Welcome Sandy Wickersham-McWhorter as my guest blogger today.
1. So, tell us a little about yourself? What is your typical day like?
My day depends on the season! In the winter, I substitute teach most days, then come home, have supper, write or do household stuff, then go to bed for the next day. I also take my MIL to her hairdresser appointments and shopping every Thursday, run my oldest son around on days he doesn’t feel well after kidney dialysis (he needs an O- or O+ kidney ASAP), teach English 101 in local male prisons and grade their papers, watch certain shows with my hubby after he gets off work, and a ton of other things I won’t bore you with!
In the summer, I do everything I do in winter (except substitute teach) but add yard work, artwork, and catching up on projects I don’t have time for in the winter. One of this summer’s projects is perfecting my website, but what a load of work that is when I’m my own webmaster, yikes!
2. When did you start to write and how long did it take you get published? How many stories did you finish before you were published?
I actually started writing in 3rd grade when I turned my dreams into short stories. The adult writing bug bit me in October, 1990, when I wrote an article about a family trip to an animal auction and it was published by a local weekly paper. The novel bug bit me that same year and I worked on several sci-fi stories. I finished 3 novels before being published in novel-length fiction.
3. How did you break into publishing?
In non-fiction with that article I already mentioned, titled, Look Mom, Bumper Pigs! (courtesy of my youngest son), about a family trip to the Kidron Auction in Kidron, Ohio, in October, 1990. After that, I wrote for that newspaper and 2 others for a year each, sold an essay to Country magazine, was published in my college’s literary magazine, and was a feature-story writer for Choice, a Christian magazine, for a year. I was published in novel-length in July, 2007, with Cottonwood Place through the Wild Rose Press.
4. What influenced you to write?
Four things: studying theoretical physics to keep my brain from turning to mush (because it was), the success I was having with non-fiction writing, my oldest son, and Murder She Wrote. As we sat in a car one day in 1990, my son just commented out of nowhere, “Look, Mom, the Phoenix by the last Horizon.” We were in my newest car, next to one I’d recently wrecked. I said, “If we make it ‘The Phoenix on the Last Horizon’ it would be a good book title!” My hubby had said the Horizon was the last newer car I’d ever get. That night after work, I wrote a 30-page handwritten draft of that book, based on the Bible and theoretical physics. Murder She Wrote, and Angela Lansbury, affected my decision to write in so many ways that I can’t even begin to list them!
5. What inspired you to write romance?
After I read several sci-fi\futuristic romances, I was so enthralled that I could get both loves, romance and sci-fi, in one book that I got hooked and wanted to try my hand at one!
What genre or sub-genre do you write? Why did you choose this genre? Romance in many sub-genres: Inspirational, women’s fiction with romantic elements, sci-fi\futuristic, romantic suspense, and contemporary. I chose these genres as ideas came to mind for novels, mostly from life’s events around me every day. But, sci-fi\futuristic is my first love because I’ve been a sci-fi nut as long as I can remember, at least as far back as 1956 (I was 4) with all the sci-fi TV shows we had back then! I live and breathe sci-fi!
6. What difficulties do writing this genre present?
This will make some people angry with me, but romance (other than Inspirational) is hard for me to write because of the current trend toward explicit sex scenes. I like sweetly sensual sex scenes. It seems that today, romances have to be erotic to sell, and I don’t think I write explicit sex scenes very well! I skip them when I read a romance that’s too explicit. The foreplay, kissing, teasing, exploring each other, necking, playing in his long hair and beard, kissing, the growing relationship between the H\H, and did I say kissing?, is more titillating and satisfying as a reader than explicit descriptions. I know erotic has big sales now, but it just doesn’t “turn me on” like a good tease does! This situation in my new book is a good example. Skye teasingly delays making love with Joe (they just got married):
“And, it has a king-size bed for…uh…that fun we’ve put off.”
“Adult fun?” he asked, pressing his body against hers.
She squirmed excruciatingly slowly away from him, making sure to rub against as much of him as possible. “Yes, but it’s not the only place.” She hooked a ‘follow me’ finger at him.
In the main cabin, she said it served as living and dining rooms, and a fully-stocked kitchen. “We could sail for a century if we wanted.” She raised an eyebrow and said suggestively. “Do you want to learn how to sail, now?”
Exasperated, he said, “I’ll sail you to the moon if you take me to the bedroom now.”
7. What motivated you to write your current book?
I wrote The Winds of Fall because I can’t forget all the dreams of flying without an airplane from my high school years. One day in 1994, I decided out of nowhere to turn them into a book and finished the rough draft in 3 months, while watching my youngest son play soccer. I wanted to put on paper the feelings I have when I fly in those dreams, so I combined 2 of them: the main dream was a repeating one of lizard aliens chasing me as I fly through the cool night air to land on white church steeples, fly through trees, or out to a blue ocean. The other dream was of a tall blonde alien prince taking me away to my home planet from my high school cafeteria, and I’m wearing the crown and dress I describe in the novel. I also used the horrible feeling of aloneness and frustration I get on a fall night because I can’t fly away with the cool night wind. Yes, that part of what happens to Skye has happened to me most of my life, but I’m not an alien like she is! Ten years ago, I figured out why I get the feeling, but I won’t bore you with the details.
8. How much time do you devote to writing each day?
Depends on the season. In winter, anywhere from 1 to 8 hours. Subbing gives me no less than 1 and1\2 hours a school day to write longhand or edit chapters on paper, sometimes much more! Most evenings, I do about 3 hours, and I either type into the computer what I wrote longhand that day, or make the corrections to a chapter I edited. In the summer, I only seem to average about 6-8 hours a week because of using the days to catch up on other projects.
9. What are you working on now?
A book about the ice road truckers based on the History channel program, and I plan to finish Orion Comes in Winter, another sensual sci-fi romance, soon.
