Romance Readers Reading Challenges discussion
Ask An Author, Win A Book Corner
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AC: Carol Snow of Just Like Me, Only Better (June 14 - June 18)
I'd like to officially welcome, Carol, to RRRC's Ask An Author, Win a Book event.Good luck on the Q&A and I hope you will enjoy your time with us.
GUIDELINES FOR AUTHOR AND PARTICIPANTS:
http://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/3...
Carol, glad to have you with us. A group of questions to get us started.1. I've seen where you've described writing as something like, 'hanging out in sweatpants making things up.' However, with book signings, book club participations, offers to speak at schools and libraries, online promotions, and any other promotional activities, there seems to be a lot more to it. Do you ever resent the time spent with promotional activities? And is it you or your publisher that suggests/organizes these?
2. Do you often get confused with Californian poet Carol Snow?
3. You've said that you enjoy photography. What do you shoot (camera) and what do you like to shoot (subject)?
4. Do you write according to a set schedule, do you have word goals, or do you just strike while the iron of inspiration is hot? Describe if you will your writing day for us.
5. I love the titles of your adult works. The cover designs are also very interesting. Do you have any input on cover design?
6. And in the spirit of keeping this opening salvo short, I'll skip right to the monkey question. If you were able to own flying monkey manservents, how many would you have and what would their names be?
Good Morning Carol!!I have a couple of questions:
1. when you write, do you do it sequentially or do you jump from scene to scene depending on what kind of mood you are in?
2. Do you work on writing 1 book at a time, or do you have several in progress?
Hello Carol,When you think of writers, you think of a desk in a subdued quiet room, a roaring fireplace with a large dog lying on the rug, a small one curled in their laps or a lazy cat stretched out on the desk, swatting at a stack of loose papers. How would you describe the perfect atmosphere to get those creative juices flowing?
Hi all! I'm on west coast time, so I'm already behind here! But I've got about twenty minutes before I take my son to his last day of fourth grade (yikes), so here goes:Photojim -- there's always promo stuff, but it only gets really time-consuming around a book's release. Sometimes it annoys me to get away from my writing; sometimes it's a relief. Last year I had a couple of releases in quick succession while I was under deadline for other manuscripts. I didn't do much promo at all, and my sales suffered. So, I'm really trying to be better about the marketing stuff now.
I get confused with the poet Carol Snow maybe a couple of times a year. Last week a high school kid sent me an email asking me to explain one of "my" poems. When I told him he had the wrong Carol Snow, he said, okay -- well, I was still a writer & presumably knew about this stuff, so could I give him my best shot at an interpretation? (And I did!)
As for photography, I currently use a Canon rebel. I love the flexibility of digital photography, but the experience just isn't the same as it is with film. Partly, I just need to learn how to use the manual settings, I think! The auto stuff just doesn't cut it.
Oh, wow -- if I only wrote when inspiration struck, I'd never get anything done! When I'm on a deadline, I'll work M-F on a daily and weekly page mininum. So, if I finish my work, I can leave the house. If I don't finish my work, I have to do it over the weekend.
I love my covers but can't take credit for them! The Berkley art dept comes up with fun stuff, they show it to me ... and I maybe ask them to add some minor element. That's about it.
Flying monkeys! There would have to be two because one would be in my face too much and more than that could get rowdy. I would name them Gustav and Charles.
Hi Delicious Dee!1. I always write my books sequentially -- but I often move stuff around during revisions if the pacing seems off.
2. I am the worst multi-tasker in the world and HATE working on more than one book at once. However, often I'll be into drafting one book when an editor will send revisions for another, and I have no choice but to put the first on hold. (But even then, I guess I'm not actually working on two at once, since I don't go back to the first until I've finished what I had to do with the second.)
Aw man, now I want a fireplace in my office! Actually, to me perfect would be an ocean view ... and, of course, those two monkey man servants. I can write pretty much anywhere as long as it's quiet. Actually, if I'm on a deadline, I can even write someplace noisy, as long as no one interrupts me. I despise the telephone. A two-minute call can set me back forty minutes from a concentration standpoint.
Worth noting: I do have two cats, and one of them often crawls into my lap while I write. It doesn't get the creative juices going, necessarily, but it does keep me in my chair!
