DESERT DREAMS WRITERS' CONFERENCE

Only a few days left to enter the REALIZING THE DREAM contest

2012-01-25T09:22:00.000-08:00

I wanted to remind all of you who already registered that you still have a few more days to get in your entry for the Realizing the Dream contest. This contest is ONLY open to registered conference attendees. You are guaranteed to get your entry before one of the editors/agents at the conference. They are the only judges, so they read every entry. It's a great opportunity that you won't find anywhere else. We still have slots open (we take up to 50 entries), so register now if you haven't, and get your entry in now.

The Realizing the Dream contest requires a 10-page submission, plus a 3-page synopsis and is open to both published and unpublished authors, as long as they are registered for the Desert Dreams Conference.

For all of the details, check out the website:
http://desertroserwa.org/contests/Phoenix-Romance-Writers-Realizing-The-Dream.php

If you have any questions, contact Linda Style, our contest coordinator, at lindastyle@cox.net

Good luck!

Susan Lanier
2012 Desert Dreams Conference Coordinator

Our blog has been nominated for a SWEET BLOG AWARD!

2012-01-13T16:04:00.000-08:00

Author Vijaya Schartz, one of our speakers again this year, nominated our blog for this Irresistibly Sweet Blog Award. Thank you, Vijaya. She writes Blasters, Guns, Swords, and Romance with a Kick. Visit her website at: http://www.vijayaschartz.com/, and her blog, where she nominated us, at: http://romancingscifi.blogspot.com/

As part of this nomination process, we have to nominate in turn ten worthy blogs, and tell our readers seven things they might not know about us.

Here are the nominated blogs:

Martha Alderson "The Plot Whisperer" http://plotwhisperer.blogspot.com/
Bob Mayer's blog: http://writeitforward.wordpress.com/
Erin Quinn "Quinn's Essentials" http://quinnessentials.blogspot.com/
Tawny Weber's Sassy Romance: http://www.tawnyweber.com/blog/
Erin Kellison's blog: http://erinkellison.tumblr.com/
Maggie Shayne's blog: http://www.shaynesshenanigans.com/
Marin Thomas: http://www.marinthomas.blogspot.com/
Writers in the Storm: http://writersinthestorm.wordpress.com/
Denise Domning's blog : http://www.denisedomning.com/
Donna Hatch's blog: http://donnahatch.blogspot.com/

And here are the seven things you should know about us:

1 - The early bird deadline to register is over, but the price of this conference is still very competitive, and you would be well advised to register ASAP to make sure you don't miss this incredibly affordable and very worthy conference. http://www.desertroserwa.org/conferences/Phoenix-Romance-Writers-Conferences.php

2 - The organizers of this conference are right now looking for promo items from authors for the raffle and the goodie bags. Even if you are not attending, if you have trinquets related to your spring releases, promotional pens, emery boards, refrigerator magnets, or any other gizmo your are burning to distribute, send them right away to:
Desert Dreams Conference
36148 W. Vera Cruz Dr.
Maricopa, AZ 85138

3 - The schedule of events is now posted HERE Check it out.

4 - You only have a few days to enter the contest reserved to attendees. These ten pages will be read and judged by an agent or editor in your genre, so don't miss this opportunity to get your work in front of the professionals. Must be registered to enter.

5 - The list of agents and editors is changing slightly. More opportunities for you. Check it out HERE

6 - The weather is wonderful in April in Scottsdale. Bring your bathing suits. The pools are divine.

7 - The best part is to be able to meet agents and editors in a friendly atmosphere, at the bar, by the pool, at your table during meals... They are relaxed, happy to listen to your pitch, and you should really be there. Many an author has found an editor or an agent, and got published because of this conference.

Good luck.

Las chance to register at the Early bird price!

2011-12-23T11:51:00.000-08:00

On December 31, the price goes up, so don't wait.

DESERT DREAMS WRITERS' CONFERENCE 2012
Believe in the Power of Your Dreams
April 27 - 29, 2012
Chaparral Suites Resort - Scottsdale Arizona

Keynote Speakers:
NY Times Best Selling Author Allison Brennan
Martha Alderson, AKA The Plot Whisperer
NY Times Best-selling Author Bob Mayer

Desert Dreams Writers’ Conference provides authors of all skill levels – from beginner to multi-published – with the tools necessary to take their writing to the next level. Sessions will include general writing, career development, genre-specific, agent/publisher spotlights, as well as an agent/editor panel. There will also be one-on-one appointments with editors or agents, a book signing, and keynote addresses.

Conference registration includes:

Workshops Friday afternoon and all day Saturday
Two-hour workshop Sunday morning
One-on-one appointment with editor/agent (based on time of registration and availability)
Friday evening mixer
Dinner and keynote address on Friday
Editor/Agent panel
Saturday luncheon
Participation in Saturday book signing
Saturday evening dinner and brainstorming session
RWA early registration (through December 31, 2011) is $215.
Non-RWA early registration (through December 31, 2011) is $235.

Prices increase $20 on January 1, 2012. Registration deadline is March 15, 2012.

For more information about workshops, speakers, agents, editors, registration, hotel reservation etc. visit:
http://www.desertroserwa.org/conferences/Phoenix-Romance-Writers-Conferences.php

You can also follow us on Facebook, Twitter, for all the latest news and updates on Desert Dreams Writers’ Conference 2012.

Hope to see you all there.

Vijaya Schartz
Desert Dreams Conference 2012
Blogger - Committee - Speaker

Award-winning Science-Fiction, Romance with a Kick
http://www.vijayaschartz.com/

Speaker Tawny Weber - Courting the Muse...

2011-11-24T00:16:00.000-08:00

Courting the Muse: Practical and Spiritual Tools for Writers

The art of recognizing, then making the most of your writing habits. In this workshop, we’ll discuss how to custom create your own writing habit. One that will not only help you as you pursue your writing goals, but pull you through the frustrations you might encounter along the way. We’ll discuss setting as it applies to your writing, description as it applies to your visualization of success and conflict as it applies to the setbacks in pursuit of publishing greatness. In addition, this workshop will show you ways to use tools like aromatherapy, Feng Shui and the tarot to empower your writing, and yourself on the road to success.

The Care and Nurturing of the Critique Partner Relationship

Join Harlequin Blaze author Tawny Weber and RITA winning SuperRomance author Beth Andrews as they show how to start, nurture and maintain a critique partnership on the way to publishing success. Critique Partner relationships -- Finding what works for you. Agreeing on the CP relationship -- A test period, how will you work together, what do you expect from the relationship. Growing and maintaining your CP relationship -- Are you in it for the long haul? Career pace and jealousy. Plotting/Brainstorming and setting goals with a CP -- Two heads are better than one, how do you plot/brainstorm with a partner? Do you want to? How to use the CP relationship to help you achieve your goals. Nitty Gritty of critiquing -- Meshing voices, giving and getting feedback. Voice and how nurture your CP's style. What kind of feedback is useful, what's not. Ways to word your suggestions so they don't come across as orders, learning to read between the lines in emails and critiques (and when not to).

Tawny Weber has been writing sassy, sexy stories for Harlequin Blaze since her first book hit the shelves in 2007. In December 2011, she launched her Undercover Ops series with SEX, LIES AND MISTLETOE, followed by SEX, LIES AND MIDNIGHT in January and SEX, LIES AND VALENTINES in February. When not obsessing over deadlines, she’s shopping for cute shoes, homeschooling or hanging out on Facebook and Twitter chatting.

Come by and visit her on the web at http://www.tawnyweber.com/

Posted by Vijaya Schartz
Desert Dreams Blogger and speaker
Award-winning Romantic Science Fiction with a Kick
http://www.vijayaschartz.com/
http://www.romancingscifi.blobspot.com/

Alexis Walker - Strategic Career Planning for Romance Writers

2011-11-21T07:16:00.000-08:00

With more and more editors and agents wanting career plans, it is becoming very important for writers to know where they are headed. But in order to arrive at their destination, it is essential to develop a road map for getting there. While it’s easy to say “I want to be a New York Times Best Seller,” it is a little more realistic when there is a plan in place with short-term milestones and action steps delineated to accomplish such a prestigious status. This workshop is designed to help any level writer map out her own personal plan for success. Using the strategic planning tools employed by businesses and nonprofit organizations, each writer will develop an individual career plan she can start using immediately.

Alexis Walker is a faculty member of both Grand Canyon University and the University of the Virgin Islands. She spent 18 years directing nonprofits where strategic planning is essential to survival. In addition, she also taught at Arizona State University for their Nonprofit Management Bachelor Degree program where she taught future leaders the in’s and out’s of strategic planning. Alexis quit her nonprofit profession three years ago to pursue a career in writing romances. She has three completed manuscripts. She is a member of RWA’s PRO group as well as a member of three RWA chapters. Alexis has a Bachelors degree in English from St. Anselm College in New Hampshire, a Master's degree in American Literature from Iowa State University, and did doctoral work at the University of Notre Dame where she focused on 19th Century American Women's Literature. Alexis recently moved to St. Croix, one of the US Virgin Islands. She lives there with her better half, retired fire chief Bob and her 14 lb tuxedo cat "Gizmo." Alexis likes to live in different parts of the country, but always returns to the east coast to visit her family in Maryland, Delaware, and New York. A lover of change, she rarely stays in one place for more than six years, but always returns to visit Scotland, the place she calls her home away from home.

Visit Alexis online at http://www.alexiswalkerauthor.com/

Posted by Vijaya Schartz
Desert Dreams Blogger and speaker
Award-winning Romantic Science Fiction with a Kick
http://www.vijayaschartz.com/

The REALIZING THE DREAM CONTEST is open!

2011-11-15T01:10:00.000-08:00

Are you all aware that with your registration to the Desert Dreams Conference comes an opportunity to enter the coveted Desert Dream Contest?

It's time! We have 50 slots open for contest entries! For everyone who enters the Realizing the Dream contest, you are guaranteed a read by an editor/agent who's attending the 2012 Desert Dreams Conference. Remember, you MUST be registered for the conference first, then get over to the website and register for the contest. Here's the link to the information about the contest:
http://desertroserwa.org/contests/Phoenix-Romance-Writers-Realizing-The-Dream.php

Also, keep in mind that the conference fees go up on January 1, so now is the time to register for conference. We will be announcing the names of the 10 lucky people who get to sit next to an editor/agent during the Saturday luncheon in the next couple of weeks. You need to register now so you can guarantee your place with the editor/agent of your choice!

If you have any questions, email me at desertdreams@desertroserwa.org and REGISTER TODAY!

Susan Lanier
2012 Desert Dreams Conference Coordinator
April 27 - 29, 2012
http://www.desertroserwa.org/

Speaker Kris Tualla - BECOMING AN AUTHORPRENEUR

2011-11-10T00:27:00.000-08:00

Becoming an Authorpreneur – Navigating a 21st-Century Career in Publishing

We will take a look at the four publishing options an author has, the pros and cons of each, and where to go from there. Topics include traditional print; traditional e-pub; independent print; independent e-pub; how to decide which book goes where; backlists are golden, so get creative; what falls on the author, no matter the route taken.

Kris Tualla, a dynamic award-winning author of historical romances, writes with a fast-paced and succinct style. Her plots are full of twists, passion, and very satisfying outcomes! Kris started in 2006 with nothing but a nugget of a character in mind, and has created a dynasty – The Hansen Series. Norway is the new Scotland! Kris is an active member of both Romance Writers of America and the Historical Novel Society. She is an enthusiastic speaker and teacher, and spearheaded Arizona Dreamin’ – Arizona’s first ever romance reader event.

Vist her at http://www.kristualla.com/

Posted by Vijaya Schartz

Desert Dreams Blogger and Speaker

Award-winning Romantic Science Fiction with a Kick

http://www.vijayaschartz.com/

http://romancingscifi.blogspot.com/

Speaker LINDA STYLE

2011-11-03T00:31:00.000-07:00

Make ‘Em Laugh, Make ‘Em Cry…No, Don’t!

The most powerful weapon in your arsenal of writing techniques is the skillful use of emotion. Knowing why, when and how to use it can take your story from good to great. Emotion is at the very core of your story from characterization and setting to conflict, pacing and tension. What is emotion? How do you find it, and how do you convey it subtly for just the right feel and balance right up until that emotional POW at the end?

Linda Style’s childhood dream to become a famous novelist and travel the world didn’t garner much encouragement, so instead, she studied behavioral science and journalism. But even after working in both fields, her dream persisted and, after years of writing novels in her spare time… and four RWA Golden Heart nominations later… Linda’s last GH entry was purchased by Harlequin Superromance in 2000. Fourteen novels later, Linda’s books of romantic adventure, mystery and suspense are best known for their emotional impact , complex plots and deep characterization. Her books have been described by reviewers as "emotional, fast-paced love stories that keep you riveted until the very end." The recipient of several awards, including the prestigious Daphne du Maurier Award for best book of the year, Linda believes she has the best job in the world. “I get to make up stories and someone pays me to do it. It’s my fantasy come true.” Combining research with her passion for travel, Linda has traveled over a dozen countries from Australia to Turkey. She lives in Phoenix, Arizona, and is the co-founder of Bootcamp for Novelists Online where she teaches a series of writing classes.

Learn more about Linda at http://www.lindastyle.com/

Posted by Vijaya Schartz
Desert Dreams Blogger and Speaker
Award-winning Romantic Science Fiction with a Kick
http://www.vijayaschartz.com/
http://romancingscifi.blogspot.com/

Speaker Maggie Shayne - The Art of Collaboration

2011-10-28T00:34:00.000-07:00

The Art of Collaboration

After more than 50 novels in her solo career, Maggie warily agreed to work with a collaborator for the first time in 2011, unsure in the extreme how it would go and worried, too, the collaborator being her daughter. But halfway through their first joint project, she says she's never had more fun writing a novel. Learn her best tips and tricks for working with a collaborator and keeping the love alive.

sanity 101

Having trouble dealing with the everyday stresses of a writer's life, feelings of competitiveness, of career envy, pressure to succeed, feeling like a fraud who'll soon be found out, angry at publishers and their terms, lashing out at the unfairness of it all, or hustling to keep up with maddening deadlines? Find out how to deal with all of these issues and more in a workshop that is more about YOU and your feelings than about the nuts and bolts of writing novels. Topics will include how to change your attitude, how to always get what you want, how to deal with stress, how and when to argue with your publisher, and how to put it all into perspective.

