Make-Believe Mondays takes a short break this week

Make-Believe Mondays is taking a short break this week while I iron out some details such as why my website is down.  Emails sent to me at debra@debraparmley.com are of course not coming in while this problem exists so if you have emailed me about being interviewed on Make-Believe Mondays please be patient.

Next week interviews resume and on Sept 6th my guest is Julia Knight.   

Thank you for your patience.

Debra

Make-Believe Mondays With Fiona Jayde

Today on Make-Believe Mondays my guest is Fiona Jayde.

Debra:  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?

FJ: I actually am very active in "filling my cups" :) I call it input and output (I'm a web geek) and I'm very conscious of keeping the ratio at an equilibrium.

I'm an avid reader which is a constant source of inspiration. I'm also a huge fan of NETFLIX - which is terrific not only for ideas but also for research. I gorge on all sorts of things - from documentaries about priceless art which disappeared in WWII to my current fascination with The Tudors.

Debra: Input and output.  I like that.  :-) 

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

FJ:  Yes - very much so! This usually happens at the end of the first draft - just in time for revisions! (This is sometimes hard because those same characters try to take over and deviate from the plot - and the control freak in me, well, freaks!

Debra:  

Some very famous authors have played with language, creating words for people or places that no one has ever heard of.  Have you ever played with words in that way and if so how?

FJ:  I have - though I cheat:) Being bilingual in English and Russian, I often combine Russian translations of words into new ways to come up with a new word. This really helps when naming planets or ships or technology parts or not-yet-discovered metal ores.

Debra:   Oh yes, it would.  How fascinating!

As a child did any particular book or author pull you into their imaginary world?
FJ:  My parents were very clever in getting me to read - they read aloud the Wizard Of Oz until they got to the middle of the book and then told me to read the rest myself. The Russian version of the Wizard of Oz is actually part of a series of books (the last one being about Aliens coming to kingdom) and I absolutely loved the fantasy world that the author had created. I consistently re-read those books as I grew up - in fact I still have them in my library:)

Debra:  Now I'm wishing I could read Russian so I could read those as well.

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?

FJ:  I think dreams and imagination is really only 50 percent in creating fiction. I know a number of people who are wildly imaginative, insanely creative - but who don't really get things done. Creativity and talent is one thing, but discipline is really what ends up making good fiction. The "Butt in seat" syndrome:)

Debra:  Yes, so very true.  Otherwise we'd all be staring out the windows daydreaming instead of sitting in front of our computers. :-)

Fiona Jayde, 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 please visit www.fionajayde.com

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Debra's News/Debra is Watching:

It's been a busy week and this week promises to be busy as well with remodeling of the livingroom almost done.  This is the part I do, the furniture and window coverings, lighting and decorations. I'm loving the new hardwood floors and wondering why anyone would want carpet in the main rooms.  Going with a more open, less cluttered look.  Clean, open, airy and organized.  I'm getting organized in many areas of my life, including my writing as well.  I believe I'll be more productive that way.   

The agent search continues. I have a partial out with one agent and plan to send out more very soon.  

Authors of fiction who wish to be interviewed on Make-Believe Mondays please use the form on my website

www.debraparmley.com 

or email me.

Make-Believe Monday with Mary Eason

Today on Make-Believe Mondays my guest is Mary Eason.

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

Mary:  Standing On The Edge Of Goodbye is an inspirational romance about second chances. Matt Stevens is finished with life. Grieving the death of his son, Matt withdraws from humanity, sequestering himself in a mountain cabin far from the reaches of anything human-anything that may remind him of the life he can no longer have...that is until Kate Alexander arrives on his doorstep and begins to strip away the bitterness he carries in his heart.
Running from an abusive ex-husband who tried to murder her, Kate Alexander's life is turned upside-down. Learning of her grandmother's death-the only woman who ever believed in her-is almost Kate's complete undoing, especially when the devastating news comes from a man so lacking in human emotion he may as well be a robot. Yet, Kate is drawn to Matt Stevens in a way she's never before experienced. Could there be more to this unlikely friend of her Grandmother's-something beyond the cold surface he presents to the world?
 
