Make-Believe Mondays rests while I head to the Romantic Times Convention - author interviews will resume May 10th

Make-Believe Mondays will take a small rest while I head to the Romantic Times Booklovers Convention in Columbus, Ohio. I will be heading to Ohio this weekend and driving back on Monday May 3rd. Make-Believe Mondays author interviews will resume Monday, May 10th.

I'm very pleased that the conference is being held in Columbus, Ohio this year, because it is where I was born! And this will be my first book signing in Ohio, something I have looked forward to with the release of my first book, A DESPERATE JOURNEY.

Here is a partial list of places you will find me in Columbus:

If you are not attending the conference, but live or work in the area this event is open to the public for a small fee of $5.00 at the door.
SATURDAY MAY 1st :11:00 AM - 2:00 PM GIANT BOOK FAIR

Where can you meet your favorite authors, get your pic taken with them or a cover model, or get a sneak preview to what's coming out in the wonderful world of women's fiction? At the one and only RT Booklovers Convention Book Fair! Over 300 authors will autograph books, posters and bookmarks, and you can bring your favorite "keeper" books to have your fav author sign them!!

For those bringing collectibles and "keeper" books, we will clearly label the books for you, so as not to mistake them for new books!

All registered attendees will enter 15 minutes prior to the public opening.

The location is:
Hyatt Regency Columbus
350 North High Street
Columbus, Ohio 43215
USA
800 989 8816

And of course who could miss the Mr Romance contest, which has launch the careers of so many cover models?
SATURDAY May 1st: 5:00 PM - 7:00 PM MR. ROMANCE COMPETITION

Past winners of the Mr. Romance competiton and their covers

Can there be that many gorgeous guys in one place? Who will the next Mr. Romance be? Come help us choose the lucky guy who will win a cover shoot with romance giant Dorchester Publishing.

Also, if you are attending the conference, I'm pleased to have my own panel this year:
WEDNESDAY APRIL 28th: 2:30 PM - 3:30 PM HEALTH AND WELL-BEING:WRITERS BREAK-
- THE MIND BODY CONNECTION

Spending hours at the computer can create stiffness, aches and pains. Using skills she learned as a professional belly dancer, Debra Parmley will teach you how to apply yoga and dance movements in your daily writing routine to stay limber, relaxed and in the flow. Panelists: Debra Parmley


Other news:
I'm pleased to announce that my contemporary romance was completed just yesterday. There's a certain satisfaction which comes from typing THE END. Now I am ready to find the agent who is the right match for me. Also finishing up the western novella which I promised my editor and I am thrilled that she will be attending the conference as well so I'll get to meet her in person. All good things. :-)

For those who can't attend the conference and wish to follow me on Twitter, here's where you'll find me. If there's anything you'd like me to report on, send me a tweet and I'll do my best.

And for those who wish to follow this Make-Believe Monday blog, I just added a clickable link for that off to the tight hand side of the blog. Following always makes me think of that song by Genesis. "I will follow you, will you follow me..." Just one of those things that makes me smile. :-)

Until next time...

Love and light,

Debra

www.debraparmley.com

Make-Believe Monday revisits the very first interview hosted here with Lucy Monroe

Today I thought it would be fun to re-run the very first interview I did here on Make-Believe Mondays, back in Jan, of 2006. As you can see the questions have remained the same. Over the years I've interviewed hundreds of authors and you can find them all in the archives.

So now....the very first interview revisited:

I'm thrilled to introduce my dear friend and mentor Lucy Monroe on our first Make-believe Monday.

Lucy writes wonderful romances filled with heroic men and modern women and she writes for three publishing houses. Berkley Sensation, Harlequin Presents and Kensington Brava. On my most recent visit to her website I counted 51 books!

She truly is an amazing author, so let's find out what she has to say about creativity and imagination.

Mark Twain said, "You cannot depend on your eyes when your imagination is out of focus." How do you fill your creative well to keep your imagination in focus?

Lucy:For one thing, you can't stay creative if all you do is create. So, taking time off from creating is a must for me...just not an easy thing to do. I also love to read magazines...not gossip rags (yuck), but stuff like "The Smitsonian", "Architectural Digest" and "Harper's Bazaar", etc. I've just recently taken up knitting and a rousing game of Perquacky with my family can be very creativity enhancing. I also read tons, both fiction and nonfiction, but romance is my favorite. I re-read my favorite authors over and over again and I think that helps me write better. Learning in cockpit as they say. But it fills up my creative well to sip at someone else's.

What a lovely thought. I can just picture authors visiting each other and dipping down to gather that cool clear water before sipping. Creative works can nourish the soul that way.

Is there a point when your characters begin to come alive and you can see and hear them?

Lucy:Usually before I ever type the first word in their story, but sometimes they are nebulous beings that only become concrete after I've really settled the first 50 or so pages of their stories. They always do become concrete and very real to me at some point in the process though.

For some writers, dreams play a role in creating fiction. Has this been true for you? Have you ever dreamed a scene or an image that later wound up in one of your books?

