An Interview with Hannah Howell

Author Hannah Howell joins me today to answer some questions that I know you have all been asking. Author of the Historical Highlander series, Hannah has written in other genres throughout her career. So join me and welcome Hannah.

How long have you been writing and how long have you been published? I have been published since 1988, but I started trying to get published 5 years before that. Before that I'd write stories for myself as a teen and then graduated to really, really long letters.

How long did it take to publish your first book, once you started looking for an agent or publisher? I started out with trying contemporaries and had actually reached a stage where I got rejections but with hand written notes asking me to send something else. By then I had put together a historical romance and started trying to sell that. That was slow to take off since it was a medieval romance and I found out later that the publishers weren 't looking for those. I had started a historical romance with a western setting and was also sending that out. Both abruptly sold at the same time to different publishers. I had no agent but got one through a recommendation by a friend.

Do you write one book/story at a time or multiples? I always have some other story to play with while I'm working on the one that is on a deadline. It gives me something to play with when I've hit a block on the deadline story.

What genres do you write? I write historical romances only, mostly set in England and Scotland, but I have done a few with western settings in the past and even one set in Colonial New England.

Are there any genres you'd like to try but haven't? Paranormal romance or futuristic romance with a touch of paranormal. I have stories I'm playing with in both those categories but they're nowhere near ready to try to sell.

Are there any genres you'd never consider writing? I'd say erotica and mysteries. I read them both but couldn't write either. Can't write those raw loves scenes (and so many of them!) and, as for mysteries, the way one has to eke out the clues would make my brain hurt. Then again, I really don't like to say never.

What's your writing process? I'm a pantser with a touch of the puzzler thrown in because I'm apt to bounce around chapters when writing. As I believe most pantsers do, I have a core plot, some scene ideas, and a good grasp on my characters before I even think of starting to write. It's in my head, and I think everyone gets at least that much or there'd be no urge to sit down and write. I write the story out longhand and then type it into the computer editing as i go. The number of passes depends on how much I had to struggle to get the story out. The more the struggle, the more times I might have to go over it to smooth it out. Although, after so many years, I've stopped doing a lot of what beginners do that causes a lot of editing. However, being mildly dyslexic, I have to go over the manuscript several times just to make sure of my spelling and word usage, as well as the order the words are in. Spellchecker doesn't catch everything.

What authors would you like to meet, past or present? What would you ask them? Christopher Marlowe and Shakespeare. I'd ask Christopher to give me the scoop on who really killed him and Shakespeare to tell me where there's proof that he actually wrote those plays and sonnets as I"m tired of the never-dying claim by some that he couldn't have done it. Mostly because he wasn't of the right class as far as I can see.

What's the strangest/worst job you've held? I worked in a meat department at an A&P when I was still in school and often got the job of packing the livers and kidneys. Not surprisingly, I will not eat anything with either of those things in them.

Your favorite vacation spot is? England and Scotland. I'd love to have the time and money to go for a good long time, staying in some nice places, and just wandering around both countries.

Have you ever included someone who irritated you in the book? As what, and what comeuppance did he/she get? Oh, yes. Don't all writers do that? And mine usually meet a brutal death. Writing historicals as I do, I can make it very brutal indeed.

Now that I am done laughing over that last comment, let's move on.

When and where do you do the bulk of your writing? In my office at a big old roll top desk that I got from my father. It's a late 1860s Insurance Company desk with lots of drawers and cubbyholes. My second favorite place is the dining room table.

Where do you get your character names? I have a great book called Names Through the Ages by Teresa Norman that gives you first and last names from England, Scotland, Ireland, Wales, France, and the US, plus it does it by time periods. Also, I have the Oxford Dictionary of English Christian Names, a book on surnames, and a bunch of Scottish and Celtic names. I will also make a note of a name in the credits of movies and read phonebooks.

Do you have animal companions while you write? How do they help or hinder the process? I have five cats that often feel compelled to sprawl on top of my paper or smack my pen while I'm trying to write.

What advice would you give a new writer? If you have a book you want to write, get started. Just dive in and, as you write, find other writers' groups, for support and information.

Give us your backlist with all publishers. My backlist is long, 40 or more books, so best check it out on my website. At the moment, my only publisher is Kensington/Zebra.

Tell us about releases you expect within the next year. I have only one book and a novella coming out this year. The rest that Kensington is putting out are reissues of my backlist.

Tell us about the awards you have won. I'm a RITA finalist, multi-time Golden Leaf winner, I've gotten several awards from Romantic Times, received the Book Buyers Best Award 2010, the CRW Award of Excellence, and the Goldrick Service Award from the New England Chapter of RWA.

Tell us about you next release. IF HE'S DANGEROUS went on sale June 7th. It's available on Amazon, at bookstores, and on http://www.kensingtonnooks.com/ Here is a blurb for you:

When Lorelei Sundun first finds Sir Argus Wherlocke in her garden, she'd never heard of the mysterious Wherlocke clan - or their otherworldly abilities. That changes the moment she watches Argus - the most tantalizing man she's ever seen - disappear before her very eyes. What she's witnessed should be impossible. But so should falling in love with a man she's only just met...

