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Wednesday Writer Interview with Michelle Hazen

March 23, 2016 By Judi Lauren Leave a Comment

Every other Wednesday, I’ll be showcasing authors who got an agent in the last couple of years. If you’d like to be a part of this, let me know in the comments or contact me via Twitter @judi__Lauren

I’m so excited to be interviewing Michelle today! Not only does she have some epic advice going on over at her blog, but she’s also a really nice person AND she’ll be mentoring in the FicFest writing contest with me! Welcome, Michelle!!

What was the hardest part about writing your book?

The hardest part about writing A CRUEL KIND OF BEAUTIFUL was deciding the scene order. My muse always gives me this camera-perfect glimpses of scenes, and then leaves it to me to decide how to logically fit them together. It’s amazing to me how much the meaning of a story changes when you simply change the chronological flow of events. CKB went through three major drafts where the scenes mostly stayed the same but they moved all over the place.

I’ve definitely been there. How did you meet your agent?

I joined Twitter to start doing writing contests in January 2015. A couple weeks after, I saw that Naomi Davis of Inklings Literary was re-opening to queries. I’d read and liked her bio months ago, but I probably wouldn’t have gone back to check on it for a while if I hadn’t seen the notification on Twitter. I sent her a query letter and then headed out on an 8,000 mile road trip around the country. When I went through New York City, I was fielding lots of requests and rejections from the last batch of queries I’d sent out. I remember feeling like one big ball of longing, being so close to so many literary agents and not being able to do a thing to actually sign with one.

A couple weeks later, my husband and I were in New Orleans, eating bbq. They were doing work on the sidewalk outside with a jackhammer, and it was too loud to talk, so I was checking my email and nearly dropped my phone in my lunch when I saw that I had an email from Naomi and she wanted to schedule a phone call. I texted my CP with liberal use of capital letters, had my husband drop me off at the hotel, and frantically googled questions to ask literary agents. For as much time as I had put into querying, I’d never considered what I might do if it actually worked! But when Naomi called, we immediately clicked. She was warm and funny and so enthusiastic about my book, and I made her say it twice when she offered representation because I still couldn’t quite believe it.

The ironic part about getting an offer of rep for THIS book was that I had previously gotten a book deal that turned out to be a really bad idea, and I backed out of it. It was for series set in (of all places) New Orleans. Out of that experience, I wrote A CRUEL KIND OF BEAUTIFUL. CKB has a subplot about Jera’s band trying to decide on a shady offer from a record label, and if you should grab any opportunity toward success or if some risks aren’t worth taking. I wrote a book about not taking the first deal that comes along, but waiting for the right one for you and your creative process. THAT was the book that got me an agent.

Do you have a rough number of how many queries you sent out before being offered representation?

I queried my first ms in 2005. It was terrible and my query was even worse. I wrote a few more books, then wrote quite a few books of fanfiction that eventually became bestsellers on Amazon’s Kindle Worlds, then queried another book called FORSWORN. It was a post-apocalyptic, and I got some requests and did well in contests, but garnered no offers. A CRUEL KIND OF BEAUTIFUL was the thirteenth book I ever wrote, the third I’d queried, and it actually got picked up fairly quickly. I sent thirteen queries (ooh, never noticed the double 13 there! Guess it’s not so unlucky!) and entered four different contests with it.

What inspires you to write?

There’s always a pull toward SOMETHING that just comes out of the ether, and some are stronger than others. For A CRUEL KIND OF BEAUTIFUL, it was like somebody clipped my leash to a rocket ship. I was attempting to write the sequel to my post-apocalyptic novel and the main character of CKB started speaking in my head. I heard the whole first chapter, and it played on repeat until I wrote it down, but I still refused to write the book because I was writing another one and I do NOT abandon manuscripts. But then I wrote the second chapter. And the third. After the third, a good friend told me, “Stop fighting it and just write the book. When something comes to you this strongly, it’s meant to be.” Turns out, she was right.

