Make-Believe Mondays With N. D. Hansen-Hill

Today on Make-Believe Mondays my guest is N.D. Hansen.

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

N.D.: I'm actually working on 5 books at the moment, Debra: a Regency romance about a woman with dowsing abilities, but she's gifted at seeking gemstones and metal objects in the ground instead of water or oil; a mainstream SF thriller about 3 archeologists who know far more about their "finds" than they should; a gargoyle book where the gargoyles come from another world; a paranormal romance where the heroine is struck by lightning then develops an ability to see ghostly, and ghastly, animals; and a fantasy about a spelunker who encounters more than rocks in a cave.

Debra: They all sound very intriguing, especially the spelunking. Could be just about anything hiding in a cave.

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?

N.D.: I read heaps of non-fiction, actually, plus I've studied the sciences (plant pathology/virology specifically), and am now studying archeology. New ideas constantly pop up. It's just a matter then of binding them together into a cohesive whole .

Debra: And with your background, the fiction is bound to be more plausible.

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

N.D.: Usually, as soon as I describe the first scene, or the dialogue begins. For me, it's more a matter of place and action than looks. Someone may have long legs or wispy hair, but it's the action that really matters to me—that defines my characters.

Debra: Action defines character and keeps the stories moving, so true.

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?

N.D.: Always, but most often in my fantasies! My editors always catch them, and then I have to explain why and how. I frequently have my characters speak in other languages, too, that I translate as I go along.

Debra: What fun! We readers do need that translation.

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?

N.D.: I sleep so soundly that even if I were to dream a scene, I'd never wake up to write it, LOL! That said, I have several writing friends who dream entire scenes or manuscripts, then rush to capture the gist of them before they vanish! Wish it were that way for me!

Debra: LOL In three years of doing these interviews, you're the first author to tell me that! At least you wake well rested. :-)

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

N.D.: There was a book about a blind boy who wanted to give the best gift in the whole world to a princess. He was poor and had nothing so he grew her a strawberry in his garden. It was the finest gift the princess received, and made her cheeks and lips grow rosy with joy. I loved that book!

Debra: Oh, that sounds like a sweet story. I wonder if any of our readers know the title of 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?

N.D.: The kind of story I already write, except the only romances I would scrawl would be historicals. To be honest, I don't really enjoy writing romance as much as fantasy or sci-fi.

Debra: Hmmm....well there's much more cross over than there used to be. Hopefully that helps.

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?

N.D.: A core of realism and quality research underlies imagination. To make the story believable, it's important to embed it with a sense of the real, the here and now. Make it plausible, and both you and your readers will enjoy it far more.

Debra: And you do just that! N.D.thank you for joining us here on this Make-believe Monday to share a little bit of the magic of writing with our readers.

N.D.: Thank you so much, Debra, for inviting me to blog with you! I've really enjoyed it!

Debra: It's been my pleasure!

Best wishes,
Norah/ND/Melody

www.NDHansen-Hill

www.MelodyKnight.com

www.myspace.com/ndmanuscripts

www.twitter.com/writingfool

www.facebook.com/nd.hansen.hill

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Debra's News/Debra is Watching:

Well I am loving my new library writing day. On Thursdays I go to the library and write from 9 to 5 and stay away from phones and internet. (Which means turning off my iphone until I am done working.) It's my new favorite day of the week.

Of course one day a week is not enough for a romance novelist to get her books written, so must write on other days too. Thursday just happens to be my day to retreat from the world to write. Other days of the week I write at home.

I've been seeing lots of movies lately. They feed my creative cup. Recently I've seen the new Harry Potter, Casablanca at the old Orpheum theater in Memphis, and Angels and Demons.

www.debraparmley.com

My next scheduled book signing and reading is Aug. 15th at Books and Beauty in Memphis TN. Books and Beauty is a unique Beauty Salon that is also a book store! More details as that event gets closer.

May you have a merry Monday!

Love and light,
Debra

Make-Believe Mondays With Meg Benjamin

Today on Make-Believe Mondays my guest it Meg Benjamin.

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

Meg: Well, Wedding Bell Blues is being released by Samhain Publishing on July 21. It’s the story of a disastrous wedding—the hero and heroine are the best man and maid of honor who are trying to keep the whole thing from imploding. Here’s the blurb: Janie Dupree will do anything to make sure her best friend has the wedding of her dreams, even if it means relinquishing what every bridesmaid covets and never gets—the perfect maid-of-honor dress. Problem is, family drama as tangled as a clump of Texas prickly pear cactus threatens to send the skittish bride hopping aboard the elopement express.

Janie could use a hand, but the best man’s “help” is only making things worse.

Pete Toleffson just wants to get through his brother’s wedding and get back to his county attorney job in Des Moines. He never expected to be the engineer on a wedding train that’s derailing straight toward hell. Janie’s the kind of girl he’d like to get close to—but her self-induced role as “Miss Fix-It” is as infuriating as it is adorable.

If they can just fend off meddling parents, vindictive in-laws, spiteful ex-boyfriends, and a greyhound named Olive long enough to achieve matrimonial lift-off, maybe they can admit they’re head-over-heels in love.

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

Meg: Oh yeah. In fact, hearing the characters’ voices is really important to me. After I’ve worked on a story for a while, I can begin to tell myself, “No, so-and-so wouldn’t say that.” Which means I have to sit down and think about just what she/he would say under those conditions—hearing their voices, in other words. Seeing them is harder. I sometimes begin a book by finding pictures that look like my people. I don’t create collages, like some of my friends, but I do collect pictures to look at, at least initially. I also sometimes have actors in mind, but that can be tricky because I sometimes end up thinking of characters those actors have played who may be very far from the characters I’m trying to create.

Debra: Usually I see my story people before I hear them, so we're opposites on that. But I've tried using photos too.

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

Meg: I was one of those kids who loved folk tales and fairy tales. My mom read me Hans Christian Andersen, the Brothers Grimm, and the Arabian Nights. I also loved the Alice books and Oz. And when I got older I read most of the Narnia books, too. I also loved an obscure bunch of books by an author named Edward Eager called Half Magic, about a family of children who found a magic coin that could grant wishes, but only half of what they wished for. They spend a lot of time trying to figure out how to wish for twice what they really need and then end up with weird results (duh!).

Debra: All wonderful tales. I'd love to read Half Magic. Maybe there are still copies floating about.

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?

I think it’s important to remember that creating ordinary, “realistic” worlds also requires imagination. Being creative isn’t limited to imagining alternative worlds—imagining the everyday world takes creativity as well. After all, we’re not really dealing with “reality” here; it’s what I think of as “reality 2.0”. We’re not actually dealing with what people “really” do or think or say; rather, we’re dealing with what they do or think or say in this neat little microcosm we’ve created for them. It’s not real life—it’s life reimagined.

Debra: So very true. Life reimagined.



www.megbenjamin.com

megbenjamin.wordpress.com

Debra: Meg, 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:

Thursday is my new favorite day of the week because my new schedule is to go to the library and write on Thursdays from 9 to 5. This is a time when I do not answer emails or phone calls (even with the iphone) And the writing is going very well.

www.debraparmley.com

Make-Believe Mondays With Dana Marie Bell

Today on Make-Believe Mondays my guest is Dana Marie Bell.

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

Dana Marie: I’m currently working on two different manuscripts, a holiday story entitled Sing We Noelle and the first of the Pennsylvania Shifters, Bear Necessities. I’m hoping to have Sing done by the end of July. It’s based in the world of The Gray Court, the world of Dare to Believe. Bear Necessities will be the first full-length shifter book set in the world of the Halle Pumas, and will be the beginning of a more multi-shifter world involving foxes, bears, wolves, coyotes, etc. I’m looking forward to getting back to my shifters!