Carol, when you get a general story idea and decide that it is worth developing, do you make a decision early that 'this' story will be a YA book and thus tailor your writing and content to that end? Or do you make alterations to a story to adapt for either market?By the way, nothing wrong with the Canon Rebel. I've shot weddings using a Rebel as a second body. Can create fantastic images.
Welcome Carol!As you know am not participating, because i have a beautiful copy of Just Like Me, Only Better already. I'm hoping i can finish reading it in a day or two.
Anyhooo, here's a questions for you and for some of our participants if they would like to answer. Have you ever been told you look like a celebrity? If so, then who?
I've been told many times that i look like Jennifer Lopez. Until a year ago i didn't believe it, but then i figured out why they kept saying so. It was not just because of my bottom, but my hair. I guess the way i style it and my color of skin, makes me resemble the singer/actress.LOL
Jim,My YA books have a paranormal angles, while my adult books are more mystery/romance, so when I get an idea, it's always pretty clear which it would be. As for "worth developing," though ... out of all the ideas I get, after playing around, taking notes and maybe writing a synopsis, maybe one in four has enough "there there" to become a book.
That's good to hear about the Rebel. I guess I should break down & read the manual!
Jennifer Lopez, Rossy? Now I'm jealous! When "Broadcast News" came out (I'm dating myself here), tons of people said I looked like Holly Hunter, but then she became all blond & buff, so now ... not so much. Someone recently told my husband that I looked liked Jennifer Garner. Sadly, no one else has ever said that.
Hi Carol,What kind of books do you like to read?
Hi Sandy,I'm pretty much an equal opportunity reader. I like mysteries, memoirs, pop psychology, literary fiction, YA, chick lit (of course), even science fiction. I just started Dennis Lehane's MYSTIC RIVER, which is intense ... and so beautifully written that it makes me feel woefully inadequate! Before that, I read a Swedish sci fi book called THE UNIT which was really interesting (and great for book clubs). I'm also partway through BEAUTIFUL BOY and I LOVED, I LOST, I ATE SPAGHETTI. I have completion issues. :)
When you first come up with an idea for a new book are you more plot or character driven?
;) not completion issues - book ADD...its a well documented disease arising from hanging out on thse groups for too long!Carol wrote: "Hi Sandy,
I'm pretty much an equal opportunity reader. I like mysteries, memoirs, pop psychology, literary fiction, YA, chick lit (of course), even science fiction. I just started Dennis Lehane's ..."
Hi Carol!Thanks so much for stopping by. :) I'm not much of a chick-lit reader (even though I just finished the latest Kinsella!) but the description of 'Getting Warmer' made made LOL.
Now onto my question...if you could have dinner with one of your characters, who would it be and why?
Carol wrote: "Jennifer Lopez, Rossy? Now I'm jealous! When "Broadcast News" came out (I'm dating myself here), tons of people said I looked like Holly Hunter, but then she became all blond & buff, so now ... not..."Actually, you do resemble Jennifer Garner. Older sister perhaps?LOL
hi carolthanks for being here :D
how do you come up with your characters?
and how do you come yup with were the book will take place?
thanks once more :P
Rossy ~*~ Ehrotic ~*~ wrote: "Carol wrote: "Jennifer Lopez, Rossy? Now I'm jealous! When "Broadcast News" came out (I'm dating myself here), tons of people said I looked like Holly Hunter, but then she became all blond & buff, ..."Ha ha! Older, shorter, stubbier sister, maybe!
Teri wrote: "hi carolthanks for being here :D
how do you come up with your characters?
and how do you come yup with were the book will take place?
thanks once more :P"
Hi Teri! Thanks for having me :)
Generally, I start with a story idea first & then try to imagine the kind of protagonist who'd be interesting in that situation. Supporting characters are different. Sometimes they arrive fully formed. Other times, they feel really two dimensional at first & it's not till I've spent a couple of hundred pages with them that I know who they are.
Place is also dictated by either plot or my own experience. For example, my latest book, JUST LIKE ME, ONLY BETTER is about a single suburban mom who gets hired as a celebrity double for any imploding young starlet. So, half of the story had to take place in L.A./Beverly Hills ... and for the suburban part, I just stuck her in my town, 40 miles away!
Hi, Carol. So cool of you to be open to questions like this. :^)1.)How do you deal with writer's block when it strikes?