10. How do you write? Are you a panster or a plotter? Is it your characters or your plot that influences you the most?
I’m a pantser if I understand the word’s definition. I write out a longhand rough draft of the basic story, anywhere from 50 to 100 pages, which takes about 3 months on average. As I type that into the computer, I flesh it out with conversation, more plot, and do some basic research. Once that’s in the computer, that’s my working draft. I never thought about which influences me the most before, but most of my books so far have started with a basic plot and setting, then the characters come as I write that rough draft I mentioned a minute ago. I also learned to do my synopsis early, because I did one after the book was finished (for my new release) when I first started it back in the 90s, and had 80 pages! Yikes! Every bit of information about the plot seemed important, when it really wasn’t.
11. What was the most usual way you came up with a story idea? I mean, I’ve gotten a plot idea from a song I heard, from brainstorming with a classmate. What unusual thing caused you to think, ‘Hey, I could make that into a story?’
The co-most unusual was what I mentioned briefly about my son and me sitting in my new car next to the old car. The other co-most unusual was when I was eating at a Chinese restaurant and opened the fortune cookie--it was empty. That led to the story “No Fortune in My Fortune Cookie,” a romantic suspense which is built around the H\H’s adventures during Ghost Month in Chinese countries.
12. If you could spend an hour talking to anyone from any time in history, who would it be, and why?
I want to say one of my relatives so I’d know more about my own history, or my hero, Albert Einstein, but I think I’d have to say Jesus. I know that sounds clichéd, but I could ask Him why things went the way they did in my family and get some comfort and closure, not just find out dry facts that a relative could twist to their own perspective.
13. Tell us some of the things interviewers are saying about your story or stories.
This is my first interview, so thank you! Cottonwood Place has been reviewed and got “4 Angels out of 5” from Fallen Angel Reviews, and 4 and 1\2 hearts of 5 from The Romance Studio plus their reviewer gave it “a recommended read” status! Thank you Romance Studio!
14. What is your all time favorite book?
My all-time favorite is Citizen of the Galaxy by Robert A. Heinlein, 1957, which I’ve read 70 times. That’s no misquote, 70 times. Citizen is the best of his juvenile novels: a morality-play, a rags-to-riches, coming-of-age story, and an indictment of slavery and of an uncaring adult world and galaxy. But it’s more than that to me, it’s my story as a kid. I was the abandoned hungry Thorby, and the grandmother who raised me was the wise and loving Baslim, who raised Thorby, and everything came out alright in the end.
15. How do you do research for your books? What’s the most interesting bit of research you’ve come across?
I start my research with a set of 1970s encyclopedias for the most basic information and the tons of other books in my office’s library shelves. Then, with that basic info, I go to the web. Yes, I know web information isn’t reliable much of the time, but with the basics from the encyclopedia and my own knowledge (I know lots of trivia!), I can glean out pretty much what doesn’t ring true on a subject. Much on the web is someone’s opinion and politics, but it’s invaluable for information on places for settings, factual histories of an area, current businesses in an area and their phone numbers, so I can give a real flavor to my novel’s settings. The phone is the next best research tool I know of, which is how I got my most unusual tidbit of information! For my ice road truckers book, I called two ice cream shops in the giant Edmonton Mall in Alberta, Canada, to find out their most popular flavors, glibly expecting some exotically weird flavor. What flavor did the workers say in both stores? Plain old chocolate-chip cookie-dough ice cream, no different from here in America. What a letdown! Which shows Canadians aren’t much different from us when it comes to food! And, they shop just like us, in giant malls! They even have computers and cell phones in Yellowknife, Canada.
16. What advice would you give aspiring writers today?
Don’t send your first 5 drafts of anything to anyone! Make sure every manuscript is fully proofread and perfect for grammar, continuity, characterization, GMC, accurate research, grammar, and microscoped by several more readers after that! Both books I’ve published with The Wild Rose Press were not ready to sell! I sent Cottonwood Place to them after the second draft, expecting a rejection with helpful hints on how to improve it, which is what I’d always received from editors so far. The TWRP editor was a Southwesterner and loved the setting and characters! Meanwhile, I found out about passive sentences and that Cottonwood Place and The Winds of Fall were riddled with them. I had to rewrite Cottonwood Place in the editorial stage to the tune of 80 single-spaced pages listing long notes of massive changes, and about 20 pages in the next round. Editors and agents say to send your best, fully proofread material for a reason and I’m living proof of why! The month of heartache, lost sleep, and disrupted life is unimaginable to anyone who hasn’t gone through what I did.
17. How do you like your fans to contact you?
Go to my website (only 2 months old) and email me from the “Contact Me” page. www.sandywick.com
~Sandy
July 19, 2008
July 19th Winner
Congratulations to Laura K, she's won Margaret's book "Holly and the Millionaire." Laura, e-mail me at annaklanier@aol.com and I'll send you the book.
Thanks, Margaret for being my guest blogger today!
~Anna Kathryn
Thanks, Margaret for being my guest blogger today!
~Anna Kathryn
Devil's Ridge - Whiskeycreek Press
BLURB:
Harriet (Harry) Martin masquerades as a boy in a last ditch effort to obtain work at Ross Calvert's isolated cattle station, Devil's Ridge.
By the time Ross discovers her true identity Harry has fallen in love with him, so she puts a desperate proposition to him. Marry her and she will give his Devil's Ridge an heir.
On their honeymoon Ross meets up with his former fiancee Virginia and finds himself still obsessed with her. With the black clouds of war hovering over his head he faces a terrible dilemma. Taste Virginia's passion before he heads to the trenches of France, or keep his marriage vows to Harry.
The turmoil of war finds Harry imprisoned, defending spying charges, and Ross struggling to survive the carnage on the Western Front.
Holly and the Millionaire - The Wild Rose Press
BLURB:
Fleeing from her ruthless English in-laws who are intent on stealing her child, Holly Kirwan boards a flight home to Australia and meets Justin Devereux. They are instantly attracted to each other.
Justin doesn't want a permanent woman in his life, particularly one with a baby in tow. Holly, still grieving for her soldier husband who was killed in Iraq, doesn't want to be disloyal to his memory.
Can the young widow and the commitment shy tycoon ever find happiness together?