Debra: What fun! Foxes and bear and wolves, oh my! (Couldn't resist that one.)

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?

Dana Marie: I’ve dreamed entire books! I had a sci-fi dream that I’ve written down, and it’s turned into the outline for a book I’m tentatively calling Stern Negotiations. I actually dreamed it from beginning to end. When I let my husband read it he got all excited and started talking about how I could work the science, which let me know I had a good idea on my hands.

Debra: Oh that is excellent, especially that you were able to capture it all on paper. Dreams can slip away so easily.

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

Dana Marie: J.R.R. Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings and C.S. Lewis’s Chronicles of Narnia were favorites of mine. Isaac Asimov and Andre Norton were also favorites. And I got my love of romances from Louisa May Alcott and Barbara Cartland. (Which probably explains why I write paranormal romance.)

Debra: Yes, it does!

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?

Dana Marie: Imagination is the most important part of creating fiction; well, that and the common sense to know when to rein that imagination in. (“Seriously! I TOTALLY think Lion-O should have a Thundercat lightsaber. Oh! And he should have a Power Ranger’s ‘zord powered by the Elfstones of Shannara! Why not? Really? It’s too much? Damn. There goes that idea.”) Dreams are a great jumping off point, but it’s imagination and sweat that bring a story to life.

Speaking of imagination, I have the start of a new series coming out July 28th through Samhain Publishing: Dare to Believe, the first of The Gray Court novels. It’s the beginning of my take on modern fae (sidhe, poukas, leprechauns, etc.) and began, of course, with a healthy dose of imagination.

Debra: Oh but Lion -O should have that lightsaber! LOL Yes, well, I see what you mean. Imagination and sweat, yes, those are the two pillars that hold the stories up so that they can become books. Both are equally as important, I believe. One without the other and the work becomes lopsided.

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

Dana Marie: Thank you for having me!

Debra: It's been a pleasure.

Readers please visit Dana Marie at

www.danamariebell.com
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Debra's News/Debra is Watching:

This week I will be hard at work on revisions to the manuscript so it can be ready to ship out the door soon. I'm getting impatient for it to be ready and that's a good thing because that creates the drive and push which gets things done.

Part of my new routine is to spend Thursdays at the library from 9 to 5, writing. During that time I do not take phone calls or emails, even with the iphone. It's my writing retreat day and this will be my routine from now on unless there is an emergency or I am traveling.

www.debraparmley.com

Make-Believe Mondays With Leslie Dicken

Today on Make-Believe Mondays my guest is Leslie Dicken.

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

Leslie: I’m actually going back and forth between two. One is a dark, paranormal historical and the other is an urban fantasy or, uh, contemporary paranormal? LOL! Don’t always know where these stories fit in the subgenres. I tend to write dark, scared heroes and unlikely heroines. We’ll see which one I finish first!

Debra: So it will be a surprise to you as well.

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?

Leslie: I read - all sorts of genres and romantic subgenres. I also make jewelry, which fills me creatively in visual and visceral ways. And for the ultimate in clearing the mind, I’ll do gardening/yard work.

Debra: There's something about moving the body that does it for so many writers. So many times a writer is creative in other ways as well.

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?

Leslie: Yes, two of my books had their premise based on dreams. Both futuristic books I wrote for Samhain as Jordanna Kay originated as dreams. THE PRICE OF DISCOVERY was conceived after I had a dream about a beautiful Victorian-style house in the middle of nowhere. Who would live there? Why would it be out there? For my novella, TABOO, I never forgot a dream I had many years ago of two types of people who had evolved to suit their particular niches on a distant planet. I kept mulling it over, wondering how they got to that planet and what would happen if those two separate peoples interacted....and what if they fell in love?

Debra: Ah, that "what if" that is the source of every story....

Leslie, thank you for visiting with us here on Make-Believe Mondays to share a little bit of the magic of writing with our readers.

Readers please visit Leslie at

www.lesliedicken.com
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Debra's News/Debra is watching:

Well I am moving a little slow today after the big camping weekend. The heat index was 111 and this was a primitive camp site so there was no electric or water. I survived it, managed to have fun and now have even more to write about when the situation calls for it. Nothing like wearing a medieval gown in the heat of the day and feeling the sweat roll down your back.

I'm enjoying the a/c once again and will be back to the writing once the laundry is caught up tonight and everything is shaken out for spiders.

www.debraparmley.com

Make-Believe Mondays With Jane Lovering

Today on Make-Believe Mondays, I'm pleased to introduce Jane Lovering.

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

Jane: Well, at the moment I’m sweating over two manuscripts (it’s messy and I have to keep mopping, but at least I’m working). The first is called Unconventional Behaviour, and is about a woman being whisked away to a Sci-Fi convention by her best friend. While she’s there she meets the star of the show, a man she’s had a crush on for ages… but things are never that straightforward, are they? Last time I met a man I’d had a crush on for ages, he ran away. Maybe I shouldn’t have done that face at him, but..sigh, too late now.

Debra: Oh those crushes, they certainly can be surprising. lol

Jane: The second WIP is a Very British vampire novel, called Dead Run. It’s set in York, my hometown, and the vamps are menacing, sinister and very well dressed. They spend a lot of time driving Ferraris and being terrible posers, and they have no desire to find their Soul Mates because they’re having far too good a time shagging everything that moves, thank you.

Debra: Of course finding ones soul mate would put an end to those good times! lol

Jane: I’m flitting between the two, because one is very down-to-earth and features a sensible heroine getting involved in circumstances beyond her control, and the other…oh. Now I come to look at it, both heroines are sensible. Bother. Oh well, too late to do anything about it now. Just have to hope no-one notices all the sensibleness. To be fair, there’s also a lot of bonkersness going on too.

Debra: Oh but it's fun when the sensible ones fall in love. Fun to watch them.

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?

Jane: That’s something I rarely have to worry about. I’m more concerned about my creative juices spilling out and staining the carpet or letting the crumbs of the HobNob of imagination (recently dipped into the cup of creativity, and therefore slightly soggy) drop onto next door’s poodle of despair.

I don’t have time to worry about it, I guess is the answer. I’ve got five kids, a husband, a job, two dogs, four cats, two rats and athlete’s foot. Writing novels is what I do to stop myself from running around the house yelling about the mess and waving a saucepan in a threatening manner. Ideas I’m not short of. Time and space to write them up… that’s what I’m lacking.

Debra: With such a lively household it's no wonder your creative cup never empties out!

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

Jane: The Amazing Mr Whisper, by Brenda Macrow. I read that book so often that the cover fell off, which was a terrible blow for the local library, from where I’d borrowed it. The story of a magical tutor (hey, I’m British, we all have tutors and governesses over here), who taught the children in his care to use simple magic. I loved that book! It was kind of like Harry Potter, without the sex, drugs and violence. I wouldn’t say that this book made me ‘want to write’ – that was later books, where people supposedly lived real lives without ever going to the toilet or having a bath, which made me desperately want to write realistic stuff – but it filled me with an innocent kind of longing to live that life. Oh, and he was rather sexy, as I remember, Mr Whisper. Or maybe I was just at that age…

Debra: The title alone is enough to intrigue me. It sounds like a wonderful book! And anyone named Mr. Whisper must be simply marvelous.

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?

Jane: Yes. Keep reading. And not only because it’s the only way I’m ever going to be able to afford to build that stable block, but because stories are essential. Anything that takes us out of today, away from those bills that need paying and that shopping that needs doing, and transports us to a world where maybe – just maybe – everything we’ve ever wanted could become real. Oh, and if that ever does happen, just remember one thing -

Johnny Depp. I saw him first.

