Meredith Allard's Blog, page 32

An Interview with C. W. Gortner

Here’s my interview with C.W. Gortner. If you love historical fiction, particularly Tudor fiction, then Gortner is your guy. My review follows below.

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C.W. Gortner holds an MFA in Writing with an emphasis in Renaissance Studies from the New College of California, as well as an AA from the Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising in San Francisco. In 2012, he became a full-time writer following the international success of his novels. His books have garnered widespread acclaim and been translated into twenty-one languages to date, with over 400,000 copies sold. A sought-after public speaker. C.W. has given keynote addresses at writer conferences in the US and abroad. He is also a dedicated advocate for animal rights, in particular companion animal rescue to reduce shelter overcrowding. Half-Spanish by birth and raised in southern Spain, C.W. now lives in Northern California with his partner and two very spoiled rescue cats. For more information please visit C.W. Gortner’s website and blog. You can also connect with him on Facebook, Twitter, Goodreads, Pinterest, and YouTube.

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Meredith Allard: When and why did you begin writing, and did you always write historical fiction?

C. W. Gortner: I began writing as a child in southern Spain. My mom remembers that even as a young boy, I was obsessed with books and made up my own stories. It’s a passion inside me; I don’t know where it comes from. I’m a voracious reader and I love to learn; most of what I know, I taught myself through reading. I didn’t dream of being a writer, however, until I was in my late twenties. I wanted to work in fashion and had various jobs in the fashion business for years. I wrote in my spare time, but it was a hobby, a way to express myself. I did not start writing historical fiction; I loved fantasy and actually worked for years on an epic fantasy novel for several years, which I still have. Looking at it now, I realized it’s heavily influenced by history, which I’ve always loved. Then one day, I decided to write an historical novel because I thought it would be fun to try my hand at it. My father read my first manuscript – all 800 pages on Anne Boleyn!—and suggested I try to publish it. I had no idea how to do that, but I studied everything I could about publishing and began sending query letters to agents. That’s how my career as a writer started. Had my father not said he thought my writing was good enough, I might never have tried.

M.A.: I am, I admit, only lately come to the fascination with the Tudor period of history. What prompted your interest in this time period? And why do you think the Tudor period is such an object of fascination among so many?

C.W.G.: I grew up when the BBC series “The Six Wives of Henry VIII” and “Elizabeth R” were being aired; I was still quite young but I was utterly fascinated. The Renaissance era is one of my favorites. When I lived in southern Spain, history was all around me. A ruined castle that had belonged to Isabella of Castile was just a short walk from my house; I also attended both Spanish and English-language schools, and history was by far my favorite subject. I always wanted to know more about the people: how they felt, how their world looked, what challenges they faced. History is often taught to be boring, a recital of uninteresting facts, but I had a particular history teacher who saw how much I loved it. She gave me history books and historical novels. When I read my first historical novel, Murder Most Royal by Jean Plaidy, it was like a door opened wide. Suddenly, I saw how history can come alive, how emotions can clothe the skeletons of the past in flesh and blood. After that, I read every historical novel I could, as well as history books. History can teach us so much about our present; without knowing where we came from, how can we decide we are headed? To me, history is like a guide to the past and the future. I think the Tudors’ brief reign offers a microcosm for history lovers: there is so much upheaval, passion, intrigue, and drama; the larger-than-life personalities and their oft-tragic fates—we must see something of ourselves in the Tudors, for their fascination on our collective imagination is enduring.

M.A.: How would you describe your novels to potential readers?

C.W.G.: Depends on the novel. My stand-alone novels about famous women, such as Isabella of Castile in The Queen’s Vow or Catherine in The Confessions of Catherine de Medici, are reinterpretations of these maligned characters. I wanted to rip aside the legend and lurid myth, delve into the emotional and physical circumstances they confronted in life. Each of these women made controversial decisions that blackened their reputes: I wanted to explore why. My stand-alone historical novels are in-depth character pieces that seek to not necessarily restore these women to their rightful place in history, but rather illuminate the obstacles and challenges they faced as female rulers in a male-dominated world.

For the Spymaster novels, of which The Tudor Vendetta is the third and last, I returned to my lifelong love for the Tudors. But as the era has been quite well covered in fiction, I took a different approach. Instead of depicting the lives of the famous, I devised a fictional plotline about a squire, Brendan Prescott, whose secret past leads him to become the intimate spy of Elizabeth Tudor. I also set the novels within crevices of Tudor history, during isolated events that had significant impact at the time, but are often not widely covered. In The Tudor Secret, it’s the plot to seize the throne as Edward VI lies dying; in The Tudor Conspiracy, it’s the Wyatt Revolt and Mary Tudor’s quest to wed Philip of Spain; and in this new one, it’s the first few months of Elizabeth’s accession to the throne, when she faces great uncertainty, and the sudden disappearance of her trusted lady in waiting challenges everything her spy believes in.

M.A.: There are so many novels about the Tudor period. What makes your novels different from others about that era?

C.W.G.: My novels are adventures with a mystery at their heart, presenting fictional characters interacting with historical personages. I also take a different approach to Elizabeth’s hotly-debated relationship with Robert Dudley. We like to see them as besotted lovers who can never be together, and to some extent, that is true. But Dudley was a lifelong, ambitious courtier with a mean streak; he’s not a knight in shining armor, and he made Elizabeth’s life difficult on occasion, despite her adoration. Dudley is Brendan’s antagonist; they were raised together and detest each other. I see Robert Dudley as that proverbial bad boy on the motorcycle whom our mothers warned us about: he’ll bring chaos, but we can’t resist him. He’s magnetic, dark and handsome; the serpent in the garden. I loved turning his liaison with Elizabeth on its head, exploring it from a different angle. She loved him, no doubt, but she knew he could never be her husband. A Dudley as king-consort would have been inconceivable, after the treason his family had indulged. And that enraged him. It took Dudley many years to finally realize he would never wed Elizabeth. As she herself once famously declared, “There will be but one mistress here—and no master.” But she was also vulnerable to him. Brendan’s job is not only to protect her from outside forces, but also the threat that Dudley poses.

M.A.: All authors have a different path as they seek publication. What was your journey to publication like?

