 |
 |
|
 |
 |
|
|
|
Author! Author!: October, 2009
|
 
Click the image above to learn more about this book.
An Interview with
Loretta
C. Rogers |
 |
|
|
How long have you been writing and how long did it take to get published?
|
|
In one form or another, I’ve been writing since first grade. As a teacher, I always used my own writing to model assignments for students. Still, I didn’t have enough confidence to write a novel until I heard New York Times bestselling author, Jackie Collins, say that every person has at least one good book in them.
I wrote and sold my first short story in 2004 to Dorchester Media. Two years later, and after selling a total of eighteen short stories, I finally had enough confidence to write a novel. In 2007, I submitted my first Western novel to Avalon Books. I’m certain the editor’s ears are still ringing from my squealing when she called with a contract offer for The Twisted Trail which released April 2008.
|
How do you name your characters?
|
|
Recently, a fan told me if he could choose to be a different person, he’d like to be Matt Logan. Matt Logan is the hero in The Twisted Trail. Honestly, sometimes I labor over finding just the right name for a character. The first step, however, is getting to know my characters. Just like Matt Logan made an impression on a fan, I want readers to remember my characters’ names long after they’ve finished reading the book. That’s why I think long and hard about names. I analyze my characters—what motivates them, what makes them who they are? Is the hero strong, powerful, wealthy, muscular? What is the hero/heroine’s ethnicity, and the century in which they were born. I also put as much thought into my secondary characters as I do for the hero/heroine. Another thing I keep in mind is the genre. I also choose names that are easy to pronounce, and I avoid weird spellings. I want readers to enjoy my books, not labor over it.
|
How do you develop your characters?
|
|
Creating believable, three-dimensional characters requires me to know them inside and out. If I don’t know my characters then how can I convey who they are to my readers? When developing a story idea, the first step is to decide what type of character I need to make the plot work. Once I have my story idea in mind, it’s time to flesh out all of the characters, to include not only the hero/heroine, but the antagonist, major secondary characters and even the walk-on/walk-off characters. Not only do I do character profile sheets (which helps determine the characters’ names), I also have a list of interview questions for each character. When I know all the things I need to know about my characters then I don’t have to worry about writing something contradictory to his/her nature. When I can picture my character as a living breathing, larger than life person, then I can make him/her jump off the page. The more real a character is to me, the more real they are to my readers.
|
Where do you get ideas for plots?
|
|
Everywhere. It’s usually something very minor—a story in the local paper, a snatch of conversation in a restaurant, lyrics in songs, billboards, even working on a current story will trigger an idea for another novel. Anything that grabs my interest and makes me start thinking about the “what if possibilities.” When I get an idea, I jot it down—sometimes on napkins, the palm of my hand, my pant’s leg. I know, I really should carry one of those little notebooks in my purse.
|
What inspires you to write?
|
|
Everything and anything inspires me to write. I think it’s something very deep inside me that I carry from childhood. My mother used to say that when I was a little girl I’d have conversations with imaginary people and because the conversations were so real she’d very often check to see who I was talking to. I was also the child who saw twitches behind the curtains at night or images on the walls made by the moon’s rays and my imagination would run wild. I find that I get edgy when I’m not writing, so as wonky as it sounds, I’m happiest when I have a deadline to meet.
|
What can you tell us about your latest book for Avalon?
|
|
Brady’s Revenge is my latest Western written under the pseudonym--L.W. Rogers. I’m extremely honored that Avalon has selected Brady’s Revenge as their lead novel when it releases October, 2009. Here is a short blurb: When his stepfather is murdered, Brady Wilkes is the prime suspect. He stands to inherit the wealthiest ranch in Kansas. Only Brady’s boss, Lou Spearman, can clear his name. Operating under the guise as one of the town’s leading citizens Spearman is also head of a major horse-swindling operation. If Brady confesses to the sheriff that he was coning honest ranchers in shady horse deals on the day his stepfather was murdered, then selling the mounts to the US Cavalry for double the money, he risks being backshot by one of Spearman’s hired guns. If Brady doesn’t confess, he faces the hangman’s noose.
|
Are you working on anything else for Avalon?
|
|
Avalon has optioned a third novel from me. Since I’m amassing a fan base of male readers who want to know when to expect the next Western, well, you already know that my current work in progress is another L.W. Rogers Western. The working title is Superstition Trail, so stay tuned for the outcome.
|
Do you have any advice for aspiring writers? Or for anyone wanting to submit to Avalon?
|
|
My advice to aspiring writers is to read, read, read books in the genre in which they desire to write. It takes hours of reading to know what works and doesn’t work, what makes that particular book a best-seller or what makes the reader put a book down and never pick it up again. The next piece of advice is to grow a thick skin. The averages of getting a rejection letter the first time submitting is greater than getting that first contract. If you expect to get published, you have to write, rewrite, edit, and perfect the manuscript before submitting it.
Anyone wanting to submit to Avalon should familiarize themselves with the genres that Avalon publishes and then read and follow the submission guidelines carefully. Since Avalon’s primary source of distribution is to public libraries, I would also suggest that before submitting a manuscript the individual visit his/her local library, checkout several books by a variety of Avalon authors and read, read, read.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