Fleeing from her ruthless English in-laws who are intent on stealing her child, Holly Kirwan boards a flight home to Australia and meets Justin Devereux. They are instantly attracted to each other.
Justin doesn't want a permanent woman in his life, particularly one with a baby in tow. Holly, still grieving for her soldier husband who was killed in Iraq, doesn't want to be disloyal to his memory.
Can the young widow and the commitment shy tycoon ever find happiness together?
Holly and the Millionaire
Holly gnawed the inside of her lower lip. I’m not going to cry again. I’ll dehydrate if I do. She had to keep her wits about her in case the Kirwans came after them. Even with all their power and money, surely they couldn’t drag Lilly and her off the plane? If only it would hurry up and take off and get her away from England with all its trauma, betrayal and bittersweet memories.
She stifled a sob, letting Lilly pull at her hair—anything to stop the baby from grizzling, at least until they got into the air. If the man sitting next to her complained—and he looked savage enough to do so—they might be put off the plane. It was stupid, illogical. She had paid for her ticket just like him, but her defenses had taken such a battering over the last few weeks, she couldn’t think straight.
Lilly, suddenly tiring of pulling Holly’s hair, leaned across and grabbed the strap of the man’s laptop carry bag. He tried to snatch it back.
“I’m sorry.” Holly pried the baby fingers open. Don’t cry, darling, don’t cry, not now, she pleaded inwardly.
The seatbelt sign suddenly lit up. They were getting ready to take off. She clipped on her seatbelt, watching as the man did the same. He had long, tanned fingers with well-kept nails. His dark trousers were tailor made and his shoes handcrafted by the look of them. The cream high-necked sweater he wore was of the finest wool. This man’s appearance screamed wealth and power. So why did he travel economy class?
They were moving, the roar of the engines a musical serenade in her ears. She and Lilly were safe. She exhaled a breath without even realizing she had been holding it. Lilly started squirming again. For some reason, she seemed attracted to the man’s laptop. She wanted it, and for an eleven month old, she was determined.
“No, darling, you can’t have that.” She pulled the chubby hand away. “It isn’t ours.”
The man looked at her with slate-gray eyes that were cold and bleak as a wintry English sky. His slightly wavy black hair showed flecks of silver at the sides. He compressed his mouth, but his lower lip jutted ever so slightly—full, sensuous and extremely kissable. Why did she care what shape his lips were? He looked vaguely familiar, but in her troubled frame of mind, she couldn’t remember where she might have seen him before.
A shudder shook all the way through her. She shouldn’t be admiring men, didn’t want to be admiring men, not with Robbie barely cold in his grave.
Her stomach plummeted and her eardrums vibrated. She closed her eyes, clutching Lilly tightly around the waist. Don’t think about it, she urged herself. Large passenger planes rarely crashed. Only military transport planes were shot down from the sky. Only laughing young soldiers died.
She couldn’t stop a moan of distress from escaping. She wanted to stop it, but couldn’t.
“Hey, it’s all right.” The man touched her arm. “We’re off the ground now.”
“What?” She fought against the terror, burying her face against Lilly’s warm back, inhaling her sweet baby scent. It comforted her. They were safe, on their way home now, out of reach of Robbie’s parents.
It didn’t have to be this way. She had been prepared to share Lilly with them. She was their only grandchild, the only one they would ever have now. They wanted Lilly, but they didn’t want her. Pure and simple.
The story of my life, Holly thought bitterly. No one wanted her except Robbie. She sniffed the tears back.
“Are you all right?” the man asked gruffly. “Do you want me to call the flight attendant?”
She stifled a sob, letting Lilly pull at her hair—anything to stop the baby from grizzling, at least until they got into the air. If the man sitting next to her complained—and he looked savage enough to do so—they might be put off the plane. It was stupid, illogical. She had paid for her ticket just like him, but her defenses had taken such a battering over the last few weeks, she couldn’t think straight.
Lilly, suddenly tiring of pulling Holly’s hair, leaned across and grabbed the strap of the man’s laptop carry bag. He tried to snatch it back.
“I’m sorry.” Holly pried the baby fingers open. Don’t cry, darling, don’t cry, not now, she pleaded inwardly.
The seatbelt sign suddenly lit up. They were getting ready to take off. She clipped on her seatbelt, watching as the man did the same. He had long, tanned fingers with well-kept nails. His dark trousers were tailor made and his shoes handcrafted by the look of them. The cream high-necked sweater he wore was of the finest wool. This man’s appearance screamed wealth and power. So why did he travel economy class?
They were moving, the roar of the engines a musical serenade in her ears. She and Lilly were safe. She exhaled a breath without even realizing she had been holding it. Lilly started squirming again. For some reason, she seemed attracted to the man’s laptop. She wanted it, and for an eleven month old, she was determined.
“No, darling, you can’t have that.” She pulled the chubby hand away. “It isn’t ours.”
The man looked at her with slate-gray eyes that were cold and bleak as a wintry English sky. His slightly wavy black hair showed flecks of silver at the sides. He compressed his mouth, but his lower lip jutted ever so slightly—full, sensuous and extremely kissable. Why did she care what shape his lips were? He looked vaguely familiar, but in her troubled frame of mind, she couldn’t remember where she might have seen him before.
A shudder shook all the way through her. She shouldn’t be admiring men, didn’t want to be admiring men, not with Robbie barely cold in his grave.
Her stomach plummeted and her eardrums vibrated. She closed her eyes, clutching Lilly tightly around the waist. Don’t think about it, she urged herself. Large passenger planes rarely crashed. Only military transport planes were shot down from the sky. Only laughing young soldiers died.
She couldn’t stop a moan of distress from escaping. She wanted to stop it, but couldn’t.
“Hey, it’s all right.” The man touched her arm. “We’re off the ground now.”
“What?” She fought against the terror, burying her face against Lilly’s warm back, inhaling her sweet baby scent. It comforted her. They were safe, on their way home now, out of reach of Robbie’s parents.
