Maureen Child – Too Many Stories, Not Enough Time!
November 6, 2006 by A Slice of Orange in category Interviews tagged as Author InterviewWith more than 90 novels (one of which was turned into a movie) and multiple RITA nominations, Maureen Child is a mega-talented author on her way to the top. If you ask her, she’ll tell you she owes it to stubborn determination. If you ask me, she owes it to her quick wit too.
To see why, see her complete OCC Interview in November’s Orange Blossom.
Q – You’ve written as Ann Carberry, Sarah Hart and Kathleen Kane. Will the real Maureen Child please stand up?
A – Standing now—oops, you can’t see me. Ah, pseudonyms are a lovely little thing about writing. You can recreate yourself in dozens of ways. Just take a new name and write something completely different!
Q – What led you to take on so many different pseudonums?
A – I write fast. Always have. When I started, I was writing six or seven western historicals a year. My publisher at the time was Berkley, and the decision was made to take a pseudonym so I could get more releases out a year. Two under each name worked well for me. Then I started writing different things. Historical paranormals under the name Kathleen Kane, western adventures under Ann Carberry and one terrific Angel book under Sarah Hart.
Q – Do you write under any pseudonyms now? If so, what? Why?
A – Not at the moment. Silhouette Desire feeds my fast writing habit and they’re willing to bring out lots of books every year under my own name, so it’s easier to be me these days and simply answer to one name.
Q – You write category as well as single title. What do you love about writing categories that you don’t get from writing single titles?
A – I love category. They’re fast paced and well-told stories condensed into half the page count of a single title. They’re fascinating to write and always a challenge, which I love.
Q – What do you love about writing single titles that you don’t get from writing categories?
A – There, I can do more POV’s, go deeper into emotional conflict, take the plot further. There’s more room to explore. So luckily, I get the best of both worlds.
Q – Do you ever run out of ideas? If so, how did you get past that?
A – I read. All the time. In all different genres. I’ve always got a book going. I watch movies, TV shows, listen to music—country music especially, there’s a story in every song, I swear. Go to the mall. People watch. Wonder about the guy in the plaid shorts with the dark socks. Is he undercover? Is he lost? Why?
Q – Which is the favorite of your books? Why?
A – I still love This Time For Keeps. The heroine was GREAT and the whole situation was fabulous. Contemporary woman dies and instead of being reincarnated forward, she’s sent back. To the old west. Where she has to face the man who’s been the cause of her death in her last eight lifetimes. I had a blast writing that book.
Q – What’s the best advice you ever received?
A – My father always told me, “You can be anything you want to be if you’re willing to work for it.â€
Q – What do you know now that you wish you’d known then, as a first-time author and/or unpublished writer?
A – When I was brand new and knew nothing, my first agent called to tell me that an editor was interested in my book but she wanted me to add 10,000 words. This is something I did not understand and said, WHY? The story’s complete as is. And this agent said, Okey-dokey, I’ll tell her. So, if I knew then what I know now, I’d have sold my first book two years earlier than I did.
Q – What three words describe you?
A – Another hard one. How do you judge something like that about yourself? I just can’t do it. (laughing) Okay, I cheated. I asked some friends your question and they said talented, generous and funny. But I prefer cranky, neurotic and clueless!
Q – What is the one thing you’ve never been asked, but you wish someone would?
A – “Would you mind moving your limo? It’s in my way.â€
And don’t miss her latest, Eternally, out now. When asked which is Maureen’s favorite of her heroes, she said:
“Kieran MacIntyre, the hero of Eternally, my first Silhouette Nocturne, out this November. He’s old world (died while serving Mary, Queen of Scots) and though his heroine makes him insane, he’s stalwart and honest and honorable and willing to risk all for his sense of honor. Loved him.†Find out more about Maureen Child at www.maureenchild.com
Dana Diamond is the OCC/RWA Secretary, a columnist for OCC’s award-winning newsletter Orange Blossom, a contributor to A Slice Of Orange, and hard at work on her next book.For past interviews visit the Orange Blossom section of OCC’s award-winning website.
Kathleen Beaver – Golden Heart Winner!
