Hooked On Romance

**UPDATE: Congratulations DANICA AVET for winning an autographed ARC of BPOD. If we can't find your email, Please send me your name and mailing address to jaxcassidy@gmail.com to claim your prize!**

This interview isn't just a one-on-one with another author, it's an interview a long time in the making... Five years ago I met Kelly in Los Angeles while she was participating in a screenwriting fellowship. At the time, I was working on my own screenplays and struggling to figure out what I really wanted to do with my life. Kelly and I just clicked and became fast friends. During one of our weekly outings, she told me about her desire to write a romance. In fact, she had already started one and was practically done. She urged me to try my hand at it since I already had one foot in the door with writing romantic comedy screenplays. She thought I'd be good at it and even handed me a stack of Karen Marie Moning books as research. I think I devoured those Highlander stories in a few days and that's when I made the decision to try my hand. I had read romances in my teens but it struck more of a chord in me as an adult. I began to understand how different I viewed these stories now, including the strong heroines and engaging storytelling. Kelly had thrown down the gauntlet and, of course, I wasn't one to refuse a good challenge! Starting our romance writing journey together wouldn't have been so much fun without her constant enthusiasm. Although all good things did come to an end (kinda) when she moved home, and there were some large patches of time where we didn't contact one another, but I could never thank Kelly enough for introducing me to romances. Without meeting her, I may never would have found my calling.

Yes, we've come full circle and although we took different routes to reach publication, Kelly THANK YOU for planting that seed in my head all those years ago. With that, I'm thrilled to have her visiting HoR and proud to introduce my dear friend and fellow author...

You've won the Laurie for your paranormal contemporary BED & BREAKFAST and finaled in the Golden Heart for the same manuscript, yet had you ever imagined your urban fantasy would be the genre that would launch your writing career?

Nope. B&B had gotten a lot of recognition, and for a while there, especially after it won the Laurie, finaled in the GH, and landed me an agent, I really thought this was the book, the one that'd get sold. But it never happened. That was a tough year. I watched a lot of friends sell and move on with their careers, and while I was super happy for them, it was still hard to keep my chin up and be optimistic. There was nothing else I could do but continue writing. So, I wrote a few more manuscripts -- a paranormal romance, a YA fantasy, and I revised B&B into BEDKNOBS & BROOMSTICKS. It, along with the YA, finaled in the 2008 GH. (I had also finished the urban fantasy and decided to enter it in the GH as well. It was the only one that didn't final. Little known fact there.) Figures the one that didn't final would be the one to sell. My world is so backwards! :-)

Seriously, though, once BPOD was finished, I had a very special feeling about it. It was unlike anything else I'd written. I followed my own rules, and it was the only book I had written without the market or anything else in mind. You'll hear people tell you to write what you love and not to write to the market, but you'll also hear agents and editors say how they're looking for more of this or more of that. So, for an aspiring writer (or at least for me), it was hard not to write with the market in mind, to not think "Editor X said at the panel she's dying to see more paranormal zombie romance. Maybe I should write that..." When you're constantly knocking on doors, you want to give folks what's hot, what they're looking for. But, after a lot of failed attempts, and getting so close, I finally just sat down, put the romance aside, and decided to write the dark story that had been stewing my head for a while. I love reading romance and getting to the Happy Ending, but as a writer I learned that my voice naturally gravitates toward a darker side.

BETTER PART OF DARKNESS is the first release in your urban fantasy series and it's already garnered a lot of excellent reviews, including the Fall 2009 SIBA Okra Pick. How do you feel about all the buzz and is this added pressure for you?

I feel great about the buzz! Relieved, actually. Before the book started on the review rounds, I felt a lot of pressure. My publishing house had invested time and money in me. I wanted to do well for, not only my own sanity, but for them as well. And I kept telling myself, "Just one great review, that's all I ask. I'll be okay as long as someone out there likes it." But, so far so good. I'm still prepared to get some 'meh' reviews. If there's anything I've learned through the years it's that you can't please everyone. Someone is bound to not like or 'get' your work. It's like art. It's subjective. But, yeah, it's a big relief that people are responding well to the book. The pressure has now shifted on the book selling well. And if this book does well, the pressure will no doubt move to another area -- like my second book. :-)

What have you learned most about the publishing industry since you began? How much has the economy impacted your career?