It didn’t have to be this way. She had been prepared to share Lilly with them. She was their only grandchild, the only one they would ever have now. They wanted Lilly, but they didn’t want her. Pure and simple.
The story of my life, Holly thought bitterly. No one wanted her except Robbie. She sniffed the tears back.
“Are you all right?” the man asked gruffly. “Do you want me to call the flight attendant?”
July 18, 2008
Author Margaret Tanner
Welcome Margaret Tanner as my guest blogger!
1. So, tell us a little about yourself? What is your typical day like?
I live in Melbourne, Australia. I am married with three grown up sons and a gorgeous little granddaughter. I usually start my day going through emails, then I head off to work. I am a medical audio typist (typing up Radiology reports) lots of mammograms and breast ultrasounds. Nothing I don’t know about “boobs.” After dinner in the evenings, check my emails again, then maybe do some writing. I have Thursdays off, so that is a big writing day for me, also the weekend.
2. When did you start to write and how long did it take you get published? How many stories did you finish before you were published?
I have been writing short stories for as long as I can remember. It has taken me 20 years to get published. I have been so close so many times, but something always seemed to happen to thwart me at the last minute. Publisher closing down, change of editorial staff, that kind of thing, then it was back to square one again, but I never gave up on my dream – to be a published author .
3. How did you break into publishing?
I just kept sending query letters to different publishers until I was finally picked up by Whiskeycreek Press.
4. What influenced you to write?
I can’t really say. When I was about eight years old I started writing poems, then short stories. I won a number of writing competitions over the years. After I was married and at home with my children (my husband worked night shift), I couldn’t sleep if I went to bed too early, so I started writing romance stories, I aimed for Harlequin Mills & Boon, but I soon realized, after a few rejection letters that I couldn’t write to their formula. Besides, I mainly wrote historical romance. History is another one of my loves.
5. What inspired you to write romance?
One of my neighbors was an ardent Harlequin M&B fan and she got me reading them and I thought, I can write better than this, but actually I couldn’t.
6. What genre or sub-genre do you write? Why did you choose this genre?
I write mainly Australian historical romance because as I said previously, I love history. To write good, believable stories you have to write about what you know and I have read a lot about, and traveled extensively in Australia, so I usually set at least part of my stories around Wangaratta, the place where I was born, and also a very picturesque, historical area. I know it so well. In most of my stories there is some overseas elements in it, mainly England, because I have visited there a couple of times.
7. What difficulties does writing this genre present?
None really, as I like history and am prepared to trawl through old books and papers, visit museums and I have spoken to elderly relatives to gain information.
8. What motivated you to write your current book?
I guess I would have to say my love of history and the bravery of my forebears, who came to a wild untamed land thousands of miles across the sea and made a life for themselves and their families against overwhelming odds.
9. How much time do you devote to writing each day?
Depends. Not enough really. An hour or two a day, except Thursdays and the weekends when, if I am lucky, I can get several hours of writing in.
10. Tell us about your other works, books, stories, etc.
I have three historical novels published at present and one contemporary novel but I have three more historical novels contracted and a couple more under consideration.
11. What are you working on now?
I am revising a book titled Storm Girl, which reached the semi-finals in the Amazon Break Through Novel Award.
12. How do you write? Are you a panster or a plotter? Is it your characters or your plot that influences you the most?
I think I would be called a panster. I normally have a vague idea of the plot then I let my characters take over and the words flow.
.
13. What was the most usual way you came up with a story idea? I mean, I’ve gotten a plot idea from a song I heard, from brainstorming with a classmate. What unusual thing caused you to think, ‘hey, I could make that into a story?’
Sometimes I might get an idea from a song. If I hear a sad song, it makes me feel melancholy, and strangely enough, that is when I write best. Sometimes the tears are rolling down my cheeks as I write, which is why I write in private, otherwise I might get locked up for being a nut case. I normally write in long hand, not worrying bout punctuation, spelling or anything else, I just let the words flow. Sometimes I can hardly write quickly enough. After the story is finished, I then type it on to the computer, then do the corrections and revisions.
14. If you could spend an hour talking to anyone from any time in history, who would it be? And Why?
I would like to talk to a World War 1 Australian army nurse. I have a great interest in the 1st World War. A sad and tragic period of history, but it fascinates me. One of my published books, Devil’s Ridge, from Whiskeycreek Press is set against a background of World War 1. My contracted book at The Wild Rose Press, which is titled Shattered Dreams will be released in September 2008. It is also set against a World War 1 background. And I have another book set in that time, which is about an army nurse meeting and falling in love with an English Captain, I am still debating about which of my publishers I will send it to.
15. Tell us some of the things interviewers are saying about your story or stories.
I have had several 5 star reviews. My contemporary romance, Holly and the Millionaire, from The Wild Rose Press, received a couple of great reviews.
“I really enjoyed this book and the story of Justin and Holly. It was beautifully written and easy to read. I literally read through the night because I did not want to put it down. I wholeheartedly recommend both this book and this author. Brenda Talley, The Romance Studio.
Another reviewer at Romance Junkies said the book was “sigh-worthy.”
My story The English Rose, which is set in frontier Australia and published by Enspiren Press, received great reviews also.
From Coffee Time Romance. “The tension and fire between the hero and heroine is electrifying. Ms Tanner’s descriptions of the beauty of Australian nature are so detailed that the reader can easily picture it.”
From multipublished author Anne Whitfield: “Readers will enjoy the wonderful characters of The English Rose and will not want the book to end.”
16. What is your all time favorite book?
I don’t have an all time favorite. There are several books that stick out in my memory. Gone with the Wind, To Kill a Mocking Bird and Thorn Birds.
17. How do you do research for your books? What’s the most interesting bit of research you’ve come across?
Like I said before, libraries, museums, talking to old people. My most interesting bit of research, was the opportunity to visit the World War 1 battlefields and cemeteries in France and Belgium. It was so poignant, I really don’t think I will ever be quite the same again after that. The sheer magnitude of the carnage had to be seen to be believed. I visited dozens of beautifully kept cemeteries, with neatly trimmed green grass, and pretty flowers growing between the white headstones, but it couldn’t hide the fact, that these young soldiers, my fellow countrymen, were buried 12,000 miles from home.