August 3, 2006 by A Slice of Orange in category Interviews tagged as Dana Diamond, interviews, OCC News
Triple threat Golden Heart finalist Kathleen Beaver (w/a Kate Carlisle) has talent. How else do you explain 3 Golden Heart nominations in 3 different categories?
Color me impressed.
What’s even more impressive is how incredibly warm, kind and intelligent she is. She also has a great sense of humor…which is probably what helped her manuscript SNOOPING IN STILETTOS win the Golden Heart for Best Novel With Strong Romantic Elements.
Here she talks about her Golden Heart winning manuscript, SNOOPING IN STILETTOS, the real-life mystery that inspired it, what has changed since her win, and who she forgot to thank in her acceptance speech.
Q – What can you tell us about your winning Golden Heart manuscript, SNOOPING IN STILETTOS?
A – SNOOPING IN STILETTOS is a chick lit mystery and here’s the pitch: Suicide by BMW? Or murder? When L.A. attorney Berry McKenna finds her best friend, Deanna Coburn, dead in the driver’s seat, she knows it was murder. After all, Deanna had just gone on a fabulous shopping spree, and what woman in the known universe would kill herself after buying a gorgeous pair of boots? Now Berry’s got to convince delectable detective Ethan O’Reilly to start looking for a killer, but Ethan’s a hard sell, so Berry must search for truth and justice on her own—even if it kills her.
Q – What do you love about the story? Or what do you think makes this manuscript stand out as an exceptional story?
A – My heroine, Berry, has a great attitude and stands up for what she believes in. She loves her friends, she loves her mom, she actually believes in the system and she’s determined to find justice for her girlfriend. And of course, there’s a really cute hero that I truly love.
Q – Did it surprise you that SNOOPING IN STILETTOS won? Why or why not?
A – Surprise me? How about SHOCKED the HELL out of me! Honestly, I knew it wouldn’t win. First, because it was up against so many other great books in the category, and second, because it’s a fairly straightforward first-person mystery and I just figured a book like that didn’t stand a chance. I’m incredibly happy I was wrong!
Q – What do you think it is about SNOOPING IN STILETTOS that readers love?
A – SNOOPING is told from a first-person point of view, so it was important that readers find Berry’s attitude appealing. I’d like to think she comes across as funny and maybe a little snarky and self-deprecating. She’s also a good friend and willing to fight for what she believes in. It was also important that readers could relate to the victim, Deanna, so I had to sneak in a few flashbacks to introduce her and make her seem real and likeable. And did I mention the cute hero? Love him!
Q – Was there any one thing you remember a critique partner, family member or friend did or said that helped you make SNOOPING IN STILETTOS into a Golden Heart winner? If so, what?
A – The best advice I got was from Maureen Child who told me to trust my voice and don’t get bogged down wondering what an editor will like or hate. Just be true to myself and write the damn book.
Q – If you could dedicate SNOOPING IN STILETTOS to anyone who would it be? Why?
A – I’d dedicate this book to my wonderful husband Don who has more faith in me and my writing than I sometimes have in myself.
Q – Did you do any research for SNOOPING IN STILETTOS? If so, what kind of fascinating and/or surprising facts did you learn while researching the book?
A – It’s not exactly research but I have a story about how I got the idea to write this book. I used to work in a Family Law firm and our client’s soon-to-be-ex-wife had made at least 10 half-hearted attempts to commit suicide throughout the divorce proceedings. Of course, one day she finally succeeded, but it wasn’t clear whether she actually meant to do it, because when she turned on the gas in the Bentley, somehow a spark ignited in the engine and the car caught on fire and she was burned to death. There were signs that she struggled to escape but the carbon monoxide apparently had slowed her down and she didn’t make it. It was very creepy. My boss went with our client to the wife’s house and her attorney was there, running the show, bossing the police around and generally being a pain in the butt. Turns out, the wife had re-written her Last Will and Testament and made her attorney one of the main beneficiaries. So…suicide? Or murder?? I prefer to think it was murder, of course!
Q – Your acceptance speech was short, sweet and heartwarming. How were you feeling up there? Is there anything you forgot to say or anything you’d like to add?