I've learned to relax, trust, and have patience. The publishing industry is one of those things that teaches you patience or demands it -- how ever you want to look at it. :-) Once you sell, decisions are taken out of your hands and you have to be okay with that. I've learned to chill out about what's going on behind the scenes and to focus on my work. This economy really drives that point home. There are no guarantees that just because I sold once, I'll keep selling. So the writing has to be stellar, and I have to leave the stress about things I can't control behind me, or it ends up affecting my work.

How tumultuous was your writing journey and where do you hope to see your career going? Any secret desire to write different genres?

It's been full of ups and downs. I'd been trying to break into 'working writer-dom' since I was in my late teens, so about fifteen years or so, first with plays and screenplays and then with fiction. It's been, quite frankly, full of frustrations, full of 'almosts' and a lot of times I wanted to give up. (Which I did a few times). But the thing that always brought me back wasn't the need to sell, sell, sell; it was the spark of an idea. I couldn't stop being a creative person, couldn't stop the scenes and story ideas from coming. It's part of me. So I decided to keep going, keep writing new material, keep putting my work out there, because that's who I was. I couldn't stop writing, and I couldn't stop wanting to share it with the world. I figured if I kept going that at some point, the planets would align, the book would be the right book at the right time on the right editor's desk, and a sale would be made. Of course, the only thing I knew for sure, though, was that I sure as hell wouldn't sell if I quit.

And, yes, there are a few genres that I'd love to write in. I've been writing young adult for a few years now, and finally have a project that I really love. Fingers crossed! I also really love historical fiction and commercial fiction with a paranormal slant. I can definitely see myself working on side projects of that nature.

Writers either work alone or with a group of other writers. Do you have a posse you write with and do they write in the same genre you do? Do you meet them for writer dates?

No. No posse. For the most part I write alone, in a vacuum. I have an excellent CP in fellow urban fantasy and YA author, Jenna Black. We typically share our work once rough drafts are done, but that's usually on new work or a new genre where we still have those the first-book uncertainties. We don't critique everything and on contracted work (sequels and such) we don't usually share unless we feel the need for a second pair of eyes or there's an issue with the story. We've known each other for several years now, and we have very similar creative minds, and we like the same kinds of stories. It's a wonderful partnership. We meet for lunch about every other week to discuss the publishing biz, our own writer neurosis, and just to eat and gab. It's a great way to connect and have some face to face time.

Tell us about your latest release BETTER PART OF DARKNESS? Would you like to share an excerpt for our readers?

THE BETTER PART OF DARKNESS started as 'what ifs'. What if our myths and traditions of heaven and hell were grounded in some obscure truth? What if the beings in these places were nothing like we had imagined, but as real and as diverse as the human race? And what would our world be like if they integrated into our society?

The story takes place in Atlanta about a decade after the Revelation (the discovery of two alternate dimensions: heaven-like Elysia and hellish Charbydon). Atlanta has become a crossroads of sorts, a thriving melting pot of human and off-world races. My heroine, Charlie Madigan, is a divorced mother of one and her job with the Integration Task Force puts her right in the middle of the off-world population. It's her job, along with her partner, Hank, a siren from Elysia, to see that everyone obeys the law, but when a new off-world drug is released in Underground, her daughter is targeted, and her ex-husband makes a fateful bargain to win her back, there's nothing in heaven or earth (or hell for that matter) that Charlie won't do to set things right.

There an excerpt of Chapter One HERE.

What is the most extreme sport you’ve ever done, or adventure you’ve ever taken, and what did you learn about yourself?

Good question! I am not one to jump out of airplanes (I can hardly get myself inside of one to travel), but I have done a few daring things in my time. I drove my little mini-bike off a cliff one time. But I was ten when I did that. I jumped into an icy river in the wintertime -- exhilarating at first, but damn painful after you realize you have to walk a half mile to get home. But I was a teen when I did that. Um.... Okay. I'm realizing that as an adult all those daring things that were just on the tip of my tongue are all in my head and not real-life. ;-) I live vicariously through my characters!

If you were a nail polish, what would it be called and why?

Hmm. Probably something like a 'Bleeding Soul'. Dramatic and serious and dark. That's a place where I spend a lot of my creative time. :-)

ABOUT KELLY

Kelly Gay is the author of the upcoming urban fantasy novel, THE BETTER PART OF DARKNESS. She is a three-time RWA Golden Heart finalist, and recipient of a North Carolina Arts Council fellowship grant in writing. She lives in North Carolina, where she is currently working on the sequel to her debut novel and a new Young Adult series. You can learn more about Kelly at www.kellygay.net

According to Abba in Dancing Queen, anybody could be that guy. But not any song hits the right note. You guessed it, I'm a writer that prefers music when I'm writing. Normally I have a predesignated soundtrack that I listen to the entire time I'm working on a book, but this last book was a bit different.