Pursued by madmen intent on harnessing the Wherlocke's talent as weapons, Argus meant to seek help from his family, not to involve a duke's lovely daughter in the struggle. But now, the enchanting Lorelei is his only hope for salvation - and the greatest temptation he's ever faced...

The entire first chapter is up on my website:

http://www.hannahhowell.com/

http://hhowellauthor.blogspot.com/

I am also on Facebook.

Thanks Hannah for a lively and entertaining conversation. I know everyone wishes you well with your latest book. I know I plan to buy it right away.

An Interview with Coralie Hughes Jensen

Today my guest is Coralie Hughes Jensen. Author of Winter Harvest. Thank you for joining us Coralie. I appreciate spending this time with you and I know readers will as well. So let's get started, shall we?

What genres do you write?

I started by writing suspense. My first two novels were about terrorism on the European continent. Unfortunately, neither was published. My first published novel was mainstream, my second, women's fiction. Both Passup Point and Lety's Gift took place in Newfoundland/Labrador. My third novel L'Oro Verde, under the name L. E. Chamberlain, is a mystery set in a Tuscan hill town. My latest Winter Harvest is a historical novel in Massachusetts in 1838. I have three manuscripts yet to find a home: a mystery that takes place in New Zealand, a historical novel in Tudor England, and a suspense set in the Arctic.

Tell us what your favorite leisure activity or vacation spot is.

I like to travel. I travel to find settings for books and also to do research on the book I'm writing.

I traveled to Newfoundland/Labrador for my novels set there. While living in the Netherlands, I went to Italy and came up with the idea for L'Oro Verde.

I don't normally travel first class. My husband and I drive and try to stay with people along the way to see how they live. Stories about mishaps - losing our passports to a traffic cop in the Czech Republic so we couldn't leave the country, having to report to a police station in Germany when we passed a counterfeit DM100 bill at a restaurant, sharing fast food with East Germans in Lubec the week after the border opened - are all fodder for upcoming books.

Have you ever included a real experience of your own in a book? Did anyone who knows you notice?

I use my own experiences or those of my friends all the time. The scenes in Montriano's police station are based on the station and detectives in Germany. Most of my sites are derived from real places I have visited. I give them new names and locations, but most of the churches in my books are based on other churches in similar areas. Sophie's fascinating childhood experiences in Lety's Gift are similar to those of a friend in seminary in Newfoundland.

No one has mentioned they recognized a specific experience, but many have written about my knowledge of certain cultures when I use personal experiences in my stories.

Where do you get your inspirations for a book? How do you get your ideas?

I get my ideas from a variety of sources. Events in the newspaper can give me ideas. When I travel, I am always looking for sites, especially for mysteries where I can develop the character of a detective or find a body or hide a suspect. Places where cultures clash are fascinating - both sides are rational and true to their own beliefs, and getting along means both sides understand each other.

What is the best reader or reviewer comment you've ever received?

Recently I received wonderful comments from a couple of agents who have read my manuscripts, including that my novel is "superbly written" and that my work is very literary.

What does your family think about your writing? How, if they do, do they support you in your writing endeavors?

My husband helps me edit my books. He's a tough editor because he seems to sense when a word or phrase doesn't work. My daughter and son always buy my books as gifts for their friends. My sister in California writes reviews for me and also buys books as gifts.

When and where do you do the bulk of your writing?

I write on the computer in my office, a bedroom on the second floor of my house. I can look out the window beside me and see a dogwood tree now in full bloom.

I also have a TV beside my desk where I can glance over and watch the Red Sox while I'm writing. I have moved a lot because I used to work in high tech and the company would move us. I found that being knowledgeable about sports was a way to break the ice with new neighbors and workmates. In each place I've lived, I have been able to enjoy a championship - a Super Bowl, a World Series, or a European Cup.

What's your favorite part of being a writer?

Sleeping in when I need to. I hated getting up at 5:30 a.m. in order to get ready to face the commute. I don't mind getting up early now because I have an idea about how to fix a problem in my novel. It must be the commute I hate!

What advice would you give a new writer?

Having been a copy editor for a small publisher, it is my opinion that writers should know their craft well enough to make the story clear. Many new writers comment that grammar and punctuation will be cleaned up by the editor. I know very few editors who want to spend their time correcting manuscripts. I once got a manuscript that was so bad it needed to be cleaned up just to know who said what. If editors have trouble reading it, they'll reject it. If grammar isn't the author's forte, the new writer should get help from a friend or family member who is able to fix it first.

What book is your favorite and why?

I like Winter Harvest because the main character is much like me. She watches everyone else and falls into her role by accident. Lucy is not as pretty as Sarah or as evil as Ezekiel. She tries to be good, but finds it difficult.

Give us your backlist...with all publishers...

My books include:

Winter Harvest (2010) published by Five Star Gale/Cengage

L'Oro Verde (under the name of L. E. Chamberlain) (2008) published by Lightening Rider Press

Lety's Gift (2006) published by Lightening Rider Press

Passup Point (2006) published by Lightening Rider Press

Give us your URLS...