C.W.G.: Very long and arduous. It took thirteen years to get my first offer. I wrote four manuscripts – three of which are now published—and had five agents before I met my champion, Jennifer Weltz of the Jean V. Naggar Literary Agency—who finally sold my first two books at auction. One of the struggles every writer faces is rejection; it requires perseverance to not let it defeat you. Being rejected is part of the journey, but it can be so disheartening. I had to keep reminding myself that I write because it’s how I interpret life; it didn’t matter if I ever saw one of my books published because writing was my passion. Of course, I did want to be published, and once I started pursuing it, it was impossible not to continue. But I’ve met writers who stopped because they couldn’t handle the rejection. I kept the nearly 300 rejections I received years ago; it reminds me that I accomplished something because I never gave up. But it’s easy to say that now; at the time, I did despair. I ended up self-publishing my first Tudor book, in fact, before the e-revolution. It was marvelous to finally see a book of mine in print, but I couldn’t shake the feeling that it wasn’t a true accomplishment because an editor in New York hadn’t seen my worth and given me an advance. The system for publishing has changed dramatically since then, of course, but I needed the validation from the industry. I suspect some writers feel the same.

M.A.: What are the joys/challenges of writing historical fiction for you?

C.W.G.: The joys for me are the research and the escape. When I write, I travel to another world and forget the realities of the one I live in. Research engrosses me; I can spend hours searching for the right saddle for a character’s horse. For me, writing is much like acting; we must strip away the essence of who we are in order to inhabit our characters, only as writers, we are invisible, so we can become whomever we want. Human emotion is universal; we all feel it. How we express our emotions depends on who we are and our society, era, and culture. However, I do find it challenging at times to write as a 16th century person because so much of what they believed is not me. I have to focus on not being myself to authentically write my characters and understand how they interact with their world, who they are, what they experience and feel. But it’s what keeps me going: challenge is very important to me in my work. I don’t ever want to get stuck in a rut, where I write the same novel over and over. Every book must be a love affair: I have to be so passionate about it, it’s like I’m falling in love again for the first time.

M.A.: What is the research process like for you?

C.W.G.: Demanding but exhilarating. I have a three-fold approach. The first part involves months of reading: biographies and books about the era, how people lived, dressed; transportation, architecture, medicine—everything I need to know to make the setting feel real. A significant amount of what I learn never makes it into the published book, but it’s important to discover as much as I can when I first start. I also draft emotional and psychological profiles of my characters, as people who lived hundreds of years ago experienced the world very differently. Research helps me understand their circumstances, so I can make them relatable to my modern reader. The second part of my research involves documents from the era, such as letters, ambassadorial dispatches, and accounts written by those who saw or recorded the events. This part is very time-consuming because the further back in time, the less likely these types of documents exist or are accessible; I have to write to university archives, museums, and historical centers to get copies, if available, or make appointments to see them. The third part, and most fun for me, is traveling to the places I write about, to see the locales where my characters lived.

M.A.: I just returned from a trip from London for research for a novel I’m writing, and I know it’s fun to travel to where you’re writing about if you’re able. Do you travel for research? If so, what role does travel play in your research?

C.W.G.: It’s essential for me. Much has changed; modern landscapes are not the same as they were in the past. Castles fall apart or are extensively renovated; parking lots pave over battle grounds, and malls sit on sites where historic murders occurred, but visiting the actual places where my books take place helps me visualize the settings. The colors of a garden, the echoes in a hall or texture of a painting: these details bring a novel to life in ways that pictures on the internet can’t. I must experience the locations in order to get a sense of the personality I’ll inhabit during the year-long process of writing. It’s part of how I become my character and live their life.

M.A.: Which authors are your inspiration—in your writing life and/or your personal life?

C.W.G.: Every author who perseveres inspires me, because as I’ve mentioned, it’s tough to keep writing and make a living at it. I’m very inspired by close writer friends, because I know that despite the outward appearance of fame and fortune (and far less of the latter than the former, in most cases) we all also deal with personal issues, like everyone else, as well as the industry itself, which can be quite challenging. Getting published is step one; staying published is step two, and that requires many hours of hard work, with a myriad disappointments along the way. To us, every book is a special child: we nurture it, guide it, labor to deliver it, but then we hand it over to the house. To them, it’s one in a season of titles, but to us, it’s ours and we want it to succeed. Adjusting expectations is vital for our sanity, yet not easy at all to manage.

M.A.: What advice do you have for those who want to write historical fiction?

C.W.G.: Write what obsesses you. Research can teach us what we need to know, but without passion for our subject—true passion—it becomes a chore. Also, while the genre has enjoyed a surge in popularity, it remains one of the lesser bestselling ones in the overall scheme of publishing. Publishers want subjects that are easily identifiable, set in eras which readers recognize, and that can be problematic when so many characters and eras are already covered. So, it’s important to understand the limitations of the marketplace, unfortunate as this may be.

M.A.: What else would you like readers to know?

C.W.G.: Just to thank you for spending this time with me. I hope you enjoy The Tudor Vendetta. To learn more about me and my work, please visit me at www.cwgortner.com.

Review:

Synopsis:

Upon the death of Mary I (Bloody Mary), Elizabeth I takes the throne and Brendan Prescott is called to aid the young queen amid a realm plunged into chaos and a court rife with conspiracy

London, 1558. Queen Mary is dead, and 25-year old Elizabeth ascends the throne. Summoned to court from exile abroad, Elizabeth’s intimate spy, Brendan Prescott, is reunited with the young queen, as well as his beloved Kate, scheming William Cecil, and arch-rival, Robert Dudley. A poison attempt on Elizabeth soon overshadows her coronation, but before Brendan can investigate, Elizabeth summons him in private to dispatch him on a far more confidential mission: to find her favored lady in waiting, Lady Parry, who has disappeared during a visit to her family manor in Yorkshire.

Upon his arrival at the desolate seaside manor where Lady Parry was last seen, he encounters a strange, impoverished family beset by grief, as well as mounting evidence that they hide a secret from him. The mystery surrounding Lady Parry deepens as Brendan begins to realize there is far more going on at the manor than meets the eye, but the closer he gets to the heart of the mystery in Vaughn Hall, the more he learns that in his zeal to uncover the truth, he could be precipitating Elizabeth’s destruction.

From the intrigue-laden passages of Whitehall to a foreboding Catholic manor and the deadly underworld of London, Brendan must race against time to unravel a vendetta that will strike at the very core of his world—a vendetta that could expose a buried past and betray everything he has fought for, including his loyalty to his queen.