18. What advice would you give aspiring writers today?
To keep on trying, never give up on your dream, and write about a topic you are familiar with. Nothing spoils a story like inaccuracies.
19. How do you like your fans to contact you?
They can email me, details are on my website. http://www.margarettanner.com/
My email is: mjljtanner@hotmail.com
~ Margaret Tanner
1. So, tell us a little about yourself? What is your typical day like?
I live in Melbourne, Australia. I am married with three grown up sons and a gorgeous little granddaughter. I usually start my day going through emails, then I head off to work. I am a medical audio typist (typing up Radiology reports) lots of mammograms and breast ultrasounds. Nothing I don’t know about “boobs.” After dinner in the evenings, check my emails again, then maybe do some writing. I have Thursdays off, so that is a big writing day for me, also the weekend.
2. When did you start to write and how long did it take you get published? How many stories did you finish before you were published?
I have been writing short stories for as long as I can remember. It has taken me 20 years to get published. I have been so close so many times, but something always seemed to happen to thwart me at the last minute. Publisher closing down, change of editorial staff, that kind of thing, then it was back to square one again, but I never gave up on my dream – to be a published author .
3. How did you break into publishing?
I just kept sending query letters to different publishers until I was finally picked up by Whiskeycreek Press.
4. What influenced you to write?
I can’t really say. When I was about eight years old I started writing poems, then short stories. I won a number of writing competitions over the years. After I was married and at home with my children (my husband worked night shift), I couldn’t sleep if I went to bed too early, so I started writing romance stories, I aimed for Harlequin Mills & Boon, but I soon realized, after a few rejection letters that I couldn’t write to their formula. Besides, I mainly wrote historical romance. History is another one of my loves.
5. What inspired you to write romance?
One of my neighbors was an ardent Harlequin M&B fan and she got me reading them and I thought, I can write better than this, but actually I couldn’t.
6. What genre or sub-genre do you write? Why did you choose this genre?
I write mainly Australian historical romance because as I said previously, I love history. To write good, believable stories you have to write about what you know and I have read a lot about, and traveled extensively in Australia, so I usually set at least part of my stories around Wangaratta, the place where I was born, and also a very picturesque, historical area. I know it so well. In most of my stories there is some overseas elements in it, mainly England, because I have visited there a couple of times.
7. What difficulties does writing this genre present?
None really, as I like history and am prepared to trawl through old books and papers, visit museums and I have spoken to elderly relatives to gain information.
8. What motivated you to write your current book?
I guess I would have to say my love of history and the bravery of my forebears, who came to a wild untamed land thousands of miles across the sea and made a life for themselves and their families against overwhelming odds.
9. How much time do you devote to writing each day?
Depends. Not enough really. An hour or two a day, except Thursdays and the weekends when, if I am lucky, I can get several hours of writing in.
10. Tell us about your other works, books, stories, etc.
I have three historical novels published at present and one contemporary novel but I have three more historical novels contracted and a couple more under consideration.
11. What are you working on now?
I am revising a book titled Storm Girl, which reached the semi-finals in the Amazon Break Through Novel Award.
12. How do you write? Are you a panster or a plotter? Is it your characters or your plot that influences you the most?
I think I would be called a panster. I normally have a vague idea of the plot then I let my characters take over and the words flow.
.
13. What was the most usual way you came up with a story idea? I mean, I’ve gotten a plot idea from a song I heard, from brainstorming with a classmate. What unusual thing caused you to think, ‘hey, I could make that into a story?’
Sometimes I might get an idea from a song. If I hear a sad song, it makes me feel melancholy, and strangely enough, that is when I write best. Sometimes the tears are rolling down my cheeks as I write, which is why I write in private, otherwise I might get locked up for being a nut case. I normally write in long hand, not worrying bout punctuation, spelling or anything else, I just let the words flow. Sometimes I can hardly write quickly enough. After the story is finished, I then type it on to the computer, then do the corrections and revisions.
14. If you could spend an hour talking to anyone from any time in history, who would it be? And Why?
I would like to talk to a World War 1 Australian army nurse. I have a great interest in the 1st World War. A sad and tragic period of history, but it fascinates me. One of my published books, Devil’s Ridge, from Whiskeycreek Press is set against a background of World War 1. My contracted book at The Wild Rose Press, which is titled Shattered Dreams will be released in September 2008. It is also set against a World War 1 background. And I have another book set in that time, which is about an army nurse meeting and falling in love with an English Captain, I am still debating about which of my publishers I will send it to.
15. Tell us some of the things interviewers are saying about your story or stories.
I have had several 5 star reviews. My contemporary romance, Holly and the Millionaire, from The Wild Rose Press, received a couple of great reviews.
“I really enjoyed this book and the story of Justin and Holly. It was beautifully written and easy to read. I literally read through the night because I did not want to put it down. I wholeheartedly recommend both this book and this author. Brenda Talley, The Romance Studio.
Another reviewer at Romance Junkies said the book was “sigh-worthy.”
My story The English Rose, which is set in frontier Australia and published by Enspiren Press, received great reviews also.
From Coffee Time Romance. “The tension and fire between the hero and heroine is electrifying. Ms Tanner’s descriptions of the beauty of Australian nature are so detailed that the reader can easily picture it.”
From multipublished author Anne Whitfield: “Readers will enjoy the wonderful characters of The English Rose and will not want the book to end.”
16. What is your all time favorite book?
I don’t have an all time favorite. There are several books that stick out in my memory. Gone with the Wind, To Kill a Mocking Bird and Thorn Birds.
17. How do you do research for your books? What’s the most interesting bit of research you’ve come across?
Like I said before, libraries, museums, talking to old people. My most interesting bit of research, was the opportunity to visit the World War 1 battlefields and cemeteries in France and Belgium. It was so poignant, I really don’t think I will ever be quite the same again after that. The sheer magnitude of the carnage had to be seen to be believed. I visited dozens of beautifully kept cemeteries, with neatly trimmed green grass, and pretty flowers growing between the white headstones, but it couldn’t hide the fact, that these young soldiers, my fellow countrymen, were buried 12,000 miles from home.