Debra: Jane thank you for visiting with us here on Make-Believe Mondays to share a little bit of the magic of writing with our readers.

Please visit Jane at www.janelovering.co.uk/

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Debra's News/Debra is Watching:

This week I am getting ready for another medieval weekend with the SCA, called Border Raids. I plan to take along a notebook and squeeze in a bit of writing. We'll be camping and I hope the nights are a bit cooler. It's been passing 100 and the heat index has been around 110.

Also revising the work in progress this week. There are some pics from the book signing at my beauty salon, A Clientage, which will be up on MySpace and Faceboook this week.
www.debraparmley.com

Make-Beleieve Mondays with Amy Ruttan

Today on Make-Believe Mondays I'm pleased to introduce Amy Ruttan

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

Amy: Right now I am working on the final book of my Enchantress series, Enchantress The Valkyrie. I NEED to get it done before my third child is born, and he’s coming June 26th 2009. LOL. It’s not the deadline from my publisher it’s the deadline from the tenant in my belly which is driving me to get the words done. I’ve done the tally, I’ve written over 200,000 words since January 2009. Mind boggling for me, anyways I digress, Enchantress The Valkyrie it’s set in Saxon England, but has some fun paranormal elements to it. My Enchantress series has characters with magical powers. This is a story about Rowena, she’s recently widowed, no kids, and her husband’s brother is coming to claim her so he can keep her dower lands. Thing is her keep is attacked by Vikings, and as she helps her household escape, she is stuck and she dresses herself up as a young boy to escape rape. The hero Galen decides to sell the “boy” as a slave, but he finds himself strangely attracted to him. This infuriates him to no end. It’s proving to be a very fun book to write. I think I’m subliminally torturing my DH through my poor hero. Not a book to write in the third trimester to be certain. LOL!

Debra: Wow, now that's a deadline! Congrats, btw. :-) That does sound like a fun book to write. Hmm I wonder what kind of scene you would write if you were going into labor? Or right after? lol

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?

Amy: I love to read and I love movies. Comedies especially. Music also restores my creative muse as does car trips. I love to take day trips in the car. My kids also help revitalize me. I love spending time with them. I love that I have a job now where I can spend time at home doing what I love and being with my kids. Another cup filler is my local RWA chapter The Toronto Romance Writers, the support and comraderie is a definite cup filler. I always feel revitalized and jazzed coming from one of the meetings.

Debra: It's a beautiful thing when spending time around other writers does that. They "get" us like no one else can. Car trips are wonderful and it's the perfect time of year for them. Picnic on the seat and off to wherever the road takes you.

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?

Amy: I dream up whole books. I call these blessed dreams Plot Monkeys. Kind of like the flying monkey’s from the Wizard of Oz but cuter. ;) Dreams often play an important role in my writing. My Enchantress series came from a dream I had after having my first child back in 2003. I had a dream of a fey woman with long red hair running through the forest, graceful and beautiful and being chased by a very handsome warrior. I knew from the dreams they were enemies but were going to be thrown together. Of course these two became Edwin and Aislinn from Enchantress The Fey.

Debra: Plot Monkeys! I love it! Can just see them. :-) Childbirth and creativity also go together, sometimes in unusual ways.

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

Amy: It’s a trifecta tie between Laura Ingalls Wilder, Lucy Maud Montgomery and Roald Dahl. I love the history and romance of the Anne Series, the wanderlust of Pa Ingalls and Laura’s adventures in the frontier and Roald Dahl’s kookiness. His stories were so dark and eerie it really set my fertile little mind off, and because of these three writers I read voraciously as a child. I was always reading “above” my grade. I had a huge imagination and books were one of the ways I fed it.

Debra: Trifecta, yes. I could not choose one over the other either.

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?

Amy: Ooh I have no idea. Working in e-publishing is quite freeing and the publishers are more apt to take a risk on things traditional publishing houses won’t. I think for me I would like to write an epic set on a distant world. A real Sci Fi for my father. One day when I have time I may try. LOL.

Debra: So true. We have much more leeway in e-publishing. Seems like the traditional publishing houses are watching them though and trying to catch up. Look how many have now added e-books.

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

Amy: I love to hear from readers contact@amyruttan.com

And my website www.amyruttan.com

Thanks for having me! J

Debra: It's been my pleasure.

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Debra's News/Debra is posting:

Well it's been a couple weeks since I reported in and did an interview. What's been going on?

Let's see....I had a birthday day with about thirty friends, which was awesome!

Chipped a tooth eating an almond. (Be careful with those hard little nuts.)

Had a book signing at my beauty salon which was so much fun! Hair dryers going and ladies getting their nails done. There was a constant flow of people having books signed and visiting. I had a blast!

Then Friday a tornado came through Bartlett, TN. We're fine, just lost a few tree lines and power. Internet came back up last night.

So, I'm happy to report today is quiet, the rest of the week is likely to be quiet. Which is just what I need to get some writing done. I've had enough excitement for a while.

www.debraparmley.com
Posted a few new pics on my www.myspace.com/debraparmley and Facebook from the book signing. Updates are coming on my website, I'm just not sure when.

And now back to the manuscript under revision................perhaps next week I'll talk a little about it.

Make-Believe Mondays with Judi Fennell

Today on Make-Believe Mondays I'm pleased to introduce Judi Fennel.

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

Judi: Currently, I'm finishing up the third book in my Mer series, Catch of a Lifetime.

In Over Her Head, which comes out in June, is the first book in the series. It's the story of a merman named Reel, and a woman who's afraid of the ocean. Having seen JAWS at a young age, I can totally relate to Erica's fear. When she accidentally gets shot and wakes up under the water, she thinks she's died and gone to hell, so talking fish and a merman are to be expected. It's when she realizes that she's not dead that she really starts to freak out. Then The Oceanic Council sends her and Reel off on a search for missing diamonds and all her fears of the sea start to come true. Sea monsters, deadly sharks, barracuda... Erica can't wait to get back on land. Toss in a couple of nights with Reel on a deserted island, however, and she might just change her mind.

Debra: I can't wait to read this series, Judi. I confess to being a bit phobic of water myself. Though I did learn to swim in college and can swim anywhere with a life jacket (and now love to snorkle), the phobia is still there.

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

Judi: My characters usually start talking to me before I start the story. They are the ones who dictate to me and if I try to write something in a way they don't want, they let me know.

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?

Judi: I always play with words: puns, plays-on-words, double entendre, clichés... you name it, I use it. But I like to put twists on it. Since I'm creating an undersea world with its own set of rules and hierarchy and mythology, plus the fact that I pull on several known mythologies, I did take several words and join them to create a new word for the world. Selinos means "years," based on thirteen moon cycles (since they live under the sea, their lives are governed by the moon) in my Mer language and it's a combination of:

(σεληνη) pronounced sel-ay-nay selanay (moon)

ετος) pronounced eh-tos atos (year)

I also take common expressions and make them "Mer friendly." S-O-B, for example, becomes S-O-M (Son-of-a-Mer) or, Son-of-a-Sandpiper, depending on who's saying it. Task at hand becomes task-at-fin, etc. That, to me, was also part of the fun of creating this world.

Debra: These are not only fascinating, but playful and fun! Thanks for sharing them.

Judi: As a child did any particular book or author pull you into their imaginary world? I was a voracious reader (and still am, deadlines notwithstanding). I loved the worlds of L. Frank Baum (The Wizard of Oz series), Hugh Lofting (Dr. Doolittle), as well as all the Nancy Drew/Hardy Boys/Bobbsey Twins books. I loved Dodie Smith's 101 Dalmatians and the sequel, Twilight Barking, the hilarity of Freaky Friday, and Dorothy Wisbieski's The True Story of Okee The Otter. I always wanted to have a pet otter, but since that's not exactly a viable thing, my husband did sponsor the river otters in my local zoo a few years for me as a Christmas present. Talking animals, magic and adventure were my focus; toss in a love of romance starting in eighth grade, and I really had no choice but to write what I write.