A – Well, thank you for the compliment on my speech, but I must admit I was in complete shock and had absolutely nothing prepared. I remember thinking, “Talk slowly. Don’t forget anyone. Don’t cry.†So naturally, I burst into tears! (laughing) Then I woke up at three o’clock the next morning and starting re-writing the speech in my head…over and over and over…sigh. And yes, I really wish I’d remembered to thank my fellow Golden Heart finalists for their support and friendship. I know they’re all going to sell because they are all so talented. It’s a great group and we’re all on an e-mail loop together, so I hope we’ll be able to continue to keep in touch and get together at future conferences.
Q – Has anything changed for you since your win?
A – No, and I’m so annoyed! I’m waiting by the phone for all those agents and editors to call, dammit! (laughing) No, nothing’s really changed so far, but I now have something wonderful to tell those agents and editors who have my manuscripts in their To-Be-Read piles, so that’s something. And I have a lovely new piece of jewelry. It’s a Golden Heart. I love it!
Q – Who was the first person you called? What did you say?
A – I literally ran out in the middle of the awards ceremony and called my husband. I just said, “I won.†And he was so excited, it was great!
Q – Does the win seem real yet? If so, when did it feel real? When and what hit you that made it finally feel real?
A – After I won, I really had to pinch myself. A few times during the rest of the ceremony, I’d suddenly get tears in my eyes when I remembered that I’d won. The thing is, I know that winning the Golden Heart is no guarantee that I’ll sell my books, but at that moment when they called my name, it felt so good to be recognized and validated for all the years I’ve been writing and working toward publication. It was a sweet moment for me.
Dana Diamond is the OCC/RWA Secretary, a columnist for OCC’s award winning newsletter, Orange Blossom, a contributor to The Writers Vibe and hard at work on her next book. For more on Dana and her interview with Kathleen Beaver, be sure to visit Dana’s blog at: www.danadiamond.blogspot.com
7 0 Read moreComing Through
February 26, 2006 by A Slice of Orange in category 25 Days of Romance, Contests, From Our Archives tagged as Contest - 25 Days of Romance, Contests, Maureen Child, Valentines Day
A Slice of Orange is closing the 25 Days of Romance Contest by bringing you a Bonus Blog from Maureen Child. We plan to announce the winner of the contest on March 6th. Thank you all!
On Valentine’s Day, my daughter Sarah called on her drive home from work. We usually get a lot of chatting done while she’s stuck on the freeway and that day was no different. Of course, the conversation turned to Valentine’s Day and she asked me if her father had given me the box of See’s Bordeaux that has become tradition in our house. When I assured her he had, she said, “Your sweetheart always comes through, doesn’t he?”
It wasn’t until much later that I realized how true her statement really was.
Mark and I were married when we were kids (although we were not twelve as Sarah insists) and we’ve been married a long time. We sort of grew up together and I can honestly say that even when he makes me nuts, I’m still nuts about him.
Nothing shakes Mark. Where I’m volatile and explosive, he’s steady and quiet (not that he gets much chance to talk around me). He’s the patient one and I’m the one most likely to erupt like some long dormant volcano suddenly springing to life when everyone least expects it. We were a team when the kids were little and now that they’re grown we’re still a team. The team we were when we first started out. And it’s even more fun this time.
Mark is the rock in my world. I’ve always been able to count on him. When my car breaks down in the worst possible place at the worst possible time, I know I can call him and he’l ride to the rescue. When I’m feeling like the world is crashing down around me, he makes me laugh like no one else ever has. When I’m on deadline, he listens to me whine. When I’m obsessing about a new book, he never asks what I’m doing as I stare blankly into space.
And back when I was sure I’d never sell a book, Mark always believed in me.
Romance isn’t just the stuff we write books about’the first flush of love, the excitement charging the air. It’s also about being there for someone every day. It’s about laughing together over jokes no one else will ever understand. It’s about holding hands in the movies and dancing in the kitchen.
It’s about always coming through.
