone's favorite space as it is the freebie room. Then she invited me to pick out a few titles to take home. Oh yeah, that was fun!
The final room was a large work space. Shelves held the slush pile, tidy stacks of unread manuscripts, not the mountainous heaps of unopened envelopes I'd been lead to believe. Manuscripts awaiting publication were organized neatly on top of file cabinets. Curious, I asked if my manuscript was there. Within seconds Chelsea located the thick stack of pages with my cover letter attached on top. Colorful sticky tags hung out the right side, where they had marked all the editorial changes. Avalon is a family friendly publisher, so I had to remove lines like, "manufactured breasts," and "the slit in her dress cut up to her wee wah."
During our visit we chatted about where to get the best burger in the city (Shake Shack), Chelsea's dream to work for Google some day (you have to be google-worthy), and the excitement of getting "the call" from Faith a few days before Christmas. These ladies were great fun and I'm so happy I was able to meet them in person. This whole experience has been a dream come true and meeting the Avalon team is certainly the icing on the cake. Okay, maybe large print and foreign sales would be the icing, but this was a close second.
Tuesday, April 28, 2009
Allow Me to Introduce Myself
I’m an Avalon author but not one readers will have ever heard of. Technically, I don’t exist until my first book comes out in October this year. So who am I? And why might you want to read my first book?
My name is Loretta Brabant and I live in a small city known as Perth in Australia. I have two sons... only just. I gave birth to my second one just twenty days ago. My husband and I named him James. His was 3.4kg when born, with a full head of hair and in my opinion is just gorgeous. Despite initial concerns, his brother Luke is only a little jealous. I think the two of them will grow up to be good friends.
As I embark upon this second journey of motherhood, there are a lot of things in my life I will have to re-arrange or give up for a while. My time for writing is certainly going to be limited with two small children to run after. But there is one thing I know for sure, it is definitely something I will never give up.
I adore writing.
I don’t think I could live without it. Even if no one wanted to publish a word I wrote, I think I would still write for me. My writing helps me relax, helps me have fun and helps me explore the “what ifs” of the world around us.
My first novel, “Kiss and Tell” is a contemporary romance set in Sydney. I thought this high profile Australian city would be a good home for my hero – a famous Jazz singer. I’m a big fan of Michael Buble. I love the laid back rhythm of his music. It’s so romantic and always puts me in a good mood. I wanted to put a personality to that voice.
But Michael Buble, as talented as he is, wasn’t the only inspiration for “Kiss and Tell.” I’ve always wondered what it would be like to fall in love with the whole world watching. How do famous people deal with people sticking their noses into their private lives without their permission? Tabloids are every where, following the love life, the diet regimes, hairstyles and fashion preferences of the stars. For some reason, we’re all fascinated by these people we don’t even know and never even met.
I hope you enjoy this first read and it’s the beginning of a long and happy connection between you, me and Avalon Books. I’m certainly loving being here and hope to write many more romances for Avalon.
Monday, April 27, 2009
LIBRARIES I HAVE LOVED
Two weeks ago, I gave a library talk to kick off National Library Week. The library was in Lawrence, KS, one of the many libraries that have impacted my life and my writing career. My talk showcased libraries from my childhood and into my adult life - ornate Carnegie libraries with their huge ceilings and cavernous rooms full of books, older homes that had been converted into several floors of reading space, and brightly lit modern buildings with up-to-date computer equipment and research rooms.
All of the libraries had one thing in common: Books, books, and more books. Nonfiction. Fiction. Research. History. Biographies. Romance. Mysteries. Westerns. Every kind of book imaginable and some I never considered until I found it on a library bookshelf.
Just walking into a library gets my imagination flowing and I have itchy fingers to touch the spines of the books on the shelves. I become very tactile in a library, sitting on the floor near the magazines to skim through a new issue of The Writer or the Writer's Digest. I tap over the books of favorite authors, seeing if a new release is there or perhaps a hidden treasure that I've missed on one of my visits.
When I was younger, I could only go into the children's section and I would crane my neck to see what was in the mysterious and off-limits adult section. I loved the books I found in the children's section and I read through every book in a series. But perhaps it's a case of forbidden fruit. I wanted to know what was in that other room and I could hardly wait until I could check out those books. We lived in Florida when I was finally old enough to get my adult library card. Now I could read the bigger books and I found authors who took me to the past with detailed historical research and bigger-than-life characters and authors who brought places around the world alive with their strong images.