2.)What sort of books do you read? Who are your favorite authors?
3.)Do you have any of your characters or books you've written that stand out as favorites? If so, which and why?
Hi Carol.First, kudos for naming Jim's manservant monkeys. Don't think anyone has done that yet. Plus it's the perfect tie in for my question!
My question: How do you come up with the names for your characters? Is it people you know? Names you think mesh? Looking through baby naming books?
Thanks!
Emily wrote: "Hi, Carol. So cool of you to be open to questions like this. :^)1.)How do you deal with writer's block when it strikes?
2.)What sort of books do you read? Who are your favorite authors?
3.)Do..."
Hi Emily!
Well, yeah, I'm just a very cool person ;)
1) I don't really suffer from writer's block, though some days it takes me a really long time to get stuff on paper. Eventually, I write SOMETHING. Unfortunately, sometimes that "something" is really, really awful and I have to delete and start from scratch.
2) I read a wide variety of books, though -- weirdly, perhaps -- tend to avoid women's fiction. There's a lot of great stuff out there. However after writing four women's fiction books (in add'n to two teen novels), I can't read with editing and/or trying to figure out the plot, which really takes away from the reading experience!
3) My favorite book is pretty much always the last one I've written. So: I recommend JUST LIKE ME, ONLY BETTER!
KimKirt wrote: "Hi Carol.First, kudos for naming Jim's manservant monkeys. Don't think anyone has done that yet. Plus it's the perfect tie in for my question!
My question: How do you come up with the names..."
Ha! I love manservant monkey-type questions! Though I should have been clear: Charles must be pronounced with a French accent: "Sharl."
To answer the naming question: yes. I steal some (minor character) names from people I know. The more books I write, the more I do this because my friends get such a kick out of it. Most often, I just pick names out of my head. Sometimes the perfect name comes right away. Other times I rename the character several times until I find the right fit (in which case I almost always leave the wrong names littered through the manuscript. Thank goodness for copy editors). And frequently, yes, I comb baby name books. I have a bunch of them, but my favorite by far is BEYOND JENNIFER AND JASON.
Carol wrote: " I can't read with editing and/or trying to figure out the plot, which really takes away from the reading experience!"Carol, I'm not a writer. I don't believe many of us are. But after reading several hundred books a year for several decades, I don't think there is anyone who doesn't do this. The average reader is well educated with above average intelligence. The plot to every romance novel follows one of a handful of paths. They just aren't that hard to deduce. We all make our mental notes on pacing, plot holes, intentional manipulation (e.g. 'Wow, it's been pretty tense this last chapter. It's about time for a comedic interlude to remind us why we like the protagonists again.'), and character interactions that don't ring true. None of this takes away from the reading experience. That IS the reading experience.
Now I can't speak for anyone else, excepting of course my children which are minors (he he sorry kids), but I read a story largely for the characters. Which leads me to my next series of questions concerning characters.
Q: What do you like to see in a hero/heroine that you create?
Q: Do you talk to them in your head to get their personality down?
Q: Do you plan their foibles and flaws ahead of time or do you let them grow throughout the work?
Q: Have you based a main character or a real life individual?
Q: Who is your favorite character you've read from someone else's work and why?
Hi Carol! It's so awesome of you to join us :) I'm a big chick lit reader and I've recently become pretty obsessed with paranormal YA as well, so it's great to meet you and be able to chat like this!I was wondering, just out of curiosity, if you have met any writers that were your idols? Or just any other writers who you've enjoyed their work? I met a group of romance writers at a conference recently (that I was working at, not attending *sigh*) and was surprised at how different some of the authors are from how I pictured them from their writing!
Thanks for taking the time to do this with us :)
Gus wrote: "Hi Carol! It's so awesome of you to join us :) I'm a big chick lit reader and I've recently become pretty obsessed with paranormal YA as well, so it's great to meet you and be able to chat like thi..."Hi Gus!
The closest I've come to meeting an idol was Cathleen Schine ... Years ago, I read "The Love Letter" & thought, "This is the kind of book I'd like to write." I only met her briefly while buying her latest book, but she was lovely and I was NERVOUS! I know a ton of authors (YA, mostly), but typically I meet them & THEN read their work, which is always cool because I see a whole new side of them.
