CC: Jeanmarie, thank you for sharing your time with us. We want to learn more about you and your writing process. How long have you been writing?

JH: I’ve always wanted to write stories and have been writing since my first year in elementary school. My first story was so important to me that I remember sitting at the dining room table across from the side board. All by myself, I wrote my first story of about half a page on wide-lined paper.      

CC: Your current releases are historical. Do you only write in that genre?

JH: Historical is my first love for writing.  I’ve also discovered I like to write contemporary, shapeshifter– whether historical or contemporary, and fantasy.    

CC: What is your favorite setting?

JH: I’d have to say that my favorite setting is the Old West, with Regency and Victorian England a close second.

CC: You mention on your website that you’re a Texas native and have a lot of ancestors from Texas. Do you ever use family lore in your writing?

JH: Yes! I’ve found so much inspiration from my Texas family stories. Since I’m writing fiction, I’m careful not to write about the actual people. My characters develop in my own imagination, usually in a scene sparked by a family story. The writing muse takes it from there. 

CC: What are some occupations you’ve had, and do you ever use those in your writing?

JH: I’ve worked at several jobs. In college I worked part time at a department store and an insurance agency as a clerk. Later I worked as a real estate agent. Before I concentrated on writing, I worked in my parents’ garden center business as a silk flower arranger and greenhouse manager. We sold lots of orchid plants and our greenhouse was filled with  their gorgeous blooms. One of my contemporary romances is centered around an old family garden center left to a granddaughter.       

CC: Do you plot your books or are you a seat-of-the-pants writer?

JH: I have to plot my stories before I write.  I like to write with a completed synopsis handy for reference.  Sometimes my synopsis becomes so detailed I refer to it as a short first draft. I like to break the synopsis down to chapters.  If I need to make adjustments or changes that’s easy enough to do as I write.
  
CC: When you’re not writing, what are your favorite past times?

JH: I enjoy reading my favorite authors when I have time.  I also like to study sites and information about pre-historic people, those who lived in the Southwest before the pueblo period, paleontology and dinosaurs, geology and the fossil records, landscape and equine oil painting, garden landscaping, and interior decorating.  I also love watching romantic movies new and old, and listening to music of all kinds, Rascal Flatts being my current favorite.

CC:  Of what groups are you a member?

JH: I’m a member of many writing groups including RWA, Hearts Through History, From the Heart, Future Fantasy and Paranormal, Passionate Ink, Scandalous Victorians, and Yellow Rose RWA.  I may have left out one or two. 

CC: Tell us about writing SEDUCTION and a little of the plot.

JH: I wrote the idea for Seduction in my story idea notebook back in 1997.  I worked on it off and on for several years, entered it in a few contests, in one of which it placed second.  Put it away while I wrote a couple more novel length stories, and then edited it again and entered it in the American Title II contest in 2005.  When it was picked as a finalist, I was thrilled. After the contest, I decided to find a publisher for it, and it was published this past March. It’s loosely sort of a pygmalion story. I based the heroine’s backstory on events in Texas following the Civil War, when raiders robbed  people for horses and whatever valuables they could carry away. My Texas family was robbed by some raiders who also killed other innocent people. In SEDUCTION, the heroine has been supporting herself by singing in saloons and then opera houses in various towns, since losing her family to murderous raiders in Texas.  Here’s a blurb for Seduction:

Belinda Rose is two people. On stage, she’s a confident vocalist who entertains her audiences. Alone, she longs for a secure home and her own opera house where she can entertain or book others to perform. She carries with her the painful memories of her past, but won’t be denied her future. Can her love for a handsome businessman derail her plans?

Cole MacPherson has become a wealthy entrepreneur in spite of his loveless childhood. Believing he doesn’t know how to love, he seeks power instead. What a shock when a beautiful singer knocks him for a loop. Could he learn to love? Does he dare?          

CC: How did you come to participate in an anthology?

JH: Some of the members of Scandalous Victorians, an online group of historical writers, talked about writing novellas for a Civil War anthology for The Wild Rose Press.  The stories could be based before, during, or after the war. I had wanted to write about the local militia units formed in Texas during the Civil War. Members of the local militias protected their towns, and that took the place of joining the Confederate army for some young men and their fathers in Texas. I joined the anthology with my novella, “Are You Going to the Dance?”

CC: Do you prefer writing full length novels or novellas?

JH: I like both.  I wrote several full length novels before learning how to write the shorter novellas.  Each one has its good points. 

