Interview with Author Meredith Spies:
Hi Meredith. 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 as we possibly can, like your pseudonym Meredith Holmes, so lets get started...
- Please tell us about your latest book.
Unseelie is actually the product of a NaNoWriMo effort that just kept growing long after the event was over for that year (2005). It's a fantasy-romance that isn't the typical bodice ripper; the heroine, Alfhild, is pretty snarky and verges on klutzy and has a strong sense of denial while Cadfael seems like a traditional hero but we find out soon enough that he's got his share of some pretty heavy secrets to deal with, especially when it comes to Alfhild.
- What can we expect from you in the future?
More romance novels most likely! I'm working on a collection of horror-themed short stories right now and have a Steampunk romance in the works as well as another novel about faeries, but this one is set in a world far different than the one of Unseelie.
- How do we find out about you and your books?
You can visit www.drolleriepress.com and check out the authors page or visit my blog at www.meredithholmes.com. I also have a myspace, a live journal and a face book! All under the name Meredith Holmes.
- How may readers contact you?
meri.holmes@gmail.com or by commenting on one of the blogs.
- How many readers/fans contact you?
Well, the book is just now coming out so not many yet but I have high hopes!
- Do your fans' comments and letters influence you in any way?
The ones I've received definitely influence me--it's really great to know what works, what doesn't, and what people want to see more of in their fiction.
- Why did you decide to write romance novels?
I used to be very anti-romance novel, mainly because I encounted a spate of very bad ones published in the 80's and early 90's. I couldn't get into them and I didn't want to read anything about the perfect, red-haired orphan with gray eyes and a heart shaped face and her secret baby/domineering boss/modeling career/big hair/whatnot one more time. "I can do better than that," I thought and forced myself to write something I would want to read as a romance reader. I liked the idea of romance novels but I just hadn't found one that I really enjoyed reading until I started making myself write something I thought would be good. I started researching romance more and found out there's an entire world of romance novels out there, not just the boilerplate stuff I found in the high school library.
- How much of your personality and life experiences are in your writing?
It depends; there's influence from experiences that show up mainly because we have all felt sad, angry, betrayed, happy, et cetera, so I draw on those to flesh out what my characters are feeling or doing. However, I avoid transposing my own experiences or the experiences of friends and family directly into my characters. It's too personal.
- When did you first think about writing and what prompted you to submit your first ms?
I've always loved writing, mainly because, as a kid, I had an overactive imagination. My mom and my maternal-grandmother encouraged me to write (I think they just wanted some peace and quiet) and I went from scribbling down scenes for my imaginary friends to writing stories. The first ms I submitted was ages ago and it was soundly rejected by a few publishers. That was really scary and disheartening for me because I took it too personally. I submitted what I thought was a solid, gold-standard story after some friends encouraged me to do so. I just wasn't ready for constructive criticism then (I was only 19 years old at that point).
- Generally, how long does it take you to write a book?
It depends. Unseelie took a while because it was three novellas to start with, self published via lulu.com. Even as I had them on that site I was working in them some more, smoothing out rough edges and slowly meshing them together. Right now, a novel I have almost completed has taken about two months and I'm sure it will be even a bit longer while I go back over everything and begin self-editing before I'm comfortable submitting it for consideration.
- Do you have a set schedule for writing or do you just go with the flow?
I try to schedule my writing like a job. If I say "Well, I'll write x amount of words today, whenever," I get distracted from the work and end up disappointed at the end of the day. If I say "From 8 am to noon, I'll work on this novel, then from two to six I'll work on that novel", I find it goes more smoothly and I have better success in self-editing and working on story elements.
- What is your writing routine once you start a book?
I keep notebooks where I write down plot ideas, character ideas (I give them a full bio before I start a story), world building, fact checking. Each novel has one. I don't always stick to the ideas I start with but it gives me something to work from in the early days. I start typing out ideas and saving them as different version, seeing which one "clicks" and which ones just don't grab me. When I find something that works, I take my notebook and go, writing until I get a chapter, then doing it all over again!
