Author Interview with Claudia Culmone

Hello Claudia, please tell us about you, as awriter.
Ever since I canremember, I have always wanted to be a writer. I have been writing fictional stories and poetry since a young age.  After graduating with a bachelor's degree inEnglish, I began writing for local newspapers while still working on myfictional projects when I could.  For thepast eight years, I have worked as an investigative journalist for a legal andbusiness newspaper while occasionally taking on freelance projects such aswriting a teleplay for a client and a biography for another client.  Now I work full-time as a writer for anassortment of clients writing news articles, marketing articles, blogs, andpursuing my fictional projects.
Your latest book is Harbor's End; perhaps you'd you give us some insight into it in afew sentences?
Harbor's End isthe title of my published novel and while some bookstores promote it underRomance it is actually a story about different forms of life and death.  The novel is about dealing with the past inorder to move forward.  It is the storyof Shanyn Tomilson, who is one of the top riders in the world in showjumping.  She has been diagnosed with abrain tumor and moves to the small town of Harbor's End, Oregon, to die.  There she meets people who show her that herlife is just beginning.
How did you come to write this particular book?
I suffer from chronic headaches.  In college, my doctor wanted to do a CT scanto make sure there was not a tumor.  Ithought of what I would do if there was a tumor and this book was the result ofthat process.  I also love horses andshow jumping and wanted to write a book with those elements.
Do you have a favourite character from the book?If so, who and why this particular one?
I'm not sureI favour one character over another because they each play an important part inthe story although I adore the dog, Luke.
Where can people buy your books?
Harbor's End canbe purchased through any major bookseller such as Barnes & Noble andAmazon.  I have also seen it offered byIndian book websites.
What qualities does a writer need to besuccessful?
Everyone'sdefinition of success is different, but to be a successful writer, you have tohave a true passion for what you do and you have to be willing to devote a lotof hours to your craft as well as perform the necessary research.  I've heard it said that being a writer is 10%talent and 90% hard work and I agree with that. I spend a lot of time doing research.
What's your working method?
I have anorganized approach to writing books, keeping an electronic file and a paperfile on each project which contains sketches of landscapes, character profiles,plot ideas, floorplans (I design home floorplans and use them for my books),notes on research subjects, data pulled from reputable websites, and other informationrelated to the project.  I also createeach chapter as its own document with a title that reminds me of the main eventin that chapter.  Doing this makes iteasier to find a scene when I need to check something and to edit.  Scenes that I decide to take out are kept ina separate file for possible use later.
The firstthing I do when preparing to write a new book is research the topics that aregoing to be in the book.  For example, Ifound a great book on show jumping with the technical terms, training tips, andoutlines of courses to help me create some of the scenes in the book.  Then I sketch ideas and start writing thefirst chapter.  I also write out ageneral plot to map out events in the story.
What's the single biggest mistake made by beginnerwriters?
I think mostwriters tend to ignore the importance of research.  To be an effective writer, you have to knowyour subject, and that means you need to do your research if you are not anexpert.  For example, if you are writingabout a person who is a lawyer, you need to sound like a lawyer and you need toknow legal terms so that you can use them in the dialogue.  When I wrote Harbor's End I did a lot of research to find the right tumor thatwould work for my story line and I used a real medical procedure in thenovel. 
To what extent are grammar and spellingimportant in writing?
Grammar andspelling are extremely important when it comes to writing—especiallygrammar.  To be a good writer, you needto be able to assemble sentences and you need to be able to structureparagraphs.  You can hire a professionaleditor to clean up your writing, but that can be very expensive.  I do all of my own editing and that workswell because I am the one making the decisions regarding structure and flow.  Also, you should never rely entirely on yourspell check because it will miss errors. Reading and rereading the manuscript with a critical eye is the bestmethod.
How much do you revise your MS before sending itoff?
I am aperfectionist so I do a lot of editing to make sure the book is the way I wantit to be.  I will not let anyone look atthe manuscript until I get to a point when I can read it without wanting tomake any changes to it.  Then I know itis ready.
As a writer of fiction, to what extent do youthink genre is useful in the publishing world?
I really donot pay a lot of attention to genres. What is important to me is the story itself and the message I want it tocarry.  Sometimes I think genre titlescan be a bit distractive. 
Many authors see marketing as a bind. What'syour opinion on this, and how do you deal with it?