Maureen Child
http://www.maureenchild.com/
EXPECTING LONERGAN’S BABY, Desire, April, ’06
STRICTLY LONERGAN’S BUSINESS, Desire, May ’06
SATISFYING LONERGAN’S HONOR, Desire, June ’06
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Reflections of Love
February 25, 2006 by A Slice of Orange in category 25 Days of Romance, Contests, From Our Archives tagged as Contest - 25 Days of Romance, Sandra Paul, Valentine's DayBy Sandra Paul
“I have a great idea!” I told my husband enthusiastically. “Why don’t we put mirrored closet doors in our bedroom? It will not only give the room more depth, it will bring in more light!”
“Why don’t we just buy another lamp?” he replied dryly. “It would be easier.”
Obviously, he didn’t share my enthusiasm. Possibly because I’d been coming up with “great” ideas to improve our fixer-upper ever since we’d bought it two years earlier. Since then, my husband had spent nearly every weekend replacing windows, repairing walls, re-roofing, hanging siding, ripping out carpets, nailing down floors, fixing plumbing, laying bricks, cementing, yanking out tree stumps, laying a lawn, drywalling, plastering, and painting.
All of which he now reminded me of in unnecessarily specific detail.
“But the bedroom is a special project,” I reminded him in turn. “I envision it as our personal, private haven where we can relax. A getaway from the kids, pets—and endless chores.”
I think it was the chore bit that got him. At any rate, he didn’t argue further but put in the mirrored doors for me the following Saturday. When he finished, I stood in the doorway of our newly redecorated room, admiring how the lamplight bounced from the softly glowing burgundy walls to the gleaming mirrored doors and back again. I was totally thrilled with the result of my latest great idea. . . until the next morning.
While lying on my side, I opened my eyes—and stared in horror at the image before me. Less than four feet away was my own reflection, revealed in unforgiving detail in the harsh morning light. My once blonde hair looked dull and lifeless. My eyes were red and swollen almost shut. My skin was puffy and blotchy.
Involuntarily, I made a sound between a horrified gasp and a moan that caused my husband to sit bolt upright next to me.
“What is it? Are you hurt?” he demanded, leaning over me. He tugged down the sheet I’d lifted to cover my face.
“No, it’s those mirrors!” I blurted without thinking. “I look so awful. And now I’m going to have to face that fact, every single morning when I wake up!”
His green eyes widened with surprise, and then narrowed on my face. He stared at me as if he’d never seen me before.
Which was so not true. I’d first met those green eyes when we were in high school. We’d now been married over 20 years, and during those years, we’d spent less than twenty nights apart. I’d studied his expression countless times during countless days, hours and seconds. There was no face on earth including my children’s, I suddenly realized, who I gazed at more often than his. And if that was true for me, then it had to be true for him as well.
Shuddering at the thought, I jumped out of bed as he started to say something, wishing I hadn’t called my looks—or lack thereof—to his attention. I kept busy all day, avoiding mirrors, avoiding my husband’s gaze. And I went to bed that night, determined to forget the whole thing.
But when I awoke the next morning, I was lying on my side again. And I knew, without even opening my eyes, that I was facing those darn mirrored doors. It doesn’t matter; just don’t look, I told myself. I took a deep breath, and resolutely opened my eyes.
My gaze locked; I stared at the doors in amazement. Then my eyes grew misty. But that didn’t matter, because what I saw is forever imprinted on my mind and heart.
Sheets of notebook paper covered the glass. On them my husband had written, “You are beautiful. And I love you.”
7 0 Read moreDating By Committee
February 24, 2006 by A Slice of Orange in category 25 Days of Romance, Contests, From Our Archives tagged as Contest - 25 Days of Romance, Jenny Hansen, romance, Valentine's DayJI’ve always had a good track record among my friends for dating losers. I spent all of my teens and 20’s perfecting this gift. Every guy I dated was potentially Mr. Right and I would try the idea of “forever” on to see how it fit, which it never did.
Finally, the day came when I turned 35. I’d broken up with the last Mr. Right and was moaning about the years that I’d wasted. Was I going to ever get married, ever have children, ever belong in a partnership with someone? The prospects were looking dim.
Obviously, with a Romance Record like mine, I have very patient girlfriends. When I bemoaned the wasteland of my love life and the biological clock that was hurtling me with G-force toward menopause, my three best and most patient girlfriends listened to my tale of woe.
Every one of them said the same thing to me: I needed a better system in my quest for Mr. Right. I needed to let someone who knew better (they all three mentioned that they were happily married) be pivotal in the decision making process. In short, I needed to date by committee.
