Romance at Heart Magazine Author Interview: Buffi BeCraft-Woodall

An Interview with Buffi BeCraft-Woodall:

Hi Buffi! Thank you for doing this interview. I would like to welcome you to the Romance at Heart Interview and Author Grilling session. *bg* We are interested to find out as much about you, and your sexy Werewolves, as we possibly can, so lets get started...

- Please tell us about your latest book.

Mark Weis is everyone’s annoying little brother—all grown up. The sexy wolven mechanic has worked hard to prove himself as responsible as his brothers. Unfortunately, his family, the Texas, Anderson County Pack, doesn’t see him that way.

A good psychic always avoids the supernatural at all costs.

When Bailey Sparks, trouble-prone psychic-for-hire, takes the wrong job and ends up dragon-bait, it’s up Mark to make tracks to bail her out. Only, after escaping the pack two years before, Bailey’s not so sure she wants his help.

Dodging the pack, an irate dragon, silver bullets, and paranoid psychics is nothing compared to fighting their attraction for one another. But when the long dead past turns out to be very much alive and after them, Mark and Bailey learn that their differences are not weaknesses. And that love and family sometimes comes in very different packaging than you expect.

- What can we expect from you in the future?

I plan to continue on with the Blue-Collar Werewolf Series. I know I want to find out what happens next! I also have plans for a couple of books that are not in the Blue-Collar Werewolf world. Never fear, it’s still paranormal romance, just another take on it.

- How do we find out about you and your books?

Readers are more than welcome to sign up for my monthly pdf newsletter, The Bone, by sending me an email. Please be sure to specify what email address you would like the newsletter sent to. Also, swing by MySpace to check out my blog. See more werewolf fun, character interviews, and plenty of facts about the Blue-Collar Worker Werewolves on my home website.

- How may readers contact you?

Readers can contact me, Buffi BeCraft-Woodall, using either my website email, or by sending me a message through MySpace.

- Do your fans' comments and letters influence you in any way?

Fan’s comments and letters influence me some. I know where I want to take the Blue-Collar Werewolf Series, and ultimately I’ll do what is best for the story. But reading the fan’s reactions to certain characters tells me if I’m going in the right direction or it may inspire me to veer off with an unexpected plot development.

- Do you have a favorite comment or question from a reader?

I love good old fashioned girl talk sessions where the readers speculate what girl would be perfect for the still single Blue-Collar guys. I also like hearing where fans think the books are going. You know, soap talk!

- Why did you decide to write romance novels?

I’ve been writing a form of romance since my teenage years. They weren’t nothing like the Hot & Handy Blue-Collar Werewolf books. However, there was a definite love interest between my spaceship piloting heroines and swashbuckler heroes (Who happened to look a LOT like Harrison Ford. LOL!) In the early 90’s I started plotting detailed fantasy adventures. In 2005, writing my debut novel Weremones, was when I made the big switch to werewolves and other heroes who go bump in the night.

- How would you describe the genre in which you do most of your writing?

Usually, I call what I write Paranormal Romance. It’s kind of a general description for something certainly not normal. Maybe, Abby-normal? LOL! The Blue-Collar Werewolf Series and the books I have currently planned would probably be more accurately described as Paranormal Fantasy Romance.

- Do you have a target audience, and if so, who are they?

I love this question. I do have a target audience. And a story about it too.

I’m very careful to keep in mind the new-to-paranormal readers. While deciding plot and world building for what would become Weremones, my mother told me that reason she did not read fantasy and paranormal was because it was too hard to understand. A die-hard Lord of the Rings fan, I stopped and took a good look at my beloved genre. What I saw, was that in a lot of stories, readers were expected to already know what elves, dwarves, trolls and the lot were. Not that those writers aren’t good. They are awesome. Just a little intimidating for the uninitiated.

I think that’s what made the Buffy & Angel serieses so great. They were easy to follow, but had a great soap opera quality.

Anyway, after hearing my mother tell me that she didn’t think she would be able to understand my writing, I decided to prove her wrong. Incidentally, that year she became addicted to Buffy & Angel reruns. And yes, she understood and loved Weremones, PMSing, and is waiting for the finished copy of Making Tracks. Mission accomplished.

