Avalon Books - Author! Author!


	Read some interviews from past editions:
		S.J. Stewart June, 2008
		Zelda Benjamin April, 2008
		Shirley Marks December, 2007
		Donna Wright December, 2007
		Carolyn Brown August, 2007
		Roni Denholtz June, 2007
		Tara Randel April, 2007
		Sydell Voeller February, 2007
		Sheila Robins December, 2006
		Ann Holt October, 2006
		Cynthia Danielewski July, 2006
		Jane McBride Choate March, 2006
		Mel Taylor November, 2005
		Kathleen Fuller September, 2005
		Tracey J. Lyons July, 2005
		Ludima Gus Burton May, 2005
		Holly Jacobs March, 2005
		Sandra D. Bricker January, 2005
		Kathryn Quick November, 2004
		Cheri Jetton September, 2004
		Heather S. Webber July, 2004
		Karl Fieldhouse May, 2004
		Shelley Galloway March, 2004
		Ilsa Mayr January, 2004
		Kathy Carmichael November, 2003
		Dorothy P. O'Neill July, 2003
		Joani Ascher May, 2003
		Patricia DeGroot March, 2003
		Nancy J. Parra January, 2003
		Barbara Meyers November, 2002
		Christine Bush September, 2002
		Debby Mayne July, 2002
		Jean C. Gordon May, 2002
		Charles E. Friend March, 2002
		Norma Seely January, 2002
		Glen Ebisch November, 2001
		Gina Cresse September, 2001
		John Paxson July, 2001
		Terri Alcock May, 2001
		Clifford Blair March, 2001
		Amanda Harte January, 2001
		Kent Conwell November, 2000
		Carolyn Brown September, 2000
		Annette Mahon July, 2000
		Marjorie McGinley May, 2000
		Jack Lewis March, 2000
		Amanda Harte January, 2000
		Joyce and Jim Lavene November, 1999
	Return to the current Author! Author! interview:
		Sherry Lynn Ferguson August, 2008


Author! Author!: January, 2006
Click on image to learn more about these books. An Interview with Kathryn Meyer Griffith


How long have you been writing and how long did it take to get published?
	I’ve been writing about thirty-four years - as long as my son, James, is old. I started the year he was born. I’d always loved reading; always had a book with me. I was home and bored, read a romance book and thought, “I can do this.” But it took me twelve long years because of life’s unexpected roadblocks to get my first novel, a supernatural horror about something spooky and deadly in the woods, actually published in 1984. And it wasn’t even my first written novel, but my second. My first written book was actually an historical romance set in fifteenth century England and that became my second published novel.
How do you name your characters?
	Certain names seem to appeal to me more than others. I like biblical names. I like names that sound impressive in their longer formal version, like Joseph or Abigail, yet can be shortened when used by someone that knows or loves the character. Joey. Abby. I hear a name and I see someone either strong or respected or silly. When I start a book I usually get the main characters straight in my mind first and then I search through this baby book of names (and meanings) I have and pick out the perfect name embodying the personality of that character. Or I try to.
How did you start writing?
	As I said, I read a sort of bad romance when I was home with my infant son and decided I’d try writing one. I taught myself to type on a cheap typewriter where so many of the keys kept sticking it wore my fingers out. I was an awful typist and used so much of that bottled white stuff it looked like the pages were covered in white polka dots. I was thrilled when computers came out (I used them at my day job of being a graphic artist). That way I could make all the mistakes I wanted and fix them with a few key taps. I started writing and in between jobs, divorce, family crises, a murdered brother and living a life (I have a big close family, six brothers and sisters) kept writing.
What’s the hardest part of writing?
	Most writers would say it was the actual writing itself, but not for me. I get an idea and sit down and write a full first draft straight through; then, with the whole story finished, I start at page one and add the missing threads that I now know need to go into it. I rewrite the book at least one more time, sometimes two, as needed or asked for by editors. The hardest part for me is the setbacks and rejections I’ve received over the years. I’ve had a publisher go bankrupt right before my first book was supposed to be published (the publisher that took it over eventually bought my manuscript as well). I’ve had a book that was pulled six weeks before it would have gone to the bookstores; the cover and everything was done. Heartbreaking. I’ve lost editors right as a book was ready to be bought after waiting long months. I have enough rejections to cover the walls of a small room. It’s all part of the game, though, and I always mourned for a few days and then went back to the computer. I kept writing. Now I’ve just had book number nine published.
How do you develop characters?
	They’re like real people to me and they grow through time and rewrites like real people. I keep a sort of running rap sheet of them, their descriptions, oddities and important information, separate on my computer in their book file and add to it as the book grows. Often I combine traits and personalities of people I’ve known or know to make my characters. Truth is, my usual female main character is a little bit me in disguise...she does everything I’d be afraid or too timid to do. The main male character, usually tall and self-reliant, is someone I would be able to love or respect and, in looks, someone I would find attractive.
Are you working on anything else for Avalon?
	I am. Another murder mystery about a widowed woman truck driver who picks up an enigmatic hitchhiker who could or could not be the perpetrator of a series of trucker killings that are stalking them along their route...as well as a mysterious deadly black truck.
Do you have any advice for aspiring writers? Or for anyone wanting to submit to Avalon?
	Never give up. Keep writing and rewriting and research what the publishers you’re sending your books to want. If an editor shows any interest in your book, ask if you can rewrite it and submit again. Be patient. Editors are often overworked and publishers understaffed. But check up on your manuscript every few months, though, to be sure it hasn’t been lost. Meet and talk to other writers. I believe a writer is born a writer and if that’s true than writing itself is the greatest joy sometimes, not just the selling and publishing of the words.
What are you working on right now?
	I have three other projects in the works - an apocalyptic religious horror novel, an ancient Egyptian romantic time travel and another mystery set on Mackinac Island. If I get tired of one I work on another.