My Review:

I have only recently come to a fascination with an historical subject that have held many history buffs spellbound for years—Tudor England. Blame it on Hilary Mantel and her brilliant Thomas Cromwell Trilogy, or blame it on the television show The Tudors which I began watching one slow Saturday afternoon. Whatever you blame, the truth is I am now quite interested in the sly doings and undoings of King Henry VIII and his offspring. I even made a special trip to the Tower of London on my last trip to London to see one of the locales for myself.

The Tudor Vendetta is the first book I’ve read from C.W. Gortner’s The Elizabeth I Spymaster Chronicles though it is actually the third book in the series. The fact that I hadn’t read the first two books in the series wasn’t a hindrance and I was able to follow the story very easily. In fact, I think I might go back and read the first two books. If you want to start at book one in the series then you should, but if you want to start with The Tudor Vendetta as I did, you’ll find that Gortner provides enough backstory so that you’re able to follow along.

Gortner has a knack for historical detail as well as character development. Brendon is certainly a devoted spy for Elizabeth I as he searches for the missing Lady Parry. He is extremely loyal as intrigue strikes the young queen’s court and a certain secret surfaces. While the history is an important part of the story, readers will not be surprised to discover that some poetic license was taken in the telling of this tale.

At times thoughtful, at times a fast-paced page turner, The Tudor Vendetta is a wonderful story for anyone who loves a good Tudor-based historical novel. Actually, I don’t think an interest in the Tudor period is necessary. There is enough action, historical detail, and interesting characters to keep anyone who loves fiction guessing what happens next.

 

Filed under: Fiction, Guest Authors, Historical Fiction, Interviews, Writing Tagged: C.W. Gortner, historical fiction, interviews, The Tudor Vendetta, writing historical fiction

Another Rejection Letter? Here’s an Editor’s Point of View

You mean I have to do work for a PhD? Who would have thought?

The truth is, I’m enjoying my work for my doctorate, but it certainly is time consuming. I knew it would be, but crazy me I signed up anyway. I needed a new challenge, and this is it. I’m researching the teaching of writing (no great surprise there) and it’s fascinating. I’ll share some of my findings soon.

The new novel is coming along. Somehow I’m managing to steal a few moments here and there to scribble out a few words. Luckily for me season 5 of Downton Abbey is on so that’s giving me the inspiration I need to keep writing (yes, I live in America, and yes, I watch Carson and Lady Mary when they’re on in the U.K. If you ask nicely I’ll tell you how I do it). There will still be a new James and Sarah Wentworth story in 2015 for you Loving Husband Trilogy fans. I’m happy to say the box set of the trilogy is now officially an Amazon best seller, so thank you to everyone who helped put it there. The complete box set is still on sale for .99 cents at Amazon, BN, and Kobo.

It’s taking some time to learn how to juggle teaching full time, writing my papers and reading my assignments for school, and keeping up with everything else. I was talking to a friend at work the other day and she said, “You’re still smiling so that’s a good sign.” So there you go. I’m still smiling. While I’m busy working on my lastest doc assignment, known in polite company as a literature review, I thought I’d repost this oldie but goodie about those dreaded rejection letters and how, from an editor’s point of view, they’re really nothing personal.

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Contrary to popular belief, editors don’t find a sadistic satisfaction from sending out rejection letters. There is that one editor with a voodoo doll and a case of push pins, but that’s another post. Most editors are writers too, and we know there’s nothing like the prick of a rejection letter to pop the air from a writer’s bubble.

There have been times when I received too many rejections in a row and I couldn’t help but take them personally. Was it my storytelling? My habit of submitting acrostic poetry? Was my Aunt Ellie just wrong and I really don’t have a way with words? But then I became an editor, and I realized that decisions aren’t always about storytelling or talent.

Here’s the big secret that’s really no secret at all: most decisions are based on personal preference. There’s no complex system editors use to determine quality (think of the formula in the textbook meant to determine a poem’s value in Dead Poet’s Society). There’s no list of writers to accept or reject. It’s not about what MFA program you went to, or if you even have an MFA. Not everyone’s style is to everyone’s taste. That’s it. If we turn down a piece at Copperfield, that doesn’t mean it’s bad. It’s just not for us at that time.

At The Copperfield Review, we tend to have more literary, experimental tastes. I have great respect for Hemingway-esque simplicity, but it’s not the kind of work I’m drawn to publish. I love work that plays with, stretches, challenges the English language. We’re blessed to write in the English language. Truly. Our wealth of vocabulary, limitless possibilities for structure, and ability to be straightforward or lost in a stream of consciousness makes our language a vast artist’s toolbox to use to paint pictures in words.

Since Copperfield is a journal of historical fiction, we get a lot of submissions set in the same era—World War II and the Old West are two of the most popular. But because we receive so many stories set during the same time, we can’t publish them all. I know the consensus is that you should read literary journals to see if those journals have published pieces similar to the work you want to submit. Generally, that’s true. But let some time pass if you want to submit a story on exactly the same subject as one that’s just been published. If you see a story in Copperfield about the American Civil War in our Spring edition, wait at least until Autumn before you send in your Gettysburg tale. We’re open to it, just not so soon.

Once we received twenty World War II submissions for the same edition. No joke. There was nothing particularly wrong with any of the stories, but we couldn’t publish twenty stories on the same subject. We rejected eighteen of them, most of which might have been published if they had been sent at another time.

Which brings us to the million dollar question: how can you know exactly when to submit your work? Unfortunately, you can’t. Sometimes journals ask for specific types of submissions for certain editions, but otherwise timing can be the luck of the draw. There is an element of luck involved in sending your work to the right publisher at the right time. But the more research you do, and the more you submit, the more opportunities you have to turn the tides of timing in your favor.

I know the form letter rejections aren’t very helpful for writers, but they’re a necessary evil due to the number of submissions most journals receive. Just remember, the next time you receive one, it’s not about your talent. It’s about the editors, their personal tastes for the type of writing they prefer, and the type of stories they’re looking to publish at the time.