Hi Jim,To answer your questions:
1. I try to create heroines that people can relate to despite (or perhaps because of) their flaws.
2. Voice is huge, and I never get a character down until I "hear" him or her. However, I just try to imagine my characters talking, either alone or together -- and not to me.
3. I generally plan the big foibles & flaws -- anal retentiveness, vanity, etc. -- ahead of time & let the little ones evolve. Come to think of it, I often start with a character's flaws and build from there.
4. I don't base any of my characters on real people. That would be very limiting, creatively -- plus, it could get me into heaps of trouble.
5. Hard to pick just one, but I love Sue Grafton's Kinsey Malone. She's tough, independent, resourceful ... basically, nothing like me whatsoever.
Hi again,Do you ever get frustrated with your own characters? Not in creating them, but perhaps in their personalities. i.e. "C'mon you twit, get over your stubbornness and kiss the guy already!" :-)
Kim
KimKirt wrote: "Hi again,Do you ever get frustrated with your own characters? Not in creating them, but perhaps in their personalities. i.e. "C'mon you twit, get over your stubbornness and kiss the guy alread..."
Hi Kim,
Sort of ... what often happens is that I'll MAKE my characters do something (like, say, kiss the guy, already!) but it just doesn't ring true, so I'll have to tweak (or entirely change) the situation. And yes: that can be incredibly frustrating!
Hi Carol!I think you missed my question before...I asked:
If you could have dinner with one of your characters, who would it be and why?
D.G. wrote: "Hi Carol!I think you missed my question before...I asked:
If you could have dinner with one of your characters, who would it be and why?"
Sorry about that!
I'd have to go with Brady Ellis, the hunky Hollywood actor in JUST LIKE ME, ONLY BETTER. He's not exactly deep, but for a couple of hours? Physical perfection would more than make up for it!
Heather wrote: "When you first come up with an idea for a new book are you more plot or character driven?"Missed this one earlier, too -- sorry!
In the early stages, I'm 100% plot driven. I come up with a hook & assemble a make-believe world around it. Once I get going, though, the characters become far more interesting and often take the story in directions I never would have anticipated.
Good morning, Carol.I'm always curious when writers write how they save their work. Do you save to computer hard drive? Flash drive? Do you save in more then one area as you are writing (like on both hard drive and flash drive?)
Also, do you let anyone read your book while it is in progress, or do you wait until you are completely done before showing it to anyone?
Hi Carol! I hope you are enjoying your time with our little group.1. Who is your current literary crush?
2. Do you see some influence in your writing by some of your favorite authors?
KimKirt wrote: "Good morning, Carol.I'm always curious when writers write how they save their work. Do you save to computer hard drive? Flash drive? Do you save in more then one area as you are writing (like o..."
Good morning, Kim --
I do my writing on a laptop, but I do almost everything else on an (outdated) desktop computer. So, I often save my work by emailing myself. Other times, I save on a little red flash drive that I keep in my desk and occasionally misplace.
Unless I'm required to do so for a proposal or as a condition of a contract, I don't show my work to anyone until it's done. I don't even like to talk about it.
Yz the Whyz wrote: "Hi Carol! I hope you are enjoying your time with our little group.1. Who is your current literary crush?
2. Do you see some influence in your writing by some of your favorite authors?"
I'm having a blast, thanks!
1. I don't know that I'd call it a literary crush, but I'm reading my first Dennis Lehane book (MYSTIC RIVER), and I can't get over how gorgeous the prose is.
2. Hopefully, my books aren't too much like anyone else's, but of course I've been influenced by other authors. When I began writing novels (many, many years before I actually got one published), the authors who most inspired me by their plots and tone were Elinor Lipman and Susan Isaacs.
When you go into a bookstore, where do you head first?
KimKirt wrote: "When you go into a bookstore, where do you head first?"I usually hit the new fiction table first ... and then, I admit it, I'll hit the YA section & the fiction shelves to see if the store stocks my books!
Carol, do you own an ereader? Or do you prefer your books on paper only?