18. What advice would you give aspiring writers today?
To keep on trying, never give up on your dream, and write about a topic you are familiar with. Nothing spoils a story like inaccuracies.
19. How do you like your fans to contact you?
They can email me, details are on my website. http://www.margarettanner.com/
My email is: mjljtanner@hotmail.com
~ Margaret Tanner
July 18th Winner
Congratulations to Deidre, aka ddurance. You've won today's drawing - a $15 The Wild Rose Press Gift Certificate. Just e-mail me at annaklanier@aol.com and I'll get you the certificate!
~ Anna Kathryn
~ Anna Kathryn
Dance Critique - Pride and Prejudice
Dance Critique
“Pride and Prejudice”
I choose a dance from the 1995 A & E version of Jane Austen’s book “Pride and Prejudice,” starring Colin Firth as Fitzwilliam Darcy and Jennifer Ehle as Elizabeth Bennett. Mr. Darcy is a wealthy land owner, who is very reserved. Elizabeth is the second of five daughters of a not-so-wealthy country gentleman, “whose spirited wit and good sense keep her away from folly—most of the time,” according to the DVD’s back blurb. Upon their first meeting, at a soirée, Mr. Darcy makes it known, through his behavior, that he does not dance. However, after observing Elizabeth over several weeks, he decides to dance with her at the Netherfield ball, after she’s claimed to a friend she would never dance with him.
“The dance chosen for this scene is a duple minor longways dance first published by John Playford's son, Henry Playford, in his 1695 Dancing Master. Although neither this particular dance nor the duple minor formation it is in were being used in Jane Austen's day, the dance is a very 'cinegenic' dance,” says Aylwen Garden on earthlydelights.com. Additional research on the English Folk Dance and Song Society website reveals that Cecil Sharp is one of many responsible for the preservation of not only this particular dance, but several other folk dances. However, “the Cecil Sharp version…has a longer B part dance sequence,” according to Garden. She suspects the “change from the original dance was probably inspired by the need for a more dramatic face-to-face beginning…for a 'battle' between the two protagonists.” The dance offers “a lovely, camera-confronting, film-effective, 4-in-line (with Darcy and Elizabeth 'trapped' side-by-side in the middle) up and back figure,” Garden explains.
When the dance starts the couples, ten in all, stand opposite each other, women in one line, men in another, about five feet apart and bow or curtsy to each other. Couples meet in the middle, circle, then back away. They then circle the couple next to them, meet again in the middle, then join a line with another couple, four people in all—female, male, female and male—step forward once, then back once, repeating twice. They then start the circling again. The description of the dance given on earthlydelights.com is:
A1 The 1. Man cross over and go back to back with the 2. Wo. Then the 1 wo. Cross over and go back to back with the 2. Man at the same time (in short, 1s cross r.sh. to other side- possibly giving r.hs momentarily, then after a bow to 2s below, do-si-do-ing with 2s below)
A2 Then meet and turn S. over r.sh. with 6 steps (2 bars) then 1 man turn the 2. Wo. with his right hand, and 1. Wo. turn the 2. Man with her right hand at the same time in 12 steps (4 bars), then 1. Cu. take left hands and turn into their own places with 6 steps (2 bars)
B The 1 cu cross over into the 2 cu. place by pulling on l.h., passing l.sh. and casting down on opposite side while 2s meet partner and lead up, and go back to back with their Partner while 2s cast out with 6 steps onto outside end, then all four lead up hands abrest with 2 steps and a rise, then back with 2 steps and a rise, then 1M and W cross (W in front) as they lead up and go the partial Figure through; and cast off into the 2 cu. place while 2s meet partner again and lead up.
The choreographer, Jane Gibson, used the element of space quite well for this dance. With the large ball room at her disposal, Gibson utilizes an area of about twenty feet by six feet as the couples move down the line, then back up again. The dance lasts over five minutes, giving Elizabeth time to draw Mr. Darcy into a conversation.
The music accompaniment, Mr. Beveridge's Maggot, is performed by a group of 8-10 musicians on a platform to one side of the ballroom. The musicians play violins, piano, clarinets, bass, and flutes.
The costumes are of typical Regency period. The men wear breeches, stockings, vests, coats, shirts with ruffled cuffs and fronts (Mr. Darcy doesn’t wear ruffles, as he is more reserved in both manner and dress) and a neckcloth intricately tied. There are also several men dressed in military uniforms of white breeches, and stockings and the familiar red coat with black and gold trim. The women wear romantic and Grecian styles dresses. Their hair is swept up in buns and dos, with feathers, flowers, beads or jewels in it. The women also wear arm-length gloves, which cover any exposed skin.
The point behind the dance is two-fold. Mr. Darcy, who proclaims more than once that he does not dance, is attracted to Elizabeth and, though he’ll never admit it, is jealous of the fact she’s dancing with other men. Elizabeth like-wise declares to never dance with the infuriating Mr. Darcy. However, when he approaches her for the dance, she can think of no excuse to refuse him.
Elizabeth has heard some disturbing news about Mr. Darcy, which seems counter to his character and during the dance she tries to draw him into conversation in an effort to discern the truth. The length of the dance allows her time to speak with him, even if the conversation is interrupted by the separations caused by the steps.
The other incident that occurs during the dance is when one of her neighbors congratulates them on their wonderful dancing. Unfortunately, he also brings to Mr. Darcy’s attention the fact that the local people expect a wedding announcement soon between Mr. Darcy’s good friend Mr. Bingley and Elizabeth’s sister Jane. This sets into motion a chain of events that cause great heartache for several people, not the least of which are Jane and Mr. Bingley.
When the dance ends, Mr. Darcy leads Jane off the dance floor, but she is just as confused as she was at the beginning of the dance because the dastardly deed she thinks he has done is not discussed and therefore, the air is not cleared.