New York Times bestselling author Maggie Shayne has published 51 novels and 23 novellas. She has written for 7 publishers and 2 soap operas, has racked up 15 Rita Award nominations and actually, finally, won the damn thing in 2005. Her advice column, “Shayne on You” runs weekly in the Norwich Evening Sun. Maggie lives in a beautiful, century old, happily haunted farmhouse named “Serenity” in the wildest wilds of Cortland County, NY, with her soulmate, Lance. They share a pair of English Mastiffs, Dozer & Daisy, a little English Bulldog, Niblet, and the wise guardian and guru of them all, the feline Glory, who keeps the dogs firmly in their places. Maggie’s a Wiccan high priestess (legal clergy even) and an avid follower of the Law of Attraction (see www.abraham-hicks.com). Maggie’s 2010 season has been huge, with the back to back releases of her summer suspense trilogy, the Secrets of Shadow Falls: KILLING ME SOFTLY in July, KILL ME AGAIN in August, and KISS ME KILL ME in September. Maggie’s Wings in the Night vampire series, known as the “twilight” series by her readers due to that word having been in nearly every title, began in 1993 and is now 17 stories long. Three of those titles will be reissued this fall: TWILIGHT HUNGER in October, EDGE OF TWILIGHT in November, and BLUE TWILIGHT in December. There will be two brand new vampire novels and one new vampire novella in 2011; TWILIGHT PROPHECY in May, VACATION WITH A VAMPIRE (anthology) in the summer, and TWILIGHT FULFILLMENT in October.

You can visit Maggie at http://www.maggieshayne.com/.

She’s also on Twitter and Facebook, and she blogs solo at http://www.shaynesshenanigans.com/

and with friends at http://www.storybroads.com/

Posted by Vijaya Schartz
Desert Dreams Blogger and Speaker
Award-winning Romantic Science Fiction with a Kick
http://www.vijayaschartz.com/
http://www.romancingscifi.blogspot.com/

Speaker Vijaya Schartz - The Funny Thing About eBooks

2011-10-24T00:42:00.000-07:00

THE FUNNY THING ABOUT eBOOKS or: NAVIGATING THE eBOOK JUNGLE

Ten years ago, the established publishing industry considered eBooks a joke, a mere blip on the horizon. Now, eBooks are everywhere, and they sell more copies on the web than print books. What do you really need to know as a writer to take advantage of this mushrooming market, without losing your sanity? Are eBooks the way to publish your next novel? Or are you thinking of re-releasing your back list yourself? The proliferation of eBook publishers, eBook reading devices, eBook formats, eBook self-publishing services, has become maddening.... not to mention the different submission guidelines for eBook manuscripts... the intricacies of electronic editing, or the new ethics of this particular business. Is piracy a real threat? What are the most efficient ways to promote eBooks through networks, websites and blogs? And will you still have time to write while doing it? Learn the tricks from an experienced author published in print, eBooks, and audiobooks, who believed in eBooks from the start and has been riding that wave ever since.

Since her first book release in 2000, award-winning author Vijaya Schartz had seventeen novels and novellas published in Science Fiction, mainstream and romance, in print, audiobooks, and all eBook formats. With five different publishers, she caught the first eBook wave in 2002 and has been navigating the eBook jungle ever since, keeping abreast of this ever-expanding market.

Past President of the Arizona Authors Association for seven years, Vijaya was also the Editor in Chief of the Arizona Literary Magazine for nine years. She hosted a radio talk show about writing for four years in Arizona on KFNX 1100 AM, and internationally on BOOK CRAZY RADIO on the WEB. She is past President of the Desert Rose and the Valley of the Sun chapters of Romance Writers, present webmistress of the Valley of the Sun Romance Writers and of the Arizona Authors Association.

Vijaya speaks at national conferences, and leads her own seminars locally, on all aspects of writing, getting published, and book promotion under the brand: Write Path Seminars. More at: www.vijayaschartz.com/seminar.html. Her latest romantic science-fiction eBook series, THE CHRONICLES OF KASSOUK, from Desert Breeze Publishing, started with WHITE TIGER (2009). RED LEOPARD (2010), BLACK JAGUAR (2010), BLUE LIONESS (2011), and NOAH’S ARK (April 2012).

Visit her extensive website at:

http://www.vijayaschartz.com/

Blog: http://www.romancingscifi.blogspot.com/

Speaker AMBER SCOTT - Unlock, Unblock!

2011-10-20T00:38:00.000-07:00

Unlock, Unblock!

What do you do when you’ve lost your muse? This hands on workshop is designed to help writers get out of their own way. Using techniques that trigger then anchor creative thinking, analyzing personality types and experimenting with tips and tricks, this workshop will help any writer capture her inner fire and keep the embers burning in the face of change, stress, and more. A sensory bar filled with different activities that attendees can immediately test the class theories on to find out what works for them most will be included during the workshop.

In between naptimes and dishes, Amber Scott, escapes into her characters' addictive lives. Her interest in metaphysics and neuroscience began as research to flesh out her paranormal worlds but ended in insights she shares with her fellow authors through books, such as her Muse Food series, co-authored with Jess Macallan, and workshops. When she isn't writing, teaching or helping drive the Indie Book Collective, she is reading, playing with her kidlets and cuddling up her husband over a great flick.

Visit Amber online at AmberScottBooks.com.

Posted by Vijaya Schartz

Desert Dreams Blogger and Speaker
Award-winning Romantic Science Fiction with a kick
http://www.vijayaschartz.com/
http://romancingscifi.blogspot.com/

Speaker Caris Roane - Paranormal, Not Just Vampires

2011-10-16T00:47:00.000-07:00

Paranormal: It’s not just vampires

Four multi-published authors will discuss the different faces of paranormal fiction and how they incorporate different elements in their novels. Panel will answer questions on trends, techniques, and publishing in general.

Caris Roane has published over fifty Regency romance novels and novellas under the pen name, Valerie King. In 2005, Romantic Times gave her a Career Achievement award in Regency Romance. Having had a long-time love affair with vampires, Caris tackled the paranormal genre, building a world based on ascending dimensional earths. The first novel of the series, Ascension, was released December 28, 2010. Burning Skies, the second book in the series, hits the shelves in May of 2011. And the third novel, Wings of Fire, is a September release. Caris lives in Buckeye, Arizona with her two cats, Sebastien and Gizzy.

You can learn more about Caris at http://www.carisroane.com/.

Posted by Vijaya Schartz

Desert Dreams Blogger and Speaker

Award-winning Romantic Science Fiction with a kick
http://www.vijayaschartz.com/
http://romancingscifi.blogspot.com/

Speaker Tara Taylor Quinn - THE SUCCESSFUL BLOG TOUR

2011-10-12T00:51:00.000-07:00

The Successful Blog Tour: planning and implementing a fifty + stop blog tour

The details of this workhop are not available yet.

Though she wrote her first story at the age of six, Tara Taylor Quinn’s professional writing career began ten years later when, at 16, she was hired as a stringer with the Dayton Daily News in Dayton, Ohio. A certified high school English teacher, Tara published several magazine articles before turning to writing as a full-time occupation. The author of more than 56 original novels, in twenty languages, Tara Taylor Quinn is a USA Today bestseller with over six million copies sold. She is known for delivering deeply emotional and psychologically astute novels of suspense and romance. Tara won the 2008 Reader’s Choice Award, is a four time finalist for the RWA Rita Award, a multiple finalist for the Reviewer’s Choice Award, the Bookseller’s Best Award, the Holt Medallion and appears regularly on the Waldenbooks bestsellers list. She has appeared on national and local TV across the country, including CBS Sunday Morning. Tara is the author of the hugely successful Chapman Files and, with her husband, recently wrote and saw the release of her own true love story, It Happened on Maple Street, from HCI books. When she’s not writing, fulfilling speaking engagements, or tending to the needs of her two very spoiled and adored four legged family members, Tara loves to travel with her husband, stopping wherever the spirit takes them. They’ve been spotted in casinos and quaint little small town antique shops all across the country.

Posted by Vijaya Schartz

Desert Dreams Blogger and Speaker

Award-winning Romantic Science Fiction with a Kick

http://www.vijayaschartz.com/

http://www.romancingscifi.blogspot.com/

Speaker Erin Quinn - Practice What you Pitch

2011-10-08T00:55:00.000-07:00

Practice What You Pitch

Are you nervous about your editor/agent appointment? Are you still trying to figure out what you're going to say? In this interactive workshop, Erin Quinn will lead participants—using their own story ideas for examples—and help them find the most exciting aspects of their story to turn into an intriguing and cohesive pitch. Come prepared to share your ideas and/or give feedback to others. Willing participants will be randomly selected to pitch. This workshop will not be recorded.

Paranormal: It’s not just vampires (panel)

Erin Quinn (also known as Erin Grady) is an award winning author. Writing as Quinn, her titles include the Berkley Mists of Ireland series which just released book four, HAUNTING EMBRACE in October 2011. Writing as Erin Grady, she has three stand alone titles, also by Berkley, including WHISPERS and ECHOES. Her books have been called “riveting,” “brilliantly plotted” and “beautifully written” and have won, placed or showed in the WILLA Award for Historical fiction, the Orange Rose, Golden Quill, Best Books, Book Buyers Best, and Award of Excellence She lives in Arizona with her husband, two daughters and three dogs (all of whom have made debuts in her stories—the dogs, that is, not the husband and kids.)

Stop by http://www.erinquinnbooks.com/ to learn more about Erin’s books, contests and other fun stuff.

posted by Vijaya Schartz
Desert Dreams Blogger and Speaker
Award-winning Romantic Science fiction with a Kick
http://www.vijayaschartz.com/
http://www.romancingscifi.blogspot.com/

Speaker BRENDA NOVAK

2011-10-03T00:59:00.000-07:00

Brenda's workshop will be announced soon.

Brenda Novak is the national bestselling author of 35 books. A busy wife and mother of five, Novak, who lives in Sacramento, California, calls herself the typical “soccer mom.” She juggles her writing career with daily car pools, helping her kids do homework and driving them to sports practice.

For more about Brenda, visit http://www.brendanovak.com./

Posted by Vijaya Schartz

Desert Dreams Blogger and Speaker

Award-winning Romantic Science Fiction with a Kick

http://www.vijayaschartz.com/

http://www.romancingscifi.blogspot.com/

Speaker Jess Macallan - Unlock, Unblock!

2011-09-27T00:03:00.000-07:00

Unlock, Unblock! (panel)

Jess Macallan lives in the Inland Northwest with her husband, three children and assorted animals. When not writing urban fantasy, romance and middle grade novels, she teaches yoga, reads anything she can get her hands on, battles weeds in her garden and dreams of living somewhere sunnier.

Find her on FB/Twitter under Jess Macallan or at http://www.jessmacallan.com/

Posted by Vijaya Schartz
Desert Dreams Blogger and Speaker
Award-winning Romantic Science Fiction with a Kick
http://www.vijayaschartz.com/
http://www.romancingscifi.blogspot.com/

Speaker GINI KOCH - Networking at Conferences

2011-09-22T00:06:00.000-07:00

Networking at Conferences – How to Get in the ‘Hive’ and Stay There

Learn successful techniques to create a wide network of published authors, editors and agents you’ll get to know and engage with in person and via email/correspondence. Learn how to apply these techniques to put yourself in a position to both meet and impress agents and editors.

Paranormal: It’s not just vampires (panel)

Gini Koch lives in the American Southwest, works her butt off (sadly, not literally) by day, and writes by night with the rest of the beautiful people. Her fast-paced, fun and sexy science fiction novel, “Touched by an Alien”, written under pen name Gini Koch, released from DAW Books on April 6, 2010 to great reviews, including a starred review from Booklist, and was also named one of Booklists’ top 10 adult science fiction and fantasy novels of 2010. “Alien Tango” released on December 7, 2010; “Alien in the Family” released April 5, 2011; Alien Proliferation releases December 6, 2011, and “Alien Diplomacy” and “Alien vs. Alien” are scheduled for release in 2012. She has two releases under pen name Anita Ensal currently available in two anthologies from DAW Books -- the short story “Wanted” in “Love and Rockets”, and the short story “Being Neighborly” in “Boondocks Fantasy”. Gini speaks frequently on what it takes to become a successful author and other aspects of writing and the publishing business. You can reach her via her website, email, Twitter, or Facebook

Posted by Vijaya Schartz
Desert Dreams Blogger and Speaker
Award-winning Romantic Science Fiction with a Kick
http://www.vijayaschartz.com/
http://www.romancingscifi.blogspot.com/

Speaker Cindy Kirk - THE SELLING SYNOPSIS

2011-09-17T00:11:00.000-07:00

The Selling Synopsis

A multi-published author facilitates this interactive workshop which focuses entirely on synopses for books that have sold. After reviewing the key components of what should be included in a synopsis and the different ways synopses can be structured, participants look for these key components in the synopses they've been given utilizing Cindy's Selling Synopsis Score Sheet.

Cindy Kirk sold her first book in 1999 as a result of a contest win which garnered a critique of the entire manuscript. Patience Bloom, now Senior Editor for Romantic Suspense at Harlequin, not only critiqued the manuscript, she bought it! And she’s still Cindy’s editor today. An author of twenty-five books for Harlequin, Cindy has also written two contemporary romances for Avon. Cindy has been a Booksellers’ Best Award Winner, a finalist for the National Readers’ Choice Awards, and a Waldenbooks/Borders best seller. Her fifth and sixth books in the Rx for Love mini-series for Harlequin Special Edition are 2012 releases.

Visit Cindy online at http://www.cindykirk.com/

Posted by Vijaya Schartz
Desert Dreams Blogger and Speaker
Award-winning Romantic Science Fiction with a Kick
http://www.vijayaschartz.com/
http://www.romancingscifi.blogspot.com/

Speaker Erin Kellison - Paranormal, Not Just Vampires

2011-09-12T00:14:00.000-07:00

Paranormal: It’s not just vampires (panel)

Erin Kellison is the author of the Shadow Series, which includes Shadow Bound and Shadow Fall, as well as book three, Shadowman, and the e-novella Shadow Touch from Kensington Zebra. Stories have always been a central part of Erin's life. She attempted her first book in sixth grade, a dark fantasy adventure, and she still has those early hand-written chapters. She graduated summa cum laude with a degree in English Language and Literature and went on for a masters in Cultural Anthropology, focusing on oral storytelling. When she had children, nothing scared her anymore, so her focus shifted to writing fiction.

For excerpts, newsletter, and giveaways, go to http://www.erinkellison.com/.

Posted by Vijaya Schartz

Desert Dreams Blogger and Speaker

http://www.vijayaschartz.com/

http://www.romancingscifi.blogspot.com/

Speaker Elizabeth Hoyt - Sex Scene Viagra

2011-09-08T00:17:00.000-07:00

Sex Scene Viagra

Are your love scenes limp? Do they lie there on the page, sad and pathetic, too depressed and self-conscious to get it up? Come to this workshop, learn how to write a kick ass love scene, and never have to worry about sex scene performance anxiety again!