- What about your family, do they know not to bother you when you are writing - or are there constant interruptions?
There's some interruptions, to be honest, but nothing I can't deal with for the most part. I'm lucky in that the schedules in my household allow me a lot of "quiet time" for writing.
- What do you do to relax and recharge your batteries?
I read! I'm also a belly dancer with a fabulous troupe in my hometown and we perform often and get together to hang out and that's a lifesaver sometimes. I also like to just hang out at home and relax with loved ones and the animals.
- What truly motivates you in general? In your writing?
In general? Doing well, making myself proud before anyone else and knowing that what I do both as a writer and as a person is fulfilling and maybe touching someone's life. As a writer, the need to create motivates me. I have so many ideas I just am dying to get on paper that it's crazy sometimes; if I don't write them down I'm afraid I'll forget them so that's a motivator.
- Where do your ideas come from?
Mythology, legends, my own overactive imagination!
- Do you feel humour is important in women's fiction and why?
Definitely; I think that, for a while there, fiction aimed at women was too geared towards serious things and ignored that women can laugh and we can often do it in very trying circumstances. Not everything in a woman's life is serious business and having a touch of humor, even in a very intense story, can really keep things from getting too heavy and self-serious.
- What are your thoughts on love scenes in romance novels, do you find them difficult to write?
At first I found them extremely difficult, knowing that people I know would be reading them! I hated thinking of my mom or friends going "Wow, has she done that? Ew!" But as I wrote more, even before I started submitting to publishers, I came to the realization that, if the writing is good, no one will think of the author doing those things but the characters being in love or being intimate.
- What kind of research do you do?
Depending on the story, I read up on historic events, scientific elements, mythology, faerie tales... I do a lot of fact-checking and cross-referencing because I don't want to get something really wrong and I don't want to inadvertantly make my story silly.
- Would you like to write a different genre than you do now, or sub-genre?
I'm working on some horror themed stuff right now, which is a genre I enjoy reading but haven't really written a lot of yet. It's a stretch--it's one thing to read something horror-themed and another to write it entirely!
- Please tell us about yourself (family, hobbies, education, etc.)
Right now I have a circle of wonderful chosen family as well as blood family that's very supportive and diverse, not to mention two kitties and a chinchilla with an attitude problem! I'm a belly dancer with Khandroma, Houston's Premiere Gothic Belly Dance troupe and those ladies are sisters to me (even our distance-dancer in Germany!) I also am finishing graduate school in women's and cultural studies (my master's degree) and really looking forward to expanding not only the troupe's visibility but writing more and building that part of my world!
- Fill in the blank favorites -
Favorite dessert? Hmm, that varies, lol! I'm not much of a "sweets" person but I love a good flan or tiramisu.
City? Oy. So many. Paris, Berlin, a small town where one of my dearest friends lives in Germany, Seattle, New Orleans, my home town, San Antonio...so many! They're all favorites for different reasons.
Season: I love autumn. Especially when it's turning into winter. Autumn and winter are my two favorites because I love the dark time of year when change is imminent.
Type of Hero: Geeky! I love me a geek! Not a nerd--nerds have no social graces, as one of my friends says. I like a smart, funny, maybe not conventionally handsome hero.
Type of heroine: Funny, snarky, smart, not a stereotypical waif waiting to be rescued or bailed out of a situation by the hero. A woman who can take care of herself.
- What are some of your favorite things to do?
I love to dance, cook, go to museums, travel, read, hang out with my friends, see movies... I'm a pretty laid back person really.
- Do you have a favorite author? Favorite book?
There's so many authors I love that I can't name one favorite. I love Jim Butcher's Dresden Files books, Charlaine Harris' Southern Vampire and Harper Connelly books, Eloisa James, Laura Kinsale, Lois McMaster Bujold and her Vorkosigan books... I am also a huge Austen fan and love Keats' poetry and Byron's works as well.
- Who, if anyone, has influenced your writing?
No one specific but I do think that reading a lot of fantasy fiction as a kid and teenager helped influence me, and finding really good romance novels that weren't stereotypical bodice rippers (though I admit, those can be good too! sometimes you just want something...rippy).