My current plan was Speed Dating. Each agreed that I needed to continue with that plan. I got to meet maximum numbers of men (10-15 in an evening) with minimum effort (I just had to sit and talk to them each for 3-5 minutes).
The Dating Committee encouraged me to date as many of these prospects as possible with one single caveat: at least one person on the Committee had to meet them before 1) any significant physical contact, defined as anything past a good-night kiss outside the vehicle I was driving home or 2) by the third date—whichever came first.
I threw myself into Speed Dating, often having as many as four “first dates” in one week (completely exhausting, I don’t recommend it). I was excited that these men shared so many desirable characteristics in a first date, most had jobs, their real hair and wanted to meet women. However, not a single one of them tempted me to either get to the significant physical contact or go on the third date.
My friends began to suspect that Secret Dating was occurring. I assured them this wasn’t the case, just hadn’t found anyone worthy of putting before the Committee yet from Speed Dating. I began to look around at Rapid Dating and Pre-Dating, to beef up my pool of prospects.
Then my mother died suddenly and my 35 year-old world got a reality check. I did all the tasks that accompany death, and I grieved. I stopped dating completely, I’d decided that life was too short to spend on losers. My patient girlfriends dragged me back into life, ignoring my bitter protests, and one night one of them coerced me out on the town.
We went to a place in Newport Beach. I danced and danced with my girlfriend and her husband and had a lovely time. In the middle of this evening, I met a man. We danced. He bought me a drink. We were beginning to engage in the usual inconsequential dating chatter. I had forgotten completely about the pact to date only by Committee when my girlfriend, who’d downed enough Vodka Tonics to be entertaining, zoomed up to exercise her Committee Rights.
She stopped in front of the guy who came to be known as Newport Steve and held out her hand in introduction. “Hi, I’m her girlfriend Mary. How are you?” And she proceeded to pepper the man with questions.
What do you do? Oh, a Computer Guy! Uh-huh. Great! Jen works in computers!
Where do you live? Oh, Newport Beach, close by! Great!
How old are you? Forty-four? (She gave him a suspicious stare.)
Have you ever been married?
Really, did you have any kids? No? Well do you want to have kids?
(I tried to slink off right about this time but my girlfriend trains dogs for a living and she’s got a grip like a pit bull.)
How do you feel about pets? Oh, you’re afraid of dogs? Well, cause she has a dog, but Hoshi’s a really nice dog. She really likes men, Hoshi, not Jen. Well, I mean Jen likes men too. Anyway, you guys will do great!
What kind of dog? An Akita.
And on it went. Newport Steve stood up to the Inquisition, answering her questions without stammering or stuttering. He joined us and at the end of the evening we traded information on cocktail napkins. Less than a week later we went out.
Bit by bit we fell in love, though I kept struggling against the feeling, thinking about my other Mr. Rights. Steve was always relaxed and so certain that we were meant to be together and I couldn’t figure out how he “just knew.”
A few months after we met, I had my 36th birthday and he took me out to a wonderful dinner. He gave me beautiful jewelry and watched me blow out my candle. I made the wish to keep him always while he smiled at me from across the table.
“What did you wish for on your birthday?” I asked, referring to the birthday he had right before we met.
He looked in my eyes for a moment before he answered. “I wished for you,” he said. “I’m pretty sure your mom heard me from Heaven and pulled a few strings.”
I started crying, right there in the middle of the restaurant, and I felt my mother’s spirit. I could hear her voice in my head, telling me to quit worrying and relax. I realized in one of those stunning moments of clarity that my former boyfriends were all Mr. Maybe, practice trials to help me truly appreciate the man that my mom “picked out.” Evidently, she’d been on the Committee the whole time.
Newport Steve is now My Steve, and I can’t imagine my life without him.
Thanks, Mom!
Jen Crooks writes women’s fiction, chick lit and short stories as Jenny Hansen. She has been a member of OCC since 2001 and has served on OCC’s Board of Directors as Newsletter Editor, Membership Director and Program Director. She is currently the Contest Coordinator for the 2006 Orange Rose Contest for Unpublished Writers.
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