Elizabeth Hoyt is a New York Times bestselling author of historical romance. She also writes deliciously fun contemporary romance under the name Julia Harper. Elizabeth lives in central Illinois with three untrained dogs, two angelic but bickering children, and one long-suffering husband. Elizabeth was born in New Orleans, where her mother’s family has lived for generations, but she was raised in the frigid winters of St. Paul, Minnesota. Growing up, her family traveled extensively in Britain, spending a summer in St. Andrews, Scotland, and a year in Oxford. She earned a bachelor of arts degree in anthropology at the University of Wisconsin, Madison. Wisconsin was also where she met her archaeologist husband--on a dig in a cornfield. Continuing the cornfield theme, Elizabeth and her husband live in central Illinois with their two children and three dogs. She is an avid gardener with over 26 varieties of daylilies in her multiple gardens and more hostas than any one person can count. The Hoyt family enjoys taking family vacations that invariably end up at an archaeological site.

Visit her online at http://www.elizabethhoyt.com/

posted by Vijaya Schartz
Desert Dreams Blogger and Speaker
Award-winning Romantic Science Fiction with a Kick
http://www.vijayaschartz.com/
http://www.romancingscifi.blogspot.com/

Speaker Winnie Griggs - THE WRITE FIT (Author-Agent Team)

2011-09-02T00:20:00.000-07:00

The Write Fit – An Insider’s Look at Forming an Effective Author-Agent Team

How to find/build the right author-agent match. Author Winnie Griggs discusses the relationship from the author’s perspective (things to think about before, during and after the ‘agent hunt’, as well as how to conduct the hunt itself) and agent Michelle Grajkowski presents the agent’s perspective (what the agent looks for in a perspective client).

Winnie Griggs has written both single title and category romances and has published with three different romance lines. Her work has won a number of regional awards and has been nominated at the national level as well. Winnie has presented writing workshops on various topics at national conferences such as RWA and RT, as well as at numerous regional conferences (NJRW, Moonlight & Magnolias, Calgary, Emerald City to name a few) and smaller writers’ workshops and monthly programs. She is active in her local RWA chapter, having served on the board for 13 of the past 15 years, including a 3 year stint as chapter president.

Visit her online at http://www.winniegriggs.com/.

Posted by Vijaya Schartz
Desert Dreams Blogger and Speaker
Award-winning Romantic Science Fiction with a Kick
http://www.vijayaschartz.com/
http://www.romancingscifi-blogspot.com/

Speaker Laurie Schnebly Campbell - DESCRIPTION AND DIALOGUE

2011-08-28T00:24:00.000-07:00

The Double D’s: Description & Dialogue

What kind of dialogue makes your characters real? What kind of description works best for your voice? No two writers will use the same techniques for these key elements, but having new tools to choose from can make writing description and dialogue easier as well as more fun…not only for you, but for your readers as well. For each technique, this session will use examples from books by the conference’s best-known guests.

Laurie Schnebly Campbell combines her background in counseling with writing novels like the one that beat out Nora Roberts for “Best Special Edition Of The Year.” Her latest book is a how-to on creating characters, and she’s taught writers online and in person from L.A. to London and New Zealand to New York…recently presenting her 100th live workshop to an RWA group. Besides teaching, she enjoys writing for an advertising agency, narrating for Talking Books, and vacationing with her husband and son in Sedona, the red-rock town named for her great-grandmother. “People ask how I find time to do all that,” Laurie says, “and I tell them it’s easy: I never clean my house!”

Visit Laurie online at http://www.booklaurie.com/.

Posted by Vijaya Schartz
Desert Dreams Blogger and Speaker
http://www.vijayaschartz.com/
http://www.romancingscifi.blogspot.com/

Speaker Terri Brisbin - HOOKS and How to Use Them

2011-08-23T00:29:00.000-07:00

Hooks and How to Use Them: From First Word to Last!

A writer must grab the reader’s attention and keep it from sentence to sentence, paragraph to paragraph, page to page and chapter to chapter. And if that reader is an editor, hooking them from beginning to end is critical. Terri reviews the elements and importance of the first page and the first chapter and how effective hooks are used throughout your story, strengthening the pacing and structure of your book to the last word.

Terri Brisbin has been writing romance fiction since 1995 and has more than 25 historical and paranormal romance novels, novellas and short stories published since then. When not living the glamorous life of a romance author in the southern NJ suburbs (or lusting after Gerard Butler), Terri spends her time being a wife to one, mom to three as well as a dental hygienist to hundreds. A National Readers’ Choice Award finalist, three-time RWA RITA® finalist, and winner of the NJRW Golden Leaf and Desert Rose Golden Quill, Terri is now working on more romance novels and novellas for release through 2012.

You can visit her website for more info about the author and her work or to contact her: http://www.terribrisbin.com/.

Posted by Vijaya Schartz
Desert Dreams Blogger and Speaker
http://www.vijayaschartz.com/
http://www.romancingscifi.blogspot.com/

Speaker Beth Andrews - Hard-to-Write Characters - The Easy Way!

2011-08-19T00:32:00.000-07:00

Writing Hard-to-Write Characters – The Easy Way!

Bad boys and bitches, villains and vixens, wimps and waifs. Sometimes, the most interesting characters are the hardest to write. They push us to dig deep for those sympathetic traits that will resonate with readers, resist when we force them into growing and changing too quickly and always, ALWAYS force us to keep them real. In this workshop, we’ll explore ways to create complex, layered characters who will jump off the page and into your reader’s heart!

The Care and Nurturing of the Critique Partner Relationship (Panel)

Beth Andrews is a Romance Writers of America RITA® Award Winner and Golden Heart Winner. She lives in Northwestern Pennsylvania with her husband and two teenage daughters. In her free time she visits wineries, drinks wine - both for research purposes, of course - and works on perfecting her recipe for Creme Brulee. When not researching (or making fattening desserts) she can be found counting the days until her son returns home from college.

Visit her online at http://www.bethandrews.net/

Posted by Vijaya Schartz
Desert Dreams Blogger and Speaker
Award-winning Romantic Science Fiction with a Kick
http://www.vijayaschartz.com/
http://www.romancingscifi.blogspot.com/

WRITE IT FORWARD - BOB MAYER - NYT Best Selling Author

2011-08-15T00:07:00.000-07:00

Designed to teach writers how to become successful authors in the new age of publishing. We will clearly define your writing goals and why you want to achieve them. We will discover what you fear and how that fear is sabotaging you from turning your dreams into realities. We then map out a plan for success.

NY Times bestselling author Bob Mayer has over 50 books published. He has sold over four million books and is in demand as a team-building, life-change, and leadership speaker and consultant for his Who Dares Wins: The Green Beret Way concept which he translates into Write It Forward: a holistic program teaching writers how to be authors. He is also the Co-Creator of Who Dares Wins Publishing, which does both eBooks and Print On Demand, so he has experience in both traditional and non-traditional publishing. He is actively seeking backlist & nonfiction submissions.

Born in the Bronx, Bob attended West Point and earned a BA in psychology with honors and then served as an Infantry platoon leader, a battalion scout platoon leader, and a brigade recon platoon leader in the 1st Cavalry Division. He joined Special Forces and commanded a Green Beret A Team. He served as the operations officer for 2nd Battalion, 10th Special Forces Group (Airborne) and with Special Operations Command (Special Projects) in Hawaii. Later he taught at the Special Forces Qualification Course at the John F. Kennedy Special Warfare Center and School at Fort Bragg, the course which trains new Green Berets. He lived in Korea where he earned a Black Belt in Martial Arts. He’s earned a Masters Degree in Education and currently teaches writing at the University of Washington.

Bob draws on all of these experiences to write his novels and his nonfiction books, including WHO DARES WINS: The Green Beret Way to Conquer Fear & Succeed; The Novel Writer’s Toolkit: A Guide To Writing Great Fiction; and Write It Forward: From Writer to Successful Author. His novels include the bestselling Area 51 books and collaborations with Jennifer Crusie. His books have hit the NY Times, Publishers Weekly, Wall Street Journal and numerous other bestseller lists.

Bob has presented for over 1,000 organizations both in the United States and internationally, including keynote presentations, all day workshops, and multi-day seminars. He has taught organizations ranging from Maui, to Whidbey Island, to San Diego State University, to the University of Georgia, to the Romance Writers of America National Convention, to Boston SWAT, the CIA, Fortune-500, Microsoft, the Royal Danish Navy Frogman Corps, Microsoft, Rotary, IT Teams in Silicon Valley and many others. He has also served as a Visiting Writer for NILA MFA program in Creative Writing. He has done interviews for the Wall Street Journal, Forbes, Sports Illustrated, PBS, NPR, the Discovery Channel, the SyFy channel and local cable shows.

For more information see http://www.bobmayer.org/

Posted by Vijaya Schartz
Desert Dreams Blogger and speaker
Award-winning Romantic Science Fiction with a Kick
http://www.vijayaschartz.com/
http://romancingscifi.blogspot.com/

2nd Keynote Speaker - Martha Alderson - The Plot Whisperer

2011-08-12T10:58:00.000-07:00

Martha Alderson, AKA The Plot Whisperer, dedicates herself to teaching the structure of plot and has helped thousands of novelists, memoirists, and creative non-fiction writers master this elusive craft. The most difficult part of the writing process is the inability to see the forest for the trees. Martha, an educational expert and award-winning novelist, pushes aside the words for writers to see the "whole" of the overall story. Seven years ago, Martha introduced two innovative plot tools — the Scene Tracker and Plot Planner — for writers interested in creating a visual representation of the layers of their stories and anticipate their characters’ every move with moment-by-moment dramatic action with meaning. By effectively demonstrating the relationship between how a character's back-story affects the choices they make in the front story and plot and scene and explaining the art of story design, Martha offers writers proven techniques for creating more focused and balanced and complex plotlines.

You can visit her websites at:
http://www.blockbusterplots.com/
and plotwhisperer.blogspot.com.

Vijaya Schartz
Desert Dreams Blogger and speaker
Award-winning Romantic Science Fiction with a Kick
http://www.vijayaschartz.com/

FIRST KEYNOTE SPEAKER - ALLISON BRENNAN

2011-08-03T14:55:00.000-07:00

New York Times and USA Today bestseller Allison Brennan is the author of thirteen novels and three short stories. A former consultant in the California State Legislature, she lives in Northern California with her husband Dan and their five children. Allison began over 100 books that she never finished. After turning 30, then giving birth to her third child, Allison decided to actively pursue a career in writing. Committing herself to write a book from beginning to end, she wrote five complete novels before selling The Prey in 2004. Two years later it was released and nudged the New York Times list at #33. The first four manuscripts have been destroyed and will never see the light of day.

http://www.allisonbrennan.com/

With her first book Allison's publisher asked if she could write two books connected in some way to The Prey. Since that book was already written and in production, plot options were limited. During the copy editing stage, she tweaked the backstory of her heroine so that she had two friends from the FBI Academy, and they became the heroines of The Hunt and The Kill. Her "Predator Trilogy" was the first of four loosely connected romantic thriller trilogies. Each story is a complete work with a separate hero, heroine, and villain with some recurring characters that can be read individually or in order.

Crime fiction, mysteries, and romantic suspense have always been Allison's favorites, so it's no surprise that her romantic thrillers have a dark suspense edge. Reviewers have called her books "terrifying," "mesmerizing," "fast-paced," "pulse-pounding," "wonderfully complex," "layered," and "a master of suspense - tops in the genre."

Allison's research shelf is filled with numerous true crime and research books, such as 65 Ways to Kill Your Victim in Print, Practical Homicide Investigation, Book of Poisons, and Tales from the Morgue. Her favorite research trips included a tour of the Sacramento County Morgue - complete with autopsy - and her eight week FBI Citizens Academy course, where she competed at the gun range and won a much coveted award by the SWAT commander: the "My Characters Shoot Better!" award. All of this has been supplemented by trips to the Quantico, interviews with law enforcement officials nationwide, and conversations with experts of all kinds in fields of forensics and technology.

Crime fiction is not Allison's only interest. Growing up, she immersed herself into the more supernatural worlds of Stephen King, Dean Koontz and John Saul, reading horrific suspense, unable to put the page-turning - and rather terrifying--books aside. Before she even sold her first book, she came up with a series based on the Seven Deadly Sins - as demons released from Hell by an evil occult seeking the key to eternal mortality. After the initial success with her Predator Trilogy, Allison put the Seven Deadly Sins idea aside to pursue the crime and suspense genre exclusively. Nearly seven years after the original idea for a supernatural saga however, she finally launched her Seven Deadly Sins series in early 2010 with Original Sin. Now, her crime research books share wall space with quite different research material, from The Black Arts to An Exorcist Tells His Story; Lilith's Cave to The Encyclopedia of Hell.

The first three supernatural thrillers - Original Sin, Carnal Sin, and Mortal Sin - were released in 2010. They are contemporary and grounded in the world as it is today, with the exception that the Seven Deadly Sins are incarnate demons who, when they touch someone, that individual loses his conscience and acts on his personal worst sin - to deadly results. Forensics and police investigations also plays an important part in the series so while the series is definitely paranormal, it's grounded in criminal procedure.

Allison continues to write her trademark romantic thrillers. In early 2011, she'll launch a series starring Lucy Kincaid, a favorite character from her No Evil trilogy. The stories will tackle complex and current issues in law enforcement through the eyes of Lucy, an FBI recruit; her brother Patrick, a computer genius who's recovering from a two year coma; and Sean Rogan, a private security expert.

Writing three books a year is more than a full-time job, and so is raising five kids, but Allison believes life is too short to be bored. When she's not writing, she's reading, playing video games, watching old movies or new television shows, driving to or attending volleyball / basketball / football / soccer games, and on occasion even makes it to the gym where she enjoys people-watching more than the exercise.

Posted by Vijaya Schartz

Blog mistress and Speaker at Desert Dreams

Award-winning Romantic Science Fiction with a Kick

http://www.vijayaschartz.com/

Newsflash - TAKE ADVANTAGE OF EARLY REGISTRATION

2011-07-08T10:48:00.000-07:00

Registration for the 2012 Desert Dreams Conference, April 27-29, 2012 in Scottsdale, AZ, is open!

The first 50 people who register and pay for the 2012 conference will have their names placed in a drawing and 10 lucky people will win a spot next to one of our editors or agents at the Saturday luncheon. We don’t have our full list of 10 editors and agents shown on the website yet, as we’re still confirming the last few, but you’ll have time to adjust your editor/agent appointments before conference if you register now. It’s still based on first registered/first paid basis. If you’re one of the lucky 10 to win the promotion, this gives you extra one-on-one time with an editor/agent, as it doesn’t have to be the same person you meet with for your appointment.