Debra:  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?

Mary:  By reading. I love to read. It not only ignites my creative juices, but it helps me to relax and unwind.



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

Mary:  When I first begin a story, it starts with a basic idea that might come to me in a dream or from something I’ve read or head on TV. From there the characters begin to come alive along with the storyline. I usually simmer on a new book idea for a few days to get the backbone of the story mapped out in my head. And then, well then the characters take over and it never ends up like I expected.

Debra: That's part of the fun of writing, I think. The way characters and stories can surprised you.

Some very famous authors have played with language, creating words for people or places that no one has ever heard of.  Have you ever played with words in that way and if so how?

Mary:  No, I cannot say that I’ve played with words. In some of my romantic suspense stories, I have taken certain liberties with law enforcement procedures and protocol, but that’s entirely different.

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?

Mary:  Definitely. I’d say about 80% of my stories come to be in dreams. Many times, I’ll dream most of the story that ends up becoming a book. 

Debra:  How wonderful to have such a vivid dream life. Some of the best stories have come from dreams.

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

Mary: I was a huge Victoria Holt and Phyllis Whitney fan growing up. They’ve definitely influenced my romantic suspense writing. 



Debra:  Oh I was a fan too. :-)  Devoured their books

If there were no categories for books, no reader expectations to meet, and you could create the wildest work of imagination that you could think of what kind of story would that be?

Mary:  Its funny you should say that because that’s pretty much my process for getting a new book typed. I start with my idea then allow myself to simply write. I don’t worry about boundaries, or genres or pleasing anyone but the characters in my head. 

Debra: Awesome to be writing with complete freedom.

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?

Mary:  I believe that as a writer, my next book is limited only by my imagination. And there’s nothing more intimidating or exciting than sitting down in front of a blank computer screen and writing those first few words that later become the story of your dreams. 

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

Mary:  Thanks for allowing me to spend time with you and your readers.

Debra: It's been a pleasure.

Readers can visit Mary at

www.maryeason.com

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Debra's News/Debra is Watching:

Continuing revisions on the novella, also planning to submit to another agent on my list of preferred agents this week.  While it is not true that once you are published you'll never get another rejection letter, I have had two of the nicest ones I've ever received from agents recently.  It's important that I match up with the right agent for me, so I am far from discouraged.  The letters tell me that it's more about finding the right match that it is about my writing or this story. And the right match is worth waiting for.
 
What else is new?  Lately I've been getting emails from various people wanting writing advice, so I decided to post in the notes section of my facebook fan page.  I'll do that every so often and pick topics which relate to the questions I'm getting.

And I also have some spots on the Make-Believe Mondays calendar to fill.  If you are an author of fiction you can request an interview using the form on my website,
www.debraparmley.com
or by sending me an email.

Until next time,

Love and Light,

Debra

Make-Believe Monday with Anne Calhoun

Today on Make-Believe Mondays my guest is Anne Calhoun.

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

Anne:  I've just finished another set of revisions to a contemporary romantic suspense I began in 2007 and set aside for months at a time to work on other projects. The hero is an undercover cop and the heroine owns the bar he's sneakily managed to get a job in because he suspects she's working with a gang to run drugs and guns. She's got secrets, of course, but working with a drug lord isn't one of them. ;-) This is a straightforward romantic suspense, emphasis on romantic, and a departure from my more familiar work in the erotic romance subgenre. I'm also in the middle of a single title length erotic novel with a secret lover theme. I tend to work on a project, set it aside, work on something else, come back to Project A, repeat ad infinitum until I reach "done" and submit the book somewhere.

Debra: Now I'm wondering what secrets she has, of course. ;-)  That is my writing process as well. From one to the other.

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?

