Reader Interview

Last week on the Facebook page I asked you to give me questions that you wanted answers for about myself, my writing and my books. I got lots of responses and so here it is, a reader interview with questions from you! If you were unable to ask a question for this interview, have no fear. I'll plan on doing another one in a few months and you can be planning some fun questions for me to answer then. In the meantime, here are the answers you've been waiting for! I tried to organize the questions into some kind of categories so they'd make sense together. But I think any way you read them, they'll offer new insight into what I'm working on, what's out and who I am as a writer.


How did you choose how many main characters would be in Charming Academy?
That’s actually a funny question. My original idea was that there would be only three main characters: Lucian, Kaelen and Adrian. Theirs were the original stories that I told my brother at bedtime. But then George started loudly declaring that he was more important than I was making him out to be and Jacobi said that if George got to be important why couldn’t he be important too. Long story short, it was easier to let the characters lead on this one. So in the end five became the magic number and so far it has worked out rather well.

Were any of those characters inspired by friends or family members?
Yes and no. How’s that for vague? ;) Since when I started telling and writing the stories I was still single, most of the princes have various elements that I idealized in men from physical traits to personality traits. There are elements of people that I know in each of them, particularly in Lucian. He actually has a lot of my dad in him, like his lovely poetry (when he’s trying). He also has a lot of elements of my husband, particularly his missing out on subtle hints and getting frustrated by them (love you honey!). The princesses also have elements of people that I know. Allegra turned into a princess version of me, though it’s Moira who shares my dislike of the color pink. Some of my minor characters have been based more specifically on friends and family, particularly Julie and Sondra in Prince Charming’s Search. But as far as my main characters are concerned, they’re mish-mashes of personalities I’ve known while also having their own distinct personality traits.

Which story will be next in the “Charming Academy” series?
I plan on telling Kaelen’s story next. Working title is “Becoming Prince Charming”.

When did you become interested in fantasy fiction?
I’ve always loved fairy tales and folk stories. My mother read them to me when I was a young girl and I’ve loved them since.

How do you keep the storylines consistent across the books – do you have a timeline that helps you keep track of when a particular event happens?
I really should make a timeline because nothing frustrates me more when reading a series than inconsistencies. But what I’ve done with the books so far is keep a copy of the first two nearby so that I can double check with what I already have written. On the one hand, that works out better for me since my stories have a tendency to take turns I didn’t plan on. But a timeline would be helpful too. I’ll have to start on that. ;)

If you could meet any author (living or deceased) who would it be?
So many to choose from! If I had to pick just one, I believe I would most like to meet J. R. R. Tolkien. I’m fascinated by the fact that not only did he create his own little world, but he created the languages that went in it.

What is your favorite book or books?
That’s a toughie! I love reading and every book I’ve read has impacted me in a different way. If I had to pick one specific favorite, I would probably say The Three Musketeers. I love the adventure, the romance and the vivid descriptions! But I also love The Hunchback of Notre Dame, 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea and many other great books!

What are your future hopes for your books?
Ideally, I’d love to hook a big publisher just because it would take a lot of the marketing pressure off of me. I’m a pretty decent writer, but a terrible salesman. I hate feeling like I’m bothering people with my writing. But for now my plans are to just keep plugging away and writing the stories that I love. Hopefully someday I’ll be able to get them published through a traditional publisher and maybe even win the William Allen White award! That would be the greatest accomplishment a Kansan girl like me could achieve!

I know you’re a Kansas girl. Are you planning to write any Kansas stories?
Yes. This summer I’ll be doing some research for a novel based on the short story I wrote for Kansas Day. While I wasn’t born here, I was definitely bred here and Kansas is in my blood! Many of the stories I have written have been based in Kansas, even if they don’t specifically say so. But I will be writing a book set on a Kansas homestead sometime in the next couple of years. Right now that one is still in the research stages.

What’s your next series called?
Oh heavens! I haven’t even finished the first one yet! :) In all seriousness, I’m not currently working on another series, though I am playing with the idea of writing a series about a girl who wants to be a historian or archaeologist. Haven’t played out all the details in my head yet, but they would be history mysteries, because that’s one thing that I love!

Where do you keep future characters: in a notebook, in your mind, or start a story and later develop him or her?
I use a variety of ways to keep track of future storylines and characters. Sometimes I write down a few idea in a notebook to come back to later. Other times I do character sketches in a sketchpad, jotting down a few key character traits on the page. And some I just hang onto in my mind until I’m ready to use them. It all depends on the character and how long I think it will be before I get to their story.