I had my songs prechosen to work to, but when I started writing, they just didn't work. So, I went back to my iTunes library and found some that worked for me. The next day that music would be more of a distraction so I would have to shift to a completely different mood. It was bizarre, I bounced around between stuff like Coldplay to mood CDs you would listen to during a massage or facial to Godsmack and Disturbed.

There were a few songs that stayed completely true to the story that were on that first playlist, songs that I'd planned to be sort of like Kami's theme songs. Turns out that while I had the song right, in a few cases I had the character wrong. And through it all, Abba continued to pop in with Dancing Queen. Funny thing about that song, when it doesn't match the rest of your play list and you've been sitting and writing for 2.5 hours, it's a great signal to get up and move around. Dancing around like a loon every time that song came on kept me writing until shortly after 5:00 this morning, which allowed me to finish up the story I was working on.

So, here's my playlist. Which songs do you think were for the hero and which were for the heroine?

~ Dirty Little Secret by The All-American Rejects
~ I Bruise Easily by Natasha Bedingfield
~ I'm a Believer by The Monkees
~ Somewhere I Belong by Linkin Park (not sure of his spelling)
~ Hanging By A Moment by Lifehouse
~ If I Fall by Tara MacLean

Normally the Fall brings with it cold weather, changing leaves, and a whole lot of planning for holiday events. For writers, it's about getting all your deadlines finished and sent off before the industry closes for the holidays. It's no fun having to wait three months for responses so there should be an influx of submissions going to editors about this time. That's not to say that they aren't bombarded anyway, but this time of year is notorious for last minute queries so you're added to the 'waiting' queue.

I've been busy re-writing my paranormal proposal. It is rather challenging, however, I do have a reason to celebrate. I recently sold my short contemporary to Amber Quill Press, I've already gotten a January 2010 release. So on top of priority writing deadlines, I've got to promo my butt off in order to prepare for the January release. That's just the tip of the iceberg for writers. It's a constant rotation that a writer has to expect in order to stay in the game. It certainly seems like there are a lot of writers out there, but there's room enough for everyone...well, that's what I believe, anyway.

I can't begin to tell you how frustrating it is to be on a schedule. I've been pretty lenient on myself until recently. Even authors have their bad months and mine seemed to have lasted for several--but now that I've got my head back on straight, I realized how far behind I really am. Hopefully this time next week I'll be bragging about meeting my own personal deadlines...

Hopefully you've all had a great Halloween. Mine was a quiet evening snuggled up under the blankets while watching "Ice Age 3". It was a great way to celebrate without having to weather the cold. :)

Now it's time to get back to commitments. Fun.

UPDATE: **And the winner is ELI! Congrats on winning an autographed copy of Gemma Halliday's book. You should be contacted with the good news.**

One of my good friends, GEMMA HALLIDAY, is in the house and she's giving us some hot gossip on her HOT new series set in the heart of Hollywood...this is going to be one of those keeper series for me since I lived in L.A. for almost a decade (still miss it)...so I've been waiting for this book to come out! If you know Gemma's HIGH HEELS SERIES, you probably already know it's going to be a fun, laugh-out-loud, and entertaining read. This is the type of mystery that doesn't make your stomach queasy but brings a smile to your face. You really should pick it up...need more convincing? She's got a link to the infamous L.A. Informer Online site where you can find out where the gossip all began....

And here's Gemma:

You're known for your HIGH HEELS series, where high crime meets high fashion in fabulous Beverly Hills...and now you've got a juicy new series set around Hollywood headlines. I bet you had a lot of fun writing about this topic since it's everyone's secret (or not-so secret) obsession. What prompted you to come up with the idea for the series?

I’d love to take full credit for the idea, but my editor actually had a lot to do with it. I’d gotten tons of positive reader response to my tabloid reporter character Felix Dunn in the Heels series, so we thought it would be fun to do a sort of spin-off, borrowing him and a few other Heels characters in the process. Plus the whole tabloid setting gives me a legitimate excuse to indulge my TMZ addiction.