CC:  What type books do you read most and who are some of your favorite writers?

JH: I read mostly western historical and regency or Victorian romance with some contemporary thrown in. Some of my favorite authors are Diana Cosby, Marin Thomas, Jane Leopold Quinn, Caroline Clemmons, Denise Eagan, Lorraine Heath, Mary J. Forbes, Kate St. James, Karen Whiddon, Sherrilyn Kenyon, and Stacey Kayne… the list goes on.  

CC: Is there anything else you want readers to know about you? 

JH: I also write erotic romance under the pseudonym, Jenette DuPris, and have a shapeshifter erotic romance novella, PURE HEAVEN, out now at Red Rose Publishing. It’s part of the “Legends of Loving, Texas,” series.

My western historical, SEDUCTION, is available in print at Amazon.com and Barnes and Nobles.com.   

ARE YOU GOING TO THE DANCE? appears in the anthology, NORTHERN ROSES AND SOUTHERN BELLES. It’s available for pre-ordering now in both print and download at The Wild Rose Press.  I’m involved with the other authors of this anthology, including Caroline Clemmons, in a blog tour the first week of August. I’ll be posting with them on Petticoats and Pistols on August 2, where I’ll be giving away a $10 certificate to use at The Wild Rose Press. Those who leave a comment are invited to enter a drawing for an autographed print copy of NORTHERN ROSES AND SOUTHERN BELLES. The drawing will be at the end of the blog tour. Hope to see you all there!         

CC: Please help me thank Jeanmarie for sharing her evening with us. Check out Jeanmarie’s gorgeous website designed by Rae Monet at www.jeanmariehamilton.com

CC: Were you one of those kids who daydreamed a lot?

MM: Oh, yes. I used to daydream my classroom hours away. I always imagined myself as being saved by some hunky guy (at the time it was either Indiana Jones or Han Solo–I sense a theme).

When I was little, I thought I would be a Dallas Cowboys Cheerleader when I grew up. At the time, I took dance class from Texi Waterman, who was the choreographer for the cheerleaders (this was way back in the 1970′s. mind you) and so I go to meet a lot of them. As a youngling, I was awestruck by them. One of my favorite gifts as a child was my Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders pom-poms. I loved those things.

I took dance for fifteen years–classical ballet mostly. I really thought, when I was younger, that I would end up in the theater. But the theater bug never really bit me.

And then, when I first saw “Raiders Of The Lost Ark” I wanted to be an archaeologist. Of course, since I daydreamed my classroom hours away, I never really had the aptitude for school. By the time I hit high school, I was so over school. I knew college wasn’t for me. It was about that same time that I realized I could be anything I ever wanted to be–a damsel in distress, a cheerleader, and archaeologist–if I wrote books. And so, I wrote my first story and a writer was born.  

Sadly, I think my son has the daydream bug. He does it a lot. And I’m constantly battling the teachers about his inability to finish work and pay attention.

CC: When did you write your first story or book?

MM: The first story I wrote was in my freshman English class. My teacher was rather boring and English came easy to me. I always breezed through Grammar and Literature. So I filled the time by starting a short story about a princess, her evil uncle, the Duke, and the love who would save her from the Duke’s tyranny. Silly. Thank goodness it’s lost and gone forever.

Then later, I wrote my first full length novel. About 250 pages, handwritten, on notebook paper. Filled front and back. A science fiction story set in space and reminiscent of “Star Wars.”

CC: Did you read a lot as a child and, if so, what kind of books?

MM: I remember having tons of the Golden Books and playing Library with them. That’s one of my earliest memories of being surrounded by books. As a “tween” I read all the Laura Ingles Wilder books and then those really old books by Elswyth Thane my mother read as a girl. I was introduced to romance with Victoria Holt.

Then, I ignored books for a lot of years (tragic) because they forced us to read in school, which I hated. I never want to do anything if I’m told I have to do it. It’s just me.     As I got older, I discovered my true love – fantasy. I devoured (and still do) everything by Patricia A. McKillip. She’s a fantastic fantasy author. And, all grown up, I rediscovered romance again. I’m still a fantasy fan of all sub-genres. Dark urban fantasy is a big fave right now.

CC: Lets talk about your own books. Tell us about the Coffee House Chronicles.

MM: Ah, yes. TALK DIRTY TO ME is the first of the Coffee House Chronicles. I wrote it on a whim. Just for fun.