Works Cited
Garden, Aylwen. Dances From Pride and Prejudice. Earthly Delights website. www.earthlydelights.com.au/english3.htm. (6-25-07).
Pride and Prejudice. 1995
Regency Dress, Pride & Prejudice 1800s Gown, Napoleonic. E-bay website. http://reviews.ebay.com/Regency-Dress-Pride-amp-Prejudice-1800s-Gown-Napoleonic_W0QQugidZ10000000000085139. (6-26-07)
“Pride and Prejudice”
I choose a dance from the 1995 A & E version of Jane Austen’s book “Pride and Prejudice,” starring Colin Firth as Fitzwilliam Darcy and Jennifer Ehle as Elizabeth Bennett. Mr. Darcy is a wealthy land owner, who is very reserved. Elizabeth is the second of five daughters of a not-so-wealthy country gentleman, “whose spirited wit and good sense keep her away from folly—most of the time,” according to the DVD’s back blurb. Upon their first meeting, at a soirée, Mr. Darcy makes it known, through his behavior, that he does not dance. However, after observing Elizabeth over several weeks, he decides to dance with her at the Netherfield ball, after she’s claimed to a friend she would never dance with him.
“The dance chosen for this scene is a duple minor longways dance first published by John Playford's son, Henry Playford, in his 1695 Dancing Master. Although neither this particular dance nor the duple minor formation it is in were being used in Jane Austen's day, the dance is a very 'cinegenic' dance,” says Aylwen Garden on earthlydelights.com. Additional research on the English Folk Dance and Song Society website reveals that Cecil Sharp is one of many responsible for the preservation of not only this particular dance, but several other folk dances. However, “the Cecil Sharp version…has a longer B part dance sequence,” according to Garden. She suspects the “change from the original dance was probably inspired by the need for a more dramatic face-to-face beginning…for a 'battle' between the two protagonists.” The dance offers “a lovely, camera-confronting, film-effective, 4-in-line (with Darcy and Elizabeth 'trapped' side-by-side in the middle) up and back figure,” Garden explains.
When the dance starts the couples, ten in all, stand opposite each other, women in one line, men in another, about five feet apart and bow or curtsy to each other. Couples meet in the middle, circle, then back away. They then circle the couple next to them, meet again in the middle, then join a line with another couple, four people in all—female, male, female and male—step forward once, then back once, repeating twice. They then start the circling again. The description of the dance given on earthlydelights.com is:
A1 The 1. Man cross over and go back to back with the 2. Wo. Then the 1 wo. Cross over and go back to back with the 2. Man at the same time (in short, 1s cross r.sh. to other side- possibly giving r.hs momentarily, then after a bow to 2s below, do-si-do-ing with 2s below)
A2 Then meet and turn S. over r.sh. with 6 steps (2 bars) then 1 man turn the 2. Wo. with his right hand, and 1. Wo. turn the 2. Man with her right hand at the same time in 12 steps (4 bars), then 1. Cu. take left hands and turn into their own places with 6 steps (2 bars)
B The 1 cu cross over into the 2 cu. place by pulling on l.h., passing l.sh. and casting down on opposite side while 2s meet partner and lead up, and go back to back with their Partner while 2s cast out with 6 steps onto outside end, then all four lead up hands abrest with 2 steps and a rise, then back with 2 steps and a rise, then 1M and W cross (W in front) as they lead up and go the partial Figure through; and cast off into the 2 cu. place while 2s meet partner again and lead up.
The choreographer, Jane Gibson, used the element of space quite well for this dance. With the large ball room at her disposal, Gibson utilizes an area of about twenty feet by six feet as the couples move down the line, then back up again. The dance lasts over five minutes, giving Elizabeth time to draw Mr. Darcy into a conversation.
The music accompaniment, Mr. Beveridge's Maggot, is performed by a group of 8-10 musicians on a platform to one side of the ballroom. The musicians play violins, piano, clarinets, bass, and flutes.
The costumes are of typical Regency period. The men wear breeches, stockings, vests, coats, shirts with ruffled cuffs and fronts (Mr. Darcy doesn’t wear ruffles, as he is more reserved in both manner and dress) and a neckcloth intricately tied. There are also several men dressed in military uniforms of white breeches, and stockings and the familiar red coat with black and gold trim. The women wear romantic and Grecian styles dresses. Their hair is swept up in buns and dos, with feathers, flowers, beads or jewels in it. The women also wear arm-length gloves, which cover any exposed skin.
The point behind the dance is two-fold. Mr. Darcy, who proclaims more than once that he does not dance, is attracted to Elizabeth and, though he’ll never admit it, is jealous of the fact she’s dancing with other men. Elizabeth like-wise declares to never dance with the infuriating Mr. Darcy. However, when he approaches her for the dance, she can think of no excuse to refuse him.
Elizabeth has heard some disturbing news about Mr. Darcy, which seems counter to his character and during the dance she tries to draw him into conversation in an effort to discern the truth. The length of the dance allows her time to speak with him, even if the conversation is interrupted by the separations caused by the steps.
The other incident that occurs during the dance is when one of her neighbors congratulates them on their wonderful dancing. Unfortunately, he also brings to Mr. Darcy’s attention the fact that the local people expect a wedding announcement soon between Mr. Darcy’s good friend Mr. Bingley and Elizabeth’s sister Jane. This sets into motion a chain of events that cause great heartache for several people, not the least of which are Jane and Mr. Bingley.
When the dance ends, Mr. Darcy leads Jane off the dance floor, but she is just as confused as she was at the beginning of the dance because the dastardly deed she thinks he has done is not discussed and therefore, the air is not cleared.
Works Cited
Garden, Aylwen. Dances From Pride and Prejudice. Earthly Delights website. www.earthlydelights.com.au/english3.htm. (6-25-07).