Great advice! Can you tell us a little bit about your creative process? Where do you get your ideas and characters?

My characters just show up. Sometimes it takes longer to get to know them, but I can’t “make up” anything about them or the story stops working. Jera (the hilariously irreverent heroine of CKB) had a really strong voice, and she spoke to me right from the start. As soon as she came into my head, I knew she had a best friend, Danny. He’s a tattoo artist and bassist and a total weirdo who is a real pain to fit into stories because he does whatever the hell he wants and doesn’t give a snip about my plot needs.

As for story ideas, those are much harder. I have to consciously consider what the conflict and setting should be, and build a lot of the plot elements from scratch. It’s a weird balance, because I feel like there IS a truth to each story, and I’m always trying to balance the need for structure with hitting the mystical mark of what feels right for that book. A lot of times it feels like I’m groping around in the dark, trying different things until I hit the right answer. Once I do, things fall into place with startling speed and a level of complexity I could never have consciously planned. I have a friend who does psychic readings, and she tells me the way I describe my writing process is a lot like the way she gets her jolts of intuition when she does readings.

Many people have jobs along with writing. How do you balance that schedule?

I’m a wildlife biologist, specializing in threatened and endangered desert species. I work on a contract basis for 2 or 3 seasons a year. That means for a few months at a time my husband and I are gone to work, camping in weird corners of the desert and working long, physically demanding hours.

The worst part about it is I get almost no writing time for months, which feels like holding my breath—the longer I have to do it, the more uncomfortable it becomes. The benefit is when I’m off, I can write or travel as much as I please. In my off time, I’ll often write 10-12 hours a day for as many days in a row as I have. It’s a very unbalanced lifestyle, but it fits my needs perfectly.

That’s a pretty freaking cool job. Is there a fictional character or book you wish you had created? Why?

The Black Dagger Brotherhood. It’s not exactly how I would do it, but I adore the idea of a continuing series, with very strong men that have great bromances and are totally devoted to their women. Plus, there are lots of openings for fight scenes with hand to hand combat instead of boring shoot-outs.

The longer you have a series, the more emotional capital your readers invest in the world, and every detail and character interaction and mention of backstory becomes layered with meaning. After a few books, it is like writing fanfiction of your own work! My supporting characters always end up demanding their own stories (case in point: CKB was supposed to be a standalone that grew into 3 full-length books, a novella, and two short stories) so I would love to write a long romantic suspense series someday.

Of course, I always wish I would have written The Fault in Our Stars by John Green or The Sky is Everywhere by Jandy Nelson, because those are the kind of books where you can set down your pen and know that whatever else you do in your life you wrote The Right Book.

What do you enjoy most about writing?

The time with my characters. I love each and every one of them, and when they’re bantering or fighting or making love, I can reach a state of flow along with them that is utter joy.

Can you describe your MC(s) in three words each?

Jera- witty, uncertain musician

Jacob- pun-loving nude model

Before you leave, would you share the first sentence of your query that got you an agent?

In A CRUEL KIND OF BEAUTIFUL fairy tale romance comes down to earth when a hard-rock drummer finds love, but not a cure for her sexual dysfunction.

Thanks so much, Michelle!

MichelleAuthorPhotoRetouch_Full-ResolutionMichelle Hazen is a nomad with a writing problem.

Years ago, she and her husband ducked out of the 9 to 5 world and moved into their truck. She found her voice with the support of the online fanfiction community, and once she started typing, she never looked back. She wrote most of her books in odd places, including a bus in Thailand, an off-the-grid cabin in the Sawtooth Mountains, a golf cart in a sandstorm, a rental car during a heat wave in the Mohave Desert and a beach in Honduras. Even when she’s climbing rocks, riding horses, or getting lost someplace wild and beautiful, there are stories spooling out inside her head, until she finally heeds their call and returns to her laptop and solar panels.