Debra: Great stories! And what a sweet thing for your husband to do!

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?

Judi: Exactly the ones I'm writing. I wrote this story for me; the fact that others have loved it has been a blessing. I let my imagination run (swim?) wild with this one and the fact that I am writing more in the series just means I can live in that world and explore all the possibilities. That's the beauty of the romance world - you can go anywhere with it.

Debra: This is what I love to hear an author say when I ask this question. I really believe it's how the Harry Potter stories are born. Letting the imagination go and running with it.

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?

Judi: Okay, here's one for you. Rocky Horror Picture Show (ah, the 80s...) "Don't dream it, be it." Who would have ever thought that my "little talking fish story" would spark a whole world--and a writing career? No one was writing it because no one had thought of it. Don't not try something because it hasn't been done. Don't not read something because it sounds a little off the beaten path. Who knows where your imagination can take you if you don't give it a chance?

Debra: Exactly! (I have to admit this answer gave me goose bumps.) And I love that quote.

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

Judi: It's been my pleasure, Debra. Thank you so much for having me.

Debra: You're quite welcome, Judi. It's been fun!

Judi: I'd like to let your readers know that they can register to win one of three romantic beach getaway packages to celebrate the release of each of my books. Because In Over Her Head and Wild Blue Under take place off the coast of Ocean City, NJ, the Atlantis Inn Bed & Breakfast (www.AtlantisInn.com, talk about the perfect name!) is offering two weekends. The Hibiscus House (www.HibiscusHouse.com) in West Palm Beach, FL, is the third package since Catch of a Lifetime takes place off the eastern coast of Florida. Please stop by my website www.JudiFennell.com to register to win.

Debra: What awesome prizes. It doesn't get much better than that! Be sure to visit Judi and register to win!
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Debra's News/Debra is watching:

This week I'm making plans/getting ready for my birthday party which is next Saturday. (Birthday is actually Sunday.)

Continuing to work on the manuscript and plan to have it ready to send out by the end of June, if not before.

Also planning for a book signing at my beauty salon, A Clientage, on Thursday June 11th from 3:00 to 9:00 pm. You can find the invitation on my home page:

www.debraparmley.com

My website will be updated soon with pictures from the book launch party, from the RT convention in Orlando and a few other things. So stay tuned...

Make-Believe Mondays With Maria Geraci

Today on Make-Believe Mondays I am thrilled to introduce everyone to my American Title II sister, Maria Geraci, now that her first book is out!

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

Maria: I’m working on a proposal for the third Bunco Babes book. It’s tentatively titled Bunco Babes Back in Action and features the characters I introduced in my first two books, as well as a new protagonist. It’s not sold yet, but keep your fingers crossed for me!

Debra: I will cross all fingers and toes for you!

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?

Maria: I’m always reading, watching films, being inspired by the real people and events in my life. You know the old saying ‘truth is stranger than fiction’? Well, it’s true! I find inspiration in the everyday things that make our lives so important- family and friends.

Debra: Yes, that's so true! Lately I've been completely revising one of my manuscripts because of life changes and events, which makes me glad that one hasn't sold yet. And I love old films too. In Memphis there is a summer film series at the Orpheum which starts this Friday and I'm planning to go see Breakfast at Tiffanys. One of my favorites.

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

Maria: Definitely. It’s faster with some characters than others, but there’s always a sort of ‘aha’ moment when I feel that I truly “know” a character. Some characters of course, try to take over the story. They’re the ones you have to watch out for and probably the most fun to write.

Debra: Yes, I know just what you mean. I have to wrestle my secondary characters sometimes because they like to steal scenes. That's better than killing them off, I am learning. lol

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?

Maria: Oh yeah. One of my secondary characters in my Bunco Babes books is Cuban-American (like me). Pilar is always making up words that you won’t find in Webster’s Dictionary. Sort of like her own version of Spanglish. For instance, she refers to text-messaging as ‘tex-mexing.’ That’s a line I totally stole from my sister, by the way.

Debra: Ooh I love that! 'Tex-mexing' Your sister sounds fun and I like the name Pilar.

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?

Maria: I can’t say that I actually dreamed a scene (although I’m sure I probably have and just don’t remember it), but I definitely daydream scenes all the time. When I’m in the middle of writing a scene (which could take up to 2 weeks for me) I’ll be thinking of it constantly, and then at the most obscure moment- like while waiting in line at the grocery store- the perfect piece of dialogue will come to me. It’s like I’ve been subconsciously working the scene out in my head and the answer will come at the strangest time and place.

Debra: Yeah the subconscious is funny like that. At the grocery, while driving, or at the sink with hands in the soapy dishwater. Then it's oh shoot where's a pen? lol

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

Maria: I loved Louisa May Alcott’s Little Women. I think I read that book a dozen times. I was drawn by the strong female characters and the historical time period that I found so fascinating.

Debra: Oh, that's one of the best.

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?

Maria: I think I would write some erotica. Something really crazy and out there, but honestly, I’d probably be too embarrassed by what I came up with to ever show it to anyone!

Debra: lol You are so funny. (Course if you wrote it under a different name like so many authors do, no one would know it was you!)

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?

Maria: I think one of the most important things while writing is to always let the characters tell the story. While plotting is good (and necessary) don’t let a plot become so rigid that you miss the spontaneity that happens during the creative process. Sometimes our characters really do know what’s best.

Debra: Excellent advice, Maria. Thank you for joining me here on this Make-believe Monday to share a little bit of the magic of writing with our readers.

Maria: Thanks for having me!

Debra: My pleasure!

Maria: I’ve always wanted to be featured on Make believe Monday!

Debra: And I've been waiting for the day your first book would come out so you could visit!

Readers please visit Maria at
www.mariageraci.com

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Debra's News/Debra is watching:

www.debraparmley.com

Make-Believe Mondays with Shiela Stewart

Today my guest on Make-Believe Mondays is Shiela Stewart.

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

Shiela: Right now I’ve just finished writing the last book in my Darkness series, Surviving the Darkness. It’s the eighth book in the series and for now, the Darkness series is done. For now. I may very well revisit Jacob’s Cove in the future and tell more vampire tales. What is the Darkness series, you may ask. Let me tell you. The Darkness series is a tale of a group of humans and vampires who are fighting to keep the city of Jacob’s Cove safe from vampires after the sun is blotted out during a ritual to bring forth the vampire king. With each book, the story continues, bringing love to the heroes and heroines amongst the darkest of times while they try to bring the sun back.

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?

Shiela: It’s funny you should mention this. A lot of my books have come from my dreams. Though, very rarely are they romantic. Most of my dreams are scary such as the dream that that helped spawn my Demon series (yet unpublished).I usually take the dream, add some key points, fill in the plot and add a romantic aspect to it. Sometimes all I’ll have is a short dream scene but it’s enough to get my mind rolling to create a story.

Kidnapped, my first novel published came from a dream I had where a woman was held captive and thought it was a joke so she didn’t really take it seriously. I took the idea and rolled with it. Secrets of the Dead came from a dream I had of a vicious ghost holding a guy hostage in a house, tormenting him. When I woke, I took the idea and changed it around to have the hero possess the ability to communicate with the dead investigating a supposed haunted house with near dire consequences.
I have a vivid imagination.

Debra: It sounds like your imagination is quite busy when you are dreaming. All it takes is a short dream scene to spark a story. Our dream lives can be so rich and vivid with detail.

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?