Anne: Very good question. I asked an author I really, really admire this question at a recent conference and she said, "I'm not. I want the summer off to be with my kids, so right now it's work, work, work." I'm not in her position (multiple contracts with multiple publishers) so I can rejuvenate at will! To keep my cup filled I read outside the romance genre. I'm a huge fan of Lois McMaster Bujold's Vorkosigan series. My editor introduced me to Connie Willis and I've become the Ambassador of Connie Willis, talking her up to anyone I know, because her books are so thought provoking and well-written. The same goes for Laurie R. King, Mary Doria Russell, Geraldine Brooks...smart, women writing smart, smart books. Basically I graze on whatever fiction or non-fiction catches my interest. I see a writer's brain as a big compost heap. If I put in good stuff (meaning writing that is above, way above, my own writing level and from a variety of sources - other genres, newspapers, magazines, movies, TV shows, life in general) and let it sit,  occasionally turning it to add oxygen and microbes/chocolate, I'll get good compost (meaning good ideas, dialogue, metaphors, language, etc) back out. It's a slow process.

Debra: What a great way to explain it. Yes, if we want to get the good stuff to come out, we need to put the good stuff in. It's all fodder for the page.  :-)

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

Anne: My characters come alive through dialogue. When they start talking at inconvenient times - the grocery store, the car, church - they're coming alive in my brain. But I often don't know them well until I've been through several drafts of the book, beginning to end. I think Jenny Crusie said she writes fifty to a hundred drafts of her books. I'm not quite there, but it's close. I need to see and hear them in multiple situations before they and, more importantly, their interactions with the other characters, become clear to me.

Debra: Wow, fifty to a hundred. That's a lot!

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

Anne:  Yes, although perhaps not children's books. I remember being completely enthralled by Terry Brooks' Shannara series, as well as the Dragonlance books, the early ones, but I was a teenager when this happened.  The books that really did this for me, thought, were the early Clive Cussler books - Raise the Titanic and Night Train.  But, without a doubt, the very first time this happened was with Kathleen E Woodiwiss's A Rose in Winter.  That book was serialized in a women's magazine in the early '80's and I read the magazine version, then went to the library and got all her books.  I was perhaps ten or eleven at that point, probably too young for the content, but for better or worse, my parents never censored my reading material.

Debra:  It's nice to have parents and librarians who don't censor the reading.  So often a child's reading level will be way above their grade level. And so often those readers grow up to be authors.  So you were drawn to romance at a very early age! 

Anne:  I've always been captivated by the romance element in fiction/movies (not Cussler's though, LOL), and it's why I'll watch the first Bourne movie over and over, but couldn't care less about the next two.  When Marie dies minutes into the second movie, I was like, "WTF is that all about?" I kept watching at that point only for Matt Damon eye candy, and Joan Allen's wonderful performance.  At my sister's urging I recently watched Battlestar Galactica on DVD. About halfway through the fifth season I emailed her and said, "If Starbuck and Apollo don't end up together, I'm going to be pissed!" She wrote back and said, "This is not a series specializingin happy endings, Anne." That's all she said. My sister = voice of reason. I realized then that I'm hardwired to search for the HEA (happy every after), even in the most desperate of situations. That said, BSG is one of the best TV series I've ever watched (after The Wire) and I can't recommend it enough.

Debra:  Sisters are great for that, aren't they?  :-)  And now I am going to have to search for that series because I've never seen it!

If there were no categories for books, no reader expectations to meet and you could create the wildest work of imagination that you could think of, what kind of story would that be?

Anne:  Questions like that make my brain shut down!  I have a terrible time suspending disbelief. I watch actionmovies and think, "Yeah, that's just like my life. Yup. Every week some guy comes into my supermarket and takes everyone hostage, then falls in love with the FBI agent sent to bring him in before they team up to use fifty crates of ketchup, a bottle of vinegar, and a tube sock to blow the entire strip mall to kingdom come."  It's TERRIBLE!  I'm completely unable to enjoy just about anything produced in Hollywood today, LOL.  That's why I loved The Wire to the point of watching it back to back to back the night the DVDs arrived from Netflix, and dreaming about the characters.  But when a fictional work does grab me, a la BSG, I am completely and totally there.