Michelle was awarded first place in the 2015 NTRWA Great Expectations Contest, New Adult genre. Her work is represented by Naomi Davis of Inklings Literary. Michelle is the Amazon bestselling author of Kindle Worlds titles: the Desperate Love Trilogy, the In Time We Trust Trilogy,Happily Ever After: Salvatore Style, and Sanguine Veritas. You can connect with her on Twitter, Goodreads, or at her website.

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: Interviews, publishing, Writing

Wednesday Writer Interview with Ashley Hearn

March 9, 2016 By Judi Lauren Leave a Comment

Every other Wednesday, I’ll be showcasing authors who got an agent in the last couple of years. If you’d like to be a part of this, let me know in the comments or contact me via Twitter @judi__Lauren

I’m so excited to be interviewing Ashley Hearn today! Not only is she an awesome human being, she’s funny and incredibly generous with her time. We both mentored in Nightmare on Query Street in October and we’ll both be mentoring in the upcoming FicFest contest! And then I found out we both intern at the same publishing company! So basically she also has great taste. She signed with Christa Heschke with her Southern Gothic MS The Sumerlin Curse. Welcome, Ashley!

What was the hardest part about writing your book?

The Sumerlin Curse is steeped in Gullah folklore and Lowcountry history, which means research, research, research. The Gullah Geechee are decedents of freed slaves who settled in the Lowcountry and retained many aspects of their African heritage, including their practice of hoodoo. The story’s plot, while channeled through a Southern gothic lens of horror, magic, and mysticism, is rooted in the very real issue of the Gullah Geechee’s land and culture becoming endangered due to coastal development. Making sure I’ve treated these cultural details with respect is something I’ve focused on with every draft.

Ohhh that sounds so good! How did you meet your agent?

At Midwest Writer’s Conference in Muncie, Indiana!

I actually didn’t sign up for an agent pitch session at the conference, but after a client of Christa’s overheard my practice pitch, she figured my book would be right up Christa’s ally. She introduced us, and Christa and I hit it off immediately—we’re both huge Green Bay Packers fans! At some point over the conference weekend, I mentioned my travels through Lowcountry Georgia and South Carolina and how they pertain to my Southern gothic WIP. She emailed me a few weeks requesting the manuscript once my revisions were complete.

Do you have a rough number of how many queries you sent out before being offered representation?

The short, and misleading, story is that my first query for The Sumerlin Curse turned into an offer of rep. The long, and more truthful, story is that between query number one and my eventual first offer, six months passed along with thirty or so rejections/ no-responses.

#ProTip: Don’t query too early! I sent out a few queries in May of last year (my offer came in August) and while one of those turned into my first offer, it caused me a real headache when I had to nudge agents who had seen different drafts. It worked out for me in the end, but the whole process could have been much smoother.

Also, The Sumerlin Curse is the second manuscript I queried. My first, a YA contemporary fantasy, found some success with contests, but failed to gain traction in the query trenches. I stopped querying it after about thirty rejections and no real answers on how to fix it. Shelving it was the best decision for me, though, because starting a new project really helped me see how much I’d grown as a writer from book one to book two.

Without saying too much, you’re not the only person in this interview who queried too early. What inspires you to write?

Wow. So many things. I was born and raised in Georgia, so this particular story was inspired by my fascination with the coastal south. I also love fairy tales—1990’s Disney girl at heart!—and for The Sumerlin Curse, I wanted to twist some of my favorite tropes with the Deep South’s history.

In general, though, I’m just a fan girl. I love falling in love with characters, worlds, and magic systems. I crave stories that stick with you long after that last sentence. That’s why I started writing fan fiction in high school. I just couldn’t leave my favorite worlds and characters behind. Now that I’m writing original fiction, that’s the feeling I hope to inspire in my readers.

A lot of writers I know got their start in fanfiction! Can you tell us a little bit about your creative process? Where do you get your ideas and characters?

Each story has been different so far. But I think research is my key jumping off point. Everything I write about is something I want to learn about (and am passionate enough about to spend a considerable amount of time with).