Register online at http://www.desertroserwa.org/ (and also take advantage of early bird pricing). Winners will have a chance to pick their lunch partner in the order in which they paid for registration.

Get registered and good luck!
Vijaya Schartz
Award-winning Science-Fiction - Romance with a kick

WHY SHOULD YOU ATTEND THE 2012 DESERT DREAMS CONFERENCE?

2011-06-26T17:07:00.000-07:00

It's easy. While the larger writers conferences, like RWA National accommodate some 1,200 participants, Desert Dreams offers all the same advantages, on a much smaller scale, in a relaxed setting, where you will bump into your favorite editors and agents at one of the pools, sipping cold lemonade under a parasol, or at the buffet line before the main event, or just chatting at your table while dining. Far from the stressed, overworked atmosphere of larger conferences, Desert Dreams offers a friendly ambience, an easy schedule, enough time to freshen up between events, and plenty of opportunities to meet our faculty and chat in informal settings.

Of course, you get the latest workshops and industry news, the panels, advice from NYT best-selling authors, and your personal appointments with agents and editors. We have the same slate as most larger conferences.

Guest speakers, agents, and editors alike love coming to Scottsdale in the spring. Between appearances, some get a tan by the pool while others enjoy the sights. And did I mention it's always sunny in Scottsdale, Arizona? The result? Smiling faces, friendly guests and speakers, ready to listen to your pitch with an open mind.

So far, we have a preliminary slate of agents and editors:

Brenda Chin - Editor, Harlequin
Jill Corcoran - Agent, The Herman Agency
Michele Grajkowski - Agent, 3 Seas Literary
Rose Hilliard - Editor, St. Martin’s Press
Jennifer Schober - Agent, Spencerhill Associates, Ltd.

Many more names will follow in the coming months. Pitch appointments will be assigned on a first registered first choice basis, so don't hesitate and register today. It's only $215 for RWA members, and $235 for non members, but the price will go up comes January.

For more information on workshops and keynote speakers, registration links, hotel reservation, etc. click HERE

Hope to see you in Scottsdale, Arizona, in April 2012.

Vijaya Schartz
Award-winning science fiction, Romance with a Kick

GET READY FOR THE 2012 DESERT DREAMS CONFERENCE

2010-10-19T10:41:00.000-07:00

We have a date:April 27-29, 2012 - at the Chaparral Suites - Scottsdale, Arizona

Good news, we're going to be back at the Chaparral Suites, which is undergoing some major remodeling right now.

Desert Dreams Writers’ Conference provides authors of all skill levels – from beginner to multi-published – with the tools necessary to take their writing to the next level. Sessions will include general writing, career development, genre-specific, agent/publisher spotlights, as well as an agent/editor panel. There will also be one-on-one appointments with editors or agents, a book signing, and keynote addresses. Check back for a full list of editors, agents, speakers and workshops.

Registration opens May 2011.

Hope to see many of you there.

Vijaya Schartz
Award-winning Sci-Fi, Guns, Swords, Romance with a Kick
http://www.vijayaschartz.com/

It was a great conference

2010-05-07T15:21:00.000-07:00

Thank you to all the participants, the organizers, the speakers, the many authors and volunteers who gave their time and energy to make this conference an all around success. Writers found inspiration and professional guidance from the numerous best selling authors, editors and agents. Smiles brightened the mood, and the weather cooperated. Of course, in Arizona in spring, you can always count on the weather.

I particularly want to thank our organizers for their selfless dedication over the past two years. Yes, it takes two years to organize such an event. They deserve their rest.

I hope everyone had a great time in Scottsdale this April.

We shall have another conference in 2012, probably in April. The new information will be posted on this blog as it trinkles down from the new committee. But we already have a super experienced team assembled for the 2012 conference, so it will be fantastic, as usual.

Vijaya Schartz
Desert Dreams Conference Publicity Chair

Award-winning Sci-Fi and Romance with a Kick
http://www.vijayaschartz.com/

A visit with Harlequin editor Kathleen Scheibling

2010-04-07T08:17:00.000-07:00

Kathleen Scheibling has worked in book publishing for over 15 years, with occasional forays into film development and production. She has worked as a literary agent, a book promoter, a freelance editor for publishers such as Random House and Harper Collins, an in-house editor at a small press, and joined Harlequin in 2001. Kathleen’s focus is on contemporary romance, and she has worked on Harlequin Superromance, Silhouette Special Edition and Harlequin Everlasting Romance. She is now Senior Editor of the Harlequin American Romance series.

Thank you for joining us, Kathleen. You have quite an impressive biography. As a child, what did you want to be when you grew up?

I wanted to be a lawyer. As I got older, I realized I might bore myself to death, or have an early heart attack due to stress. So naturally I went into a low-stress career in publishing (insert maniacal laughter here.)

What or who influenced you to become an editor?

My senior year high school English teacher confessed to me that she read Hemingway and Shakespeare during the day, and steamy historical romances at night. There was something about this confession that made me realize I wanted to work in publishing—that being a book lover didn’t mean marginalizing your taste.

What books do you read for pleasure?

Um, everything? I read other genres of romance (besides contemporary), lots of non-fiction and literary fiction. I just finished American Wife by Curtis Sittenfeld and am starting Jon Krakauer’s Where Men Win Glory. I also love magazines—Vanity Fair is a favorite.

What profession other than your own would you like to attempt?

Puppeteer. A highlight of last year’s RWA National conference was visiting Kermit the Frog at the Smithsonian.

What one word would you use to describe yourself?

Hungry.

It’s said you can tell a lot about a person by their surroundings. What does your workspace look like?

Like my mind, it is cluttered. But I still know where everything is.

Do you have any hobbies?

I watch tons of movies. I’m very physically active and like to hike, box, run, cycle, canoe, etc. But not all at the same time.

If you were stranded on an island… what four things would you want with you?

1) A gorgeous, intelligent, interesting man.

2) A stocked refrigerator.

3) A stocked bar.

4) Pride & Prejudice by Jane Austen.

What was the most dangerous or scariest thing you’ve ever done? (such as bungee jumping or alligator wrestling.)

Kayaking in the freezing Atlantic Ocean with whales coming up all around me, no land in sight. And I DID once wrestle an alligator. Piece of cake.

If you could have lunch with anyone living or dead, who would it be?

Cary Grant. It would be the wittiest darn lunch, ever.

If you could live in another time period, when would it be and why?

No way. Women have the most freedom now—why go back?

What is your favorite word? What is your least favorite word?

Fav: Cookie. Not so much: Empty.

Flash Round:

Favorite Ice Cream flavor?

Chocolate mint chip.

Favorite Food?

Shellfish.

Favorite flower?

Iris.

Favorite Sport?

Cycling.

Guilty Pleasure?

Watching movies over and over and over. I must have seen The Godfather 50 times.

What can you tell us about the workshop you’re doing for the Desert Rose conference?

On Saturday afternoon I’m sitting on a panel with three Harlequin authors, talking about how writing category romance can exponentially boost your career.

Thank you again, for spending the day with us.

If you want to learn more about Kathleen, you can visit with her at the Desert Rose conference April 16-18.

Meet Multi-Published Author Jodi Thomas

2010-04-01T07:06:00.000-07:00

A fifth generation Texan, Jodi Thomas chooses to set the majority of her novels in her home state.

The stories Thomas has committed to paper have earned her an impressive list of distinguished awards. Her first book, BENEATH THE TEXAS SKY (1988), won the National Press Women's Novel of the Year in its category. Book two, NORTHERN STAR (1990), was named best novel by the (Texas) Panhandle Professional Writers and the Oklahoma Writers Federation, Inc., an organization of writers' groups from several states. Book three, THE TENDER TEXAN (1991), was Thomas's first national bestseller and won her the first of two Romance Writers of America RITA's, the $1.5 billion romance publishing industry's equivalent of an "Oscar." Book twelve, TO KISS A TEXAN (1999) was her first novel to score on the USA TODAY Best-selling Books list. For THE TEXAN'S WAGER (2002), sixteen was the magic number. As Thomas's sixteenth novel, the book scored number sixteen on the NEW YORK TIMES extended bestseller list. FINDING MARY BLAINE, (2004) received the National Readers' Choice Award in 2005. Thomas was inducted into the RWA Hall of Fame in 2006 for winning her third RITA for THE TEXAN'S REWARD (2005). She also won the National Readers' Choice for TWISTED CREEK (2008) and TALL, DARK, AND TEXAN (2008).

With a degree in Family Studies, Thomas is a marriage and family counselor by education, a background that enables her to write about family dynamics. Honored in 2002 as a Distinguished Alumni by Texas Tech University in Lubbock, Thomas enjoys interacting with students on the West Texas A & M University campus, where she currently serves as Writer In Residence.

When not working on a novel or inspiring students to pursue a writing career, Thomas enjoys traveling with her husband, Tom, renovating a historic home they bought in Amarillo, and “checking up” on their two grown sons.

DRose: Welcome Jodi, it's great to have you here. Let's start by telling us a little about yourself. Where are you from? When you were young, what did you want to be when you grew up?

I grew up in Amarillo, Texas but a few weeks of every summer was spent in Hollis, Oklahoma where several sets of aunts and uncles lived. I know I lived the other 50 weeks of the year but sometimes I think I remembered every detail of those summers in a small town. My Uncle Leroy always brought me a horse into town so I could ride around during the week of the rodeo.

DRose: How long did it take for you to get published and what was the journey like?

Like most writers I started it working a few hours a week almost like a hobby and got hooked fast. Soon I was writing two of three hours almost every night. The first year I thought I’d sell my first book for a million any minute. Five years later, I was still working on trying the sell. Then, I went to a conference, talked to an editor and sold. It all seemed so easy…if you don’t count the years of trying.

DRose: With so many books under your belt do you find it easier to plot your before you write it or do you sit and let the words flow?

I usually have a few pages of ideas, but my characters never listen to me. I like to meet my characters and get to know them as I move though the story.

Once I had great characters but didn’t feel like I had a plot. I brought my chapter every week to critique and would say, “here’s my story without a plot.” I finished the book thinking I didn’t really have a big plot to go with this book. TWO TEXAS HEARTS was in 11^th printing the last time I checked. No plot maybe, but great heart.

DRose: What is your favorite book or series?

My new book WELCOME TO HARMONY was so much fun to write. I knew I had a great story, but I wasn’t sure I could write so that the readers saw it the way I did. I love this small town and the people in it. I can’t wait to take readers home to Harmony.

DRose: Tell us more about your book. What's it about and what inspired you to write it?

I wanted to create a town that everyone wishes they were from. Harmony was founded by three families who don’t always get along, but when trouble comes will fight for one another’s rights. It’s a story about loving others and about seeing the heroes in us all.

DRose: Any current projects you're excited about and can share with our readers?

I just finished the second in the series about Harmony. New characters blend with the old. I had a great time watching characters grow and learn from one book to the other. Readers will be able to return to Harmony with Nov. release of SOMEWHERE ALONG THE WAY.

DRose: Most people see writers as hermits, closed off in a room, clacking away at the keyboard until the final page is typed. Do you consider yourself this disciplined as a writer?

I’m the Writer in Residence at a small university. I have people in and out of my office all day. I give between fifty and a hundred talks a year to everyone from writers to clubs. I rarely write in the day, but after dinner when the house is quiet I climb the stairs to an office framed by windows and write until about midnight. When I get behind, I sometimes disappear for a week to a cabin in the mountains, but most of the time my family helps me.

I went to lunch with my son one Sat. when I’d been writing all morning. Halfway through the meal he said, ‘Mom, you can’t pull out of the story, can you?” He was right and very understanding. I don’t write for a living---I am a writer.

DRose: Do you consider yourself eccentric as a writer? Is there something you must have or do before writing?

Of course. We all are, but we have to adapt. I love building my nest as I sit down to write. A Diet Coke, a few M&M’s, silence, a game of solitude and I’m ready to go. But like gets in the way so sometimes I’m writing away in a corner of an airport with people passing and noise everywhere.

DRose: Do you write to music or the TV?

No.

DRose: When you're not writing, do you have any hobbies or interests?

I love people. I belong to lots of clubs and love going to art shows and movies. We love eating out with friends and traveling.

DRose: They say you can learn a lot about a person by their surroundings. What does your work area look like?

At home, it’s clean, usually only a few papers and my computer. At my office it’s cluttered. I like having things around me that mean something to me so I would probably be a decorator’s nightmare

DRose: What do you consider your guilty pleasure?

Movies!!! When I’m feeling down I go rent five movies, pop popcorn and watch one right after the other.

DRose: Can you tell us about the workshop you’ll be doing for the Desert Rose Conference?

In WRITING IN TWO GENRES I talk about the advantages of writing for more the one market and how to stay sane while crossing into two worlds. We’ll explore the possibilities in writing and learn to find the heartbeat in a story that makes readers keep the book to read again.

In SELLING HISTORICALS IN TODAY’S MARKET—we’ll look at ways to show a profit in the historical market. We’ll also see how charcters come alive in any time period.

Thank you for spending the day with us Jodi. We’re looking forward to seeing you at the conference.

To learn more about Jodi and her books, visit her at www.jodithomas.com.

A visit with Carla Neggers

2010-03-29T06:01:00.000-07:00

Carla Neggers is the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of more than fifty novels, including The Mist, The Angel and Cold River. Her work has been translated into two dozen languages. Carla is a founding member of the New England Chapter of Romance Writers of America and has served as president of Novelists, Inc. She is currently a vice president of International Thriller Writers.

Carla and her husband, Joe Jewell, live on a hilltop in Vermont, not far from picturesque Quechee Gorge.

DRose: Thank you for joining us, Carla. Let’s start by telling us a little about yourself. Where are you from? When you were young, what did you want to be when you grew up?

I grew up in rural western Massachusetts, with a Dutch father, a Southern mother and six brothers and sisters. I always wanted to be a writer and wrote my first stories up in a tree! But I also was a musician, and for a while I thought it'd be fun to be a plant pathologist.

DRose: How long did it take for you to get published and what was the journey like?

"How long" depends on when we decide to start the clock ticking! I submitted a manuscript to an agent a few months after my first child was born. The agent took me on, but I was writing first-person romantic suspense, which wasn't selling at the time. I tried my hand at category romance—which was hotter than hot!—and discovered I could write funny, sexy books with no murders. I ended up writing one of the launch books for the highly successful Bantam Loveswept series.

DRose: Do you plot your story before you write it or do you sit and let it flow?

Yes. ;-) I do 'big picture' plotting before I write. Then I sit and let it flow—I still love to write longhand.

DRose: Tell us more about your book. What's it about and what inspired you to write it?