Shiela: Actually, I have created something like this. The story is called Mind over Madness and it’s about a young man, sixteen, desperate for his father’s attention ends up murdering a family. Unfortunately for him, he didn’t account for the fact that he might be seen and ends up going on the run. While trying to stay one step ahead of the police he meets various people, including a talking cat. He’s having the time of his life, getting into bars without ID, sleeping with several women and coming out the victor in several fights against men twice his size. Yet all the while a little voice inside his mind keeps reminding him of the family he killed. When he wakes up in his own bed, he laughs it off as having been a wild dream only to find the cops waiting for him outside his house. It’s one of those stories a reader would think had been created by a stoned author. LOL
It has yet to be published.

Debra: I won't ask if you were when you wrote it. LOL

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?

Shiela: If there is a story swirling inside your mind, write it down. It may never be published, or it very well might be the next New York Times best seller. If you want to write about a talking bunny who falls in love with a woman then finds out he is actually human and needs the woman to break the spell, then go for it. You never know who will want to read it. J
Write what interests you and don’t let anyone tell you it’s not right.

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

Shiela: Thank you for the wonderful interview!

Debra: You're quite welcome. It's been fun.

To find out more about Shiela and her books, go to
www.shielasbooks.ca

Here is the list of Darkness books already released.
Seducing the Darkness. Desiring the Darkness. Embracing the Darkness. Charming the Darkness. Tempting the Darkness. Soon to be released, Penetrating the Darkness. For more information on the Darkness series go to
www.shielasbooks.ca/TheDarknessSeries.htm

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Debra's News/Debra is Watching:

This week I am working hard on revisions to my contemporary romance.
Planning a book signing in Bartlett TN for June as well.

Watch my website for photos from the RT convention and other updates.
www.debraparmley.com

Authors who wish to be interviewed on Make-Believe Mondays, please use the registration form on my website. Thanks!

Make-Believe Mondays with Missy Jane

Today on Make-Believe Mondays, my guest is Missy Jane.

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

Missy: My current Work In Progress is a sequel to They Call Me Death, about Andor’s daughter Emily. In Death, he is searching for her and reveals that she is thought to have been kidnapped. They are Golden Eagle shape shifters, but Emily’s mother is human so she has quite a few issues to work out both internally and with the prejudice against shifters in her world.

Debra: Now I'm curious as to whether she has been kidnapped and by who. ;-)

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?

Missy: By reading a lot. I believe most of the authors I admire inspire me. Also my children are such a wonderful resource, I don’t think I would be doing this if it weren’t for them.

Debra: Yes, children are a wonderful treasure, especially the way their imaginations simply take off and fly.

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

Missy: Absolutely. I joke about hearing voices in my head, but that’s not far from the truth. It might not be an actual voice, but my characters definitely invade my thoughts to the point where I HAVE to write to get them to leave me alone.

Debra: You've described it very well. Characters and stories certainly can be persistent, somewhat like children if they think we've ignored them too long.

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?

Missy: Yes. I have a few fantasy novels I’m working on and one in particular involves many different species that came straight from my imagination. A few of the names just popped into my head out of nowhere, and I even googled them to make sure I wasn’t accidentally plagiarizing. When it comes to language, I’m definitely not in league with Tolkien, so I tend to revert back to Latin.

Debra: I'm not sure anyone will ever match Tolkien. And things that come straight from our imaginations are usually the best things.

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?

Missy: Probably something along the lines of what I’ve already written. When I began writing I wasn’t even reading Romance yet. Most of my WIP and They Call Me Death, were written without any consideration for genre, or even audience. I was writing for myself and still do that for the most part. I’m an avid reader and if I wouldn’t want to read it I’m not going to write it.

Debra: Then you'll stay true to yourself and never veer off course. That's a very good rule.

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?

Missy: The possibilities are endless and a writer is truly only limited by his/her own imagination. There may be a lot of books that are similar because they’ve all been inspired by the same stories, but no two are exactly alike. It’s the subtle differences that make reading such a wonderful experience.

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

Missy: Thanks for having me!

Ms. Missy Jane is the alter ego of a Texas mother of four who has been married to the same wonderful man for thirteen years. About five years ago Missy finished reading a book by Mercedes Lackey and thought "Now, what if..." and a monster was created. Missy now spends most of her time lost in worlds of her own making alternately loving and hating such creatures as vampires, shape-shifters and gargoyles (to name a few). When not writing, she spends her time reading, taking photos of her beautiful daughters and training her husband to believe she's always right. Excerpts from Missy's work can be found at
www.missyjane.com
Missy’s first book, They Call me Death is available from Samhain Publishing

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Debra's News/Debra is Watching:

It was a busy twelve days in Orlando and RT was wonderful as always. Things just get better and better every year! I am already looking forward to RT 2010 which will be in Columbus, OH, not far from my hometown, Springfield, OH. (So you can pretty much count on me being there next year.) ;-)

It was such a joy to be teaching and such a pleasure to meet so many new friends at RT. Can't wait to see everyone's photos.

Flew home on Monday and planned to do a Make-Believe Mondays interview, but my ankles were so swollen I called my Dr. on the way home from the airport. He called in a prescription and got me in to see him the next day. They ran tests, one a scan of my veins, worried I had deep vein thrombosis. I'm happy to report all is well, the swelling has gone down and I'm fine. I try not to miss a week here with the MBM interviews but sometimes things happen. Anyway, it's good to be back!

Check www.debraparmley.com for future book signings and updates. I'm planning to set up a newsletter soon as well.

Authors who wish to be interviewed can find a form on the website as well. I schedule as far as a year out in advance.

Here is the lineup for the next five weeks:

May 4th - Missy Jane
May 11th - Shiela Stewart
May 18th - Maria Geraci
May 25th - Amy Ruttan
June 1st - Judi Fennel

Make-Believe Mondays with Alisha Rai

Today on Make-Believe Mondays my guest is Alisha Rai.

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

Alisha: I’m always juggling two or three works at the same time, but I’m really trying to concentrate on Rana’s (Devi’s sister, from Glutton for Pleasure) right now. Otherwise it’s too tempting to try to avoid it every time I hit a roadblock. I plotted all three sister’s books out at the same time, so theoretically, the next two should be easy to write. Unfortunately, Rana is a troublesome wench, so its been a bit rough. Stay tuned, though. I’m determined to give her a story that’s worthy of her.

Debra: And determination is certainly one thing every author needs. I juggle more than one manuscript also and it took me a while to realize that was one reason for it. (Well it can't be writers block or procrastination if we are still writing, right?) LOL Sometimes truth hurts. Especially when it comes to writing practices. So tempting when getting stumped on one manuscript and being determined to keep writing. Which can be a good thing if you don't let it side track you and you make sure to return to the first one. ;-)

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

Alisha: Absolutely. I’ve learned that the best cure for writer’s block, for me, is just to mark off at least an hour and start writing something, anything. About twenty minutes in, the characters start becoming real and I get lost in the story and their lives.

Debra: Exactly. Even if you can only begin by writing...I am so frustrated with this story right now. It doesn't matter what the thing is, the physical act of writing breaks that block, at least for me.

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

Alisha: Oh gosh, I don’t know if I could pick a single book. As a child, I devoured every printed thing I could get my hands on, including cereal boxes and pamphlets from solicitors. Madeline L’Engle is still a comfort read for me, though. I think A Wrinkle in Time was the first book I read where I was just as caught up in the sweet romance as I was in the story. Ooooh, and I had a massive crush on Meg’s twin brothers, who had their own novel, Many Waters. I know, I know, I’m a bit of a dork J.