- What motivated you to start writing in this genre?

I don’t think I ever had much of a choice. Growing up, my dad and I used to watch old Star Trek, Dr. Who marathons, & classic monster movies. I have kids now and Godzilla, Rodan, & Mothra are still watched on the weekends at Papa’s house. My mom was an avid soap fan, so before we even had a VCR, she’d tell me the scoop on our favorite shows. On holidays and summers, I’d get to catch up.

I always wanted to see a combination of them both. Even during my RPG (role playing game) days, I snuck romance into my plots. Not anything explicit. But, you’d be amazed at how guys who didn’t think they wanted girly romance in their kick-butt adventures enjoyed winning the girl’s affection as part of the plot.

- Who would you say has influenced you the most?

My mother. She has always encouraged me to follow my writing dream. She has shown through example that if you persevere, despite physical obstacles, you can overcome. Be it a physical problem, financial, or spiritual. Perseverance and faith are powerful life tools.

- What are your main concerns as a writer?

As a newly published author, I need to learn everything I can about the publishing business. As with any new business venture, learning the ropes can sometimes be daunting. As a writer, I used to worry that my readers won’t ‘get’ my books or take them the wrong way. I have a lot of people ask me if I write children’s books. I also have two very proud teenagers who show off my websites to friends and teachers (and anyone else they meet!) To be on the safe side, I have to make sure everyone understands that while Paranormal and Fantasy are very popular with the YA readers right now, my stories are romances that touch on some very adult content. I also try to keep the content on my website as fun and interesting a possible, while making sure it isn’t something I’d object my own kids going to.

- How much of your personality and life experiences are in your writing?

Well, they say, “Write what you know.” And I do.
The Blue-Collar Werewolf Series is actually based on my own hometown, with quite a bit of liberties taken. It is a paranormal fantasy story after all. Definitely, my personality comes across in my writing ‘voice’. But that’s okay. Everyone’s personality is different, I’d like to think that is one step ahead in making my books a different and interesting read.

- What would you say are the biggest challenges that you face?

Its amazing how moving will throw you schedule all out of whack. So, right know one of my biggest challenges is making time to write. But I’ve found that there are always challenges and once you overcome one, Loki the Trickster throws another at you.

- How do you deal with these challenges?

Perseverance. Placing writing at the top of my priority list may not win me any points with family and friends who have other plans for my time. I have to stand up for myself and make sure they understand that writing is not a hobby, it is one of my jobs. No writing time=no book to sell. Funny how money always seems to put things into perspective.

- When did you first think about writing and what prompted you to submit your first ms?

Reading and writing has been a part of me for as long as I can remember. When I attempted home schooling my children (not a task for the faint of heart!), I enrolled them into an all day tutorial once a week. I decided, then that it was time for me to dust off my dreams and ambitions and get to work. The writing in those first stories were absolutely awful, LOL! But I like to think the storylines were good.

In 2005, I put away my long worked and reworked ms of two years and decided it was time to write something to submit. After thinking a lot about what was marketable and what I liked, I decided to go with Paranormal Romance. I wrote Weremones that year and feel very, very, very blessed that New Concepts Publishing, my first choice in ebook publishers, decided to take a chance on me.

- Generally, how long does it take you to write a book?

It depends on the book. I messed around with a fantasy fiction book for three years before setting it aside to begin Weremones. My debut book, Weremones took one year from start to finish, editing and everything to begin the submission process. Both PMSing and Making Tracks took four months each before turning in to my editor.

- Do you have a set schedule for writing or do you just go with the flow?

I need a schedule to write the same way I need air to breathe. That way I have the minimum requirement of writing done each day.

- What is your writing routine once you start a book?

I’ll start off with my schedule, making sure I get at least a couple of hours each day done. Then, once I get going good on the story, every spare moment goes into finishing the draft.

- What about your family, do they know not to bother you when you are writing - or are there constant interruptions?

My kids are great. Because I worked nights and evenings up until a couple of years ago, they were trained to respect other people’s need for space and quiet. They are also so proud of Mom’s (me) getting published, that they will do chores just so that I can have a few minutes to work. But in return, I try to show them the same respect with their interests.