Website: http://www.coraliejensen.com/

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100000493215204

Twitter: corkyyhj

Thanks Coralie for a wonderful interview. I wish you the best of luck on your next publication. come back and visit us again!

Meet Karen Frisch, author of Murder Most Civil and Lady Delphinia's Deception is our guest today. Learn more about her stories and the way Karen works out her story lines.

Meet Karen Frisch

I'm so glad to have you join us today, Karen. Let's get started...

How long does it take you to write a book?
Early in my writing career, I would spend four or five months writing novels and more than a year revising them. Now I spend more time planning and organizing notes for the story than I do writing it. I'm not sure any book is ever truly finished. Without an editor or critique partner to demand that I hand it over, I would continually revise every manuscript. That's the beauty of deadlines. They keep us from wallowing in the bottomless pit of perfection.

What's your writing process?
I develop an outline of the whole story before I write the first chapter. Especially with mysteries, knowing the end ahead of time is helpful because it allows me to develop suspects and hide clues discreetly throughout the story. Although I compose stories at the keyboard, I always jot down notes for new stories by hand, bringing them with me to soccor games to work on when there's a lull. Ideas translate more clearly from my imagination to the page when I write by hand, developing them as I go. Being in the world of imagination is always compelling, perhaps because you never know what will happen next.

Do you have animal companions while you write? How, if they do, do they support you in your writing endeavors?
Writing is such a solitary activity that pets make ideal companions during the process. Dogs inspire me. I read once that they are the only creatures who greet every day with joy no matter what. For me, true contentment is sitting at the computer with a dog sleeping by my side (preferable more than one). They nap while I write, listen to my worries and complaints, and still wag their tails. I'm afraid over the years mine come to expect being ignored when I'm deep in thought. I have a guinea pig who also keeps me company. She's curious and affectionate and squeals for attention every so often, reminding me to take a break!

Tell us about your current release.
I call Lady Delphinia's Deception my dark and stormy night book. It's an English Regency published in March by ImaJinn Books. In the novel Lady Delphinia Marlowe is dismayed when a carriage accident turns a handsome earl into an unexpected guest forced to recuperate at her country home on the Devon coast. Captain Nicholas Hainsworth's ability to navigate his way across Exmoor's harsh and unfamiliar landscape makes him precisely the kind of man England needs in her military - and the last kind Lady Delphinia wants under her roof. Her midnight wanderings along the moors suggest to Nicholas that she is involved with smuggling, a crime that m=conflicts with his duty as a former naval captain. Knowing he could destroy her family's reputation if he learned the truth, Lady Delphinia struggles to hide the secret life forced on her by her past. But her greatest fear is that her unwelcome guest could not only be her soul mate, but an agent of the Crown who will place duty matters above matters of the heart. You can read about Lady Delphinia's Deception at: http://www.imajinnbooks/com/mm5/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&StoreCode=IB&Product_Code=LDD&Category_Code=

Which of your own characters would you like to meet in real life, and what would you do?
I'd love to meet the transcendentalist Henry David Thoreau. He played a major role in my mystery Murder Most Civil, published by Mainly Murder Press in 2010. His botanical expertise helps the main character solve the mystery through a series of letters they exchange, and he makes a cameo appearance toward the end of the novel. For me it was a great way to blend imagination with history and literature. I'd like to hear him talk about his experiences living at Walden Pond. I can just imagine what he'd have to say about our modern world.

What authors would you most like to meet, past or present? What would you ask them?
I would love to meet Daphne du Maurier, author of the classic Rebecca. She and her books are so closely associated with England's Cornish coast where my husband and I spent our honeymoon. I was greatly influenced by Jamaica Inn when dreaming up Delphinia's story. I'd love to walk with her along the moors with her dogs in tow, of course. I'd ask her the same questions I wonder about, some of which I'm being asked now - what her writing process is, what sets her imagination free, how she developed the unexpected twists and turns in Rebecca, and what it's like to be part of such a creative family. Her sister Angela was also an author, her father was a writer, and her grandfather was an artist. I'd also love to meet Charles Dickens, but that's a whole novel in itself!

What would you like to own that would make writing faster or smoother?
I'd love to have an automated organizer - a robotic file cabinet that would work as efficiently as Lumiere and Cogsworth do in Disney's Beauty and the Beast. It would open files at the touch of a button, tuck notes in the proper place so my desk isn't such a disorganized mess, and compact files so everything would fit in the file cabinet without being so tight that I can't open the drawers.

Is there anything else you'd like readers to know?
My website http://KarenFrisch.webs.com is still a work in progress, so please bear with me while I struggle to master technology. So often writers feel as if they're writing in a vacuum. I love to hear from readers. It makes me feel the world has just as many friends as strangers, and that's a wonderful feeling.

Thanks for telling us about your work, Karen. We look forward to reading Lady Delphinia's Deception. I most certainly enjoyed Murder Most Civil.

An Interview with Author Karen Frisch

Author Karen Frish is visiting my blog today. In this interview, she'll share her thoughts and ideas on publishing, writing, inspiration for characters and how she manages to assemble her English Regency stories. Read on and enjoy Karen's views.