Debra: Oh no, such labels don't apply to those of us who imagine. I think imagination erases all dorkiness. ;-) We should all allow our imaginations to play a bit more. Life should be fun! LOL

Alisha, thanks for joining me here on Make-Believe Mondays to celebrate imagination, creation and dreams and to share a little bit of the magic of writing with our readers.

Visit Alisha Rai at
www.alisharai.com
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Debra's News/Debra is watching:

I'm here at the RT Convention in sunny Orlando.

ere are the panels and other events I am scheduled for at the convention. If you're attending, be sure to come up and say hello! I love meeting new people.

Sun. April 19th: 5:00 meet & greet dinner
Mon. April 20th: 2:00 - 3:00 Characterization with Diana Groe and Pat Simmons
Tue. April 21st: 11:00 - 12:00 Submitting with Jade Lee
2:15 - 3:00 Query & Synopsis
3:15 - 4:00 Rejection with Aleka Nakis, Susan Yarina, Kathy Love
Wed. April 22nd: 10:30 - 11:30 Resurrecting the Muse with Gerri Russell
3:30 - 4:30 Samhain Soireee Bookseller party
Sat. April 25th: 11:00 - 2:00 Book Fair (where I'll be signing my first novel, A Desperate Journey)

There are plenty of other events I'm planning to attend, but these are the places you're certain to find me.

I'll be out of town April 15th through April 27th, but Make-Believe Mondays will continue.

Keep watching my website www.debraparmley.com for photos and video from the book launch and for pictures from the RT convention in Orlando.

Make-Believe Mondays with Patricia Snodgrass

Today on Make-Believe Mondays, my guest is Patricia Snodgrass.

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

Patricia: The story I’m currently working on is entitled “Love Fiercely.” It is set in the distant future aboard a spaceport and focuses on the lives of the medical examiners and their families who reside on the port. Not only is there a medical mystery to solve, there’s a mystery of the heart to solve too. Jerrod’s humanoid finacee Kitra is undergoing changes that he cannot begin to understand. That’s all I’ll say for now.

Debra: I like the title. That's something we all should do, when we find that special someone. Love fiercely and with the whole heart.

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?

Patricia: I love Ray Bradbury and he has been an influence in my writing since I was young. How I keep my creative cup filled is not difficult. I love to learn new things, which I think is vital in a craft such as writing. I am always seeking new venues for my writing, trying new genres, experimenting with grammar (as much as the editors will allow, ha!) and language. When I find those times when my creative cup seems empty, I find other things to do, such as paint, crochet, do beadwork and gardening. Taking long walks with the dog and enjoying fresh air and sunshine. And of course there’s the need for the odd road trip, which I’m currently craving.

Debra: Oh, I'm craving a road trip too, but it's soon to be satisfied by flying to Orlando on Wed. :-)
There is something about travel, or simply moving along when seems to feed the writing.

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

Patricia: Yes, that’s when I know I’m really in the zone when it comes to my writing. When I feel as if I’m sitting back and simply dictating what the characters are doing, seeing, feeling, etc, that’s when I know the story is going to be good. I love it when this happens. I’m never sure if a story is coming together well if I have to drag it along myself. It’s so much easier when the characters come forward and tell their own stories. My niece who has a degree in psychology told me once that I wasn’t normal. I laughed and said, define normal.

Debra: Oh, who wants to be normal anyway? I think all writers have a touch of eccentricity and I think we ought to embrace that part of ourselves and just be. My writer friends are eccentric, fascinating people, and I love them just the way they are. Besides, it's our differences that make people interesting. And I know just what you mean about trying to drag a story along by yourself. It never goes well for me when I do that.

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?

Patricia: Yes, I love playing with language. I sometimes collect languages the way some people collect butterflies or rocks. And sometimes I make up my own words. For example, I sometimes use the nonsense word ‘hucked’ to describe someone sobbing so hard they start hiccupping. Sometimes, my characters come from different cultures and have different languages. One character I wrote about was Cherokee, and she spoke the language. Today, when I was writing about an Afghani war veteran, she spoke in the Afghani language of Pashto. I didn’t even know Afghan had so many languages.

Debra: Hucked is a good word. Playing with language can be so much fun. Now you've made me curious about Pashto.

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

Visit Patricia at
patriciasnodgrass.bravehost.com
bluedelirium.blogspot.com
redroom/member/bayougoddess

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Debra's News/Debra is watching:

This Wed. I'm flying to Orlando to spend some time with my dear friend Marie before the Romantic Times Booklovers Convention begins.

Here are the panels and other events I am scheduled for at the convention. If you're attending, be sure to come up and say hello! I love meeting new people.

Sun. April 19th: 5:00 meet & greet dinner
Mon. April 20th: 2:00 - 3:00 Characterization with Diana Groe and Pat Simmons
Tue. April 21st: 11:00 - 12:00 Submitting with Jade Lee
2:15 - 3:00 Query & Synopsis
3:15 - 4:00 Rejection with Aleka Nakis, Susan Yarina, Kathy Love
Wed. April 22nd: 10:30 - 11:30 Resurrecting the Muse with Gerri Russell
3:30 - 4:30 Samhain Soireee Bookseller party
Sat. April 25th: 11:00 - 2:00 Book Fair (where I'll be signing my first novel, A Desperate Journey)

There are plenty of other events I'm planning to attend, but these are the places you're certain to find me.

I'll be out of town April 15th through April 27th, but Make-Believe Mondays will continue.

Keep watching my website www.debraparmley.com for photos and video from the book launch and for pictures from the RT convention in Orlando.

Make-Believe Mondays With Donica Covey

Today on Make-Believe Mondays, my guest is Donica Covey.

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

Donica: I have two projects in the works right now. The first one is Hunting Mickey, the next book in my romantic suspense series Gateway Guardians. This series centers on a team of DEA agents based in St. Louis and chronicles their battle in the war on drugs, specifically targeting the evil drug lord Ramiro Gonzalo Sancho Rivera.

The second project is Ember’s Flame, book three in my Elemental Desires series. This series spotlights each of the four Duile sisters. Amazing, talented ladies who just happen to be witches. Out of sheer boredom, they come up with a challenge: A contest to win the love of a mortal man. Being they are witches of the elements, their mortal must deal with their specific element. The first two sisters Maryna and Storm (water and air element respectively) have already been released. Now I just have to complete Ember and Tara’s tales.

Debra: St. Louis is an interesting city to visit and has a rich history. I'm surprised there aren't more books set there. And your witches sound intriguing.

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?

Donica: I have to sometimes force myself to ignore logical boundaries and let my imagination take flight or else the characters get constipated and no amount of muse-lax breaks up the flow.

Debra: Yes, sometimes imagination needs to carry a Nerf baseball bat to whack logic on the side of the head a little so we can write. ;-)

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

Donica: From the moment of conception. For me the characters are alive. They sit beside me, talk to me, annoy me, and cajole me. It’s when they stop talking and disappear that I have a huge problem.

Debra: Oh...yes. It's never good when they go quiet.

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?

Donica: I love to play with words. In my fantasy novel Dragon’s Angel I took words from Old English and used them to name different tribes of the inhabitants from the world of Grogan. For example…I chose to name one of my tribes the Brimborions. I just love the word Brimborion—kind of catchy, yes? The word Brimborion means a thing without value or use. But my tribe is far from the definition. They are hardworking, loyal and honest.

Debra: Oh, I like that word too. It's so much fun to play with words.

For some writers, dreams play a role in creating fiction. Has this been true for you?

Donica: Definitely.

Debra: Have you ever dreamed a scene or an image that later wound up in one of your books?

Donica: Almost every book has one or more such scenes.

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

Donica: Of course! L. Frank Baum. J.R.R Tolkien, CS Lewis, Lewis Carroll, Edgar Allen Poe. All are my favorites.