Filed under: Copperfield Review, Publishing, Writing Tagged: publishing, rejection letters, writing and rejection letters

Advice On How To Be Happy

I was standing in Starbucks yesterday morning when I saw this list from author Robert Louis Stevenson (Treasure Island, Kidnapped, and The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde) hanging from the community board.  I think his advice is as appropriate today as it was over a hundred years ago. I’ve been pretty busy lately and I haven’t had time to slow down, so reading this was a good reminder of what’s really important. Enjoy.

1. Make up your mind to be happy. Learn to find pleasure in simple things.

 2. Make the best of your circumstances. No one has everything, and everyone has something of sorrow intermingled with gladness of life. The trick is to make the laughter outweigh the tears.

3. Don’t take yourself too seriously. Don’t think that somehow you should be protected from misfortune that befalls other people.

4. You can’t please everybody. Don’t let criticism worry you.

5. Don’t let your neighbor set your standards. Be yourself.

6. Do the things you enjoy doing but stay out of debt.

7. Never borrow trouble. Imaginary things are harder to bear than real ones.

8. Since hate poisons the soul, do not cherish jealousy, enmity, grudges. Avoid people who make you unhappy.

9. Have many interests. If you can’t travel, read about new places.

10. Don’t hold post-mortems. Don’t spend your time brooding over sorrows or mistakes. Don’t be one who never gets over things.

11. Do what you can for those less fortunate than yourself.

12. Keep busy at something. A busy person never has time to be unhappy.

Read more: http://www.life-with-confidence.com/how-to-be-happy-stevenson.html#EwMyglEm8LQz5wTs#ixzz0rijIWRP5

Filed under: Spirituality, Tidbits Tagged: How to Be Happy, Robert Louis Stevenson

Which Authors Have Influenced You the Most? Here’s My List.

I was asked by Prism Book Alliance to name the top ten authors I admire. Sounds simple, right? Yet I found it wasn’t that easy for me to narrow down the list since I’ve been influenced and inspired by so many authors over my lifetime. Dickens is listed at number one–no great surprise there–though the others aren’t in any particular order. I’m not sure there are any surprises here except for perhaps the poets–Whitman and cummings–though anyone who has read any of my fiction can see the Whitman influence in my prose (and in my choice of titles). Here are the top ten authors who have influenced my writing. Of course, the list could change tomorrow…

Charles Dickens. I do what I do (write novels) because of the influence Dickens has had on me. I get my sense of the absurd and my social consciousness from him. I try to create stories that are worlds unto themselves because of him.
Walt Whitman. The title for That You Are Here is from Whitman’s Leaves of Grass. I’ve written three or four books where I’ve paid tribute to Whitman in one form or another. I love his message about being honest about who you are and being true to yourself. I think I learned more about how to put words together to create an image from Whitman than from anyone else.


Toni Morrison. I love her writing because of the poetry in her language. I try (and fail) to replicate that in my own writing. I think of myself as a frustrated poet who writes fiction.


Anne Lamott. She’s brutally honest in her writing and I admire that so much. I love her book about writing, Bird by Bird. I especially love her for introducing me to the phrase “shitty first drafts,” which I clutch close to my heart whenever I’m writing a shitty first draft.


David Sedaris. No writer can make me laugh out loud like Sedaris. He’s wry and observant and I love his personal essays. I’ve read all of his books. He’s going to be here in Vegas and I already have my tickets.


e.e. cummings. He taught me that it’s okay to break the rules, even the grammar rules, as long as you maintain control of the language.


Natalie Goldberg. Her book Writing Down the Bones was life changing for me. I discovered that it’s okay to write for the love of writing, and that becoming a writer is a process that occurs over many years.


Jane Austen. She’s a great example that the ladies are just as observant, insightful, and funny as the men. Pride and Prejudice is one of my all time favorite novels.


Hilary Mantel. I love writing historical fiction, and she’s a master. She does a great job of weaving the research into the story so that fact and fiction flow together. I love her Thomas Cromwell trilogy, and I can’t wait for the third book to come out.
Annie Proulx. I read Brokeback Mountain before I started writing That You Are Here, and I’m so glad I did. I love the literary quality to the story, and I love how it focuses on the love between the two men over the years, even if they weren’t able to acknowledge that it was love. That’s what I wanted to do with That You Are Here—I wanted to write a love story.

So here’s my list. I’d love to hear which authors have influenced you the most. I’m always fascinated by which authors have inspired others to become writers.

Filed under: That You Are Here, Tidbits, Writing Tagged: Annie Proulx, author influences, Brokeback Mountain, Charles Dickens, Jane Austen, Leaves of Grass, Prism Book Alliance, That You Are Here, writing, Writing Down the Bones

Here’s My Blog for The Huffington Post

The nice people at The Huffington Post were kind enough to publish my article on their Gay Voices page about why straight allies should be willing to speak out on behalf of LGBT issues. I added it here too in case you missed it. If you don’t agree, that’s fine. I’m not trying to convince anyone of anything. I’m simply sharing my opinion on the matter. I felt like I needed to have my say on the issue, which is why I wrote That You Are Here in the first place. Here’s the link to the article on The Huffington Post’s website. If you have a moment, stop on by the page and share your thoughts on the matter. What’s cool is that now I’m a blogger for The Huffington Post – I have an official blogger’s account and everything.

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An FYI: If you agree with anything anyone on Duck Dynasty has ever said, you will not like this post. If, however, you believe that all human beings are in fact human beings, and that all human beings fall in love, then by all means proceed.

We don’t have to go very far to find examples of those who fight against same-sex marriage with every ounce of energy they have. Politicians, religious organizations, and ordinary citizens can be loud in their opposition to same-sex marriage. Despite this backlash, there has been an increased public acceptance of same-sex marriage, due in no small part to the courage of many in the LGBT community. When you know that your neighbor, your friend, your teacher, your favorite actor, or your favorite musician is gay, suddenly gay people aren’t so different — you realize they’re regular people who do their jobs and fall in love and live their lives like everyone else.

Yet for many there’s still an us-vs.-them attitude toward LGBT issues. “That’s their problem,” many say, or, “That doesn’t affect me.” Or, worse, many just ignore the issue completely. Here’s a post from Unabridged Andra’s blog where she talks about parents not saying much, if anything, to their children about marriage equality. She has a column on her blog called “LGBT Tuesdays” where she works to bring understanding of LGBT issues. What Andra is doing is wonderful, and there should be even more openness toward LGBT issues, especially from those of us who are straight allies.

