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Read some interviews from past editions:
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S.J. Stewart
June, 2008
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Zelda Benjamin
April, 2008
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Shirley Marks
December, 2007
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Donna Wright
December, 2007
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Carolyn Brown
August, 2007
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Roni Denholtz
June, 2007
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Tara Randel
April, 2007
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Sydell Voeller
February, 2007
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Sheila Robins
December, 2006
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Ann Holt
October, 2006
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Cynthia Danielewski
July, 2006
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Jane McBride Choate
March, 2006
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Kathryn Meyer Griffith
January, 2006
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Mel Taylor
November, 2005
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Kathleen Fuller
September, 2005
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Tracey J. Lyons
July, 2005
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Holly Jacobs
March, 2005
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Sandra D. Bricker
January, 2005
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Kathryn Quick
November, 2004
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Cheri Jetton
September, 2004
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Heather S. Webber
July, 2004
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Karl Fieldhouse
May, 2004
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Shelley Galloway
March, 2004
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Ilsa Mayr
January, 2004
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Kathy Carmichael
November, 2003
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Dorothy P. O'Neill
July, 2003
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Joani Ascher
May, 2003
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Patricia DeGroot
March, 2003
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Nancy J. Parra
January, 2003
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Barbara Meyers
November, 2002
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Christine Bush
September, 2002
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Debby Mayne
July, 2002
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Jean C. Gordon
May, 2002
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Charles E. Friend
March, 2002
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Norma Seely
January, 2002
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Glen Ebisch
November, 2001
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Gina Cresse
September, 2001
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John Paxson
July, 2001
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Terri Alcock
May, 2001
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Clifford Blair
March, 2001
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Amanda Harte
January, 2001
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Kent Conwell
November, 2000
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Carolyn Brown
September, 2000
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Annette Mahon
July, 2000
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Marjorie McGinley
May, 2000
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Jack Lewis
March, 2000
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Amanda Harte
January, 2000
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Joyce and Jim Lavene
November, 1999
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Return to the current Author! Author! interview:
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Sherry Lynn Ferguson
August, 2008
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Author! Author!: May, 2005
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Click on images to learn more about these books.
An Interview with
Ludima
Gus Burton |
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How long have you been writing and how long did it take to get published?
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I’ve been writing for 14 years (1991-2005). It took 9 years, during which I
joined RWA, went to conferences and workshops, learning the craft and wrote
5 novels, before I got published in 2000.
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How do you name your characters?
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The name just pops into my head. I like short names with easy spelling (Jane, not Jayne). I make the first letter different in order not to confuse the reader. I also think she should be able to pronounce the name easily. Names in historical novels are often impossible for me to pronounce and the spelling is too convoluted. I do look at lists of names and, magically, choose the right one!
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How did you start writing?
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In March 1991, I picked up PARTNERS IN CRIME by Anne Stuart thinking it was a murder-mystery. It was the first romance paperback I read and I fell in love with romance. I went home from the Amsterdam, NY library with a bagful. In May (1991) I ran out of books to read and was too lazy to drive to the library. So I said, “I’ll write my own book.”-so I did--in six weeks, in long hand, I wrote my first romance novel. It became my first rejection. It took 9 more years of learning the craft and writing 5 more books before I got published.
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What’s the hardest part of writing?
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Writing the first draft and finishing it is the hardest part of writing. You have to make a segment of time for writing your priority--not the dishes, laundry, shopping--they will wait for you. However, don’t feel guilty if you can’t or don’t write. My schedule is very flexible and days will go by when I don’t write a word. It is important to keep plodding along and not give up.
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How do you develop your characters?
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I do a short biography--physical appearance, personality traits, weaknesses and strengths, astrology info--on the main characters. Then, as I write, it’s amazing how the characters take over. The conflict and the plot help flesh out the characters and they grow with the story. My characters become real people as I write--like Anne of Green Gables and Scarlet are as real as real can be! If it doesn’t happen, I change the story.
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Are you working on anything else for Avalon?
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Yes. I’ve finished the 4th revision of my latest manscript. It will have a final critique by my wonderful chapter members of Saratoga Romance Writers before I submit it. In this book, the reader knows the secret but it was tricky to get the hero and heroine to learn it.
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Do you have any advice for aspiring writers? Or for anyone wanting to submit to Avalon?
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Keep submitting but always with a better book and don’t give up. Belong to a RWA chapter that continually has workshops to help you learn the craft. Read “How-to” books and go to conferences. Read many Avalon books so you know what is expected of you.
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What are you working on now?
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I’m working on a collection of the love letters my husband and I wrote in 1944. I’m writing a paranormal anthology based on the three haunted houses owned by my family. I’ve also started a book on an older woman in love with a younger man. Then comes a revision of a marriage of convenience for Avalon. Being 85 years old is no excuse to slow down!!! .
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