How do you come up with names for your characters?
With few exceptions, most of my character names come from an old Baby Name book my college roommate got for me. A couple of characters, Lucian and Allegra, actually came to me with a name. Some are names that I really love but doubt that I could convince my sweetie to use on a child or they don’t appear in our family history so I nix them since I made the rule that our kiddos’ names needed to be family names (such as Portia Grace who will appear in a later book). Any way they come to me, I put some thought into the meaning of the name and origin so that it makes sense to the reader.

Do you name your characters in your books after people you know?
I do occasionally. Usually it’s because they have a name that I really like or the name is fitting of the time that I am writing in. Sometimes I purposely name characters for people I know, such as in Prince Charming’s Search when I used my mother-in-law and her sister for two of the characters who help Jacobi.

Do you jot notes down about a situation, character, location, smell or such to weave into a story later?
Sometimes I do. Often when I do, these kind of details are written down during my research phases. Otherwise, I just kind of write as I go; the details coming as the story does.

When did you start writing?
My mother says I started writing as soon as I could hold a pencil. I can’t really remember a time in my life that I wasn’t writing or weaving stories. It’s always just been part of who I am. I started writing more seriously in high school, then on and off through college. Once I graduated I was able to devote more of my time and energy into really writing out the stories that were in my mind.

Do you ever plan to write a story knowing how you want it to go and then get surprised along the way with an unexpected twist in the story?
All the time! I think every book I’ve ever written has had something happen that I absolutely didn’t plan on which has changed how other elements occurred. It can be frustrating, but that’s probably a big part of why I don’t do a lot of outlining before I start to write. I know that something is going to change along the way, even if I don’t want it to.

When did you know you wanted to be a writer?
As a kindergartner I had a whole list of occupations I intended to have, including author. But I think first grade is when it was sealed in my mind as something I really wanted. I wrote a silly little story about dinosaurs that I was able to present to the kindergartners and I knew then that I wanted to be a storyteller.

The descriptions of the places and characters are very vivid. Do you visualize them in your head or use other ways to “see” them?
First of all, thank you! I try to make my descriptions as close to a picture as words can do. Much of it is visualized in my head. I have an overactive and very vivid imagination, so it’s easy for me to do that. But I also sketch out scenes and characters to give me visuals to work with. I like to use personal experience to include all the senses, such as what a place smells like, how certain fabrics feel and sound, etc.

How do you find time to write with little ones to care for?
How indeed! I’d love to say that I have a magical way of finding time, but the truth is it’s a struggle! On days when one or both of them naps, I can usually squeeze in some writing time during the day. But most often I do it early in the morning before they wake up or late at night after they’ve gone to bed. Since those are my most productive times of day anyway, it works out all right for me. Often when I get to the end of a story I spend a lot of very, VERY late hours working on it just to get through it. But there are unfortunately many days that I just don’t get to my writing because my kiddos are my top priority.

What is your favorite way to research for a story?
Traveling! When I describe a location, I want it to be so real that someone who has lived there forever would feel right at home. You can only get so much from pictures. Even with some of my fictitious locations, I talked to people who have lived in similar places to get an idea of the smells, sights and sounds. I also love to read and do quite a bit of it when I’m researching.

When an idea comes, how do you go about researching for it?
It depends on the idea. When I started writing the “Charming Academy” series, I reread many of the old fairy tales. I wanted to be familiar with the parts of the story that make it memorable, such as the glass ball down the well in “The Frog Prince” or the glass slipper in “Cinderella”. Once I had those elements figured out, I then researched various aspects of the characters’ preparation. I watched videos, read books and searched the internet about the various topics I was writing about. When I work on stories taking place in real places, I like to go to them and spend time absorbing the sights, smells, feelings and sounds there.

In preparing to write the book(s), do you know how they will end what you start? Do you have some sort of outline you fill in or does the story unfold as you tell it?
When I write a book, the easiest way to describe it is like hearing a story for the very first time and trying desperately to capture all the details before you miss something! I rarely use an outline and when I do it’s very generic. I do have a certain idea of how a story will end, but even there I am often surprised. For example, in Prince Charming’s Search I intended for Jacobi to have an epic battle with the villain at the end before rescuing Clarissa. When you read the story, you will find that the epic battle didn’t exactly go as I planned. I often have unplanned characters and events that I have to somehow work into what I was planning. Most of the time, I just scrap my plans and see where the characters take me.

What is the most satisfying thing in writing?
I love the feeling when I finish a story and am ready to release it to you, my readers. Being able to share a new story with you is the best part of being a writer. Getting it ready and out to you makes all the research, writer’s block, work and worry worthwhile!