Debra:  :-)  LOL I dislike grocery shopping so much that, well it's probably a good thing that doesn't really happen at our supermarkets or I'd never go.  Well unless they were going to blow things up with ketchup.  LOL Now that might make it worthwhile. ;-)

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?

Anne:  Imagination's a funny thing.  One book I frequently recommend to creative folks is Twyla Tharp's The creative Habit.  In that book she talks about creative DNA, about the way we use our chosen art form to say something about the world.  I see happily ever afters, and that's just the way I am. (Interestingly/FWIW I don't see them in real life.  Fall in love/get married or don't.  Makes no difference to me.  But in ficiton...don't pull the rug out from under me, and make me believe the HEA is real, heart-felt, and life-long.)  We all have our own creative DNA, and I think we do our best work when we honor that and apply ourselves diligently to bringing that vision out to the best of our ability.

I also believe that while some of our creative instincts are deeply embedded, we will grow and change as artists.  I love to see my favorite authors trying something new because it tells me they're growing as people.  I may not like their new endeavors, but the artist side of me is happy they're putting stuff into the compost heap and getting rich new earth out.

Debra:  Another great book to be added to the to be read list.  Thank you!  And Anne, I want to thank thank you for joining me here on this Make-Believe Monday to share a little bit of the magic of writing with our readers.  May your compost heap always be full of good things and rich new earth to write with.

Readers may visit Anne at
www.annecalhoun.com
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Debra's News/Debra is Watching:

This weekend I was in Atlanta where my friend Amani put on a wonderful bellydance workshop with the marvelous Mahoumed Reda.  It was one of those experiences of a lifetime and reminded me how much joy there is in the dance.

I believe life is meant to be danced, lived and written about.

And in the news?  One of the things which came through my Twitter while I was away dancing was the news re:Dorchester Publishing Update.
This is also the business model for my publishing house, Samhain. Books are released first as e-books then six to eight months later in trade paperback.

I've believed for some time that books are in more forms than most publishers can afford to keep producing.  We have hardbacks, mass market paperbacks, trade paperbacks and e-books.  Last year I was at a writers conference having this exact conversation and I remember saying I believed at least one of the forms is going to fall away.  Will it be mass market?  I don't have a crystal ball, but it's kind of looking that way, isn't it?   

So what is an author to do?  Well, life is a dance and in this dance the music keeps changing.  We don't control the music.  It does no good to stand around complaining about the music.  And standing around isn't really living.  We can only control how we dance to it and what partners we dance with. But if we keep dancing and living and writing...if we do that we may just find joy in the dance.
 
www.debraparmley.com

Until next time keep dancing.

Love and light,

Debra

Make-Believe Monday with Teresa Noelle-Roberts

Today on Make-Believe Mondays my guest is Teresa Noelle-Roberts.

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


Teresa:  Manuscript? Singular? If only my brain was that straightforward. 
First there's the brand-new book, Foxes' Den, which is the second work in the Duals and Donovans series from Samhain.

As for works in progress, I'm writing two paranormal series for two different publishers and have installments for each underway.
For Samhain, I'm working on the next book in the Duals and Donovans series, which includes Lions' Pride and Foxes' Den. The third book, tentatively called Shamans' Sanctuary, stars the sexy cousin of Rafe, one of the heroes from Lions' Pride. It has duals (my version of shifters), Native American shamans, evil sorcerers, a broken-hearted female cop who discovers her shamanic gifts, and guest appearances by the three main characters of Lions' Pride.

For Phaze, I'm winding up the Seasons of Sorania Cycle of slightly kinky fantasy romance (Lady Sun Has Risen, Rain at Midsummer and the forthcoming Threshing the Grain) with The Longest Night. It's a holiday story with a twist, set during this culture's version of Yule or Winter Solstice celebrations. What would you do if a sexy naked satyr stumbles into your house, desperately in need of your help, while you're getting ready for the holidays? Laeca soesn't quite tie a bow on him, but it becomes clear the gods have sent them to each other as a gift.