Pride and Prejudice. 1995
Regency Dress, Pride & Prejudice 1800s Gown, Napoleonic. E-bay website. http://reviews.ebay.com/Regency-Dress-Pride-amp-Prejudice-1800s-Gown-Napoleonic_W0QQugidZ10000000000085139. (6-26-07)
July 17, 2008
In Memoriam - Jane Austen
I discovered by looking at "On This Day" (http://www.reference.com/thisday/index.html?m=7&d=18) that today, July 18th, is the anniversary of Jane Austen's death in 1817. I followed a link from "On This Day" and found this information on her life at: http://www.reference.com/search?q=Jane%20Austen
Questions to be answered are below the text.
Austen, Jane, 1775-1817, English novelist. The daughter of a clergyman, she spent the first 25 years of her life at "Steventon," her father's Hampshire vicarage. Here her first novels, Pride and Prejudice, Sense and Sensibility, and Northanger Abbey, were written, although they were not published until much later. On her father's retirement in 1801, the family moved to Bath for several years and then to Southampton, settling finally at Chawton Cottage, near Alton, Hampshire, which was Jane's home for the rest of her life.
Northanger Abbey, a satire on the Gothic romance, was sold to a publisher for £10 in 1803, but as it was not published, was bought back by members of the family and was finally issued posthumously. The novels published in Austen's lifetime were Sense and Sensibility (1811), Pride and Prejudice (1813), Mansfield Park (1814), and Emma (1816). Persuasion was issued in 1818 with Northanger Abbey. The author's name did not appear on any of her title pages, and although her own friends knew of her authorship, she received little public recognition in her lifetime.
Jane Austen's novels are comedies of manners that depict the self-contained world of provincial ladies and gentlemen. Most of her works revolve around the delicate business of providing husbands for marriageable daughters. She is particularly noted for her vivid delineations and lively interplay of character, her superb sense of comic irony, and her moral firmness. She ridicules the silly, the affected, and the stupid, ranging in her satire from light portraiture in her early works to more scornful exposures in her later novels. Her writing was subjected to the most careful polishing. She was quite aware of her special excellences and limitations, comparing herself to a miniaturist. Today she is regarded as one of the great masters of the English novel. Her minor works include her Juvenilia, the novel Lady Susan, and the fragments The Watsons and Sanditon.
See her letters (ed. by R. W. Chapman, 2d ed. 1965); biographies by J. A. Hodge (1972), J. Halperin (1986), P. Honan (1988), V. G. Myer (1997), D. Nokes (1997), C. Tomalin (1997), and C. Shields (2001); studies by A. W. Litz (1965), F. W. Bradbook (1966), A. M. Duckworth (1971), K. Kroeber (1971), F. B. Pinion (1973), S. M. Tave (1973), and C. Johnson (1988).
The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia Copyright © 2004, Columbia University Press.Licensed from Columbia University Press
Have you read Jane Austen? Which is your favorite book? What do you think of the movies made of her books? And her life?
~Anna Kathryn
Questions to be answered are below the text.
Austen, Jane, 1775-1817, English novelist. The daughter of a clergyman, she spent the first 25 years of her life at "Steventon," her father's Hampshire vicarage. Here her first novels, Pride and Prejudice, Sense and Sensibility, and Northanger Abbey, were written, although they were not published until much later. On her father's retirement in 1801, the family moved to Bath for several years and then to Southampton, settling finally at Chawton Cottage, near Alton, Hampshire, which was Jane's home for the rest of her life.
Northanger Abbey, a satire on the Gothic romance, was sold to a publisher for £10 in 1803, but as it was not published, was bought back by members of the family and was finally issued posthumously. The novels published in Austen's lifetime were Sense and Sensibility (1811), Pride and Prejudice (1813), Mansfield Park (1814), and Emma (1816). Persuasion was issued in 1818 with Northanger Abbey. The author's name did not appear on any of her title pages, and although her own friends knew of her authorship, she received little public recognition in her lifetime.
Jane Austen's novels are comedies of manners that depict the self-contained world of provincial ladies and gentlemen. Most of her works revolve around the delicate business of providing husbands for marriageable daughters. She is particularly noted for her vivid delineations and lively interplay of character, her superb sense of comic irony, and her moral firmness. She ridicules the silly, the affected, and the stupid, ranging in her satire from light portraiture in her early works to more scornful exposures in her later novels. Her writing was subjected to the most careful polishing. She was quite aware of her special excellences and limitations, comparing herself to a miniaturist. Today she is regarded as one of the great masters of the English novel. Her minor works include her Juvenilia, the novel Lady Susan, and the fragments The Watsons and Sanditon.
See her letters (ed. by R. W. Chapman, 2d ed. 1965); biographies by J. A. Hodge (1972), J. Halperin (1986), P. Honan (1988), V. G. Myer (1997), D. Nokes (1997), C. Tomalin (1997), and C. Shields (2001); studies by A. W. Litz (1965), F. W. Bradbook (1966), A. M. Duckworth (1971), K. Kroeber (1971), F. B. Pinion (1973), S. M. Tave (1973), and C. Johnson (1988).
The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia Copyright © 2004, Columbia University Press.Licensed from Columbia University Press
Have you read Jane Austen? Which is your favorite book? What do you think of the movies made of her books? And her life?
~Anna Kathryn
'Ethan's Flight' Winner
Congratulations to Rhonda, who fortuitously said: "Wonderful excerpt! I'd love to read this!" She has won today's drawing and will receive a copy of ETHAN'S FLIGHT, autographed by both authors.
Rhonda, please send me an e-mail at annaklanier@aol.com and we'll arrange for you to receive your prize.
Thanks for everyone who is stopping by and saying hi! I'm really enjoying reading the posts and comments.
Tomorrow, I'll be blogging and the prize will be a $15 The Wild Rose Press Gift Certificate.
~Anna Kathryn
Rhonda, please send me an e-mail at annaklanier@aol.com and we'll arrange for you to receive your prize.
Thanks for everyone who is stopping by and saying hi! I'm really enjoying reading the posts and comments.
Tomorrow, I'll be blogging and the prize will be a $15 The Wild Rose Press Gift Certificate.
~Anna Kathryn
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