Frequently Asked Questions:
Q. Where do you get your ideas?
A. My ideas always come to me in the form of daydreams. I’m usually doing something menial where my mind can wander—driving, exercising, taking a shower—and my mind will wander into a lovely daydream. Anything can inspire those dreams. “The House on Thornrose Lane” came to me when I was dozing off one night and started to imagine myself as Sleeping Beauty. “The Phantom of Linkshire Manor” came to me when I was riding in the car with my boyfriend on a dark and stormy night and I started to picture a creepy, looming mansion… with a handsome master ill and bed-ridden… and a ghost wandering the halls…. I usually get a few minutes into these daydreams before I think “Holy cow! That would make a great story!” Of course, the part where you have to develop a plot to go with the daydream is a bit trickier.
Q. What inspires you to write?
A. I have this fantasy of myself, ten or fifteen years from now, waking up every morning, pouring myself a cup of coffee, getting my kids off to school (I don’t have kids now, but I do in this fantasy), then sitting down at my computer beside a window that overlooks my beautiful garden (I don’t have a garden either, but I will someday), and writing, writing, writing all day long. Whenever I begin to doubt myself or wonder if writing is what I really want to do with my life, I conjure up this image and am instantly inspired to keep at it.
Q. How do you combat writer’s block?
A. These are a handful of techniques that I’ve developed:
- Switch locations. I usually write at home, but if I’m having trouble then sometimes I’ll take my laptop to a restaurant, park, café… I even went and stayed at a local hotel once. Going to a different place with the intention of putting words on paper usually helps me focus.
- Relax. I’m often “blocked” when there are too many other things going on in my life—chores, social obligations, work, school…. Sometimes all I need to do is take a long hot bath and give myself a moment to forget about all of life’s responsibilities in order to start feeling creative again.
- Work out. A lot of my best solutions to tricky plot dilemmas have come to me on the treadmill. I can completely zone out and let my subconscious really get to work.
- Read about writing. It took me a long time to figure this out, but I am now officially addicted to how-to-write books, magazines, and newsletters. They may or may not teach me something I don’t already know. They may or may not help me improve my craft. But just hearing about other people who have turned their writing dreams into reality always encourages me to do the same. Check out my links page for some recommendations.
Q. How do you find the time to write?
A. If you truly want to write, you will find time to write. A person who claims they want to be a writer but “don’t have the time for it” doesn’t really want to be a writer. As for me, I typically get up at 5 a.m. weekday mornings to write for an hour before I have to get ready for work. I’m a morning person and at my most creative when I can sit in bed with the lights down low, drinking coffee and listening to the breathing of my still-sleeping boyfriend. It’s pure paradise. Plus it gets the day off to a good start. If you want to be a writer but feel that you don’t have the time for it, I urge you to reevaluate your schedule and find a time that works for you—when you’re feeling inspired and creative. It can take discipline and some smart rearranging of responsibilities, but it is well worth it.
Q. How did you get published?
A. Not in the normal way. I submitted “The Phantom of Linkshire Manor” for a writing contest, where the prize was a flat cash amount and publication—and I won! I love writing contests and try to enter them whenever I find one that inspires me, but I think for my next publication I’d like to do it the traditional way. I’m trying to clean up a couple novel manuscripts right now and hope to start submitting to agents in 2009.
Q. Where can I buy your book?
A. Bound in Skin, featuring my novelette “The Phantom of Linkshire Manor,” can be purchased at Amazon or Barnes and Noble’s web site. See the Publications page for direct links.
Q. Will you ever publish a novel?
A. I certainly hope so.
Q. Do you have any tips for my writing?
A. This is always a tricky question to answer, as every writer has their own strengths and weaknesses. But two tidbits of advice are always relevant: read more and write more. And I don’t only mean in quantity, but in breadth, too. If you’ve been reading only romance books for awhile, try a thriller or a science-fiction. It may not be your cup of tea, but I guarantee you will learn something that you can apply to your writing, that you may not have learned if you hadn’t branched out. Speaking of writing, if you’ve been working on a novel, try a few poems this week. Or a short story. Or a magazine article, regardless of whether it will actually get published. By broadening your reading and writing horizons you will develop a new way with language and your own personal style. These are the only two ways to consistently improve upon your skills (that I’m aware of, at least).
Q. Will you read my story?
A. I’m sorry that I no longer review stories upon request. As a professional editor, though, I would be happy to read and review your work as a client. Please see the Editing Services tab for more information.
Q. I have a really great idea for a story. Will you write it for me?
A. No, but I encourage you to write it yourself.
Q. Will you write an Usagi/Seiya fic for me?
A. No, but I encourage you to write it yourself… if you must.
Q. Why does it take so long between updates?
A. I usually post a chapter or short story every two weeks to fanfiction.net. Seriously—is that such a terribly long time??
Q. When are you going to post “To the Gentleman in the Back”?
A. My goal is to start posting this story to fanfiction.net in May 2008. But please don’t flame me if it doesn’t happen.
Q. Are you married?
A. No, but I have a wonderful boyfriend who makes me insanely happy. At the time of this posting, we’ve been together for a year and a half. There are pictures of him in the bio section.
Q. Which of your own stories is your favorite? Least favorite?
A. I positively cannot choose a favorite, but those that have prominent places in my heart are “The House on Thornrose Lane” (I consider it my first “novel”—it’s certainly long enough!), “The Professional,” which got me back into fanfiction after a 4-year hiatus, and all my Christmas stories. There’s just something about the Christmas season that says “You need to write something sappy!” As for least favorite: that is definitely “Next Time Take the Elevator: A Sequel.” I was uninspired for it to begin with and only wrote it because of a barrage of requests for a sequel. I certainly learned my lesson not to write something I don’t want to write.
Q. Who are some of your favorite authors?
A. Gregory Maguire (Wicked, Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister) for his dark retellings of fairy tales; Gail Carson Levine (Ella Enchanted, Fairest) for her light retellings of fairy tales; Jane Austen (Pride and Prejudice is possibly the best love/hate romance of all time); and, of course, J.K. Rowling.
Q. What are some of your favorite books?
A. In addition to everything by the above authors, these books left me awestruck: Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen, Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte, The Giver by Lois Lowry, Holes by Louis Sachar, Twilight by Stephenie Meyer, Daughter of Fortune by Isabel Allende. Ah, and the collected works of the Brothers Grimm. Clearly.
Q. What’s with all the fairy tales, anyway?
A. That is a good question.