Book one was mostly inspired by research I did on folk magic for a paper I wrote in college. Book two had its roots in shelved book one. I recycled some elements of the folk magic, and then once additional historical research gave shape to the plot, I found the characters, villain, and subplots all fell into place.

I also have two future ideas I hope to draft in 2016. One is a YA fantasy inspired by Islamic Persia. Obviously, I love folk magic and I’d love to learn more about alchemy. The other is a LGBT Southern gothic romance, exploring my interests in gender identity politics.

Ohh hopefully 2016 is a great drafting year for you! Many people have jobs along with writing. How do you balance that schedule?

The truth? No clue. And if you ask my boyfriend, he’ll probably say I don’t.

At the moment, I work full time as a producer for The Badger Sports Report, which is the football and basketball coach’s TV show for the University of Wisconsin. I’m also an intern for the fabulous Kate Brauning at Entangled Teen, and I nanny for a ten-year-old aspiring gymnast and twelve-year-old competitive dancer. It’s a full schedule without writing.

There are a few things that help me though:

  • Mondays are MY day. I put in a few hours of work in the morning, and then have the entire afternoon and evening to write. Knowing I have this one day to knock words/ revisions out helps for when other things pile up later in the week.
  • Setting personal deadlines. I’m almost always overly optimistic, but striving for a deadline is a great motivator.
  • Word count goals. Like having mini-deadlines. I love Scivener, and when I’m drafting I use the word count tool to track my daily progress. I like to strive for and average of 1000 words per day. I’m a pretty slow drafter.
  • My critique group. We submit every week through Google Docs and meet every week on Google Hangouts. I cannot emphasize every week Critiquing around 10k words per week on top of everything else I’ve got going on is a huge commitment, but having that weekly deadline is a massive kick in the pants. No one in the group wants to be the only person who doesn’t submit that week.

Is there a fictional character or book you wish you had created? Why?

The Harry Potter series, because it lead me to my earliest experiences with fan culture, and fandom, as I mentioned above, is one of the many reasons I write speculative fiction for children and young adults.

 

What do you enjoy most about writing?

Being a god.–Amen to that

No really, I love it when characters worm their way into my head and heart and I get to spill their stories out onto the page. Plotting is fun. But characters are why I write—they’re why I read too, which is not a coincidence.

Can you describe your MC(s) in three words each?

George: cursed, creative, chimera

Grace: stubborn, Geechee, rootworker

Before you leave, would you share the first sentence of your query that got you an agent?

Absolutely.

Sixteen-year-old George Sumerlin is a boy, no matter what he looks like.

Thanks for joining us, Ashley!

Ashley HearnAshley Hearn is a producer for the Badger Sports Report, the football and basketball coach’s television show for the University of Wisconsin-Madison. She is an addictive coffee drinker, a Gilmore Girls fanatic, and a proud Gryffindor. When she ferrets away enough gas money, she can be found scouring the Georgia and South Carolina Sea Islands for ruined plantations, folk magic, and a fresh story. She can be found on Twitter and at www.ashleyhearn.com

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: Interviews, Writing

Surviving the Submission Process

March 1, 2016 By Judi Lauren Leave a Comment

 

Writing Machine

For those of you wondering why the submission process is so rarely talked about, I think it narrows down to three options.

The first, it’s sad.

The second, it’s ugly.

The third, it’s hard.

In all seriousness, it’s not an incredibly pleasant experience. Although searching for an agent for eight months was also not high on the “fun things to do” list, I felt it was easier and didn’t have so much pressure to it. When I was querying for an agent, I always knew that if I didn’t manage to snag an agent with my current project, I could simply query new ones and then discuss my older one with them.

Submitting to publishing houses feels different than submitting to agents. It feels less certain. Not that I was ever certain I’d get an agent with my project, but it didn’t feel as big.

One of my critique partners and I actually talked about this a few weeks back and why it’s hard to be out on submission. When you’re querying for an agent, you get a lot of rejection, but you also get those small victories of one asking for either a partial or full. There’s the thrill of getting into a contest. If you have a bad day writing wise or you feel like your writing isn’t moving as fast as you want it to, you have the option of sending more queries out into the void. And you do feel better. At least until a rejection hits.