THE MIST, my 2009 hardcover, is just out now in paperback. It picks up where THE ANGEL leaves off—these two books are tightly connected, although the series starts with THE WIDOW. I was inspired to write THE ANGEL and THE MIST on trips to Ireland. Although primarily set in Boston, the stories also take us to the southwest Irish coast. I remember walking into a remote, ancient stone circle at dusk and just knowing I'd set a scene there at some point. THE MIST opens with Lizzie Rush, a hotelier and amateur spy, taking on a would-be killer in just such a stone circle!

DRose: Any current projects you're excited about and can share with our readers?

I'm very excited about THE WHISPER, my July hardcover, which picks up where THE MIST leaves off. Boston detective Scoop Wisdom has been in Ireland, recuperating from the injuries he sustained in the bomb blast in THE MIST. He wants to find out who planted the bomb, and he thinks it's another cop. Enter Celtic archaeologist Sophie Malone, who is fighting her own demons. And right now I'm finishing up COLD DAWN, the next book in my series set in the fictional northern New England town of Black Falls.

DRose: Musicians often note the musicians who influenced them. What authors have influenced you and your work?

I read and read and read as a kid—anything I could get my hands on, from Jane Austen to Alistair MacLean and The Hulk. I learned early on that I love adventure, action, romance and a satisfying (happy!) ending.

DRose: Most people see writers as hermits, closed off in a room, clacking away at the keyboard until the final page is typed. Do you consider yourself this disciplined as a writer?

I'm disciplined but not regimented, and I have the good fortune of being able to write anytime, anywhere—which means I could write on a two-week personal retreat to Ireland last September. I'd write, walk, write, hit the pubs, write some more…it was a wonderful experience! My husband gets to go with me next trip, though. That'll be fun, too. ;-)

DRose: Do you consider yourself eccentric as a writer? Is there something you must have or do before writing?

Oh, how funny! Hm. No, I guess not. I do like having a lot of pens and pencils around me when I'm writing longhand. I once was hand-searched at the airport, and the TSA agent told me, "You have a lot of pens." I did—twelve!

DRose: Do you write to music or the TV?

I can do either, depending on where I am in the book. I particularly love to write to the Dropkick Murphys.

DRose: When you're not writing, do you have any hobbies or interests?

Definitely—I love to hike, kayak, garden, travel. I'm thinking about going back to karate. I've been on hiatus since a neck strain. Probably a good idea!

DRose: They say you can learn a lot about a person by their surroundings. What does your work area look like?

I write longhand on a project table by a window overlooking our backyard and woods. You can actually see the view on my photo blog—check out the Vermont sunrises.

DRose: Can you tell us about the workshop you’ll be doing for the Desert Rose Conference?

I'll be doing two workshops. One is on writing as work/writing as play…how to create synergy between "work" (craft) and "play" (inspiration). We'll have fun. The other is on romantic suspense—figuring out what it is, where you might fit on the continuum between romance with a touch of suspense to flat-out suspense with a touch of romance. We'll have fun there, too.

DRose: Is there anything we didn't cover that you'd like to mention?

I'm looking forward to being in Phoenix again. I'll never forget how incredibly warm and welcoming chapter members were when I was in town for a signing in 2007.

For more information, please visit Carla at her Web site, www.carlaneggers.com.

The Countdown Begins

2010-03-27T08:38:00.000-07:00

The Desert Dreams Conference is only days away and we hope you are all as excited as us.
The Desert Dreams Conference has always been considered one of the best RWA Chapter conferences around and this year is no exception. The committee, headed by Cathi Lombardo and Patti Osback, have been diligently working to bring you an experience you will not want to forget.

You can find all of the information about the conference by following the link on the sidebar.

After opening the conference on Friday night with several wonderful workshops we will meet at the main dining room for a "genre-themed" dinner. All guests and attendees are welcomed to dress in character. The dinner tables will each be set up to represent a genre and will be hosted by some of our wonderful speakers. Below is a list of the tables and host/hostesses.

Table Hostesses for Genre Dinner

(DR Members in Red)

1. Category Carrie Weaver/ Linda Style

2. Category Kathleen Scheibling (editor) / Cathy McDavid

3. Contemporary Beth Kendrick

4. Contemporary Carla Neggers

5. Erotic Laurie Rauch (editor) / Calista Fox

6. Erotic Cassie Ryan

7. Historical Jodi Thomas

8. Inspirational Pam Tracy

9. Mainstream Connie Flynn

10. Mainstream Eileen Rendahl

11. Mainstream Peter Senftleben (editor)

12. Mystery/Suspense Sharon Sala

13. Mystery/Suspense Miriam Kriss (agent)

14. Regency Jennifer Ashley

15. SF/Fantasy/Paranormal Erin Quinn / Kathryne Kennedy / Deborah Werksman (editor)

16. SF/Fantasy/Paranormal Deborah Leblanc / Vijaya Schartz

17. Sweet Romance Annette Mahon/ Kim Watters

18. What’s My Genre? Laurie Schnebly Campbell / Susan Yarina (these ladies will answer all questions about writing)

19. Woman’s Fiction Kate Seaver (editor)

20. Women’s Fiction Robin Lee Hatcher

21. Young Adult Janet Reid (agent)

For the past two months we have been featuring many of our speakers on this blog. In case you missed any of the interviews you can click on their names below to read more about them.

Stop back by in the coming days for more interviews or information about the conference.

A Visit with Vicki Lewis Thompson

2010-03-22T06:38:00.000-07:00

Vicki Lewis Thompson’s romance writing career has given her many wonderful things –New York Times bestseller status, an appearance on LIVE with Regis and Kelly, the Nora Roberts Lifetime Achievement Award from Romance Writers of America, thousands of readers, many dear friends, and the cutest little yellow convertible in the world. Her career has also given her work she loves.

Although she’s written more than 100 books, she continues to be fascinated by the many ways that a man and woman fall in love. The age-old story remains a challenging puzzle to be solved anew with each book. That makes her a very lucky person, indeed.

DRose: Welcome Vicki, it’s an honor to have you with us. Let’s start by telling us a little about yourself. Where are you from? When you were young, what did you want to be when you grew up?

VLT: Because I moved to Arizona as a kid, I count myself as an Almost-Native. I had dreams of becoming a ballerina, but I’m short and the least flexible woman on the planet, so I flunked dance class. Fortunately, I’ve always loved to write!

DRose: Are there any authors who have influenced you and your work?

VLT: I didn’t discover romance until my thirties (gasp, choke!) but I distinctly remember reading D.H. Lawrence’s Lady Chatterley’s Lover at an impressionable and hormonal age and thinking it would be cool to write about sex. I like unpretentious writers. Mark Twain’s Huckleberry Finn was a favorite. Once I discovered romance, I was definitely influence by Nora (who needs no last name). There’s not even an ounce of pretention in her writing. It’s clean and compelling. I admire that.

DRose: Do you have a favorite book or series?

VLT: I’ll always be partial to Nerd in Shining Armor because it was so pivotal in my career, but my favorite book or series is usually the one I’m writing.

DRose: When you're not writing, do you have any hobbies or interests?

VLT: When I’m not writing I usually indulge my hobbies of sleeping and eating. But sometimes I can eat and write at the same time. Sleeping and writing hasn’t worked out so well.

DRose: Tell us more about your book. What's it about and what inspired you to write it?

VLT: If it’s okay to talk about both Blonde with a Wand and Chick with a Charm, I’d say I was inspired by the dynamics of sister relationships. Two sisters, both witches, get into trouble using their magic inappropriately. Their predicaments are similar, but their reactions are not. Anica, the heroine of Blonde, and Lily, the heroine of Chick, are as different as two people could be, just as I’m different from my sisters and they’re different from each other. The interaction of siblings and the effect of birth order are subjects that have always fascinated me.

DRose: How long did it take for you to get published and what was the journey like?

VLT: From start to finish was about a year, which seems fast now but seemed to take FOREVER back then. Soon after I started writing romance I quit my day job, which meant I had to sell within that year or go back to the day job. I was extremely motivated, because I LOVED staying home to write. I still love it and am pretty much ruined for any other kind of employment.

DRose: Any current projects you're excited about and can share with our readers?

VLT: You bet! Thanks for asking! I’m writing a nine-book cowboy series for Harlequin Blaze that debuts in June. Three books will show up this summer, three more in 2011, and the final three in 2012. Currently I’m also writing a series for NAL that features comic werewolves. The first book comes out in February, 2011, and is called Werewolf in Manhattan.

DRose: Do you plot your story before you write it or do you sit and let it flow?

VLT: I plot as much as I need to so that my editor won’t panic. Editors have this crazy need to believe that the money they’re paying will result in an actual book with a plot. What’s up with that? But at heart I’m a pantser and prefer to discover the book as I go along.

DRose: Do you write to music or the TV?

VLT: Definitely not TV. I’m not hooked up to TV at home, although I love watching movies and TV shows that come out on DVD. But a thumbs-up to writing with music. One of my all-time favorites is the score to the first Pirates movie. Love. It.

DRose: Do you consider yourself eccentric as a writer? Is there something you must have or do before writing?

VLT: Someone’s been spying on me. They caught me wearing my lucky sweatshirt with crystals hanging around my neck and my creativity bracelet on, and the music cranked up to jet-takeoff levels, not to mention the glass of merlot and the plate of Seriously Sharp cheddar, plus my favorite spice pillar candle burning.

DRose: Most people see writers as hermits, closed off in a room, clacking away at the keyboard until the final page is typed. Do you consider yourself this disciplined as a writer?

VLT: Yes.

DRose: They say you can learn a lot about a person by their surroundings. What does your work area look like?

VLT: It looks like my living room, because I write there on a laptop. I pretty much hate desks.

DRose: What do you consider your guilty pleasure?

VLT: Reading People magazine.

DRose: Can you tell us about the workshop you’ll be doing for the Desert Rose Conference?

VLT: I’m presenting two workshops, one by myself and one with my assistant Audrey Sharpe.

My solo act is “Just Ask,” in which we’ll discuss how a writer can get what she needs from editors, agents, and even her family.

The duet with Audrey is called “Rescue Me.” We’ll talk about delegating non-writing tasks using both love and money as rewards.

DRose: Is there anything we didn't cover that you'd like to mention?

VLT: My cat Eve thinks she should get a plug because she’s my muse and I couldn’t write a lick without her. That’s probably true.

DRose: Thank you so much for taking the time to do this. It’s been a pleasure.

VLT: Thanks for asking!

For more about Vicki and her work, visit her website at http://www.vickilewisthompson.com/

Special Guest Brad Schreiber

2010-03-15T07:55:00.000-07:00

It’s a great pleasure to introduce to you to our next guest, BRAD SCHREIBER. Brad is quite the jack-of-all-trades. He has worked as a writer in all media, and as executive, teacher, consultant, producer and actor. He has sold and optioned screenplays, was nominated for the Kingman Films KASA Award for his script The Couch and has won awards from the Edward Albee Foundation, the National Press Foundation, the California Writers Club and others.

His books include the theatrical anecdote compendium Stop the Show! (Da Capo), the humor writing how-to What Are You Laughing At? (Michael Wiese Prods.) and the biography Becoming Jimi Hendrix, which will be published in September by Da Capo. He created the Court TV series North Mission Road, based on his book on the L.A. Coroner’s Office, Death in Paradise. (Running Press).

Mr. Schreiber has worked as an in-house writer-producer and a development exec for PBS station KCET Los Angeles, as well as director of development for TV/film director Jonathan Kaplan. He has taught at the American Film Institute, UCLA Extension, Columbia College at CBS Studio City and the Gotham Writers Workshop in New York City.

Since 1999, he has been Vice President of Storytech Literary Consulting, founded by Christopher Vogler, and founded the international Mona Schreiber Prize for Humorous Fiction and Nonfiction (www.BradSchreiber.com).

He is a contributor to Huffington Post and other national credits include Variety, The Writer and Backstage. Mr. Schreiber has lectured and conducted workshops for California Institute of the Arts, University of Southern California, Pixar Animation and writers conferences in the U.S., Canada and Mexico. He also once made a living writing material for a phone line called “Dial-an-Insult” but he is not particularly proud of that fact.

Welcome, Mr. Schreiber. It’s an honor to have you join us. Our standard start up question is: When you were a child, what did you want to be when you grew up?

I was born in Manhattan and lived in small towns, Stony Point and New City, NY, until I moved to Los Angeles, as a boy. In NY, for a brief time, I admired cowboys and even dressed up like one for a while, but inherently knew I did not want to work that hard. I admired lawyers and their ability to use words and defend/prosecute people but suspected when my mother told me I would have to go to school for four additional years, that was out. I never knew what I wanted to be until I was in my twenties. Even now, I have my doubts.

What or who influenced you to become a writer?

The first time I knew I could write well was in the fifth grade, when Mr. Ault, at my school in Belmont, CA read aloud a poem I wrote and everyone liked it. But know one knew who I was because I had just transferred there. When Mr. Ault announced after reading it that I was the author, literally, the boy across the row from me leaned over and asked, “Who’s Brad Schreiber?” “I am,” I said as I got up to proudly take my paper from the teacher’s hand.

My mother was a writer and instructor and influenced me greatly, which is why, in 2000, in her memory, I started the Mona Schreiber Prize for Humorous Fiction and Nonfiction at www.BradSchreiber.com. Writing for my high school newspaper, becoming the only student to be simultaneously editor of the newspaper and literary magazine and then, writing and performing professionally with a theatre-comedy troupe called The Burlingame Philharmonic set me solidly on the path of writing.

Many artists note the people who influenced them. Are there any authors who influenced you and your work?

Too numerous to mention them all. Humor: Christopher Buckley, George Carlin, Roald Dahl. Mystery/Suspense: T. Jefferson Parker, Shirley Jackson, Edgar Allan Poe, John Collier, O. Henry. Nonfiction: Hunter S. Thompson, Simon Winchester. Novelists: Charles Dickens, Thomas Pynchon, Jane Heller, Russell Banks, Philip K. Dick.

That’s a pretty impressive list. So, what kind of books do you read for pleasure?

I tend to read a number of works simultaneously, in all forms. Right now, I am reading a mystery by my pal T. Jefferson Parker, the autobiography of Larry Gelbart, who sadly passed away last year, a biography of the writer Shirley Jackson and a book on music criticism.

You’ve had quite the list of professions. Is there any other you would like to attempt?

Music producer. Talk show host. Amusement park ride designer.

What one word would you use to describe yourself?

Curious.

I’ve heard you can tell a lot about a person by their surroundings. What does your workspace look like?

Surrounded by books, audiobooks, tapes, DVDs, and CDs in shelves. Two windows look out on the hills of Sherman Oaks. On the walls, I have collages I have made, as well as artifacts related to some of my books.

Most people see writers as hermits, closed off in a room, clacking away at the keyboard until the final page is typed. Do you consider yourself this disciplined as a writer?