Like Andra, I’m not a parent, but I was a classroom teacher for over 15 years, and I’ve seen how children are coming out as gay, lesbian, bisexual, or transgender at younger ages. The more we can do to let these young people know that they are accepted and appreciated, and the more we can help them feel like they are an integral part of society, the easier it will be for them to grow into complete, productive adults. If LGBT allies don’t speak out when we see bullying taking place, if we don’t speak up when we hear derogatory comments about LGBT people, if we don’t add our voices when the need arises, then we will continue with a culture of bullying, depressed children, and struggling adults.

I’ve seen documentaries about the Freedom Riders, the brave men and women who fought for equal rights during the civil rights movement in the 1960s, and I’m always amazed by the extraordinary lengths they went to — physically and emotionally — to help their cause. I often wonder if I would have that kind of physical courage to help support a cause I believe in. Let me rephrase that: I know for a fact I don’t have that kind of physical courage. But I’ve seen friends struggle with marriage inequality, and I’ve heard their stories about legal issues that can arise because the partners weren’t legally married, and I decided I didn’t want to be a silent voice. I wanted to have my say. But why, you may ask, does a straight woman care about gay marriage? I care for many reasons. I care because my friends should be able to live their best lives without being penalized for who they are. I care because the laws of this country should reflect the rights of all its citizens. And I care because as a classroom teacher I saw too many young people ostracized and bullied because of their sexual orientation.

The late and very great Maya Angelou often said that we are more alike than we are different, and the older I get the more I know that’s true. Once we learn to see the stories of LGBT people not as “their” story but as human stories, then we can see that we are interconnected and our struggles are universal. After all, all people have to learn to feel comfortable in their own skin. We all have parts of ourselves that we need to come to terms with and accept, whether we’re gay or straight. Everyone needs to find their own path in the world, and everyone falls in love. Once we recognize that same-sex marriage isn’t about being gay or lesbian but about being human and wanting to do human things like get married and have a family, then we can see that what we’re really fighting for is everyone’s right to live their best lives.

My point isn’t about trying to change the minds of those who are stubbornly against gay marriage. I’m not naive enough to think that any amount of arguing or finger pointing will prompt anyone to think differently about this important issue. My point is that those of us who are on the side of same-sex marriage should feel comfortable speaking about it. We should be ready to share our views, not with the intention of confrontation but with the intention of being comfortable saying “I’m for same-sex marriage” so that others do not control the conversation. If people against same-sex marriage have no problem speaking their minds, then neither should people on the side of same-sex marriage. The more people who speak out, and the more positive voices that are heard, the more accepted same-sex marriage becomes, and the sooner same-sex marriage will be legal in all 50 states. Yes, more states are allowing same-sex marriage every day, but there are still obstacles to overcome. Sharing our positive voices will help.

Filed under: News, That You Are Here Tagged: Gay Voices, same sex marriage, Straight Alllies, That You Are Here, The Huffington Post

Thank you, Robin Williams: A Lesson in Gratitude

I’m writing and posting this quickly before I change my mind, so, as Anne Lamott said in her own post on the same subject, this isn’t going to be proofread to perfection. I don’t usually comment on the passing of famous people since I’m not sure what I can add that someone more articulate than I am hasn’t already said, yet I find I can’t let the passing of Robin Williams go without saying at least a few words.

I’m going to date myself here—in fact, I’ll give you a precise date: I’ll be 45 in 17 days on August 30. I was a kid in the 1970s when Robin Williams first appeared on TV screens as Mork, first on Happy Days and then on Mork and Mindy. I was infatuated with Robin from the very beginning. I had my Mork and Mindy lunchbox, and I even had my own Mork from Ork rainbow colored suspenders. (Yes, I still have a photo where I’m wearing them. No, I won’t show it to you.) I listened to his comedy album Reality, What a Concept too many times to count. I could probably still do some of his skits from that show if I set my mind to it. As I grew, Robin Williams did too.

I was two years into my university studies in 1989 when Dead Poet’s Society was released. Two years into college I still didn’t have a major. I was one of those people who wanted to study everything, and in that time I had been a psychology major, a liberal studies major, and a history major. I’ve always loved books, and by college I knew I had some skill as a writer, but Dead Poet’s Society gave me a direction. A matter of days after I saw the movie I changed my major to English and never looked back. I became an English teacher, and though the John Keating moments become fewer as the years pass and society changes, I never stop trying to achieve them. I have my “Seize the Day” rock and a picture of “Uncle” Walt on my classroom wall. The title for my latest novel, That You Are Here, comes from a segment of Whitman’s Leaves of Grass that Williams quotes in Dead Poet’s Society: “That you are here, that life exists, and identity; that the powerful play goes on, and you will contribute a verse.” Over the years, I loved watching Williams continue to grow as an actor and a comedian.

As a writer with dreams for my career, I find I keep learning the same lesson over again—to be grateful for what I have right now, in this moment. We always think that when we get to some certain place or when we have some particular success we’ll be happy. I’m as guilty of this as anyone. When I sell x many books, or when I make y amount of money, or when I have this amount of recognition, or when I win that award, or when my books become films then I’ll be happy. But how many examples have we seen over the years of those who had all the success in the world and still struggled? Because you know what? It doesn’t matter. If you’re not content within yourself no amount of success matters. Success in itself can’t make you happy.

Normally, when I’m writing I have some point I’m trying to make, and to be honest I’m not exactly sure what I’m saying here except that I know I should be thankful for what I have. I know I have a lot to be grateful for. Waiting for a certain event to be happy, thinking that everything will fall into place when I have this one thing—whatever that thing is—isn’t good enough because nothing in itself can bring happiness. In an odd way, I think that’s what I’ve been trying to say in my posts all summer about being an indie author on my own terms. Success isn’t about numbers or rankings or awards. It’s about being true to yourself and doing your thing and living your life in a way so you feel good about yourself along the journey.  

So, yes, I have a lot to be thankful for. Mainly, right now I’m thankful because I was around at the same time as Robin Williams and I had so many belly laughs because of him.

Thank you for everything, Robin Williams. I know you’re making God laugh right now.

Filed under: Spirituality, Tidbits, Writing Tagged: Dead Poet's Society, gratitude, Leaves of Grass, Robin Williams, Success, Walt Whitman, writing

Q & A: That You Are Here Tour

I’ve been doing quite a few interviews while That You Are Here is on tour. I’ve been having a lot of fun answering the questions, so I thought I’d post some of my responses here.