Plus I feel like one of the main reasons it’s so rarely talked about is because people don’t want to go around talking about their rejections. Why would they? It’s hard to put work out there not knowing whether or not an editor will love it. Or if it will ever be in your hands in a physical copy from a publishing house.

The submission process is also a pretty lonely place. I don’t know what I’d do if I didn’t have a critique partner out on sub with me right now. We share a lot of emails about expectations or hopes and fears and it somehow makes the process easier to handle.

I think if I didn’t have my critique partners, my writing friends, it would be a lot harder. So if you’re going out on sub, try not to do it alone. The writing community is full of people in the same position, even if they’re not talking about it on social media.

Some kind of secret trick to staying upbeat on the submission process would be great. But I unfortunately don’t think there is one. I will say that I’ve followed the advice of many writers about the process. Keep working on something new. I don’t think I’ve edited as much in the past few years as I have in the handful of months since my agent and I have been out on sub.

It’s pretty much like anything in life. Sometimes you experience disappointment, sometimes hope. Sometimes more of the former than the latter. But if you’re like me, and know for certain you want this, you’ll hang on until you get it. And maybe start offering sacrifices to the writing gods in the hopes of a quicker sell.

If you have any tips you used or are using while on submission, I’d love to hear from you! Either in the comments or on Twitter @judi__lauren.

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: Drew, publishing, Queries, Still Breathing, Writing

Wednesday Writer Interview with Layla Reyne

February 24, 2016 By Judi Lauren Leave a Comment

Every other Wednesday, I’ll be showcasing authors who got an agent in the last couple of years. If you’d like to be a part of this, let me know in the comments or contact me via Twitter @judi__Lauren

I’m so excited to be interviewing Layla today. We met through Nightmare on Query Street, when I worked with her on her query and first 250 for the contest. I later on got to read her entire manuscript for Four Tragedies and it was so amazing! I fell in love with her characters and writing style and can’t wait to have a physical copy of her book. She signed with Laura Bradford of Bradford Literary in December and I couldn’t have been happier for her! Welcome, Layla!

What was the hardest part about writing your book?

Initially, finding time to write, but then a job change freed up writing hours. Once I completed a draft of Four Tragedies, the hardest part was having enough patience to get the query draft right. It was very tempting to save time and do a combined developmental/copy edit. Instead, I followed the advice of my crazy-good freelance editor, Kristi (@PickyEditor), who recommended separating the two edits and taking Angela James’s Before You Hit Send editing workshop. With developmental and class edit notes in hand, I killed more than a few darlings (bye-bye beloved prologue), whipped my MCs into shape, reined in the wandering body parts, and cleaned up my dialogue and action tags. In doing so, I trimmed my word count by 12,000 words and reduced the cost/time for the subsequent copy edit. In the end, I was confident with my query draft, and I was able to quickly turn around my agent’s relatively few revisions.

How did you meet your agent?

The usual cold query/slush pile process. I’d done my research, and I knew from Laura’s author list, sales, and tweets, that she’d be a great fit for Four Tragedies and me. A mutual love of food and being in the same time zone were bonuses! Our intro call went well, we were on the same page about where Four Tragedies and my writing could go, and I was thrilled to accept her offer of representation.

I’m so happy for you! Do you have a rough number of how many queries you sent out before being offered representation?

25 cold queries and 5 contest requests.

What inspires you to write?

Everything around me. My one grandmother was an English professor. My other grandmother was from a Southern farming family, all born storytellers. She also religiously watched her soap operas (my grandfather too), so I was spinning romances in my head from an early age, usually of the fanfiction variety. Now, it’s places, people, and experiences that inspire me to write, and an overwhelming need to read and write something other than legal documents all day long.

Can you tell us a little bit about your creative process? Where do you get your ideas and characters?