Along the way, I discovered that I enjoyed writing my own stories. I shared a few with school friends, writing a serial story while in high school. Each night I would write another chapter about my characters, using that large, loopy handwriting teenagers use to cover a page. My friends would pass around my folder, asking me questions after they finished about what would happen next. Sometimes I had an idea, other times I had to wait until I was home and had pencil in hand. Then I would create more angst and dilemmas for my characters.
My goal was to have a book in the library. Libraries helped me accomplish that goal in several ways. First, I heard an author speak at the Lawrence Public Library and found my first writers' group. When my husband and I later moved, I found another writers' group through the local library. One of the members mentioned she was submitting to Avalon Books and I sent away for their guidelines. The story I was writing seemed to fit and I sent it off. Some revisions later, I had my first published book: Key To Romance (written under the name Terry Zahniser McDermid).
Avalon Books sells to libraries and so my books are now on library shelves around the country. When we travel, I've had fun stopping at libraries in different towns and checking to see if my books are there. If one of my books is on the shelf, I offer to sign it and add an "Autographed Copy" sticker to the cover. (Having the book in the library listing but not on the shelf is an even bigger thrill - someone has it checked out!) The librarians chat about writing with me and we discuss books for a few minutes before I have to leave. In some libraries, all the Avalon Books are grouped together and it's fun to see the books of my writing friends.
I love libraries! Librarians have helped with research. I've found new authors and new ideas in the library. I've found kindred reading souls in the library. My books are now in the library, along with other favorite authors. I can't imagine life without a library close by and that's always been a condition when we've moved to a new location. Library story time was a favorite with my sons and I enjoyed passing on the library tradition to them.
What about you? What library story can you share?
All of the libraries had one thing in common: Books, books, and more books. Nonfiction. Fiction. Research. History. Biographies. Romance. Mysteries. Westerns. Every kind of book imaginable and some I never considered until I found it on a library bookshelf.
Just walking into a library gets my imagination flowing and I have itchy fingers to touch the spines of the books on the shelves. I become very tactile in a library, sitting on the floor near the magazines to skim through a new issue of The Writer or the Writer's Digest. I tap over the books of favorite authors, seeing if a new release is there or perhaps a hidden treasure that I've missed on one of my visits.
When I was younger, I could only go into the children's section and I would crane my neck to see what was in the mysterious and off-limits adult section. I loved the books I found in the children's section and I read through every book in a series. But perhaps it's a case of forbidden fruit. I wanted to know what was in that other room and I could hardly wait until I could check out those books. We lived in Florida when I was finally old enough to get my adult library card. Now I could read the bigger books and I found authors who took me to the past with detailed historical research and bigger-than-life characters and authors who brought places around the world alive with their strong images.
Along the way, I discovered that I enjoyed writing my own stories. I shared a few with school friends, writing a serial story while in high school. Each night I would write another chapter about my characters, using that large, loopy handwriting teenagers use to cover a page. My friends would pass around my folder, asking me questions after they finished about what would happen next. Sometimes I had an idea, other times I had to wait until I was home and had pencil in hand. Then I would create more angst and dilemmas for my characters.
My goal was to have a book in the library. Libraries helped me accomplish that goal in several ways. First, I heard an author speak at the Lawrence Public Library and found my first writers' group. When my husband and I later moved, I found another writers' group through the local library. One of the members mentioned she was submitting to Avalon Books and I sent away for their guidelines. The story I was writing seemed to fit and I sent it off. Some revisions later, I had my first published book: Key To Romance (written under the name Terry Zahniser McDermid).
Avalon Books sells to libraries and so my books are now on library shelves around the country. When we travel, I've had fun stopping at libraries in different towns and checking to see if my books are there. If one of my books is on the shelf, I offer to sign it and add an "Autographed Copy" sticker to the cover. (Having the book in the library listing but not on the shelf is an even bigger thrill - someone has it checked out!) The librarians chat about writing with me and we discuss books for a few minutes before I have to leave. In some libraries, all the Avalon Books are grouped together and it's fun to see the books of my writing friends.
I love libraries! Librarians have helped with research. I've found new authors and new ideas in the library. I've found kindred reading souls in the library. My books are now in the library, along with other favorite authors. I can't imagine life without a library close by and that's always been a condition when we've moved to a new location. Library story time was a favorite with my sons and I enjoyed passing on the library tradition to them.
What about you? What library story can you share?
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)