Back in 2002, I wrote a really bad story for NaNoWriMo about nanotechnology and a bunch of other crazy stuff. It was awful writing, awful plot, awful everything. But in that story I had a coffee house–The Bitter End. It sort of spawned the idea for the first book. That was the first book to feature The Bitter End and then it just went from there. Fast forward to last year. I started writing TAKE ME I’M YOURS with Marion and I had no clue where itwas going. So I decided it would be another Coffee House book and, VOILA, Graeme was born. I decided Graeme needed to be a web designer by day and a painter by night. Because what’s more romantic than the two of them together?

CC: How did you come up with the BEND IN TIME sotry? Did it require a lot of research?

MM: One of my first writing gigs was a serial for Keep It Coming, now a defunt site. But, it gace me the first glimmer of what it would be like to be a paid writerwith deadlines. I had two serials with the site and they were bi-weekly. Issues went out on Tuedays and Fridays. Which meant I had to write like a fiend to keep up with both serials.

Oneof the serials was THE ADVENTURES OF RANSOM ANDFORTUNE and it was a time tracel about a firl and a hit man stuck in time together. I really wanted towrite a time travel. To up the ante on the story, I threw in the hitman (Dane Fortune).

I eventially sold it as a serial a second time to another now defunct site. But the saving grace with that was that my editor worked for Samhain as an editor and took the serial on as a novel. I was already writing the Coffee House books for Samhain, so it kept me with them. And so,  A BEND IN TIME was born. My editor and I sectioned off the serial into two books and I sold the second one as A BREAK IN TIME. They’re both now in print.

CC: Name some ofthe books on your to-be-read stack.

MM: Do contest entries count? I’m judging some at the moment. The upcoming Karen Marie Monig boo, DREAMFEVER, for sure. I’ve already pre-ordered it. I’m currently reading Vicki Petterson’s SCENT OF SHADOWS, so the second book in that series is on my pile. Plus I have Nancy Haddock’s LAST VAMPIRE STANDING as well as her first book, LA VIDA VAMPIRE. Plus a whole bunch of other stuff I can’t think of off the top of my head.

CC: Are you a native Texan?

MM: YES! And a proud one. I was born in Mesquite.

CC: Does your writing reflect your real life?

MM: Oh, gracious no. It’s all made up.

CC: The Coffee House Chronicles sound like they were fun to write. How many more of this series are in yoru plans?

MM: I’m not sure. I do have one in progress about Marion’s friend, Delilah (from TAKE ME I’M YOURS) but I haven’t been very diligent about working on it. I got distracted by my gladiator book and now a futuristic that’s calling my name.

CC: Are you able to write every day? Do you set goals?

MM: I’m a sporadic writer. I wish I could write every day, but sometimes life-stuff gets in the way. Plus I volunteer for a lot morethan I should and my time has to be devoted to some things that involve writing, but not writing. If that makes sense. Now with it being summer and the kid home all the time, it makes it difficult for me to write at night. I kinda like hanging out with him and Man during the evenings and find myself ignoring the computer more and more. Now, all that said, when I do get the bug to write, I can usually crank out abour 30,000-40,000 words a month. Which is really not a good idea. I really must learn to set daily work counts and stick toit. Iadmire those who can.

CC: What words of advice to you have for someone struggling to become published?

MM: Never give up. Keep writing no matter what. And educate yourself on the industry as much as possible.

CC: Do you write in your day job, or is writing an escape or pressure valve for you?

MM: Fortunately, no. I don’t think I’d be good at technical writing at all. Writing is an escape for me. A way to get away from the doldrums and out of the real world into an imagined world where anything and everything can happen. I may not be writing every day, but I do think about it every single day in some form or fashion.

CC: Not counting your early sequels, when did you begin writing your first novel?

DM: 2001 when I was pregnant with boy #4. I had read several romance novels and thought, I can do that. I sat down with a spiral notebook and a pen and cranked out two novels during my second trimester. Sure some was to quell the creative urge but some was to keep from going insane with #4 on the way, #3 in diapers, #2 in half day kindergarten and #1 in first grade.  Instead of killed the hubby, I wrote about it (and yes, he knows, and has finally stopped sleeping with one eye open).
CC: Are there other writers in your family who encouraged you to write?

DM: My husband definitely, he is quite supportive. He wrote screenplays in college. My mother wrote poetry and has done any number of crafts. She has always been a great support, though every now and again when I get the “Gosh, I still can’t believe you’re published,” it makes me wonder….