I typically get the story hook first, either from a place, person, experience, or song. Then my MC’s voice and some dialogue start rumbling around in my head. I’ll write down bits and pieces until I get the title, at which point I’m committed. I’m a planner, so I’ll next do detailed character sketches and an outline. When I’m ready to write, I start with the emotional beats (opening scene, last scene, love scenes, dark night, climax), then I go back and fill in the rest (usually dialogue first and then action).

Ohhh a planner. You guys amaze me. Many people have jobs along with writing. How do you balance that schedule?

Like many writers, I’m also an attorney. After years in the big firm rat race, I recently hung out my own shingle. It’s made all the difference in the world. I cut my billable hour goal by 600 hours (without taking an income hit). That’s 25 more days worth of writing right there! I’m still subject to client demands, but I can control the legal workflow and timing much better. I keep my early mornings, evenings, and weekends free for writing, and NaNoWriMo events are great for getting big chunks of words on the page.

Is there a fictional character or book you wish you had created? Why?

Sansa Stark, from Game of Thrones, so I could rest assured she gets her happily ever after.

Kristen Ashley’s Luke Stark, so I could put him in ALL THE BOOKS.

What do you enjoy most about writing?

I enjoy crafting stories that are set in places I love and filled with characters inspired by people I know. Every place you see in one of my stories is based on someplace real. The fictional town of Hanover in Four Tragedies is inspired by Southport/Oak Island, North Carolina. I spent a lot of my childhood summers with family and friends on the NC coast. Charlie’s house is based on my aunt and uncle’s beach house, Annie’s my grandmother’s, and anyone who knew my grandfather will recognize a lot of him in Abel.

Can you describe your MC(s) in three words each?

Charlie Reddmann – Strong, Protective, Loyal

Hayes Keller – Cunning, Protective, Dedicated

Before you leave, would you share the first sentence of your query that got you an agent?

University professors are dying in Hanover, North Carolina, and their murders bear a striking resemblance to the deaths of Shakespeare’s wronged heroines.

Thanks for joining us, Layla!

LaylaAttorney by day, writer by night, Layla Reyne was raised in North Carolina and currently resides in the San Francisco Bay Area with her husband and three smushed-faced dogs. Writing romantic suspense and contemporary romance, Layla is inspired by her coast-to-coast experiences and delights in weaving the people she’s met and places she’s been into her stories for readers everywhere to enjoy. Layla is a member of Romance Writers of America and its Kiss of Death and Silicon Valley chapters. You can connect with her on Twitter, Facebook, and her website.

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: Interviews, Writing

Wednesday Writer Interview with Lianne Oelke

February 10, 2016 By Judi Lauren Leave a Comment

Every other Wednesday, I’ll be showcasing authors who got an agent in the last couple of years. If you’d like to be a part of this, let me know in the comments or contact me via Twitter @judi__Lauren

Today Lianne Oelke joins the Wednesday interview, and her book, House of Orange, just sold to Clarion Books! Congratulations, Lianne! Check out her announcement in Publisher’s Weekly. I loved Lianne’s answers–she has a quick wit and it only made me want to read her debut even more!

What was the hardest part about writing your book?

Finishing it! For the longest time I didn’t take my book seriously, or myself seriously as a writer. I had to tell myself over and over that I could do this. It took several years for that to sink in.

How did you meet your agent?

Kind of a long story, so grab some popcorn. I originally queried my agent Brooks back in 2014. He requested the full MS, which was amazing, but after months of waiting and no response, I assumed it wasn’t right for him. It was mildly devastating to get a full request from my dream agent and then not hear back(!), but I kept on querying. I had almost given up altogether when I participated in #PitMad in early 2015. An editor at an independent publishing house favorited my tweet, and a month or two later, called me to discuss a potential offer of publication! I also had a full MS with another agent at the time, so I was slightly overwhelmed.