- What do you do to relax and recharge your batteries?

I like to read novellas. Since both my day job and writing keep me on the computer so many hours, I don’t watch a lot of TV or movies. Too much screen time hurts my eyes.

Better yet, I like to take a long hot bath in with background music playing. Dim lights. Bath crystals. Hot herbal tea at hand. It doesn’t take much planning to have spa time at home. If I refill the tub a couple of times, I can hide out for two hours before my kids start threatening to send in a search party.

- What truly motivates you in general? In your writing?

I’m motivated by knowing that my readers enjoy my works. That first book was an extreme exercise in anxiety, hoping that readers would understand and want more of my stories.

- Where do your ideas come from?

Alien mind melds? Planetary alignment? Or maybe I was dropped on my head as a child? I have no idea. Stories wander through my mind all the time. Sometimes I have a hard time picking just one to focus on for a book.

- Do you feel humor is important in women's fiction and why?

Yes, humor is proven to be a great healer. Humor in women’s fiction gives us a chance to look at ourselves though our heroines and to be able to laugh at what life throws at us.

- What are your thoughts on love scenes in romance novels, do you find them difficult to write?

I think love scenes are great in romance novels. It’s the physical expression of hero and heroine’s emotional commitment to one another. I believe that the scenes should be integral to the story and believable to the characters.
As far as writing love scenes, I have to be by myself for the creativity to flow. Family in the vicinity is a no-go.

- What kind of research do you do?

At first, nothing. I write for the characters’ sake. After the rough draft is finished, it will need a LOT of polishing. That includes double checking my facts or tightening fine points. Other than that, read, read, read. You never know what obscure event or fact may find its way into a book.

- Would you like to write a different genre than you do now, or sub-genre?

I’d like to try my hand at SciFi/Romance one day.

- What does your husband/wife/partner think of your writing?

Writing is a very solitary occupation. For me, I tend to lose track of time when I am in the middle of a project. Since I worked nights for so many years, my kids were trained from an early age to pick up the slack and just poke mom every now and then if you need something. We have a routine we are comfortable with and works for us.

- Do you ever ask him/her for advice?

Since I put kids in my books a lot, I try to listen to my children and nieces’ everyday conversations (and arguments). I’d do that anyway, but it’s nice to have another reason other than being nosy Mom.

- Please tell us about yourself (family, hobbies, education, etc.)

I live in a small community between two larger towns. We have a gas station, a post office, and several churches. It’s one of those areas where your family is your neighbor and everyone related to you goes to the same church. Except for mine, I’m weird that way.

I’d always planned on going to college, but being the stubborn person I am, got married to my first husband in High School because I was in love. I don’t know that any eighteen year old knows what love really is, but you learn a lot about yourself when you are 985 miles from home and your husband is in Kuwait. My son was born 10 months after his dad cam home from Desert Storm and my daughter 15 months after that. LOL! So college took a back burner for a lot of years with me taking a writing or creative writing course here and there.

But despite all of that, I am a big believer in education.

- Fill in the blank favorites -

Dessert - Chocolate mint ice cream
City - Savannah, Georgia
Season - Fall
Type of hero - Han Solo style adventure guy
Type of heroine - Lois Lane- yeah she was a screamer, but she was an independent woman, even in her early days. She didn’t take any garbage from anyone, even Superman.

- What are some of your favorite things to do?

Being a single parent, I’m very much a homebody. I read. We have a menagerie of animals whose population increases and decreases at times. I love to watch the kids’ karate classes three nights a week. Eventually, I’d like to join, but that’ll have to be later once some of my baby birdies have left the nest. Then, I have dreams of spreading my own wings and doing some traveling.

- Do you have a favorite author and/or a favorite book?

There are so many wonderful stories out there, written by great authors. Right now, though I just finished Lean Mean Thirteen by Janet Evanovitch and I laughed so hard I cried. I’d have to say that my oldest favorite is Shield of Three Lions by Pamela Kaufman. I bought the original when it was released in 1984 and still reread it every few years.

- Who are some of your other favorite authors to read?

