Lucynda Storey-Erotic Romance Writer

 I delayed my author interview to co-inside with a special day for our guest.  Today is the release of Becca Simone’s first novel!

Congratulation, Becca.  I’ll bet you are flying as high as the stars about now!

Becca very sweetly let me pick on her by asking all my nosy questions.  Thank you very much for being my guest Becca.

1) Please tell our readers a bit about you and how you came into the fiction writing business.

I live in the beautiful and wet Pacific Northwest with my husband of 22 years and my two teenagers. I’ve wanted to be a romance writer since I was 11 years old and read my first Harlequin Romance. Getting swept into those fictional worlds occupied many an afternoon and evening for me. As a shy teenager who wasn’t on many (okay, any) boys’ radar,  I could pretend I was beautiful and appealing by reading these wonderful books. I loved how I felt after finishing a good romance novel—I decided at that early age I wanted to be a romance novelist when I grew up.

2) How do you get your head in the right place to continue on with a story you were working on yesterday?

Oh, to have my head in the right place even once. Sigh. Unfortunately, I don’t have time to reach this idyllic state of mind when I write. My life is crazy hectic, so I have to fit in writing whenever and wherever I can. If I only have 10 minutes, I just need to jump right in, to heck if I’m in the mood to write or not.

3) How many hours a day do you spend working on your stories?
It depends. In a perfect world, I’ll write for 2-3 hours a day (never consecutive, darn it!). But some days I might just have a few minutes. On those days, however, it’s often my procrastination and internet surfing that trigger this time crunch.

4) What is your self-editing process?
I try not to edit until I’m done with the first draft. The key word there is “try.” Often though, because I’m a pantser, I get stuck 1/3 of the way into the story. When that happens, I’ll go back to page one and start rewriting until I figure out what’s wrong and why I got stuck. Sometimes I’ll get stuck in the same place for several drafts. Every story and novel I write goes through many drafts. At least 7 or 8. The first couple of drafts, I’m just trying to get the story down. Each subsequent draft gets tighter and more polished. Somewhere in there, I also send it to my CPs.

5) What process did your story undergo once you were contracted and how long did it take from acceptance to publication?

It all happened pretty quickly once I got “the email.” I signed my contract in March, and my story releases Sept 18. It might  have released earlier, but it’s a Halloween theme, so… As for the revision process, it was relatively painless. I have an awesome editor whose suggestions really improved my story, both in content and in structure.

6) What was the best piece of advice you were given in regards to your writing?

Write what you love, and never give up.

7) Are you a plotter or a pantser?  Why?

I’m a recovering pantser?

I love writing by the seat of my pants. It’s so exciting to discover my plot and my characters as I go. However… it’s also frustrating, and it makes me a very slow writer. So with my current WIPs, I’m trying really hard to outline first. This is SO not my natural tendency, though, so I’m struggling a bit.

Who is your favorite author and why?

Kathleen Woodiwiss will always have a special place in my heart, because Shanna was the first long romance I ever read. I’d been addicted to Harlequin Romances for a while, but Shanna just blew me away. Wow. I still have that same creased and worn paperback on my keeper shelf. I haven’t read it in a while. I just might have to pull it out again…

9) What’s your favorite genre to write in? Why?

I wish I liked writing just one genre of romance—it would make my life SO much easier. I love writing sexy romantic comedies and also angsty family romances. But erotica is just so darn FUN to write. If you’d told me 10 years ago that my first published work would be erotica, I’d have thought you were crazy! I’m fairly quiet and conservative…or so everyone thinks. Writing erotica allows me to just let loose with my imagination, and to be politically incorrect if I want to (and I want to). It’s no holds barred. What more could a writer want?

10) How do you avoid interruptions?

Sorry, I had to disappear for a bit to help my daughter with her English homework.

Interruptions are a part of life. With two kids, a husband who works out of the house, and a German Shepherd puppy who likes to plop his nasty, slimy rawhide right onto my keyboard as I’m writing, I’ve learned to just go with the flow.

That’s not to say I don’t get frustrated or irritated. My pet peeve is when I’m sitting in front of the computer, my fingers quiet as I stare at the screen and try to figure out a plot or character issue. Someone barges into the room. I give them my best dirty look and say, “Remember, I told  you I’m going into writing mode for half hour?” “But Mom/Honey,” they say. “You weren’t writing. You were just staring at the screen.” Grrr.

11) What organizations are you a part of and how have they helped you?
I’ve belonged to RWA and local chapters for most of my writing career. I know there’s been a lot of criticism about RWA lately, about how they’re not epub friendly, but you know what? I’ve learned so much from this organization, especially from the national and regional conferences. RWA’s not perfect, but it works for me.