How dare you suggest that I “clack.” I am more a “klump, klump, klump” writer. I tend to think about projects for a bit too long but once I begin, I work rapidly and my first drafts are very close to what I want.

Do you consider yourself eccentric as a writer? Is there something you must have or do before writing?

Eccentric? Do you consider live animal sacrifice prior to writing eccentric? Actually, I have written shorter works longhand and I do not like laptops. Is that weird of me? This is strange: I have a Chicony keyboard for my desktop and that model has not been made in years. I like the action on it and the large size of the keys suits my plump, greasy, little sausage fingers. So when the old one broke, I bought the exact same kind, the only Chicony keyboard I could find, on eBay. I am ambidextrous in mousing, thanks to a previous attack of tendinitis in my right elbow.

With so many interests, do you have any hobbies?

I search the Internet for music of all kinds. I’m also in the middle of the laborious transferring of VHS tapes to DVD. Is that a hobby, an obligation, an obsession or compulsion?

If you were stranded on an island, what four things would you want with you?

A lovely and calm companion, a hacksaw for coconuts, a comfortable bed and an unlimited supply of tranquilizers.

What was the most dangerous or scariest thing you’ve ever done?

Driving on a rocky, unpaved road in the Andes Mountains of Peru, with four other people in a small pickup truck carrying a drum of gasoline to a remote village, just days after an earthquake.

If you could have lunch with anyone living or dead… who would it be?

Albert Einstein.

If you could live in another time period… when would it be and why?

I don’t want to live in other time periods. I just want to visit them and then leave quickly.

What is your favorite word? What is your least favorite word?

Favorite: “sesquipedalian.” (I had to look that one up.)

Least favorite: “awesome.”

What was your most embarrassing moment (that you are comfortable sharing).

I’m not comfortable sharing ANY of them but in order to be helpful, I refer you to the time I jumped off my high school auditorium stage, because the stairway had been removed, and fell to my knees in front of 90 of the smartest English students in the school, prompting a burst of laughter and my teacher, Mr. Christensen, offering me a hand, while saying, “Welcome to Retard P.E.” and bringing another round of derisive laughter.

Tell us something about you no one else knows.

I am so sick of how much this society worships youth over experience that I would like to pass a law that limits the number of books, TV shows and films that feature actors or are geared toward audiences under 35 years of age.

Flash Round:

Favorite Ice Cream flavor?

Paris Parfait, not made any more by Baskin-Robbins. Vanilla ice cream, chocolate and cherry chunks and bits of macaroon as well as softened pieces of sugar cone.

Favorite Food?

Too many. Favorite desert: English trifle or Princess cake. In my case, Jewish American Princess Cake.

Favorite flower?

For scent: Jasmine.

For its goofy, absurd appearance: Bird of Paradise.

For it being the favorite of my mother, Ranunculus.

Favorite Sport?

For playing: I loved basketball until I separated a shoulder playing tackle football without pads, like an idiot.

For watching: I like to watch highlights of all sports (except curling) but am stingy about spending time watching an entire game on TV. I tend to only watch championship games in their entirety. I did see Willie Mays in his last season for the San Francisco Giants, in person at Candlestick Park and for that, I am grateful. Despite being the oldest player on the field, he actually stole a base, due to my constant yelling, I believe.

Guilty Pleasure?

Everything I enjoy, not related to work, is a guilty pleasure.

Can you tell us about the workshop you’ll be presenting at the Desert Rose Conference?

My time at the Desert Rose conference will be an amalgam of lecture, anecdotes, writing exercises and questions and answers, including a discussion of the structure of the Writer’s Journey model and its application to the pursuit of writing as both hobby and profession.

Thank you so much for visiting the blog. We’re looking forward to hearing more from you at the conference.

Interview with agent Steve Laube

2010-03-10T06:34:00.000-08:00

Steve Laube, a literary agent and president of The Steve Laube Agency, has been in the book industry for over 29 years, first as a bookstore manager and book buyer for a major national chain. While manager, his store was named National Store of the Year by the Christian Bookstore Association (CBA) in 1989 out of 4,000 eligible stores. He spent 11 years with Bethany House Publishers rising to the position of Editorial Director/Adult Nonfiction. In 2002 he was named the Editor of the Year by the Advanced Writers and Speakers Associatio. In 2009 he was named the Agent of the Year by the ACFW organization.
He has edited over 150 books, wrote one, produced numerous articles, and has agented over 500 new books. He has taught at writer’s conferences in more than 50 cities. His office is in Phoenix, Arizona.

Thank you for spending the day with us, Steve. As a child, what did you want to be when you grew up?

An archeologist.

What or who influenced you to become an agent?

Observing the profession from the publisher's perspective as an acquistions editor and editorial director.

Are there any books you like to read for pleasure?

Fiction: science fiction and taut thrillers
Non-fiction: Deeper life spirituality; business books (investing and marketing); and Theology

What profession other than your own would you like to attempt?

None. I have the dream profession, working in the world of ideas.

What one word would you use to describe yourself?

Eclectic

It’s been said you can tell a lot about a person by their surroundings. What does your workspace look like?

Surrounded by thousands of books and piles of papers.

Do you have any hobbies?

Reading. Book collecting.

If you were stranded on an island… what four things would you want with you?

My wife and my three kids (but I suppose they are not "things” ;) Therefore my list:

· The Bible

· The SAS Survival Handbook For Any Climate, In Any Situation by John Wiseman

· A Multi-function Swiss Army Knife

· A friend like "Wilson" (if you've seen the movie, you know what I mean)

What was the most dangerous or scariest thing you’ve ever done?

Zip line over a waterfall in Jamaica

If you could have lunch with anyone living or dead… who would it be?

C.S.Lewis

What is your favorite word?

Macadamia or Gazebo or Spatula.

Flash Round:

Favorite Ice Cream flavor? Orange sherbet

Favorite Food? Steak

Favorite flower? Rose

Favorite Sport? Basketball

Meet Erin Quin

2010-03-08T06:33:00.000-08:00

Erin Quinn is just the average girl next door in Gilbert, Arizona where she lives with her husband, two daughters and three dogs (all of whom have made debuts in her stories--the dogs, that is, not the husband and kids.) In HAUNTING BEAUTY, Danni Smith's little dog is based on Erin's devoted mutt who sleeps at her feet every morning when she writes.

Welcome Erin. Let’s start by telling us a little about yourself. Where are you from? When you were young, what did you want to be when you grew up?

I was born in Independence, Missouri, home of Harry S. Truman and I grew up all over the place. In my early twenties, I moved to San Diego, California, met my husband and reconnected with my dreams of being a writer through my day job at SDSU. Now I live in the thriving metropolis of Gilbert, Arizona where I still have a dreaded day job, but I’m a wee bit closer to living the dream.

How long did it take for you to get published and what was the journey like?

I sold my first book to the first editor who ever read it. And then I began the journey of hard knocks. It took me 10 years before my second book was released and during that time I learned a lot about myself and the business. I could write a novel and that time period. For the sake of time and space, I’ll just say it was a difficult stage of my life.

Tell us more about your book. What's it about and what inspired you to write it?

My latest release, HAUNTING WARRIOR, comes out in May. HAUNTING WARRIOR is the second book in my HAUNTING series. It’s set in Ireland and Irish history and legend has always fascinated me. The hero, Rory, is a man I couldn’t help but fall in love with and when I put the two together, I had a story that swept me up as I wrote it.

Do you plot your story before you write it or do you sit and let it flow?

Total, chaotic pantser.

What kind of background noise do you prefer--music or TV?

Silence. Only silence.

Since you’re writing a series, do you have a favorite book or series?

Too many to even begin to mention.

Musicians often note the musicians who influenced them. What authors have influenced you and your work?

Stephen King was a huge influence on me and my writing. As a young adult, I lived on King and Harlequin—so basically as horrifying and sweet a mixture as possible. Did I mention I’m a bit nuts?

When you're not writing, do you have any hobbies or interests?

Currently, I have no life. I write, I work, I do the wife thing, I do the mom thing and then I start over at the beginning.

Any current projects you're excited about and can share with our readers?

HAUNTING WARRIOR is my next book out and I’m VERY excited about it. Here’s the blurb:

A past he couldn’t forget.

Rory McGrath’s life changed the night his father mysteriously vanished after uncovering the secrets of the ancient Book of Fennore. The trauma turned Rory from an innocent boy into a troubled, cynical man. Leaving Ireland, he shunned his family, his heritage—and the very magic that has defined his people for centuries.

A dream he couldn’t ignore.

Then the dreams begin…dreams of an ethereal beauty whose touch is more real that any he’s known. And in these dreams, she has a message—a calling for Rory to return home to a destiny that will take him beyond the realm of anything he imagined.

A woman he couldn’t resist.

Lured to the castle ruins where his father disappeared, Rory is plunged back in time, and into the body of another man—a man betrothed to the very woman of Rory’s dreams. In possession of the secrets of his past, his family, and his identity, her hold on Rory is inescapable. For she is his doom. His salvation. And his destiny.

Do you consider yourself eccentric as a writer? Is there something you must have or do before writing?

Time. I must have time and I never have enough of it. The only thing I really want before I start writing is my Starbucks vanilla latte (nonfat, sugar free if anyone is delivering). But I don’t always get it.

Most people see writers as hermits, closed off in a room, clacking away at the keyboard until the final page is typed. Do you consider yourself this disciplined as a writer?

Yep, that would be more [accurate]. Usually wearing jammies and slippers while I do it.

They say you can learn a lot about a person by their surroundings. What does your work area look like?

Depending on if I’m starting, in the middle, or finishing a book, it might look nice and neat or like a tornado went through.

What do you consider your guilty pleasure?

Above mentioned lattes. I’m a total addict.

Can you tell us a bit about the workshop you’ll be doing for the Desert Rose Conference?

The workshop is Practice What you Pitch and it is just that—a practice session. I’ll be giving some tried and true tips and then randomly selected participants will have a chance to practice what they’re going to say in the editor/agent sessions. I’ve done this workshop in the past and it’s amazing how many great things come out of this workshop. People walk away with a clearer idea of their story, what the wow factor is, and how to present it.

Is there anything we didn't cover that you'd like to mention?

I think we covered it! Thanks for the great questions, Terri!

Thank you for joing us today, Erin. It’s been a pleasure.

Learn more about Erin Quinn at her website http://www.erinquinn.info/

Diana Gabaldon visits Today

2010-03-05T06:03:00.000-08:00

Diana Gabaldon is the author of the award-winning, NYT-bestselling OUTLANDER novels, described by Salon magazine as "the smartest historical sci-fi adventure-romance story ever written by a science Ph.D. with a background in scripting "Scrooge McDuck" comics," and the Lord John Grey novels, which are only slightly more describable. Dr. Gabaldon holds several advanced degrees in science, (plus an honorary degree as Doctor of Humane Letters) and spent a dozen years as a university professor with an expertise in scientific computation before beginning to write fiction. None of this has anything to do with her novels, but there you are.

Welcome Diana. It’s wonderful to have you here. Can you tell us about yourself?

Well, given that there are a few photographs scattered around in proximity to the text and on my website, I'm assuming that you're looking for a Power-Point personality demo, rather than a police Identi-Kit description.

Hum.

[The following is Diana’s top ten list of interesting facts about herself)

1. My son—himself a working novelist—asked me the other day what I thought of a particular book we'd both read. I told him. After a few minutes—we were walking through a parking lot—he said thoughtfully, "You know, everybody thinks you're this cuddly little hobbit. They're wrong."

2. A group of local fans often invites me out to tea in the springtime, in hopes of picking my brains about the newest book in progress, and very nice of them it is, too. On one of these occasions, though, they got on to the character of Black Jack Randall. For those of you so far unfamiliar with my work, Captain Randall is—to be blunt about it—a sadistic bisexual pervert. "Oh, he's disgusting!" they said. "He's just loathsome, eww, he makes my skin crawl!" I sat quietly sipping my Earl Grey, smiling pleasantly and thinking, "You have no idea that you're talking to Black Jack Randall, do you?"

3. Owing to my rather peculiar background—well, if you come right down to it, all novelists have peculiar backgrounds; if we didn't, we'd probably be lawyers or sanitation engineers or something else that provides health insurance—people continuously ask me whether I'm "right-brained," or "left-brained." My personal opinion is that my entire brain appears to be in good working condition, thank you, and I don't quite know how all these other people are getting by on half of one, but I suppose that's their business.

4. Oh, the peculiar background. Well, I was a scientist in my previous professional incarnation. This was my father's fault: he was fond of saying to me during my formative years, "You're such a poor judge of character, you're bound to marry some bum. So be sure to get a good education, so you can support your children!" Well, OK. I knew from the age of eight or so that I was meant to be a novelist, but I did have better sense than to mention it. So I went into science. I liked science, I was reasonably good at it, and in the fullness of time, I ended up with three degrees in the biological sciences, including a Ph.D. in Quantitative Behavioral Ecology (don't worry about it; it's just animal behavior with a lot of statistics). (Actually, I now have four degrees, thanks to Northern Arizona University having given me an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters degree. Yes, I did ask them what an inhumane letter might be, but they were not amused. I guess dealing with undergraduates has an erosive effect on the sense of humor.)

Anyway, people find out about the 400-page doctoral thesis on "Nest Site Selection in the Pinyon Jay, Gymnorhinus cyanocephalus, " (or, as my husband remarks, "Why Birds Build Nests Where They Do, and Who Cares, Anyway") and immediately go all drop-jawed, asking, "But HOW did you get from being a scientist to being a novelist?"

5. I wrote a book. How else?

6. What sort of book? You got me. I wrote my first book (OUTLANDER) for practice, never intending to show it to anyone. That being so, I didn't see any point in trying to restrict it in terms of genre—or anything else. Consequently, I've seen my books shelved (so far) as:

Historical Fiction

Historical Non-fiction (Really. I can only suppose that the accuracy of my research compensates for the inclusion of time-travel.)

Plain Old Fiction (If I had to choose a category myself, I suppose I'd pick this one. More inclusive.)

Science Fiction (Well, OK, I was invited to write up the Gabaldon Theory of Time-Travel for the Journal of Transfigural Mathematics (Berlin), and I did, but still…)

Fantasy (no elves, but the Loch Ness Monster does make a cameo appearance)

Mystery (There actually is a full-fledged murder mystery in each of my novels. It's just that people don't always notice it, in among the other stuff.)

Military History (cf. "accuracy," above. I'm told I do battles fairly well, too. As one nice elderly gentleman said in his letter to me, "You don't write like a woman, at all!" I think he was under the impression that this was a compliment, so I thanked him graciously.)

Romance (I'm told I do sex rather well, too. I'll let you judge the handling of sex and violence for yourself, though; see the various Excerpts posted on my website (www.dianagabaldon.com).)