And if two paranormals aren't enough, I'm also working on a sexy contemporary comedy with my coauthor Dayle A Dermatis. We write together as Sophie Mouette.


Debra: Quite a few in the works then.  One good thing about having so many is that it helps prevent writers block. You can always go work on a different one when the first one starts to slow down.


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?

Teresa:  If I could, I'd travel constantly. Being exposed to new places, especially ones with beautiful scenery and/or a rich history, always sparks my creativity. Since constant travel isn't feasible on a writer's budget, I explore the area where I live with a fresh eye whenever possible. A walk in the woods, a trip to the beach, a visit to some historic spot, be it Plimouth Plantations, a museum or an old factory or cemetary, can all spark something inside me. What comes out of those visits may have no obvious connection to where I've been.

I also find that various forms of creativity feed one another. In addition to writing, I belly dance, garden and cook seriously and also knit and take photographs, both with more enthusiasm than skill. The physical challenge of dance, the multi-sensory experience of cooking and gardening, and the visual and kinesthetic aspects of knitting and photography all seem to help the writing. Needless to say, I also read omnivorously.


Debra: As a former travel consultant who has visited many countries I can attest to that. Travel expands the mind and feeds the soul.  I also spend some time as a professional belly dancer and know well the challenge of dance, but also the joy and how it feeds the soul. :-) 


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


Teresa:  Even as a child, I read anything I could get my hands on, so I could ramble about this question for pages and pages. But I'll spare you all by focusing on one book.

T.H. White's The Once and Future King, a retelling of the King Arthur legends, has haunted me for years. The first section, The Sword in the Stone, is about Arthur's boyhood and is light-hearted enough it was made into a Disney cartoon. I'm not sure my mother realized for years that I kept reading after the story becomes dark and twisted and tragic. I think the book may have influenced me more as a writer than books I reread more often. White takes a familiar story, reinterprets it through a contemporary lens (World War II, in his case), and makes even the villains well-rounded, with understandable motivations. I'm not by any means as brilliant and scholarly as White, but I think he influenced the way I look at mythology and legend as source material-and at my tendency to put wordplay and humor into even tense scenes.

Debra:  It's a beautiful thing how one book can influence a life.  The magic and power of words and how words and stories stay with us. What a wonderful craft we practice.  :-)


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?


I frequently dream in print and can see finished stories and poems on a page in front of me. Alas, when I wake up they're gone!

I have the first few chapters of an urban fantasy involving a djinn, a graduate student and the struggle for control of oil in the Middle East that grew out of a dream. I'm a bit daunted by the degree of research I'd need to make the book work, as it would weave in a lot of fairly obscure follklore and classical Arabic poetry as well as contemporary politics.


Debra:  Oh but if you were to write that one.... Well if you do, be sure to let me know as I'd want to read it.


Is there anything else you'd like to share with our readers?


Teresa:  You can catch more of my rambles at 
www.teresanoelleroberts.blogspot.com or friend me on Facebook. I'm there as Teresa Noelle Roberts. My website is www.teresanoelleroberts.com", but I'll warn you it's perpetually under construction.


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

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Debra's News/Debra is watching:


I will be away for several days this week visiting the Atlanta area, combining my love of travel with my love of belly dance and of course my writing.  Will share my adventures over on the facebook fan page upon my return. 


The contemporary romance is out to two agents and fingers crossed.  The novella is under revision and I am still doing research for the medieval romance.  Last week I went over the manuscripts I'd started to choose one to finish next and the novella won because it was the closest to being done.


And of course trying to stay cool in the Memphis heat.  It looks as if August is going to be a hot one.


Sign up over on my website for my newsletter and a chance to win an ebook.  Newsletters will go out once a month starting in October.

www.debraparmley.com


Until next time, stay cool and enjoy the rest of your summer


Love and light,
Debra