* * * * *

Quick round:

Coffee, tea or…what’s your vice?

I love both, but I’ll normally go for coffee.

Favorite Movie?

Dead Poet’s Society

Favorite Color?

Purple

Favorite book/author?

David Copperfield by Charles Dickens

How do you feel about bacon?

I’m a vegetarian, so bacon is a no-go for me.

 

The REAL questions:

Tell us a little about yourself.

In addition to writing novels, I’m also the executive editor of The Copperfield Review, a journal for readers and writers of historical fiction. I’ve been teaching writing for more than ten years now, as well. When I’m not writing or teaching, I like to find great vegetarian and vegan recipes since I love to cook. I also love movies, Broadway musicals, and I’m a big fan of Downton Abbey. Pinterest is my new love since it’s the one place where I can indulge in all my interests at the same time.

What’s under your bed?

My cat. (That’s not a joke, by the way. I can hear him snoring from here.)

What comes first, plot or characters?

For me, it’s usually characters. Then my job is to figure out what happens to them and what they learn along the way.

Pantser, plotter, or hybrid? Tell us about your writing process.

I begin by plotting out the story from beginning to end so at least I have a blueprint to work with when I start. But I know that as I continue writing often the characters will take over the story and bring it in directions I hadn’t originally thought of. That’s all part of the fun of writing fiction for me—I can start with the greatest plan, but I know it’s probably going to change along the way and I like that.

Oddest thing on your desk?

My cat (I have three). She’s looking out the window at the moment.

What’s your most interesting writing quirk?

Probably that I have the ability to procrastinate like nobody’s business when it’s time to write. Procrastination is my super power. I’ll cook, clean, do the dishes, feed the cats, check my e-mail—it takes me a while to settle down, but once I’m writing I could keep at it for hours.

What’s your favorite thing about the genre you write in?

I write in several genres, and I like that. That You Are Here is the first time I’ve written an m/m love story. My Loving Husband Trilogy is in the vampire/paranormal genre, though it could also be classified as historical fiction. Victory Garden is set during World War I and the Woman’s Suffrage Movement. Woman of Stones and My Brother’s Battle are also historical fiction, set in Biblical Jerusalem and the American Civil War, respectively. I like jumping around from topic to topic. It keeps things interesting for me and hopefully for my readers. I’d be bored writing the same type of story over and over again.

What is the hardest thing about being an author?

Finding time to write when I have a day job. Luckily, I have summers off so I can feel like a full time writer then. I also have a thing against writing first drafts, but since there’s no final draft without a first draft, I have to get that first draft done.

What’s the easiest thing about being an author?

Coming up with story ideas. I have an active imagination, as most authors do, and I have a lot of ideas floating through my head at any and all times of the day and night. I love kicking around an idea until I can start to see the story come into shape. I love that I can take these crazy scenes that I see so clearly in my head and share them with others. Writing fiction is an outlet for my imagination. I started as a screenwriter, but screenwriting was too much like a blueprint for me and I didn’t like the terseness of it. I love describing the room where the action takes place. I love describing the characters’ clothing, and what they’re thinking and feeling. I love the entire world building process and making that world come alive for the reader.

What’s your favorite published work of yours and why?

That’s a great question, and my answer varies from day to day. I’m very proud of That You Are Here because it’s such a different type of story for me. I’m most known for historical fiction, but That You Are Here is completely contemporary. I love writing about love—how two people fall in love. That You Are Here is about falling in love and staying in love in a complicated world.

Where do you draw your inspiration from?

Sometimes I’m inspired by books I read or television shows or movies I see. Sometimes I’m inspired by events in the news. Sometimes I’m inspired by events in history. Sometimes it’s a crazy story from my imagination. I’ve learned that inspiration can come from anywhere so I try to keep my eyes open for ideas.

Who is your favorite character from one of your stories and why?

This answer also can change day to day, but I do have a particular fondness for Mark from That You Are Here. Mark is an inherently kind person with a big heart and in a lot of ways he represents the person I’d like to be.

If you get writer’s block, how do you get around it?

In Natalie Goldberg’s Writing Down the Bones, she says to allow yourself the freedom to write the worst junk in the world. That’s a great way around writer’s block because I know it’s okay for me to write something that isn’t all that great at first. I keep writing and I know I’ll figure it out eventually.

What are you working on at the moment?

My current project is back to historical fiction in a love story inspired by Downton Abbey. My recent trip to London was great research.

What’s the biggest writing challenge you’ve ever taken on? Did you succeed?

Writing That You Are Here was a big challenge for me because it’s so different from anything else I’ve ever written. I wasn’t sure I should write it at first, but that’s the story that was in my heart so that’s the story I wrote. The book has received great reviews, so yes, I think I succeeded. Readers love the love story between Mark and Andrew, and that’s so important to me.

Filed under: That You Are Here, Writing Tagged: That You Are Here, writing, writing process, writing tips

When a Book Changes Your Life

Meredith Allard:

I got back yesterday from my second trip to London. I had a great time and had the chance to see a few sights I missed on my first trip. I admit I felt a lot like Cora from Downton Abbey–“I’m an American. I don’t share your English taste for discomfort.” I mean, seriously, air conditioning isn’t a new invention, and ice isn’t even an invention. It exists in nature (though some polar bears might argue that fact). Still, I love London and I’m glad I had the chance to look around again as I begin writing my new novel, which just happens to be set there. While I’m recovering from jet lag, I thought I’d repost this blog from last year about my first trip to the UK. Enjoy.

Originally posted on From Meredith Allard:

“I don’t want to change anything, because I don’t know how to deal with change. I’m used to the way I am.”

From Paulo Coelho’s The Alchemist

How often does a book change  your life? I’m not talking about books you love so much you read them again and again. I’m not even talking about books that prompt you to think differently. I’m talking about books that cause you to do something, to take action. Just because I’ve loved a book doesn’t mean I make any changes in my day-to-day life after reading it. When I’m reading the book I’m engrossed in it, but then I close the covers and go back to my life, doing the same thing at the same time most days of the week, most weeks of the year.

About a year ago I read The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho when it was one of the…

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Filed under: News Tagged: London, Paulo Coelho, The Alchemist

In Praise of Day Jobs

A cute picture of a cat proofreading a manuscript.