Gay and Lesbian Fiction (No, this really has nothing to do with the appearance of Captain Black Jack Randall. He's not gay; he's a pervert. It's Lord John Grey—he's gay. I've only had one lesbian, and she was very minor, really.)

And

Horror. (No, really. A BREATH OF SNOW AND ASHES—the sixth of the big main OUTLANDER novels—won a Corine international literary prize for Fiction— and the 2006 Quill Award for "Science-Fiction/Fantasy/Horror," against one of Stephen King's books. I was Extremely Flattered. )

7. Back in the day, I used to do book-signings at mall stores. Sitting at my little card table, smiling pleasantly at passersby and answering questions like, "Where's the restroom?" and "Are the new Garfield calendars in yet?" Every now and then, though, someone would notice the pile of novels at my elbow, pick one up, look at it, and ask (logically enough) "What kind of book is this?"

Now, owing to the peculiarly amorphous nature of what I write ( Salon.com magazine called them "the smartest historical sci-fi adventure-romance story ever written by a science Ph.D. with a background in scripting "Scrooge McDuck" comics."), that's not a simple question to answer. So for awhile, I'd answer on the basis of the age and gender of the person in front of me (riding the statistical probabilities, aye?): if it was a young woman in her twenties, I'd say, "Oh, historical romance—men in kilts, you know…" If a young man, "Oh, fantasy. Lots of swords and battles." A slightly older woman, "Oh, it's historical fiction. If you liked SHO-GUN, you'll love this!" A slightly older gentleman, "Oh, it's military history."

Well, this worked fine, up to a point. Eventually, I began to get small crowds, rather than one or two people at a time, and so would have a mix of ages and genders. So I had to find a new approach. At this point, I took to telling people, "Look. Pick it up, open it anywhere, and read three pages. If you can put it down again, I'll pay you a dollar." Sold a lot of books, never lost any money.

8. Yes, I did write comic books for Walt Disney.

9. I suppose you can't tell how tall I am from the photos. Well, as one online acquaintance from Texas blurted upon meeting me in person for the first time, "My Gahd, you're short!" Well, I was shorter than he was, I'll admit that much. I am, in fact, five foot two and seven-eights (copy-editors keep insisting that I mean "five feet two and seven-eighths," but I don't. Regional colloquial usage, aye?)

10. If you haven't yet found this a sufficient description of me…well, there are a number of YouTube videos that various fans and interviewers have posted of me doing my usual shtik at book-signings and the like:

A kindly friend collected a bunch of them (along with thirty or forty of the "casting videos" that fans impatient for a movie version have made) into a YouTube Channel for me.

http://www.youtube.com/user/voyagesoftheartemis

11. Yes, I do talk very fast.

Is there anyone who influenced you or your writing?

I know writers of novels who say they don't read fiction at all while working on a book, out of fear of "being influenced" by what they read. I am struck by horror at the thought of going years without being able to read fiction (though perhaps these people write faster than I do, and take long vacations between books?)—but more struck by the sheer silliness of this.

Everything writers see, think, and experience influences their work. How could it not? Now, it's true that people do ask writers, "Where do you get your ideas?" and that writers--out of facetiousness or desperation--give answers like, "From the Sears catalog" (or "From Ideas.com," depending on the writer's vintage). But the truth is that writers get ideas from every damn thing they see, hear, smell, touch, taste, think, feel, or do—including the books they read.

Naturally, one wants to develop a unique voice, but do kids learn to talk without ever being talked to? You have an individual voice, by virtue of being an individual. And your individuality is composed of your essential God-given spark of personality and of the sum total of the things you encounter in life. Now, whether each encounter is a bruising collision or a fruitful act of love…who knows? But all of it is grist to a writer's mill; so much should be obvious, if one reads at all widely.

Personally, I learned to read at the age of three, and have read non-stop ever since. I turned 58 last month; you can read a lot of books in fifty-five years. I'm sure that every single book I've ever read has had some influence on me as a writer, whether negative (I've read a lot of books with the mounting conviction that I would never in my life do something like that) or positive.

When I first began to write fiction, though, I was deliberately looking for positive influences, and luckily had quite a few to hand. During the writing of my first novel (OUTLANDER/CROSS STITCH, which I wrote for practice, not intending to ever show it to anyone), I consciously considered the art and techniques of these five writers in particular:

Charles Dickens – Nobody does characters like Dickens did, and that's why his books endure. He told excellent stories and painted a vivid portrait of Victorian society, but that society consists of people who live, breathe, and speak on the page. I learned from him the art of evoking a character: naming and describing people in such vivid detail as to make them live.

Robert Louis Stevenson – One of the earliest and best of the romance writers—back when "romance" meant adventure and excitement, escape from daily life. TREASURE ISLAND? KIDNAPPED? THE MASTER OF BALLANTRAE? The titles alone are enough to transport you, but the clean prose and vivid characters bring you back again and again.

Dorothy L. Sayers – Mistress of dialogue, character, humor and social nuance. From her, I learned that dialogue is the single most defining trait of character, and just how much you can do with accent, idiom, and dialect. Also, that a character is embedded in his or her social matrix, and that matrix is as important as the individual's personal characteristics.

John D. MacDonald – John D. was a prolific writer, with more than five hundred novels to his credit, in more than one genre, but was best known for his Travis McGee mystery/thrillers. From him, I learned how to sustain characters over the course of a long series, how to maintain a narrative drive, how to write action, and how to pace a story.

P.G. Wodehouse – one of the most popular humorists ever. Pelham Grenville Wodehouse taught me how much sheer amusement you can derive from the English language—and the art of constructing a plot that works so seamlessly that it doesn't matter how absurd it is. And no one who's ever had the pleasure of meeting Bertie Wooster and his gentleman's personal gentleman, Jeeves—let alone his bevy of friends and nemeses (Gussie Fink-Nottle and his Aunt Agatha, to mention only two)—will ever forget them.

I learned a great deal from all these writers—and from hundreds more. What every writer on this list of personal muses has in common, though, is great skill in the matter of creating characters. And character, I think, is the single most important thing in fiction. You might read a book once for its interesting plot—but not twice. When you meet a fascinating person in the pages of a book, though, you come back, discovering new relevance, seeing new depths—or just enjoying the renewal of a long and lasting friendship.

Do you have a favorite book or series?

See above. I read all the time, and I have (literally) dozens, if not hundred, of favorites.

When you're not writing, do you have any hobbies or interests?

Yeah, I dig in my garden, I knit, and I drink a lot of wine with my husband.

Are there any current projects you can tell us about?

Oh, man…well, I like to work on multiple projects, because it keeps me from ever having writer's block, and insures that I'm always wanting to work. Since a Big Book just came out recently, and I'm just now—after five major book-tours—able to settle back into my regular writing routine, I'm in the enviable position of being able to decide what-all I want to work on for the next year or so. I've got four major projects that I'll be working on during that time (plus the little oddball things that come along; those are mostly unpredictable, though I do have a contract for a novella due in June, titled "Lord John and the Plague of Zombies"):

Book Eight – the OUTLANDER novel that follows AN ECHO IN THE BONE. I'm just in the beginning phases of this, gently feeling my way into it.

LORD JOHN AND THE SCOTTISH PRISONER. This is pretty cool; it's a two-person book, with viewpoints switching back and forth between the two protagonists, those being Jamie Fraser and Lord John Grey.

The Contemporary Crime Novel – I've been calling it RED ANT'S HEAD, but people make faces when I tell them the title, and that's never a good sign. I've been picking away at this book for some years now, and probably have about half of it. I think it's close to Critical Mass, though, and since I'm not—for the moment—obliged to shove everything else out of the way in order to finish something major, I might just be able to finish within the next year.

THE OUTLANDISH COMPANION, VOLUME II - People keep asking whether I'm going to update THE OUTLANDISH COMPANION, and I'm not; I'm writing a second volume, which will cover the material in the most recent three OUTLANDER books and the three extant LORD JOHN novels, as well as providing all the entertaining trivai people ask for: 18^th-century recipes, clothing, and customs, floorplans for the various dwellings described in the series, timelines, etc., plus Reader's Guides for book-club use.

Do you plot your story before you write it or do you sit and let it flow?

Well, neither one, really. I certainly don't plan a book out before writing it—what fun would that be?—but when I hear the words "let it flow" used as a description of writing, I begin to reach for the nearest blunt object. "Flow," forsooth. Well, sometimes it flows. Sometimes, it's like shoveling rocks uphill. And for the most part, it's like working in a gold mine, where you're chipping away in the dark until you find a rich seam, and when you do, you follow it. You know—it's work.

Do you consider yourself eccentric as a writer? Is there something must have or do before writing?

You mean there's some definition of "normal" for writers? No, all I need is a laptop and something to put my feet up on.

What does your work space look like?

Well, it has a lot of counter-space, because I think in piles. For the rest, it's generally full of books (I have a huge built-in bookshelf across one wall that holds the 1500 or so books of the "core collection"—research and reference), the sort of small objects that come and sit on writer's bookshelves (I notice that most writers have rocks, feathers, shells, or all three on their shelves. I have all three, plus enough peculiar glassware and herbal stuff that my son says my office looks like the den of a medieval alchemist, small wood carvings, stacks of postcards (I buy postcards at art museums, and prop the little batches up here and there in front of the books, then shift the cards every so often for a fresh view. This came in handy just recently, when I had to find a good view of a naked man's rear end for professional purposes—I had one, from the National Gallery in London)), and dachshunds (I have two standard badger-hounds; they weight about thirty pounds each and keep trying to crawl into my lap while I'm working, in spite of the obvious logistical difficulties involved). Then there's a cat who lives on top of the armoire where I keep my office supplies, but she doesn't actually belong to us; she's a squatter who comes in when it's cold outside.

What can you tell us about your workshop at the Desert Dreams conference?

Well, good question. Probably I'll riff off the "plot-driven" vs. "character-driven" question, which I think is a complete non-question, myself, but it doesn't stop earnest people asking, and then go on to talk about why Character is Plot, and how you get one out of your head and onto the page.

Thank you so much for spending the day with us Diana.

2010-03-03T04:30:00.000-08:00

Robin Lee Hatcher is the best-selling author of over sixty books. Her well-drawn characters and heartwarming stories of faith, courage, and love have earned her both critical acclaim and the devotion of readers. Her numerous awards including the 2000 Christy Award for Excellence in Christian Fiction, the 1999 and 2001 RITA Awards for Best Inspirational Romance, Romantic Times Career Achievement Awards for Americana Romance and Inspirational Fiction, and the 2001 RWA Lifetime Achievement Award. In addition, Catching Katie was named among the Best Books of 2004 by Library Journal.

Robin began her writing career in the general market, writing 30 romances for Leisure, HarperPaperbacks, Avon Books, and Silhouette. In 1997, after several years of heart preparation, Robin began to write stories of faith for the Christian fiction market. She’s written both contemporary women's fiction and historical romances for CBA publishers.

Robin enjoys being with her family, spending time in the beautiful Idaho outdoors, reading books that make her cry, and watching romantic movies. She’s passionate about the theater, and every summer she can be found at the outdoor amphitheater of the Idaho Shakespeare Festival, enjoying plays under the stars. She makes her home on the outskirts of Boise, sharing it with Poppet the high-maintenance Papillon.

DRose: It’s wonderful to have you here, Robin. Can you tell us a little about yourself? Where are you from? When you were young, what did you want to be when you grew up?

I was born in the small town of Payette, Idaho, but only because my aunt’s husband was a physician and my parents drove there from Boise so he could deliver me. I was raised in Boise and have never felt the urge to live elsewhere, even though I love to travel.

Although I have always been a “compulsive writer,” I wanted to be an actress. But it didn’t fit into my life as young wife and mother as easily as writing did. I’m still passionate about the theater and can be found every summer attending the Idaho Shakespeare Festival’s productions from June into September.

DRose: How long did it take for you to get published and what was the journey like?

I wrote my first book, long hand on legal pads, in 1981. It took me about 9 months, working on it evenings and weekends and typing it on the office typewriter during lunch and coffee breaks. I sold it in early 1982, but the publisher went bankrupt that summer. By that time I’d written the sequel. I sold both of them in early 1983 and they were published in early 1984. Sadly, that small publisher released the books without any editing, so all of my blunders, clichés, and adverbs galore are in print.

Eventually I began to get well edited and really learning my craft. I also got a terrific agent who has challenged me to grow as a writer as well.

DRose: Which would you say is your favorite book or series?

That’s like asking me which of my daughters is my favorite. I can’t answer it. Every book was written at the time because I was passionate about the idea. Usually the book I’m most fond of at any given moment is the one for which I’ve just received a glowing review or received a letter/email where a reader raves about it.

DRose: Do you plot your story before you write it or do you sit and let it flow?

I’m a seat-of-the-pantser. If I try to plot in advance, I get bored with the story. If I know how it ends, why bother to write it? My own curiosity is already satisfied. I often do what is called a “rolling plot,” where I sit down in the morning and journal about what I need to accomplish that day, asking questions from the characters’ POVs, etc. I see it sort of like headlights on a car. The rolling plot allows me to see just enough ahead that I don’t drive off the road or hit a deer.

DRose: Musicians often note the musicians who influenced them. What authors have influenced you and your work?

More than anyone else, I would have to say Francine Rivers. She is a writer and a person I would hope to emulate in numerous ways. Her books are always affecting and powerful, and some of them have changed my life in ways both big and small. And she is a woman of grace, which I certainly hope can be said of me. It was her amazing book, Redeeming Love, which first planted the desire in my heart to write Christian fiction. (Interesting note: It hasn’t fallen off the CBA bestseller list in over 10 years.)

DRose: When you're not writing, do you have any hobbies or interests?

I’ve taken up knitting again after a 25 year break and have enjoyed it a lot. I’m also interested in photography and in painting (pictures, not walls!) although I don’t find the time to do enough of either of them.

DRose: Tell us more about your book. What's it about and what inspired you to write it?

My 62^nd novel will release in mid-May 2010. A Matter of Character is the third book in the Sisters of Bethlehem Springs series. The series began with the question: Who says a woman can’t do a man’s job? Gwen, the heroine of the first book (A Vote of Confidence; 1915), runs for mayor of the town of Bethlehem Springs, Idaho. Her sister Cleo, the heroine of the second book (Fit To Be Tied; 1916), is a horse wrangler on their dad’s cattle ranch. And Daphne, who is the sister of the hero of the first book, is the heroine of the third book (set in 1918). Daphne secretly writes dime novels under a male pseudonym. Here’s the blurb:

Who Says a Woman
Can’t Keep a Secret?