It was funny how after a year and a half of querying, everything happened all at once. I talked to my insanely encouraging friend and critique partner Becky Albertalli (yes, that Becky Albertalli!) for advice. Becky also happens to be represented by Brooks. She mentioned my situation to him, and Brooks immediately remembered me. He gave me a call and apologized for not getting back to me sooner about my MS. His main concern with the MS was that it straddled the line between NA and YA, and he thought he’d have a hard time selling it as is. I received similar feedback from other agents, and the independent publishing house wanted me to increase the romance to push it more firmly into the NA category. Brooks offered some very helpful suggestions on how to skew it more YA, which was more in line with my vision. Ultimately he offered representation, and it seemed like a great fit! It wasn’t easy turning down a potential offer of publication (especially considering how long and difficult the query process had been), but I knew I was making the right choice. Since then, Brooks has more than made up for his delayed response, and I know my MS is in the best possible hands!

We all want a quick and easy query success story, but I think we should keep in mind that an overnight response to a query (or MS) isn’t the only way to get an agent. It’s a slow slow business, and learning patience sooner rather than later never hurts. It’s also good to remember that agents are only human 😉 –YES!

Do you have a rough number of how many queries you sent out before being offered representation?

I’d say 40, over a year and a half. During that time, I had one partial and three full requests.

What inspires you to write?

That’s a tricky question; I don’t exactly believe in inspiration. I started writing before I wanted to be a writer. I suffered from depression in university, and I kept a journal during that time. Looking back on what I wrote, I realized I was really uncomfortable with the person I had been. I wanted to change that, somehow. So I played around with some journal entries, adding things here, deleting things there, until I turned a story I didn’t like into something new. And so Jane Sinner (and House of Orange) was born!

Can you tell us a little bit about your creative process? Where do you get your ideas and characters?

Jane’s voice is what carried House of Orange to completion. Her voice is as clear as my own inside my head- sometimes clearer. I had the basic premise for the book, and the rest was just using Jane to fill in the blanks. It took me over three years to write HOO, so ideas and characters had plenty of time to develop.

Many people have jobs along with writing. How do you balance that schedule?

It’s not easy, especially when you’re working twelve hour days in the film industry. Luckily for me, HOO is formatted similar to a script, so having it open while I’m at my desk doesn’t look suspicious. Also, I rearranged my monitors to face away from everyone else, so I can write while looking busy. Whatever it takes, right?!

I’m still trying to figure out this whole writing schedule thing, but having a job and daily structure actually helps boost my productivity. Without a full-time job, I’d be a full-time Netflix watcher.

SAME! Is there a fictional character or book you wish you had created? Why?

Not really. My books will always be very personal and intimate creations, so I can’t imagine someone else’s characters as my own. It would be like trying to give birth to a koala.

That’s the most unique answer I’ve gotten to that question! What do you enjoy most about writing?

With HOO, it was definitely the freedom to take what I wrote when I was in a bad place and turn it into something I love. With my current WIP, it’s the freedom to write something that could never possibly (or probably never possibly) take place. Also, as an introvert and someone who doesn’t talk very much (I’m sure gazillions of writers can relate), writing gives me the voice I don’t normally have in public.

I couldn’t have said that better myself. Can you describe your MC(s) in three words each?

Jane Sinner: Guarded, cunning, definitely-not-sarcastic-at-all.

I love her already! Before you leave, would you share the first sentence of your query that got you an agent?

The only thing eighteen-year-old Jane Sinner hates more than failure is pity.

Thanks so much for stopping by, Lianne! I can’t wait until your books is available for purchase!

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SONY DSC

 

Lianne Oelke lives in Vancouver, BC. When she’s not running around in the woods pretending computers don’t exist, Lianne works in the film industry. Her disillusionment with made-for-TV movies featuring the mild antics of generically attractive white people has inspired her to write some pretty substandard stories of her own.

HOUSE OF ORANGE, her first YA novel, explores the shenanigans of a witty misanthrope caught up in the mediocre world of community college, reality TV, and really shitty roommates. Lianne is repped by Brooks Sherman at the Bent Agency. You can connect with her on Twitter and Tumblr.

 

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: Interviews, publishing, Writing

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