Lucy:I get lots of story ideas from dreams and find that I dream more vividly (and remember my dreams better) when I'm not writing. So, clearly, I've got to get better about taking time off if I want more story ideas to buzz around inside my brain. My agent calls it thinking time...for me, it's dreaming time.

Lucy, thank you for joining us and sharing a glimpse into the creative life of an author. May your dreams be plentiful and your well always full.

To learn more about Lucy and the many stories she's written, visit www.lucymonroe.com
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Debra's News/Debra is watching:

This week the mad dash is on to get ready for the Romantic Times Booklovers convention. I've a manuscript to finish, gift bags for booksellers to make, promotional materials ordered and waiting for them, costumes to plan and a schedule to finalize. I'm thrilled that it will be held in Columbus, Ohio this year because Columbus is where I was born. My parents still live about an hour away and my sister and her family live in the area as well, so it will be nice to be able to visit with my family again.

On Wed April the 28th from 2:30 to 3:30 I am teaching a panel all my own which I am very excited about. It's the first time I will be offering this one.

HEALTH AND WELL-BEING:WRITERS BREAK-- THE MIND BODY CONNECTION

WEDNESDAY: Spending hours at the computer can create stiffness, aches and pains. Using skills she learned as a professional belly dancer, Debra Parmley will teach you how to apply yoga and dance movements in your daily writing routine to stay limber, relaxed and in the flow.
Panelists: Debra Parmley

If you will be attending I would love to see you there!

www.debraparmley.com

I've added a link on this blog today where you can click to subscribe and follow. Thanks for reading! Comments are always a surprise and a joy.

Love and light, until next time,

Debra

Make-Believe Monday with Josephine Templeton

Today on Make-Believe Mondays my guest is Josephine Templeton.

Josephine, first, tell us a little bit about the manuscript you’re working on now.

Josephine: I’m actually in-between manuscripts. I just finished Scorned, which is currently under review with a publisher. It’s about a fallen angel who has been fighting her way back into Heaven for thirty human years. After thousands of years in Hell as Satan’s girlfriend, Angelle turns her back on her fellow fallen angels, choosing the path to redemption. She must atone for her sins and lead to salvation the same number of souls as she led to damnation, fighting vampires and demons along the way. All is going as planned until Jack, the first human male that sends her lust-meter into orbit, enters her life. Now she must decide if it’s lust or love she feels for this ruggedly handsome man, but when he becomes the target of a vampire bride, she fears she’ll never get the chance to find out.

Debra: Ah it's never too late to atone and start a new life. I wonder if she'll become human for him.

Ray Bradbury said, “We are cups, constantly being filled. The trick is, knowing how to tip ourselves over and let the beautiful stuff out.” How do you keep your creative cup filled?

Josephine: I read the genre I write in as much as possible, and as I’m an avid movie fan, I stay on-top of the new paranormal movies as much as possible. I also watch a lot of television shows such as The Vampire Diaries, and I will always have a special place in my heart for Buffy the Vampire Slayer and the spin-off, Angel.

Debra: Is there a point when your characters begin to come alive and you can see and hear them?

Josepine: When they begin to invade my dreams, I know I’m in trouble!


Debra: For some writers, dreams play a role in creating fiction. Has this been true for you? Have you ever dreamed a scene or an image that later wound up in one of your books?

Josephine: I’m a big time dreamer, and yes, a lot of scenes are inspired by them.

Debra: As a child did any particular book or author pull you into their imaginary world?

Josephine: V.C. Andrews drew me in as a pre-teen, and I discovered vampires in my senior year when my thesis was on Bram Stoker’s Dracula.

Debra: Is there anything else you would like to add about the role of imagination, and dreams in creating fiction? Any other message for our readers?

Josephine: Follow your dreams because you never know where they are going to take you!

Debra: Josephine, thank you for joining us here on this Make-believe Monday to share a little bit of the magic of writing with our readers.

Readers may visit http://josephinetempleton.tripod.com/to learn more about Josephine and her works.

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Debra's News/Debra is watching:

Last Saturday I spent a lovely day in Blytheville AR, where I signed books at That Bookstore in Blytheville. I also test drove a 2008 Toyota Camry Solara convertible and decided to buy it! I've always wanted a convertile. Enjoyed meeting the owner of the hardware store on the town square and sat in a 1920's convertible to have my picture taken (and to check it out for the 1920's set novel I'm planning to write) and even had berry pie at a local restaurant. Everyone in town was so friendly and it's a nice little bookstore. It was a lovely day and a wonderful memory made.

Next Saturday April 10th I will be signing books at Applegarth Books in Millington, TN from 4:00 to 5:00. Applegarth Books is celebrating their one year anniversary and I'm thrilled to be asked to be a part of that. Please do come by and visit if you are in the area.

www.debraparmley.com
Continuing to finish the edits on the manuscript and feel The End getting closer and closer. It's a very good feeling. I plan to have it done before the Romantic Times convention which is at the end of April. More on that next time.
Till then, hope you're all enjoying the lovely signs of spring!

Love and light,
Debra