It's 1918, and Daphne McKinley, heiress to a small fortune, has found contentment in the town of Bethlehem Springs, Idaho. But Daphne has a secret.

A series of dime novels loosely based on local lore and featuring a nefarious villain known as Rawhide Rick has enjoyed modest popularity among readers. Nobody in Bethlehem Springs knows the man behind the stories … except Daphne.

When newspaperman Joshua Crawford comes to town searching for the man who sullied the good name of his grandfather, Daphne finds herself at a crossroads, reassessing the power of her words, re-thinking how best to honor her gifts, and reconsidering what she wants out of life.

DRose: Any current projects you're excited about and can share with our readers?

Well, at present, I am totally gutting an existing manuscript and rewriting it. I can’t claim to be excited about it at all. However, I have a new series idea stirring around in my imagination. It’s too early in the process to talk about it yet. It needs a bit more time to gel. I can say that it’s another historical romance series, set in the west in the late 1800’s.

DRose: A lot of authors like to write with some background noise. Do you write to music or the TV?

I like to write to movie soundtracks (without words). When I go to see a movie, I always pay attention to the music to see if it would make good writing music. While I can write with the TV on, I don’t get as involved in the story, so I avoid the TV when writing.

DRose: Do you consider yourself eccentric as a writer? Is there something you must have or do before writing?

I’m sure I have my share of eccentricities (writers are a quirky lot), but I don’t have anything I must do before writing. I begin my day with exercise, Bible study, and prayer. Then I check email and Facebook. And finally I open my WIP and get to work.

DRose: Do you consider yourself a disciplined writer?

There are a lot of distractions in my life, including the aforementioned email and Facebook. So I have to be determined about putting the behind in the chair and getting the work done.

DRose: They say you can learn a lot about a person by their surroundings. What does your work area look like?

My desk is always cluttered. I try and try to get a handle on it, but I think the paper (bills to pay, correspondence to be answered, etc.) is reproducing at night while I sleep. But I don’t have nearly as much paperwork connected to my WIP as I used to. Now I have some wonderful software on my MacBook that I use to keep all of my character photos and research notes in. You’ll have to attend my Organizational workshop to learn more about that!

I am also surrounded by a lovely original oil painting of one of my covers, a number of awards including three RITAs and a Christy, and, of course, books, books, and more books. And, my dog’s bed is nearby so my sweet but noisy companion can be comfortable while I work.

DRose: What do you consider your guilty pleasure?

Reese’s Peanut Butter cups, which I gave up for Lent and hope I’ll ignore beyond Easter. They aren’t conducive to good health and a proper weight.

DRose: Can you tell us a bit about the workshop you’ll be doing for the Desert Rose Conference?

I’ll be leading two workshops:

Staying Organized Amidst the Chaos

This workshop is always a hit at conferences. I cover ways to keep the writing life organized, tricks which have helped me keep track of my characters, my time lines, my research, and much more. I show examples on an overhead projector and encourage participants to find what will work for them.

It’s Not About Prayers & Preaching: Weaving Faith into Your Inspirational Romance

Traditionally, romances have included the external/action plot thread and the internal/emotional/romantic plot thread. The inspirational romance includes a third and equally important plot thread: Faith. Knowing how to do that in a seamless manner will determine whether or not a writer succeeds as an author of inspirational fiction.

Thank you for spending the day with us Robin. We’re looking forward to having you at our conference.

To learn more about Robin Lee Hatcher visit her website at

www.robinleehatcher.com

Introducing Kensington Editor Peter Senftleben

2010-03-01T05:21:00.000-08:00

Peter Senftleben graduated from Tulane University in 2003 with a degree in chemical engineering and math. After careful consideration, he decided instead to pursue his passion for reading—to do something he enjoyed for the next fifty years of his life—and moved to New York to get into book publishing. He started as an intern at Writers House and worked as an assistant at a boutique literary agency for a year, but soon realized that his skills and heart were in editorial. In late 2006 he joined Kensington as the editorial assistant to the editor-in-chief and is now an assistant editor building his own varied and distinguished list.

Some of his projects include Two Rivers and The Hungry Season by T. Greenwood, Something Scandalous by Christie Kelley, Spy Candy by Gina Robinson, Closer to Fine by Meri Weiss, The Screwed-Up Life of Charlie the Second by Drew Ferguson, Take Me by Shelli Stevens, Working Stiff by Annelise Ryan, and The First Annual Grand Prairie Rabbit Festival by Ken Wheaton.

Peter is currently acquiring many types of fiction; his interests include: mysteries, thrillers, mainstream and women’s fiction, urban fantasy, paranormal fiction and romance, contemporary and historical romance, romantic suspense, erotic romance, and gay fiction. His nonfiction tastes, however, are limited to pop culture, humor, and entertainment. He does not want to see anything with terrorists of any kind.

Thank you for joining us today, Peter. You have quite the impressive bio. As a child, what did you want to be when you grew up?

Rich and famous. Seriously. Also, a writer, a chemist, a chef, a stand-up comic, and a librarian.

What or who influenced you to become an editor?

It was mostly my experiences in publishing that influenced me. I started out on the agenting side, and I wasn’t cut out for it. I preferred the editorial and developmental aspects so much more than everything else. And it really indulges my creative instincts without having to do all the work of actually creating.

Are there any books that you read for pleasure?

I don’t get much time to read for pleasure these days, but when I do, I find myself gravitating to YA more and more, be it paranormal or serious, realistic, issue-driven fiction. I also try to keep up with some of my favorite adult authors in the mystery and thriller genres, as well as some literary fiction if I have time and am in the right mindset.

What profession other than your own would you like to attempt?

I’d love to be a chocolatier, or a baker/pastry chef, or make cheese. In school I was interested in flavors and fragrances, so I wouldn’t mind working in R&D for an ice cream or candy company or something, coming up with new flavor profiles. I think it could be fun to do the scheduling and programming at a TV network, too. I’ve obviously given this a lot of thought…

What one word would you use to describe yourself?

Sarcastic

They say you are what you eat, but you can also tell a lot about a person by their surroundings. What does your workspace look like?

It’s very tidy and orderly, with stacks and stacks of neatly arranged paper. I try to keep my desk as cleared as possible. I juggle a lot of projects in different stages, so I need to be organized or I’ll inevitably screw up something.

Do you have any hobbies?

I love TV and movies (I’m a pop culture aficionado), cooking and baking, spending time with friends. And reading, of course.

If you were stranded on an island… what four things would you want with you?

Someone I love for company, a machete to kill things, a loooooong book for entertainment, and a blanket to keep warm.

What was the most dangerous or scariest thing you’ve ever done?

I don’t do danger.

If you could have lunch with anyone living or dead… who would it be?

Hmmmm, so many people to choose from! The first who come to mind are Ellen Degeneres, Kathy Griffin, Anderson Cooper, and Neil Patrick Harris. That would be a fun lunch!

If you could live in another time period… when would it be and why?

I don’t think I would want to. Too early in history and you don’t have running water or toilets, and anything more recent still faces too much discrimination that I don’t want to deal with. I’m fine in the now, even though we have our own problems.

As an editor you’re thought of as quite the wordsmith. Do you have a favorite word? What would be your least favorite word?

No favorite, really, though I’m sure I use some more than I should. But I don’t like the C word or the P word, even when it refers to a cat, despite how often they appear in the books I work on.

Flash Round:

Favorite Ice Cream flavor? Cookies and cream or mint chocolate chip

Favorite Food? Lasagna (with lots of cheese!)

Favorite flower? Gardenia

Favorite Sport? Errrr… Does bowling count?

Guilty Pleasure? I don’t feel guilty about anything pleasurable J

Thank you for spending the day with us, Peter.

We're looking forward to seeing you at the Desert Dreams conference.

A visit with NYT Bestselling author Jennifer Ashley

2010-02-26T06:00:00.000-08:00

Since 2002, New York Times bestselling author Jennifer Ashley has published more than thirty novels in romance, mystery, and mainstream fiction under several pseudonyms. She writes as Jennifer Ashley, Allyson James, and Ashley Gardner for Berkley, Dorchester, and Ellora’s Cave. She is a multi-award winning author and in 2006 won the RITA-- RWA’s highest honor for published authors-- for her novel A Lady Raised High, published under the pseudonym Laurien Gardner.

Hi Jennifer. Thank you for being here today. Let’s start by telling us a little about yourself. Where are you from? When you were young, what did you want to be when you grew up?

Hi! I’m from Arizona, one of the most beautiful places in the world. When I was little, I knew I wanted to be a writer. I started reading at age five and figured out that novels were just make-believe written down on paper. Heck, I could do that, couldn’t I? I bought some brightly colored paper and started writing. I never looked back.

How long did it take for you to get published and what was the journey like?

In 1999, I attended an inexpensive “how to get published” seminar at the YMCA that inspired me to dust off the manuscripts I’d half-heartedly attempted to get published a few years before that, and really go for it.

Even though I didn’t quit my FT job, I decided right then that writing was my “real” job, and my FT job was just there to pay the bills. Changing that focus really helped me.

I knuckled down and wrote ms. after ms. I started finalling in and then winning contests. I started getting bites from agents and editors. Finally in 2002 (about 3 years to the day I attended the seminar), I was offered a contract by Dorchester. Later that year, Berkley offered me a three-book contract for a mystery series, and Dorchester offered me another 3-book for romances. After three years of work and rejection, I was multipublished in the space of a few months!

What authors, would you say, have been your biggest influences for you or your work?

Goodness, so many! My shelves overflow with books from authors I love: Terry Pratchett, Tony Hillerman, Elizabeth Peters, Donna Leon, Mary Jo Putney, Robert Parker, Patricia Briggs, Charlaine Harris… I learn from every author I read.

Tell us more about your book. What's it about and what inspired you to write it?

I have several releases this year: Pride Mates under the name Jennifer Ashley in Feb, which hit the New York Times list! In this paranormal romance, I introduce Shifters: shape shifters who have been outed and now are forced to wear collars and live in “Shiftertowns.” They’re not allowed to mix much with humans. I was inspired to write it because I speculated on what would happen if people found out shape shifters really did exist. What would they do? No, I mean really? The hero is a sexy, alpha male Shifter who goes up against a sassy, in-your-face defense attorney. This is the first in the series.

Next, Stormwalker, written as Allyson James, in May from Berkley. This book begins a new series set in Northern Arizona, in a small town where the paranormal is normal. Janet Begay, a young Navajo woman, comes to Magellan to investigate the disappearance of the police chief’s daughter. She’s a Stormwalker, able to channel the power of the desert storms to work magic. She has to deal with the handsome but by-the-rules sheriff, her mysterious shape shifter boyfriend, and her own mother, a hell-goddess from the world Beneath.

Third, Lady Isabella’s Scandalous Marriage, a historical romance written as Jennifer Ashley, in July from Berkley. This book is the sequel to The Madness of Lord Ian Mackenzie. I continue the saga of the Mackenzie family by telling the story of Mac and Isabella, a legally separated couple. I loved writing that book—those two have history, chemistry, and emotion.

Do you plot your story before you write it or do you sit and let it flow?

I pretty much go with the flow. That said, I do have a good idea in my head what the story is about (and the main characters) before I start. I make notes to myself as I go along, to keep track of things. (For example, I might write in the ms [Janet talks to Coyote, Maya interrupts], but that’s about it.) The dialog, secondary characters, linking events—those just come out of me as I write!

Are there any current projects you're excited about and can share with our readers?

See above, where I talk about what’s coming out for me this year. I’m working hard on those three series.

Do you consider yourself eccentric as a writer? Is there something you must have or do before writing?

I probably am eccentric and just don’t know it. I find I do write best in certain places (a coffee house, my living room, the kitchen table; never at my desk). Plus the music keeps me in the flow. But I don’t have any specific rituals.

Do you write to music or the TV?

I put on my iPod listen to music without words. I love guitarists and listen to them almost exclusively (both electric and acoustic, mostly rock and jazz). The iPod also helps cut noise when I’m at a coffee house or somewhere writing.

When you're not writing, do you have any hobbies or interests?

I build and collect dollhouses and dollhouse miniatures. I love them! I’ve been doing that since I was a wee, small child.

Some people see writers as hermits, closed off in a room, clacking away at the keyboard until the final page is typed. Do you consider yourself this disciplined as a writer?

Yes, I do. I will shut off everything—the Internet, the phone, TV, radio—any distractions, and write. I like being comfortable (I sit on my sofa or in a booth at a coffee house, drinking iced tea), but I just write. I write anywhere from two to six hours a day and don’t stop until the book is done. Granted I always have tight deadlines, so I don’t really have a choice. It’s shut down and write or get behind. (I get behind anyway, but I’d get more behind if I didn’t become a hermit.)

They say you can learn a lot about a person by their surroundings. What does your work area look like?

It used to be a horrible mess until I realized that it depressed me. I went out and bought a brand new desk (I don’t write at the desk, but I do everything else there, like this interview), plus a seven-foot narrow bookcase with whicker baskets that fit on the shelves to organize all my junk. Much better! My desk is still not pristine, but when I need something, I can actually find it.

When I’m not on the couch or a coffee house, I write at my kitchen table (laptop batteries only last so long). The table is clear except for research material pertinent to the book I’m working on—maps, dictionaries, guidebooks, research books. I also have gems and crystals scattered about for luck and energy (amethyst, tiger eye, quartz). I usually clean up the table and put everything away once I turn in a ms. Then I dig out the research materials on the next one!

What do you consider your guilty pleasure?

Buffy the Vampire Slayer graphic novels (Season 8). But they’re written by the writers from the show, plus they’re beautifully put together, so it’s OK. Right? Also, the show Burn Notice. There’s something about snappy dialog and women who like to kick butt that appeals to me, I guess!

You’re going to be teaching two workshops at the Desert Dreams conference. Can you give us the inside scoop on what to expect?

The first class is called Which Press Is Right for You?

Many people think: “I publish a book, it’s sold in a bookstore, maybe I’m on New York Times!” Not necessarily. Getting your book into a bookstore and a chance on the lists is largely contingent on what kind of book you write, where you have it published, and in what format (hardback, trade, mass market, ebook).

I will talk about the large New York publishers, small press, and e-press (e-book originals), explain what kind of publishing experience you can expect from each them, and how you can use what they do to grow to where you want to be.

The second class is called One Book Published, Now What?

Authors might think that a contract to get their foot in the door is the ticket to overnight success. Sometimes an author’s first book catches fire and catapults them to stardom. More often, especially in romance, you get stuck in the midlist and might or might not even get offered the next contract. I will focus on how to build on what you’re given to reach the career you really want. In other words, I started at the bottom and made it to the bestseller lists. So can you!

Thank you again, Jennifer. It’s been a pleasure.

Learn more about Jennifer at her website: http://www.jennifersromances.com/