I know, I know… this is the opposite of what everyone else talks about. I’ve talked before about how most posts about publishing are directed toward one goal: leaving behind that dreadful day job (Bad day job! Bad job!) and making a living as a writer. It doesn’t surprise me that quitting the day job is the focus for so many authors. We like to judge things by their dollar value (or pound value, or yen value, or whatever you use where you live). The general belief is that when you quit your day job because you make enough money selling books, then and only then have you conquered that elusive mountain called Success, leaving the rest of us to dream of the Success that eludes us.

There are a lot of authors out there—both traditional and indie—who are doing brilliantly with their books. They’re making a lot of money, and some of them do leave their day jobs. And it’s true that most authors want to sell as many books as they can. I know I do. However, like with everything else in life, it’s important for each of us to decide for ourselves what we really want, not what we’re told to want by others. For a long time I felt like a failure for holding onto my day job. I need to be braver and quit. Just do it! But when I’m being honest I’ll admit that what I really want is financial security. I don’t mean financial security as in having millions in the bank; I mean I want to know I have enough to pay my rent and my bills, put gas in my car, go grocery shopping, you know, usual life stuff. I love the idea of making a living from my books, but I also love my steady paycheck.

Blame it on my childhood (I do). I love Dickens for his novels, but my attachment to him also stems from the similarities in our early lives. Dickens’ father John spent money faster than he made it, finally ending up in a debtors’ prison when Dickens was 12. While I was never sent to work at a blacking factory like Dickens (that I can recall), I, too, was raised by parents who never grew up when it came to money.

My parents were 16 and 20 when they met, and two kids later they remained teenagers in the lack of maturity they displayed when it came to financial matters. If there were such things as debtors’ prisons in the 1970s and 80s, the Allards would have been permanent residents. There was never enough money. Ever. My father was fired from every job he ever had for reasons ranging from being late to stealing money to stealing goods from the automobile parts departments where he worked. My mother worked occasionally, part time jobs here and there, but mainly she yelled and screamed about my father not being able to hold a job, and I became anxiety-ridden with her worries. We were evicted from every place we ever lived. Ever. The electricity was turned off too many times to count. I don’t know how many cars were repossessed, leading to the mornings when we’d go outside for my mom to drive my brother and me to school and the car wasn’t there, vanished to Repo Man Heaven. I remember a family friend sending my mother home with bags of groceries because there wasn’t enough money for food. I don’t remember being hungry, but I do remember the sickening feeling that comes with moneylessness. As a child, I couldn’t do anything about it, but as an adult I can and I do. Like I said, in praise of day jobs.

A few years ago I allowed myself to be convinced that I wasn’t a real writer unless I made my living writing so I tried my hand at freelancing. I hated it. I mean I really, really hated it. I hated that every job paid differently, and I hated that though I always had my work in before the deadline, the magazines or newspapers paid me whenever they got around to it. Sometimes the check they sent me wasn’t the right amount (Did we agree to $400? I have here $250…), and sometimes my payment was “lost in the mail” (Are you sure you didn’t get it? It says here it was sent last Tuesday…). Sometimes there wasn’t as much work in July as there was in June and I felt like a child again, worrying about whether or not the bills would be paid. At the end of the summer I raced back to my usual day job without looking back, and I’ve held on ever since.

Then again last year I flirted with the idea of leaving my day job after the release of Her Loving Husband’s Return, the third book in the Loving Husband Trilogy. Her Loving Husband’s Return landed on the Amazon best seller list the day it was released and it stayed there for months. Because Her Loving Husband’s Return is the highest priced of my books ($4.99) it meant thousands of dollars for me in a relatively short time. Awesome, right?

Here’s the thing about book sales: they fluctuate. Daily. Hourly if you’re keeping track on KDP. After a while, sales of even the best best-selling books slow down. If you make enough money while the sales are hot to feel confident depending on that as your income, then by all means do so. My point is never to say that my way is the right way. If you have a more adventurous spirit than I do, then do what feels right for you (remember Leo Babauta’s #11). I’m simply showing why leaving the day job isn’t the ultimate goal for every single writer in the world. Book sales are part of the ebb and flow of life—sometimes books sell well, sometimes they don’t. Sometimes you feel like a nut, sometimes you don’t.

If I had depended on the sales of the Loving Husband Trilogy as my sole income, I would have done well for a few months, maybe about six months, but then what would I have done when the sales slowed down? Common wisdom says to write more books so readers have more to buy from you. Okay, I’m doing that, but I can’t churn out several books a year (also common wisdom), especially since my next novel is historical fiction and there’s a fair amount of research involved. Common wisdom also says to try different marketing strategies to get more sales. I agree with that, too, but no matter how much marketing I do I can’t predict sales or make anyone buy my books. If I knew the formula for forcing readers to buy my books I’d bottle it and sell it.

If you’re a genre novelist and you write quickly and develop a loyal audience, you may very well be able to make a living selling books. Erotic novels sell very well. Look at the Fifty Shades Trilogy. That author won’t have to work another day in her life. Bella Andre has become a publishing rock star with the success she’s had with her erotic romance novels, and she has a legion of loyal fans who snatch up her new books as they come out. For me, book sales provide a second income. It’s not enough to live on, some months it’s not even close, but it’s still extra money every month, enough to make me feel like my books are being bought, hopefully read, and, even more hopefully, enjoyed. I don’t have the stress of worrying about sales since I have my steady paycheck to depend on. After I do what I can, the books sell what they sell. I’ve learned to become very zen about the whole book sales thing. My life is a lot less stressful that way.

One of the things I love about Joanna Penn from The Creative Penn is her honesty about her journey as an author entrepreneur. She admits that since she quit working in IT she now makes about 55% of what she made when she had her day job. Kudos to Joanna for saying so since most authors won’t admit this. As a source of pride they’ll say they quit their day jobs, trying to prove they’ve made it as an author, but they won’t say what they’re making in comparison to what they made at their previous jobs. True, there are a lot of authors doing extremely well financially, but I bet there are a lot of authors like Joanna who are living on less since they quit their day jobs. Married authors may have an easier time with this since they might have another income to depend on whereas us singletons have only our solitary selves to pay the bills. Joanna also wins points because she admits that not all of her income comes from selling books. She sells courses in indie publishing and she does speaking engagements. Crafting a career for herself as an author entrepreneur helped her out of a job she hated and into something she loves. She makes less money doing it, but she’s happy, and heavens knows she’s good at it. She’s helped many authors with indie publishing, myself included.