Oddly enough my husband’s aunt (who also wrote screenplays) knew I was writing and got me hooked up with a multi-genre writing/critique group in my area. Through them, I found a few women with RWA and came to Yellow Rose, who have always been supportive. All my boys are published through their school too, (three before me) so when I sold my novella they all said it was about time.
CC: What influenced your choice of genre? Contemporary versus historical?

DM: I’m pretty much a contemporary gal; I can’t say that any one thing influenced it specifically. To be honest, I hadn’t read my first historical novel until a few years ago (it came from the book of the month club by mistake. For fun one afternoon I started it and couldn’t put it down). As long as I can remember, I’ve played the “what if” game when a story on the news or something I hear sparks a germ of an idea. I always picture it in the here and now. And of course, I am the heroine and the hottie de jour-crush is the hero. That’s normal, right?
CC: Do you read a lot and, if so, what genre? Name a few of your favorite authors.

DM: All the time-and in multiple genres. I love Karen Robards, Nora Roberts, Susan Mallery (all of whom inspired me to want to write). As well as, John Sandford, Janet Evanovich and Dean Koontz. Of course, I read all the ‘Buds.
CC:  This is really three questions together. What was your first publication? Please list your publications for us. Tell us about your Paintbrush Series.

DM: My first publication was a Novella called HER PASSION released in 2006. I have also published: DEADLY MISTAKES 2006, THE INN CROWD 2007, TRADING FACES 2008, SECOND CHANCES 2009 and coming this summer THE COWBOY PLAN (all from Samhain Publishing).

The Paintbrush series is set in fictional Paintbrush, Wyoming. It’s a ranching/farming community and I have always had a love for cowboys (thanks to my granddad). When the first book in the series came to thought, Wyoming seemed like the logical place. As I started work on the first story, there were so many characters that I hated to narrow it down to one book and instantly the plotlines for 2-4 came to me. Once I had some of book 2′s plot, book 5 formed in my mind-it all seemed natural. Now I have to get busy.
CC: Do you plot your books or are you a pantser?

DM: Both. Some of my books I will have a single scene idea and go from that, some I will plot out completely and some are a hybrid. I will have a few key points and the rest… comes as it comes. So yeah, no enlightenment there. Sorry.
CC: Other than the computer, what are tools you must have to write?

DM: I use my Alphasmart a lot. It fits in my bag (well, I bought the bag to fit the Alphasmart). Pen and paper are always on hand. And music doesn’t hurt-I listen to a lot of music. I have a few silly things too. I have a special writing ring-but only when it’s a first draft. I guess that falls under the superstitions like that of a baseball player. And chocolate. Never a bad thing in my opinion.
CC: With four active children, I imagine you have a hectic life. What is your writing schedule?

DM: While they are at school I try to work as much as possible-though laundry and dishes often beckon. On the weekends, when I have time to myself, I will hole up in my room and write. Oddly enough, if I am out somewhere with my Alphasmart I can usually get several pages done. I think it’s hyper-focus moments.
CC: I think you’ve participated in the November NANO writing challenge. Do you consistently set writing goals for yourself?

DM: I do. I have my list hanging right above my computer so I see it every time I sit down. I tend to make for goals probably twice as much as I think I can handle and that way if I get through half, it will feel like I accomplished something.
CC:  What are you working on now?

DM: I am working on book 2 of the Paintbrush series as well as doing edits for a ghost story to start the submission process shortly. I have three or four projects lined up to conquer as well (can’t do one thing at a time).
CC: Is there anything new/different you’d like to try in your career’s future?

DM: That’s a hard one. I think I’d like to be more adventurous and get more work out there. Unfortunately that is a self pacing dictate and as a wife and mother writing can easily get pushed to the back burner (not because they demand my time, but because I worry about taking the time… ah the neurosis of a writer!)

Please thank Denise and/or ask her other questions. In addition, please check out her website at www.denisebelindamcdonald.com.

Misa is a former middle and high school teacher proud to be Latina by marriage.  The blonde, green-eyed writer is a California transplant who lives with her husband and five children near Dallas. She has a passion for the Latino culture and Mexican food. Whether it’s contemplating belly button piercings or visiting nudist resorts, she’s always up to the challenge in the name of research.   In the meantime, she’s hard at work on a new women’s fiction novel, is published in Woman’s World Magazine, and Romance Writers Report, and also has published a children’s book.

Let me start off the questions.  Misa, what attracted you to mystery novels?