Debra: 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?

Donica: I do have one work that is in sort of a limbo because of the graphic content. It’s suspenseful, horrifying, nerve-wrenching and heartrending. But because of the graphic content due to the evil nature of one of the characters it’s been rejected. So…this book would be the one to shoot the moon with.

Debra: Sounds like it's way outside the usual parameters.

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?

Donica: Just my thanks for spending their time with me today and I hope they’ll pop into my website, www.donicacovey.com or my blog, donicacovey.blogspot.com and say hello. Or they can friend me on Face Book, Donica-Covey on Facebook I also have a YouTube channel for my book trailers: Donica Covey on UTube

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

Donica: Thank you for having me!

Debra: You're quite welcome. It's been a pleasure.

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Debra's News/Debra is Watching:

The book launch last Thursday was wonderful! One of the greatest days of my life and one I will always remember.

Today is the day I promised to announce the winner of my book launch celebration contest - the prize, a candle in the shape of a wing, which you can see on the previous blog post.

I've been waiting for my husband to come home to draw from the names. So we now have a winner!

The winner goes by the screen name: lastnerve. Congratulations and may your dreams take flight as mine has!

Please email me at debra@debraparmley.com with your address so I can send it out this week before I head to Orlando for the Romantic Times Booklovers Convention.

I will be in Orlando from April 15th to the 27th. If you are attending, come up and say hello! I love meeting new friends.

www.debraparmley.com
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And here is a message from my AT2 sister, Theresa Myers.

Hi,

Can you please let your blog readers know?

I promised that I wasn’t fooling around! Today I’d like to announce the two winners for my month long blog tour contest. If you commented on one of the blogs I was at, like Vampire Wire, Patricia’s Vampire Notes, the Harlequin Paranormal Romance Blog, or Make Believe Mondays, you were entered to win.

The two winners are: Kim Giardna who’ll be getting both a $20 gift certificate to Wicked Wines Online (where she can indulge in either red Vampire Vodka or other Vampire Winery offerings) and a copy of Salvation of the Damned.

MelJPrincess, you’ve won those snazzy customizable chrome fangs and a copy of Salvation of the Damned.

Congratulations to you both!

Theresa Meyers
President, Blue Moon Communications
bluemooncomm@aol.com

Make-Believe Mondays Announces Debra's First Book Launch!

Make-Believe Mondays is taking time out from interviews this week to announce the print release of Debra's first novel. A Desperate Journey is now available in print and the book launch party is set for Thursday April 2nd.

If you are in Memphis, TN on that date, I would love for you to join me.



Wed, April 1st, I will be over at the Samhain Cafe, posting excerpts and chatting from 12:00 pm to 12:00 am. Stop by and say hello!
Samhain Cafe

And, I have a contest going this week. Everyone who leaves a comment here on the Make-Believe Monday blog from Tue. April 1st to Sunday April 5th will be entered into a drawing for this beautiful candle. For the longest time I have dreamed of seeing my book in bookstores and now that this dream is taking flight, this candle symbolizes that for me. Thank you for celebrating with me and may all your dreams take flight too.



debraparmley.com

Regular author interviews will resume next week and I will announce the winner of the contest on Monday.

Make-Believe Mondays with Jerri Drennon

Today on Make-Believe Mondays my guest is Jerri Drennon.

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

Jerri: Actually, I’m working on three. Two, I’m revising. The third story I’m about half done with. The one’s I’m working on revision for are action-adventure romance, the heroes are jungle guides, the heroine’s, botanists. The book I’m writing is a romantic suspense called “Going Once, Going Twice, Dead” It’s about a sculptress, who is the only suspect in a homicide case my hero is investigating.

Debra: I don't believe I've ever read a story about jungle guides and botanists. That one greatly intrigues me.

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?

Jerri: Lately, it has been by reading. It inspires me to write, especially when the book I’d just finished has that special magic about it.

Debra: There's nothing like that special magic sweeping you away into another world.

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

Jerri: Yes, it’s before I even start the book—before I write one word. I get a visual image of both characters, the hero is usually clearer to me.

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?

Jerri: I haven’t tried my hands at this yet, but never say never.

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?

Jerri: I’ve dreamed three story ideas that are now books. “Going Once, Going Twice, Dead” came from a dream I’d had.

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

Jerri: So many, it’s hard to name just a few. The first books that really transported me were the Nancy Drew Mysteries. They began my love of suspense. In the fifth grade, my tastes matured. I fell in love with “The Great Gatsby” (It might have had something to do with Robert Redford playing him in the movie.) I went on to read all of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s books. What an amazing writer he was.

Debra: I still have a dog eared copy of The Great Gatsby and re-read it last summer. He was an amazing writer.

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?

Jerri: I’m not sure. But it’d be filled with action and adventure. I love writing heart-pounding, suspenseful scenes.

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?

Jerri: I’ve had a vivid imagination since I was a young child growing up on a farm in Minnesota. You had to, to stay sane through those long, cold Winter’s. But it took me years to realize those voices in my head were characters trying to get me to write their stories.

Debra: I think for many of us, the imaginings were stories that we just hadn't learned to write down yet.

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

Website: jerridrennen.com
Blog: jerridrennen.wordpress.com

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Debra's News/Debra is Watching:

I'm blogging over on titlewave.blogspot.com tonight and if you haven't visited us there lately come by and check out the new look and format!

Also getting ready for my book launch party Thursday April 2nd at Burkes Bookstore in Memphis, TN.
www.debraparmley.com

Make-Believe Mondays with Leah Braemel

Today on Make-Believe Mondays, my guest is Leah Braemel.

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

Leah: I’m working on the second novel in my Hauberk Protection series which are very hot contemporary erotic romances. The first book in the series is Personal Protection, which follows the owner of the Hauberk Protection Agency, Sam Watson. In his story, Sam’s being stalked, and he’s pretty ticked off when his second-in-command forces him to accept his own bodyguards which he feels will really crimp his style. However, the head of his team, is a spitfire of a woman, Rosalinda Ramos. While trying to guard him, Rosie discovers she has to guard herself from him, especially when she discovers that Sam’s a founding member of a very exclusive sex club. (Personal Protection is being released on May 12th by Samhain.)

To follow that story up, I’m writing the second in the series. Hauberk agent Andy Walters is dating Charlene (Charley) Larsen, literally ‘the girl next door’ who, of course, comes with a complication – Andy’s brother Daniel has had a crush on Charley since they were in high school. Their affair gets more complicated when someone tries to kill her. So Andy has to protect Charley while deciding whether to step back from the relationship for his brother’s sake.

Debra: Even the closest of brothers could find their relationship ripped apart if they both fall for the same woman. There are so many different ways that one could go.

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?

Leah: Dreams definitely play a roll in my writing. My dreams get so vivid, I have to get up in the middle of the night to write them down. My critique partner, Marley, sent me an old voice recorder she had because I was losing so much sleep getting up to write my scenes down. I’ve solved story problems,(and even real life problems) and created entire scenes or plot lines, thanks to dreaming. I think my subconscious doesn’t turn off when I go to sleep, that it churns over problems that are bugging me about my manuscript and solve them for me. So if I don’t sleep and therefore don’t dream, I notice the quality and quantity of my writing suffer.

Debra: I don't think our subconscious ever turns off really, we just don't always listen to it. A voice recorder is a great idea. Probably helps with getting it down faster before it slips away too. Things never seem to go as well for me if I am not dreaming. Dreams can tell us so much. I'm trying to listen to mine more.