- What do you think of critique groups in general?
I think they can be great tools for authors because they offer good, constructive crit (usually!) and are a very "safe space" without malice for an author to develop their skills and works.
- Where do you see yourself in five years?
Hopefully with several more books published and a few more feet running around the house!
- How long have you been writing - have you always wanted to be a writer?
Seems like forever! Writing has always been something I've considered but I never felt like I *could* be a writer until a few years ago when I realized life was way too short to regret not trying it out.
- How many books have you written, how many have been published?
I've written several books but one is published right now (Unseelie, with Drollerie Press). The others are in the process of revisioning and reworking to make them more reader-friendly.
- After you've written your book and it's been published, do you ever buy it and/or read it?
I re-read it off and on, especially if I'm writing in the same world. I don't obsess over it though.
- Among your own books, have you a favorite book? Favorite hero or heroine?
I think the first Unseelie was my favorite, when it was a novella. Mainly because that was my NaNoWriMo success and it made me feel so accomplished, like a "real writer" to see all the pages done and together. But Unseelie as a whole, all three together as it's being published by Drollerie, is far and away my favorite! It's beautifully done with the artwork and touches by Deena Fisher and the crew there and I'm just constantly amazed that "I wrote that!".
- What book for you has been the easiest to write? The hardest? The most fun?
The hardest one is my steampunk romance; it's difficult keeping the science fact straight from science fiction when the line between the two is so easily blurred. The easiest was Unseelie because it was so fresh in my mind and I just sat down and wrote. I didn't have a full time schedule then outside of writing so I had all the time in the world to just park myself and go for it. The most fun? Well, they're all fun when they're being written!
- Which comes first, the story, the characters or the setting?
For me, it depends. Sometimes I'll get an idea for a heroine or hero and this story will build around them, springing up like a weed. Other times I'll think of a setting, a world or a place and wonder "What goes on here? What would be interesting to find out about in this place?"
- What are the elements of a great romance for you?
Well, I'm kind of old fashioned in that respect! I love some good, unresolved sexual tension (at first, anyway! It's always good for that to get resolved eventually!) and conflict, but not overdone conflict where you just want to shake the characters and ask "what is WRONG with you?". I like a good, solid setting, something that is almost tangible, a lot of description. But what's most important for me in a romance is passion. If there's no passion in the story, it will never keep my interest.
- What is the hardest part of writing/the easiest for you?
The hardest part for me is finishing a story. I keep thinking "then xyz happens, then that happens and then THAT happens..." and I have to remind myself that the story needs to end at an organic point and not just go on forever, to leave something for the readers' imaginations. The easiest is building the characters and giving them 'life', so to speak.
- Are you in control of your characters or do they control you?
That's a hard one! It feels like it goes both ways! Sometimes I'll be writing and think "Wow, why did so and so do THAT?" and realize that wait, I'm the one writing, not the characters and go back to make it work. I think the characters controlling the author is more of a subconscious thing, the subtle thoughts coming to the surface before you realize what's happening.
- Have you experienced writer's block---> If so, how did you work through it?
Oh yes, definitely. It's literally and figuratively a pain, especially when you have all these ideas you want to get down but they just won't happen. I try to walk away from the story that's being blocked and work on something else for a while. If that doesn't help, I walk away entirely, maybe for a day or two. Read some good books, veg out, go to a museum and just let myself relax and not obsess over the blocking.
- What is the most rewarding thing about being a writer?
Seeing what you've written in print, whether it's e-format or paper. It's like seeing your baby, this creation out there in the world and it's scary and exciting all at once, knowing you've made this work of art.
- If you weren't writing, what would you be doing?
I'd love to be a museum curator--I was an anthropology undergrad and adore museums.
- Are there any words of encouragement for unpublished writers?
Don't take rejection personally--it's not you and you haven't failed, you don't suck and neither does your work. Take the rejection and use it objectively, se what can be changed in your work without altering your story and the integrity and try, try again.
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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RaH Links: Review Coming Soon
Buy Author's Books at Drollerie Press