By Carolyn Smith (aka Caroline Clemmons)

Sadly, this past week southwestern author Tony Hillerman died. My family and I have read his works with pleasure. I’ve loved that he brought the Southwest to life for readers all over the world. His passing started me reflecting on how his writing had shaped mine. That set me thinking about all the writers whose work I love. Not counting the Nancy Drew mysteries that started me reading voraciously, there are too many favorite authors to list. However, a few people had a dramatic impact on my writing and my reading.

Not a writer, but a storyteller, my dad first interested me in both history and in the family tales that bring history to life. He’s no doubt why I chose to set my books in Texas. And his stories are probably one reason those old western movies I saw on Saturdays seemed not only real, but also current to me. (My heart still hasn’t recovered from learning that Roy Rogers had failed to wait for me to grow up and had already married Dale Evans.)

A western writer whose works I continue to reread is Louis Lamour. His art of storytelling is amazing. He once spoke to Romance Writers of America National Conference. He stated that his concentration was so great that he could write sitting in a folding chair in the middle of Hollywood and Vine with a typewriter balanced on his knees. How could I not admire that dedication and professionalism? In addition to his short stories, he worked his way back and forth across America at many jobs. It was his early job in a coalmine that killed him when black lung took its final toll. I believe his books will be around for many decades to come. My husband and I have all of his books. They’re great stress relievers.

Recently, a group of friends and I were sitting around a table. Of the nine of us, seven were reading a Nora Roberts novel, one was about to start one, and the only other person had read many of Nora’s works but was reading something else at that time. What other contemporary author can claim this popularity? These were not writers gathered to talk about writing. This was a group of women at a prayer/Bible study group talking about books and authors they loved. Many authors are bestsellers, but I can’t think of any other who’s reached this status of popularity with such a wide range of fans. I read Nora’s first published novel, although it was many years after it had been written. I had decided to write romance, and my mother-in-law loaned me some of her Harlequin and Silhouette novels. Wasn’t I lucky to pick Nora as a model? If only I could attain a tenth of her popularity, I’d be in heaven! She is one great storyteller.

It isn’t only the writers we love who shape us. While reading, we also see things that don’t work, that we hate, and that we want to avoid in our own work. The fact that a book is published doesn’t make it perfect by any means. Writers are a hard audience—we know what’s supposed to happen. We see anachronisms, incorrect word use, and other errors that most readers probably miss. I once tossed a historical romance when the author’s third anachronism caught my eye in as many chapters. But she’s a very popular writer, so her readers either don’t mind or don’t catch the inaccuracies.

Subconsciously, everything we see, hear, or read leaves its mark on our minds. Consciously, we strive toward goals, set our standards, and write. And read. We have to keep reading. Writing with persistence (and a lot of luck), perhaps someday a new writer will choose one of our books as one that influenced him or her. Wouldn’t that be great?

 I’m lucky in that I have a spare bedroom which I’ve turned into an office.  I try to write every morning for about two hours and as you can see by the picture I love everything costal, in particular, Florida. So I painted the room a light sea blue, and there are flamingos everywhere. I started collecting the flamingos when I was writing a contemporary about a fictional town called Flamingo Heights.  That small brown comforter covers a small chair for my little dog Bentley, who loves to sit with me. Of course wants to sit on my lap but he’s adapted to the alternative, his little spot which is right by me. I also have two bulletin boards plastered with pics as inspiration for my current WIP. One of them (not pictured) is a magnetized surfboard.I’ve found I need background noise to write so I have a radio or iPod going. When I’m editing the iPod is blaring out my playlist of music I made specific for my story. Don’t you just love the iPod? How did we ever live without it? <g> Every once in a while I’ll have a candle burning too but most of the time I write before heading off to work so the candle is reserved for the weekends.Strangely enough I’ve found some of the best place to write in public spaces like Starbucks or doctors offices. Don’t ask me why, maybe it’s because I can’t do anything but write. Go figure.Long gone is my desk top computer. I traded that in for a laptop with a docking station and a back up hard drive. I don’t keep paper around either. Everything regarding my WIP or future works is on spreadsheets. I’ve even scanned some of my favorite reference books into the computer and saved them as PDFs. I learned a while back, when I was forced to clean out my closet in search of an elusive piece of paper that was important then, that stacks of paper and sticky notes were not my friend. I lost precious writing time, and almost scraped a story in the process. That simplification process took about a month but it was worth it.  So where is the best place for you to write? Have you made over a room? Maybe you have a favorite comfy chair instead? Or perhaps you can’t write in your house. Where do you go?