Has it been a challenge writing it with a new baby in the house?

Yes. Times ten. Baby’s adorable, but he hasn’t yet learned the fine art of power-napping.

Most people may not know that you have a background in screenwriting and acting. Did you have difficulty transitioning to screenplays?

My books tend to be very dialogue heavy, so switching between book and screenplay format isn’t that difficult of a stretch for me. The hardest part has been now boiling my paragraphs of description down to a couple sentences for the screenplays.

Have you ever considered going back to acting, even part-time?

It would be fun to do a cameo or something like that should one of my books hit the big screen, but other than that, I’m a lot happier writing than trying to stay “camera ready”.

What have you learned most about the publishing industry since you began?

Oh boy, hard to pick just one thing. I’d say that the most important lesson I’ve learned is that you’ve never really “made it” in this business. It’s a continuous battle to stay on top of trends and continue delivering what readers want. Which can be a fun challenge, but it’s always challenging.

How much has the economy impacted your career?

Interesting question. No doubt about it, publishing houses have been taking some hits in the current economy. But, I’ll be honest, I’m not really sure why. Everywhere I turn I keep hearing how romance is one industry that’s doing well in the bad economy. Go figure.

How tumultuous was your writing journey and where do you hope to see your career going?

It’s been a fun ride. :) There have definitely been some unexpected twists and turns, but I’m pretty happy with where I am and where things seem to be going for me. As to where I see myself going… the NY Times bestseller list, of course. ;)

Any secret desire to write different genres?

Not sure if it’s really a secret, but I’d love to write YA.

Writers either work alone or with a group of other writers. Do you have a posse you write with and do they write in the same genre you do? Do you meet them for writer dates?

I do have a group of other writers whose opinions I trust more than my own. Whenever I have something new, I’ll usually send it out to at least one of them (whoever isn’t in a deadline cave at the time) to read. We’re pretty spread out, so we don’t meet regularly, but they’re always an email away. And, no, we write in all different genres, which I think makes it even more fun reading each others' stuff.

Tell us about your latest release SCANDAL SHEET?

SCANDAL SHEET is the first book in my new Hollywood Headlines series, that focuses on the explotiots of L.A. most infamous tabloid, the L.A. Informer. Tina Bender is the Informer’s gossip columnist extraordinaire. She knows everything about everyone who's anyone. And she's not afraid to print it. That is, until she receives a threatening note, promising, "If you don't stop writing about me, you're dead." Teaming with a built bodyguard, a bubbly blonde, and an alcoholic obituary writer, Tina sets out to uncover just which juicy piece of Hollywood gossip is worth killing over.

Would you like to share an excerpt for our readers?

Absolutely. :) They can read an excerpt of the first scene of listen
to an audio excerpt of the first three chapters on my website at:
http://www.gemmahalliday.com/books/scandal_sheet/

What is the most extreme sport you’ve ever done, or adventure you’ve ever taken, and what did you learn about yourself?

Okay, I’ll admit, I’m not much of a sports gal. I did earn a black belt in Tae Kwon Do, though, so I guess sparring big 6 foot guys would be the most extreme thing I’ve done. What did I learn? I can beat up 6 foot tall guys. ;)

If you were a nail polish, what would it be called and why?

Great questions! Lol! Um… Rockin’ Red, because I love painting my toenails the brightest color I can find.

Any advice for our writers or parting words for our readers?

Advice for writers: Keep writing! And try to read as many other authors in your genre as possible.

Parting words for readers: buy SCANDAL SHEET! ;)

ABOUT GEMMA:

In her previous life, Gemma worked in such diverse jobs as a film and television actress, a teddy bear importer, a department store administrator, a preschool teacher, a temporary tattoo artist, and a 900 number psychic. All of which have given her excellent fodder for future characters.

Gemma started writing fiction in 2002 and after winning several awards as an unpublished writer, her career kicked into high gear in 2005 when she won RWA’s prestigious Golden Heart Award. One month later she was offered her first book contract, saving her from adding another dead end to her eclectic employment history.

Her first book, SPYING IN HIGH HEELS, was published in 2006, and since then Gemma has been the recipient of numerous awards, including the National Reader's Choice award and two RITA nominations.

Gemma now makes her home in the San Francisco Bay area, where she is hard at work on her next book.