Unlike Joanna, I don’t hate my day job. Sure, some days are better than others. Hell, some years are better than others, but that would be true of any job, yes, even writing. Writing isn’t rainbows and roses every day, and then there’s the stress of worrying from one day to the next how many books you’ve sold and struggling to find the magic formula to drive more sales. For someone from my background where there was never enough money, constantly worrying about paying the rent doesn’t work for me. I did enough of that when I was a kid.

True, I have less time to write than I would if I quit my day job, but you know what? The writing gets done. Writing is a priority in my life—it’s the only time I understand my place in the world—and I make time for it. Many writers, sometimes even the most respected and beloved authors, don’t make as much money writing as we think they do. I just reread Bird by Bird by Anne Lamott, and she spent part of her career struggling financially, and she’s Anne Freakin’ Lamott—the goddess of all things writing as far as I’m concerned. My man Dickens also struggled financially for the first part of his career, and he’s Charles Freakin’ Dickens! He complained he was being robbed by his publishers—sound familiar?—while he tried to raise his large family in London (even then London was too damn expensive). He didn’t do well financially until he started his reading engagements where he acted out passages from his novels to enraptured audiences all across Britain and once or twice in America. Some scholars say the exhaustion from the readings destroyed Dickens’ health and ultimately killed him, so maybe that’s not the best example. My point, and I do have one, is that even great writers don’t always make a living from their books.

I found this article from Fast Company about famous writers—and Dustin Hoffman—and their day jobs. Here’s another one from the Huffington Post. After reading them, I don’t feel so bad. Maybe I am cautious in the way I approach money, but my life has taught me that caution, especially when it comes to financial matters, is a good thing. I can write my books, market them to the best of my ability, and then I can relax knowing that, at the beginning of the month, the rent will be paid and whatever I sell becomes extra income. Don’t use a day job as an excuse not to write. If you’re an artist, the art will happen, even if you work a nine-to-five. It has to. That’s what makes you an artist.

Filed under: Charles Dickens, Publishing, Writing Tagged: Indie Authors, keeping the day job, publishing, writers and day jobs, writing

The Business of Being an Author: What is Success?

Most articles about publishing focus on selling a ton of books with the ultimate goal of leaving behind the lousy day job to make a living as an author. That’s a great job if you can get it, and I’m thrilled whenever I hear of authors–indie or traditional–who find fantastic success. I would never argue with success for any author because it means more success for others. Fifty Shades of Grey sold 30 million copies? Awesome. Now there are a lot of readers out there looking for more books to read.

The more I read about e-book sales, the more I realized that the books that sell the most are genre fiction such as erotic romance, mystery, thrillers, and science fiction. That’s not what I write. The most accurate genre for what I write is literary fiction, and based on this graph I saw on The Creative Penn, fiction and literature make up 5% of e-book sales where genre fiction is 69%. For Amazon’s sake, I classify my books in more popular genres like paranormal romance (for the Loving Husband Trilogy) or gay romance (for That You Are Here), but they’re not romances in the traditional sense, and they’re definitely not erotic, so they don’t sell as well as, for example, Bella Andre’s books. I read an article that defined literary fiction by saying genre fiction is an escape from reality where literary fiction makes the reader deal with reality. That’s why genre fiction sells more. People want an escape from a long day dealing with work and family. I get that. That’s why I write fiction—to escape reality, my own reality at least.

So…if I don’t write the kind of books that sell a ton, then what? I’ve thought a lot about that over the last three years. When I began writing Her Dear & Loving Husband, my initial idea was to write a traditional romance about a vampire who rediscovers his one true love. As I wrote it, it evolved into what it is…a look into the good and the bad of human nature. When I had Her Dear & Loving Husband critiqued, the reader suggested I turn it into a more traditional romance by adding some steamy sex scenes and deleting the flights of literary fancy. She wanted me to turn James into an alpha male. I could have done it. I was tempted to do it. But when push came to shove, I realized that’s not the book that was in my heart to write. I made the decision to write the novel the way I was drawn to write it, not the novel that would fit more easily into an Amazon category, thereby finding a larger audience and selling more copies. I knew my choices could cost me readers, but I decided I was all right with that. Success for me no longer came in the form of huge numbers (though I certainly won’t argue with huge numbers if they happen). I believed that if I wrote the book that was in my heart, readers could relate to it on that level. I believed there was an audience out there for my Loving Husband stories, maybe not as large as the Fifty Shades trilogy, but my gut told me there were readers out there.

I was right. I’ve had the most beautiful messages from readers all over the world who love the Loving Husband Trilogy and waited patiently for each book, and it was a year between books. Book Three in the series, Her Loving Husband’s Return, landed on the Amazon best seller list the day it was released when I had done exactly zero things to promote it, and it stayed there for months. Is that success? It is to me.

On The Creative Penn, Joanna wrote a wonderful post where she talks about authors defining success for themselves based on what they want from their writing careers. For some, they want to sell a lot of books and make a lot of money. For some, writing is more of a creative pursuit than a financial one. She talks about writers who want to create body of work over their lifetime that they’re proud of. That’s me. I even left a comment on her post to that effect.

I’ve noticed how whenever the topic turns to writers who write as a creative and artistic pursuit, some poor soul takes offence by saying, “Why can’t I write for money? Why do I have to defend myself because I want to make money writing?” The answer is, you don’t have to defend yourself. If you want to write to make money, then write to make money. No one is poo-pooing that idea, especially not me. But if I write because I want to share the stories that are in my heart without making changes to increase sales and profits, then I can make that choice too. In fact, I think it’s the other way around. The vast majority of posts I’ve read focus on selling as many books as possible and quitting the day job, as if that’s the holy grail for indies—when you make a living selling books, then you have arrived. Arrived where, I still don’t know. If anything, those of us who write for artistic expression are the ones who have to defend ourselves because we’re not focused on the same things everyone else is focused on. That, as Leo points out in his post, is scary. It’s always scary when you make your own way instead of following the pack.

Filed under: Her Dear & Loving Husband, Publishing, Writing Tagged: Her Dear and Loving Husband, Indie Authors, indie publishing, publishing, writing