Rossy ~*~ Ehrotic ~*~ wrote: "Carol, do you own an ereader? Or do you prefer your books on paper only?"I'm sticking to paper -- at least for now. I just like the way a book feels, and I appreciate the cover, inside book design and all that. My husband, on the other hand, loves his Kindle. He travels a lot, and now he's always got something (lightweight) to read.
hi carolwhat is your favorite book store
Carol wrote: "Rossy ~*~ Ehrotic ~*~ wrote: "Carol, do you own an ereader? Or do you prefer your books on paper only?"I'm sticking to paper -- at least for now. I just like the way a book feels, and I appreci..."
Yes, i keep thinking that i'll just stick to ebooks but then i go to the local bookstore and see those beautiful and shiny covers.....*wipes drool* Yeah, sometimes paper works.LOL
u mean i'm supposed to be monogamous between ebooks and paperbacks...whoops!!
![Macwolf01 [Elise] (macwolf01) | 1012 comments](https://images.gr-assets.com/users/1277511172p1/2680059.jpg)
Carol wrote: "Unless I'm required to do so for a proposal or as a condition of a contract, I don't show my work to anyone until it's done. I don't even like to talk about it."Hi Carol
I was wondering if you use beta readers, once your satisfied enough to share or do you edit alone until you send it to the editors? (**Wink Wink **--- if you're in need of Beta readers I'm sure more than myself would be willing to help around here)
Carol, I'm definately interested in your work and will be picking one up on my next bookstore trip!!
Macwolf01 [Elise:] wrote: "Carol wrote: "Unless I'm required to do so for a proposal or as a condition of a contract, I don't show my work to anyone until it's done. I don't even like to talk about it."Hi Carol
I was..."
Hi Elise!
My husband is still moping because I didn't show him my last few manuscripts before sending them off, so I don't think I'll be using beta readers any time soon. Sorry! When there's time, I run my work by my agent and my sister before handing it in. And for JUST LIKE ME, ONLY BETTER, I had a close friend who lives in L.A. (and knows a lot about the entertainment industry) read for the purposes of fact-checking. Extra eyes definitely help, but I find too much feedback confusing (and often contradictory).
Hope you like my book(s)!
Delicious Dee the book slut wrote: "u mean i'm supposed to be monogamous between ebooks and paperbacks...whoops!!"Ha ha -- if you can handle it emotionally, an open relationship with books is perfectly okay!
Teri wrote: "hi carolwhat is your favorite book store"
This question actually makes me kind of sad because where I live (in North Orange County, CA), we only have chains. So "my" bookstore is just a Barnes & Noble. Not that there's anything wrong with B&N -- w/o them, I probably wouldn't have a career -- but it's not the same as a cozy indie shop ... or a big independent. I did an event at Changing Hands bookstore in Tempe, AZ, last January. If anyone here lives in the Phoenix Valley & hasn't been, it's worth a trip!
my question would be where have some of your book ideals come from
Romance Readers Reading Challenges
Books mentioned in this topic
Just Like Me, Only Better (other topics)Just Like Me, Only Better (other topics)
Switch (other topics)
Been There, Done That (other topics)
Getting Warmer (other topics)
More...
Meet Carol: I was a quiet, shy, bookish child, but from an early age, I had a dream. When I grew up, I was going to be ... a waitress. At nineteen, I fulfilled my food service ambition only to discover that I am easily flustered and incapable of multitasking. By my early twenties, I realized that I actually wanted to be a fiction writer.
However, being a practical sort, I recognized that nobody makes it as a novelist, so I turned my energies instead to office work, marketing, and teaching. I did get an education along the way (it’s really quite useful) -- a bachelor’s degree in psychology from Brown University and and a master’s in teaching from Boston College.
Eventually, I decided that I could accept failing as a writer, but I couldn’t live with myself unless I at least gave it a shot. I wrote nonfiction for awhile: including a nationally syndicated essay, about a night spent with my vomiting toddler. If you Google “Carol Snow” and “puke,” you can still find it. Finally, I finished a novel, found an agent, and landed a publishing contract.
In my spare time (which is in short supply) I like going to the beach, taking photographs, reading (of course), and cooking. I still like going out to restaurants. Things go much more smoothly when I’m the one placing the order instead of trying to remember it. And I always leave a good tip.
http://www.carolsnow.com/www.carolsno...
Books:
YA:
Giveaway:
Trade paperback copy of Just Like Me, Only Better. Open to both US and Non-US Residents.