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

Leah: Absolutely. Unless I feel like I’ve sat down and talked with my characters, that they’re real, I don’t feel I’ve created them properly. I do all sorts of preparation before I start writing a manuscript. I’ll “interview” my characters; I’ll sit down and write out big lists of their likes or dislikes, try and figure out their background – who they were as children, what their placement within their family was, their hopes, their fears–especially that because that gives me a good base of their internal conflicts. Once I get to around the 25,000 mark in my manuscript, if I’ve developed my characters properly, that’s when I started dreaming of them. Once I start dreaming of them, then I know I’ve written them properly. It’s to a point where if I’m not dreaming about them, then I know the story isn’t working for me. That’s when I go back and redevelop them until I do feel like they’re real. It’s very important to me to get to that point. (A psychiatrist would probably have a field day with that answer.)

Debra: It's such a good thing that you know your process for writing, what path it takes and I suspect a psychiatrist might say that is a healthy thing. But then I tend to think that when we are creating it is a very healthy thing. So whatever gets us there gets my thumbs up. lol

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

Leah: For me it was CS Lewis’s Chronicle of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe. I was around seven at the time. I loved the idea that there could be a secret world hidden in the back of the closet. What kid wouldn’t dream of stepping from a mundane world into one where they can become a princess with flasks that can heal people, or talking lions or fauns. Around the same time, my sister introduced me to the idea that you could write your own stories, you didn’t have to rely on other people to make them up for you. That’s when I really let my imagination loose and started writing my own stories, not that I showed them to anyone else until about five years ago though.

Debra: Oh, I love that story (well both actually, Narnia and the story of you and your sister and your first writings) How beautiful when those worlds open to us.

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

Leah: Thanks for having me, I really enjoyed these questions. If readers want to read any excerpts from the first book in the Hauberk series, Personal Protection, they can find excerpts at my website:
www.LeahBraemel.com
and I often talk about my writing process on my upcoming works over on my blog as well:
leahbraemel.blogspot.com

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Debra's News/Debra is watching:

This week I will be attending Gulf Wars in Lumberton, MS Tue. through Sun. This is an SCA event and I am looking forward to wearing medieval dresses, watching the knights battle, dancing, camping and campfires. Like stepping back into the middle ages for a while. And who knows what story might be born there?

www.debraparmley.com

I have also been planning for the book launch of A Desperate Journey which will take place Thursday April 2nd at Burkes Books in Memphis, TN 5:30 to 7:00 pm.

Make-Believe Mondays With Keta Diablo

Today on Make-Believe Mondays, my guest is Keta Diablo.

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

Keta: Thank you for having me today. I have a WIP (works in progress) that takes place in 1572 Scotland. At the time, there was territorial warring between Clan Forbes and Clan Gordon. Parliament finally intervened and decreed that both clans must lay down their weapons and to ensure peace Broccin Gordon’s daughter, Catriona, must wed The Lion of Forbes, Bryan. Mortal enemies, neither want to marry but are forced into it. Let’s hope by the time I’m done with the story, they fall in love (lol). Tentative title: The Lion of Forbes.

Debra: Oh, I do hope they fall in love. lol They must have that happy ever after ending.

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?

Keta: I don’t have a problem with creativity because my brain runs on overtime. I have a thousand story ideas, but putting them to paper is another dilemma. Where to start, where to go, and how to finish so the reader remains interested through each scene, every chapter, now, that’s the never-ending challenge. For me, creativity isn’t the issue, but the actual writing sometimes is. It’s much harder than it seems.

Debra: It is much harder than it looks from the outside, I know. But also it is wonderful when the story starts flowing together.

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

Keta: So many authors say their characters speak to them (literally). This has never happened to me. But, after 100 pages, you begin to know your characters intimately and a sixth sense should tell you how they would handle a situation that arises, what they would say in a certain scene. If you know your character’s weaknesses and flaws, strengths and vulnerabilities, you should know how they would react. I often write something, perhaps a piece of dialogue and then I second guess my writing. I’m always asking of the hero or the heroine would really say that or react in that manner. I like to pretend they’re standing over my shoulder to keep me in check, perhaps shaking their heads and saying, “I would never say such a thing, and you should know that by now.” Or, they might say, “That was perfect; that’s exactly what I’d say to that feisty little hellcat.”

Debra: Hmm, the pretending is pretty close to them speaking to you. I think it has to do with how deeply you can enmesh yourself into the story world. Some days it is easier than other days and sometimes characters are silent. So pretending is good because we can always pretend.

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?

Keta: Normally, I write historical because I’m most comfortable with that genre. I’ve always been a history buff and spend hours surfing the net reading true accounts of the Civil War or even early Scottish history. Fascinating stuff to me. Then several years ago, two author friends asked me to participate in a fantasy anthology with them. I reminded them that I’d never written fantasy. Not one to back down from a challenge, I agreed to write a 12,000 word fantasy novella and called it Dust and Moonlight. The pre-reviews for the anthology came back very good and I had so much fun creating this make-believe world with names and creatures that I’d never seen or heard of. I opted out of the anthology (with their blessing) and lengthened Dust and Moonlight into a full novel. It’s now available at Siren Publishing and I’m very happy I tried something new. Will I write more fantasy? That depends on how well readers receive the book.

Debra: Ah I love history too, especially Scottish history (probably because of my heritage) Fantasy is great fun to read and to write. I'll have to look for that one.

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?

Keta: Oh, that happens to me all the time. See above where I said my brain runs on overtime. This includes sleeping. I keep a notebook on my nightstand and you’d be surprised how many times I jot down my dreams in the morning. I can remember them vividly. Dreams are mystifying. Have you ever wondered where the person’s face came from? I mean they’re real people, their features are perfectly clear, but I don’t know them, have never seen them. Was it someone I passed once in the grocery store and my mind took a snapshot of them? You venture down roads in dreams you’d never venture down in real life and it makes for fascinating stories.

Debra: The dream world is so fascinating. Those notebooks are essential for capturing what we see in our dreams. I have one of those too.

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

Keta: From the moment I read To Kill A Mockingbird in grade school, I knew I wanted to be a writer. I couldn’t get over the fact that Harper Lee could transport me to another time and place where I could feel the hot, summer air and taste the prejudice in that town. Scout and Jem resonated with me. And all because a writer strung together (most proficiently, I might add) words, sentences. I was hooked from that moment on.

Debra: A most excellent book for many reasons and one all children should read in school.

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?

Keta: Hmmm. Good question. My preference would be historical fiction with a trace of romance, but that doesn’t sell well in today’s world. Readers are like every other human on the planet; they want more and more of everything. Five years ago, erotica was sort of still in the closet, yet today I think it outsells vanilla or mainstream romance ten to one. I like writing erotica, but I must admit, the fact that it’s very popular is an added bonus.

Debra: Readers tastes change and I think with ebooks becoming more popular there are more changes to come. I suspect this has had something to do with the longer historical novels being less popular as people seem to want shorter novels. Chapters seem to be getting shorter and books seem to be getting shorter and I don't think I'm imagining that. But that's a whole other direction to take this chat into.

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

Keta: Thank you so much for having me. I love to hear from readers, so drop by my web site and enter my book-give-away contest. I hold a drawing at the end of every month.

www.ketadiablo.com

My blog is Keta’s Keep at www.ketaskeep.blogspot.com
Here you can find news about my books, reviews, new releases and lots of guest authors drop by every month to showcase their new releases.

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Debra's News/Debra is watching:

So many exciting things are happening to look forward to!
My new bookmarks came in this week and they are lovely.
Monica Parks, one of my dearest friends, took photos of me holding the first copy of my book and they are posted on my website and on Facebook.

Plans and preparations for the book launch party are under way and the invitations will be going out very soon. I will be reading and signing. Here are the details:
Thursday April 2nd
5:30 pm
Burkes Books
Memphis TN

www.debraparmley.com