Unfortunatelyin today's modern age, marketing is becoming an essential part of being awriter.  My feelings regarding marketingare conflicted because there are many examples of books that attract a lot ofreaders without a lot of marketing and vice versa.  I write because I love to write and teach—notbecause I am trying to be famous, and for me, the greatest joy is sharing whatI create with other people and encouraging them to think about issues andconcepts.  I think it's important to dowhat you feel comfortable with, when it comes to marketing.  You can talk about your book all you want,but you cannot convince every person to read it.  If you like to blog, keep a blog.  I would rather write books than write a blog,but I do have a blog that gives information about my fictional projects andposts about issues I feel are important.  I find that talking with people and letting them find out that I have anovel works more effectively in creating interest.  Because my novels deal with importantsocietal issues, my goal is to get people to think about these issues—not tonecessarily sell books. 
What support, if any, do you receive from familyand friends, writing group, or dedicated professionals?
I have asmall group of friends with whom I share my novels.  The deal is that they can only read thechapters if they give me an honest opinion and feedback regarding thestory.  This is really helpful becausesometimes they will catch something I didn't see.  It is also a lot of fun to be able to talkabout the characters and the story with others. 
Is presentation of the MS as important as agentsand publishers suggest?
My publisherwas recommended to me by another author and so I just filled out the paperworkand sent them the manuscript.  I have notdone book queries.  I look at publishersas what they can do for my book rather than what I can do to get them to takeit.  I feel it is important to send anedited manuscript that is professional and without errors.  Publishers are more likely to pay attention toa manuscript that is polished and ready to go, than a manuscript full of errorsand structural problems.  When my novelwas published, it was kept 99.99% the way I wrote it.  There were only a couple of small wordchanges and I attribute this to the effort I put into the novel to make sure itwas polished before I submitted it.
How long does it take you to write a novel?
The length oftime it takes to write a novel varies.  Iwrote Harbor's End in about a yearand then took a couple of years to edit it as I worked on it when I had freetime.  My recently completed novel wasdrafted in three months and then took about 15 years to rewrite and editbecause I would put it away for months at a time.  I am estimating my next project to take abouta year—I am already five chapters into the novel.
Who or what inspires your writing?
Just aboutanything can inspire me when it comes to writing.  As I've already stated, music is a hugesource of inspiration.  Places I visitare also sources of inspiration—I use a couple of places I've been asguidelines in my current projects.  Beingan investigative legal and business journalist, I am inspired by societalissues that I see in the world around me and some novels reflect that.  My sequel to Harbor's End for example, will address animal abuse as well as acouple of other things.  History is a biginspiration and one of my future projects came from my studies of the Holocaustand my thoughts and impressions from the things I have read. 
If there's a single aspect of writing you findfrustrating, what is it?
The mostfrustrating part of writing is what some writers call writer's block.  I hate it when I know where I want the storyto go but my mind goes blank for a while regarding how to move it to that nextpoint. 
Is there a particular feature of writing thatyou really enjoy?
I love it whenthe characters take over and tell you what they are going to do.  While Harbor'sEnd was not that way, my recently completed novel was.  It's so exciting when characters suddenlyappear and you know that they are supposed to perform some role but you have noidea what that role is until the moment in the story arrives and then theanswer is clear.  I had severalcharacters that were intended to be minor characters and took on a larger roleand characters that appeared out of nowhere. It was like going on the adventure with them because I often had no ideawhat was going to happen next.  It was alot of fun to write.
Do you believe creative writing is a naturalgift or an acquired skill?
I believethat a good writer has both elements of possessing a talent for writing andputting in the work to develop that talent. You can have a very creative mind and love to make up stories but ittakes a lot of hard work and discipline to sit down and write a novel.  You should always be looking for ways toimprove those skills.  A good writer willtell you that they do not know everything while a poor writer will tell youthey do know everything.   You shouldknow your weaknesses and be working to strengthen those weaknesses.  You should also try different kinds of writingwhich will help you hone your fictional skills. I often use journalism rules in fictional writing and am always lookingfor the best way to tell the story. 
What are you writing now?
I recentlyfinished writing a new ending for my fantasy novel, The Legend of Kaira, so now I will turn my attention back to thesecond book for the Harbor's End series.  I will also probably be resuming work on mynovel about domestic violence.  I like tohave a couple of different projects to work on so that when I have writer'sblock on one, I go work on another novel for a while.
Do you have a website or blog where readers canvisit?
My blog is www.claudiaculmone.blogspot.com
Given unlimited resources, where would you doyour writing?
If I couldwrite anywhere, it would be in a little cottage on the Oregon coast where Icould sit out on the deck, listen to the ocean and have my horses grazingnearby.  I would also probably travel toplaces around the world with a laptop where I could sit for a while and write.
Where do you actually write?
My office isin the bedroom so that is where I do a significant amount of writing.  However, I also work in the living area on alaptop and occasionally on the deck where I can enjoy a view of the mountainsand smell the fresh air.  I have a smartphone so I have also been known to write scenes in stores, at church, and inother places—especially when inspiration hits.