Leigh Greenwood, Jacqueline Frank, Nora Roberts as JD Robb, Charlaine Harris, MaryJanice Davidson, Sandra Hill….the list could go on and on.

- Who, if anyone, has influenced your writing?

The late Ann Peach.

Years ago, she had an online mentoring workshop on the RT website. Ann would assign us a topic and by the end of the month we’d start posting our writing. She wasn’t mean, but she didn’t pull any punches either. Those first postings, every sentence would have a red mark to be fixed. And we’d fix them, crossing our fingers that the next round would be better. Eventually it was. We sweated over every word together and rejoiced over growing as writers. We all grieved when Ann passed on.

Some of us have become published and others, I’m going to run out and buy a copy when they finally do. I still have online friends from that group, whose faces I’ll probably never see, but whose friendship means the world to me.

- Are you a member of any author groups - RWA, critique groups, etc.?

Yes, I am the 2007 chapter president of the East Texas RWA Chapter.

- What do you think of critique groups in general?

I love critique groups. If done right, with a supportive group of people, they are an amazing boost to your writing career.

- Where do you see yourself in five years?

Hopefully, not as a grandmother. No, really. My kids are High School age teens. By then they should be graduated in college and/or in decent promotable jobs. Since I’m single again, I’d love to start traveling some, having some adventures of my own away from home.

- How long have you been writing - have you always wanted to be a writer?

I’ve been writing or making up stories in my head almost as long as I can remember. As a child, I’d write little plays and my sister and I would put on productions for parents. In school, I liked writing reports a heck of a lot more than learning math. In my twenties, I did a lot of GM’ing (game master- person who runs the adventure in a role playing game) for my RPG buddies. I loved making up detailed storylines and throwing out social and emotional problems for my players to overcome as much as hunting down the gold and slaying the monsters. So yes, having a few of my stories published is a life long dream come true.

- How many books have you written, how many have been published?

I have around six books written. The three Blue-Collar books have been published. (Book three, Making Tracks, is almost out.) I’m now rewriting one of the ones stashed ‘in the closet’. I’d always wanted to go back and do my story about the goblins rights movement justice. (I bet you couldn’t read that with a straight face, could you?) Seriously, the characters and the world were fun to create the first go around. This time, I’m having fun with the story and plot. Hopefully, readers will enjoy it.

- After you've written your book and it's been published, do you ever buy it and/or read it?

Since I’m writing series, I do go back and reread my books. I don’t want to make any stupid mistakes like forgetting an ex or past event. Believe me, readers who follow a series will remember. I do.

- Among your own books, have you a favorite book? Favorite hero or heroine?

My favorite book is a fantasy novel that has not been published. And it won’t without trashing it and starting over. I wrote and rewrote (and rewrote some more) that book during the years of learning the do’s and don’ts of novel writing.
Gisane, the heroine of that book, and I traveled a long road together on the road to me being published. So, I have the fondest (and most frustrating) memories while writing that story.

- What book for you has been the easiest to write? The hardest? The most fun?

PMSing, was the easiest. I already knew what I wanted to do with the characters. Plus, I wanted to try a new outline chart for a workshop my writers group was giving, so I used PMSing as a test. The outline chart worked great, and since I was on a deadline for the workshop, I got a lot of work done on the book very fast.

Weremones was the hardest, mostly because of the anxiety factor. I really didn’t have a clue. All the editors at NCP were wonderful. Jeri especially, since with her help, I culled out about 25 pages of sludge.

So far, Making Tracks has been the most fun. Mark, the ADHD werewolf was a blast to write about. Though, I suspect my current ms will replace that spot soon enough.

- What sets the book apart from the other things you have written?

Making Tracks has a different kind of hero than my other works. Mark isn’t the dark and brooding type of character. He’s almost, but not quite, a beta type hero. He’s a just a guy who wants the girl. I like to say that Mark isn’t deep, he’s fun. He’s an oddball that doesn’t like to play by the normal rules. But that’s not true. He’s deeper than he thinks he is, or any one else thinks either. He also has a great respect for the authority figures in his life. When his worst nightmare comes back to haunt him, it throws him off big time. But being the true hero he is, Mark overcomes in his own, slightly off way.