Want to find out more about Gemma, visit her online: www.gemmahalliday.com

I didn't realize how much I took my health for granted until the swine flu knocked me clear on my butt. I'm usually a fighter. The minute my body doesn't feel quite right, I delve into my arsenal of herbs and start the process of kicking whatever is trying to invade my immune system to the curb.

Nothing I tried this time worked, and I've spent the better part of the last ten days in a dizzy, fever induced fog. The weeks before I fell ill, I was putting in long hours, working hard on my proposal and longing for the chance to spend just an extra few hours in bed. My wish came true, but not at all in the way I imagined. I'm not 100% better yet, but I feel well enough to try and enter the land of the living.

My agent has my latest WIP in her hands and is getting ready to begin submissions. I hope to have good news really soon.

Enjoy the rest of your week everyone!

My office and I have been very close friends lately as I have been working on several projects while having a huge blog party and watching constantly the bestseller list at My Bookstore and More to see what SOUNDS TO DIE BY is doing (and I thought I'd moved past the neurosis stage.)

Anyway, in the last two weeks I spent 12 days the Top 10 Bestseller list at MBAM. This last weekend SOUNDS TO DIE BY was voited Best book of the week at Long and Short Reviews (well it was a tie, but I'm still excited to get to make that claim.) I'm having a blog party at my personal blog with a different guest every day. Today's guest is my ediotr Lindsey Faber and she's addressing a super scary topic. You should totally go check it out. I look forward to reading the comments when I get home from volunteering at the youngest kiddo's school.

But the best part of the last two weeks, the part that gives me warm fuzzies and makes me feel all gooey inside, are the reader emails. Like most authors, I was sure that I'd written a good book but was a little worried that my message might not translate well. So far it has. I have gotten some amazing responses to the story, which has helped motivate me to get book 2 finished. Though you guessed it. I'm worried it won't be as good as the first one. LOL Guess I'll be counting on Lndsey to help make sure it is.

Why do you think that we have so much self-doubts when it comes to something that really means something to us? Why do we convince ourselves that something we know we do well isn't going to be recieved well?

Every writer reaches a point in their career where paranoia becomes a huge obstacle in the writing progress. In my case, getting my proposal to my lovely agent. She's been good at the subtle hints but she's very anxious about reading this new project. It's totally not what I usually write and it's a lot of pressure. Maybe these unnecessary fears are causing my own subliminal sabotage. Yep, it's easy to start the wheels of self-doubt, anxiety, and paranoia to turn when your head is stuck in personal struggles. What keeps me going, even with all the pressures that comes with publishing, is my love of storytelling. Maybe it's because I feel it deep in my gut that this project may be 'the one'. I've probably felt that with all my projects but this time it's different in a good but hurt-so-bad kind of way.

Well, during this writing lull I decided to contact a few of my writer friends for some pep talks. Some of these authors have even made it to the bestseller lists in the past...but they're going through this bizarre transition I'm going through with their own proposals. It's scary. No one's safe and if someone who's had good success in the past are struggling to find a publisher now...it makes it even more intense for someone who's at the beginning of their career like me. Writers need other writers. Often along the way we step back, but it's only for personal clarity and reflection. Sometimes we're needy, and sometimes we need the alone time but the pure truth is that we're never alone--after all, no one understands writers better than other writers who walk the same path.

Honest, this post isn't meant to be a downer. It's about perseverance and commitment to a goal, to yourself. It's a commitment to achieving that career that we've all been working toward for as long as we could remember. We just need to remind ourselves the reasons why. Sometimes we lose ourselves in the moment, the crisis...but if we can't see ourselves facing these same speed bumps in our future, then maybe we should stop and consider if this choice we've made is really what we want....

As for me--I'm making a stand to fight the paranoia monster! I've decided that I'm not going to allow myself to fall into that gray area where authors throw away their career because they couldn't take the pressure. I've seen it happen with girlfriends who have put out one amazing book that garnered rave reviews and instant lists who have quit before they even began--those one hit wonders who should have kept the paranoia locked up. It's a shame to see such talents wasted...a real shame. Not me. I'm a fighter, I'm going to keep my eye on reaching the finish line. After all I've been through, I think it's good to have some self-doubt to get us to re-evaluate things. It just means we're human. We're bound to make it happen if we never give up. Those famous words that Rose said to Jack on the raft after the Titanic sank, "I'll never give up, Jack. I'll never give up." Let those words ring in your ears a few times and it'll stick.

Goal for this week: I'm going to put my all into my proposal, then I'm going to close my eyes and press send.