And I absolutely love my local chapters—it’s the best way to meet fellow writers and new friends. I belong to Coeur du Bois (Boise), GSRWA (Seattle area), ESAN (Electronic & Small Press Authors’ Network) and Passionate Ink (RWA’s online chapter for erotica writers).

12) What single book helped your writing the most? What lesson did you learn from it?
I

can single out two books. The first one was recommended to me by my high school English teacher when I told him I wanted to be a novelist. Maybe You Should Write A Book, by Ralph Daigh. After reading it, I felt  for the first time that maybe I could write a book someday, that maybe I could actually pursue this dream of mine.

It was many years, though, before I seriously began to pursue publication. At that time, I bought this cute, pink paperback called How to Write & Sell Romance Novels by Linda Hope Lee. It taught the basics about character and plot, and taught me a really naughty word: “synopsis.” Both books are probably out of print now, but I still have my dog-eared copies on my reference shelf. I don’t care how beat up and outdated they get, I’ll never get rid of them.

On a side note, imagine how shocked I was at last year’s Emerald City Conference when a delightful woman joined our table one night. It was Linda Hope Lee, the author of my first romance writing book. She’s actually a member of my local chapter. One of these days I’ll remember to bring my copy of her book to sign.

13) How do you feel about reviews?

Ask me after I get my first bad one. Or my first review, period.

14) Do you have critique partners or beta readers? Why?

I have two CPs for my non-erotica stories, but I have none for my erotica. I don’t really know why. It probably has something to do with my ego or my id or some sort of character flaw.. I’ll ask my psycho-therapist friend.

15) Were you always a writer?  What did you do before you started earning money as an author?  Do you still do this?

I have a degree in graphic design and illustration from way back when, but I quit working in that industry to stay home with my kids. When I returned to the working world 12 years later, I was too far behind in the technology to go back to that career. Now, I work as a personal fitness trainer and group exercise instructor. I work part time, set my own hours, and love what I do. What’s not to love about hanging around a gym full of beautiful bodies?

16) What would your ideal day be like?

Sleeping in until 9 a.m., spending an hour or so drinking coffee and writing in my journal. I’d spend the rest of the day alternating between writing, working out, and reading for pleasure. Because this is an ideal day in an ideal world, I’d be nibbling on chocolate all day long without guilt. And wouldn’t gain weight, of course.

17) Who has given you the most support along this creative path?

My family, especially my husband. He never complains too much that I don’t work full-time—he knows I’m horrible at time management, and if I worked 40 hours a week, I’d never get any writing done and the house would be even messier than it is now. He tells me he’s biding his time until I make enough money writing that he can be a kept man. I don’t have the heart to tell him how little most authors make…

18) What was the most important piece of fan mail you’ve received?

Ask me once I get my first letter. That’ll be such a surreal experience, I’m sure. It’s hard to fathom the idea of strangers reading my stories and liking them enough to send me fan mail. How cool is that?

19) What do you do to refill your creative well?

I try to find balance between writing and life, because without balance, that proverbial well would run dry. Having a job other than writing (one that actually pays the bills LOL) helps. I meet lots of interesting people through the gym, from all walks of life, which gives me lots of ideas for characters. My clients range from stay at home moms, ER nurses, and corporate VPs, to dog trainers, college students, and high school athletes. It’s never boring. I also read a lot and watch a lot of TV. What might seem like mindless TV to some is creative fodder for my brain (that’s my story and I’m sticking to it).

20) What inspires you to get the words down on the page?

All those characters and ideas in my head eventually get so loud, I must shut them up by putting them onto the page. I’m also motivated by envy. When I hear about another writer’s success, someone who maybe hasn’t been writing very long or at least not as long as I have, I can’t get to the computer fast enough. Jealousy is an ugly thing—I might as well use it in my favor, eh?

And just for fun, what or who is your favorite:

Drink Whiskey sour
Movie The Sound of Music
Actor Ed Harris or Denzel Washington
Actress Drew Barrymore
Book Shanna
Color Purple or turquoise
Holiday This year it’s Halloween, because my first published work has a Halloween theme!!
Season Fall
Saying “That’s how I roll,” because it drives my kids crazy. “Mom! Nobody says that any more,” they say while rolling their eyes.
Historical person Can’t think of anyone off the top of my head.

Website: BeccaSimone.com

This entry was posted on Friday, September 18th, 2009 at 10:36 am and is filed under Lucynda Storey, Interviews, Writing. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.