- In what way is it similar?

The characters and the world are all familiar to readers who have been following the Blue-Collar Werewolf books. All of the books have an element of small town everyday to them. All of the heroes are super-natural blue-collar alpha heroes. They have problems in both the supernatural and the everyday world to balance and overcome. Since each of the characters are different people, I think that each of the books will have their own feel.

- What will your next book be about?

Right now I am in the middle of writing two books. Another Blue-Collar Werewolf book and another paranormal. My fourth installment of the Blue-Collar Werewolf Series is about Chase, warden and protector of the pack, first introduced in Weremones. Both of the mysterious wardens Chase and Tank will have their own books. So plan on finding out more about them in future books.

- What would you say has been your most significant achievement as a writer?

Finishing and having my first novel, Weremones, published. I’m still amazed at it all.

- How did you get there?

Lots of hard work and perseverance. Studying every book and article on writing that I could get my hands on. Even now, going back and refreshing some of those grammar rules. Writing a book isn’t a hobby, it’s a second full time job.

- Which comes first, the story, the characters, or the setting?

I suppose the setting would be first, because I already know where my characters are when I start. I think that world-building is a very important first step, especially in fantasy or paranormal. In my genre, often the setting has as much detail and work as your characters and plot. In the Blue-Collar world, I have detailed rules on pack order, who knows about the supernatural and how they have affected normal history. I have alternate explanations of historical events, such as the Witch Trials. In my newest ms, featuring the goblins rights movement (snickered again, didn’t you?), the world is one where the supernatural lives out in the open with normal humans. Something like that puts a different spin on The Civil War and every other major event even if the outcome is the same. That type of setting has every influence on the plot and how the characters develop.

- What are the elements of a great romance for you?

A likable and sympathetic heroine. I dislike whiners in a heroine. A hero who is strong enough to lean on, but has emotional depth too. And yes, men can be deep, just in a different way than women. Conflict, emotional and physical. I don’t require a sweeping saga. Often, I like to read the small Harlequin paperbacks and Super Romances. For me that is like watching TV. But without a likeable heroine and a heroic hero, the story just falls flat for me.

- What is the hardest part of writing/the easiest for you?

The rough draft is the easiest for me. I just write until the end. After the draft is done, it’s the editing process that is hardest for me.
The first pass, I break out the chapters and straighten out the plot where it may have wandered off into left field. Spell and grammar check! The second pass, I concentrate on the characters and how they developed. Spell and grammar check! Then I send my baby to be read by one of my guinea pigs readers for content. Third pass, I take go in line by line to see what may need to be described better.

- Are you in control of your characters or do they control you?

My characters and I have a give and take relationship. I control the world-building and the evil, dastardly things they must go through. They deal with my nefarious plots to keep the hero and heroine apart.

- Have you experienced writer's block---> If so, how did you work through it?

When my husband and I first separated, I went through months where I could not manage to keep the plot straight in my head, much less on paper/computer. I couldn’t fathom not being able to write, so I made sure that I wrote at least one poem a month, good or not. I think the major part of writer’s block is the fear that the page will always be blank. That our muse has packed her bags and left the building for good.

I’d write in a journal, anything to show myself that I still had words inside me even if they weren’t part of the ms I wanted to complete. When my stress levels went down the words came again and I was able to start building my stories again.

- What is the most rewarding thing about being a writer?

Being able to share my stories with other people and opening up other worlds to them.

- If you weren't writing, what would you be doing?

Taking anti-depressants. Actually, writing keeps me grounded and keeps the day to day routine from becoming a rut.

- Are there any words of encouragement for unpublished writers?

Don’t let anyone belittle your writing. No matter what stage you are at, the fact that you are writing makes you a writer. If publication is your goal, keep at it. Read and learn everything you can to grow into a publishable writer. Anything is possible if you are willing to work for it.

Thank you very much for taking the time with us and answering our questions. I really appreciate this interruption to your busy schedule. Good Luck, and we will be looking forward to the next delightful creation from your talented imagination!

Yours in good reading,
Rose!

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