Interview with Author Resa Nelson:
Hi Resa. 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, so lets get started...
- Please tell us about your latest book.
The Dragonslayer’s Sword is a medieval fantasy about Astrid, a female blacksmith who knows the secret technique for making swords for dragonslayers. Her longtime sweetheart is DiStephan, the local dragonslayer. When he goes missing unexpectedly, no one wants to think the worst. His disappearance launches Astrid on an adventure that forces her to question every relationship in her life. Who are her real friends? Who will stand by her in times of need and who will fail her? Ultimately, her task is to learn that before you can stand up inside your own skin, you must decide who you are – and her sweetheart plays a major role in helping her.
- What can we expect from you in the future?
The Dragonslayer’s Sword is the first in a series. I’m currently writing Book 2, called The Iron Maiden, which has nothing to do with the medieval torture device! Also, a standalone novel called Our Lady of the Absolute has just been accepted for publication and should come out in Summer 2010. Our Lady of the Absolute is a modern-day story that’s heavily influenced by ancient Egypt. It’s about Meres, a childless woman who lives in a society where having children is prized above all, so she feels like a failure. Her beloved sister-in-law is a member of the Pharaoh’s harem and is bound by law to be faithful to him. When Meres learns that her sister-in-law has become pregnant by another man—thus committing treason against the Pharaoh and therefore the entire country—Meres must choose between her love for her sister-in-law and her loyalty to her gods, her Pharaoh, and her country.
- How do we find out about you and your books?
You can visit my website at resanelson.com. The Dragonslayer’s Sword is based on two published short stories, both of which were recommended for the Nebula Award. The first story (also called "The Dragonslayer’s Sword") ranked #2 in a Readers Top Ten poll. You can read this short story for free on my website. There’s also a lot of information about the research I did.
- How may readers contact you?
My email address is ContactResa@aol.com.
- How many readers/fans contact you?
Not a lot, but several readers have signed up for my monthly e-newsletter. Anyone who wants to do so can send a message to ContactResa@aol.com with “newsletter” in the subject line or the message.
- Do your fans' comments and letters influence you in any way?
Yes! Sometimes very much so. Although my novels are intended for adults, a lot of teenagers are interested in my work. I went on a 3-week tour to promote The Dragonslayer’s Sword in October, and one of my presentations was for teens at a library. Afterwards, one of the teenage boys in the audience shared some things he’s learned about the Middle Ages and his theory on how people might go about killing dragons. Although his theory isn’t something that my main character would do, I quickly realized that other characters might, so I asked if I could use his ideas. He gave me permission and told me he expects to see them in an upcoming novel. At this stage, I think I’m going to be using his ideas in Book 2!
- Do you have a favorite comment or question from a reader?
After meeting and talking with a teenage girl and her mother at a book signing, I went home to discover an email message from the mother. She said that her family was driving home from the event, and she couldn’t tell me what her daughter thought of my novel (which she was reading in the back seat of the car), because every time the mother asked, her daughter replied by grunting, fully immersed in my novel. That’s one of the highest compliments I could ever hope for.
- Why did you decide to write romance novels?
I don’t write pure romance. Instead, I blend romance with other genres. For example, The Dragonslayer’s Sword is a mix of medieval fantasy, action/adventure, mystery, and romance. I see love and romance as a part of everyday life, so why wouldn’t I include them in my novels? I suspect this goes back to falling in love with romantic comedies when I was growing up. All of the old Doris Day comedies are lined up on a bookshelf in my home alongside modern day romantic comedies like My Best Friend’s Wedding.
- How much of your personality and life experiences are in your writing?
Lots. I write about strong women who have strong opinions. My main character is almost always a woman, and she’s never one to sit around and wait for life to happen to her. Instead, she makes her own decisions and takes action. My novels and short stories are almost always the result of something that happened in my life or about something I’ve learned or care about deeply.
- When did you first think about writing and what prompted you to submit your first ms?
I knew I wanted to be a writer when I was in the Second Grade. As soon as I learned how to write words and sentences, I began writing my own stories. By the time I was 13, I submitted my first short story to a magazine—and got my first rejection slip. I’ve “given up” on writing several times, but I always come back to it.
- Generally, how long does it take you to write a book?
The actual writing of a book typically takes 9 months. But before I start writing, I figure out the story and then I do research. Every writer works differently, and I need to understand the novel as if it’s something that has already happened to me before I start writing.
- Do you have a set schedule for writing or do you just go with the flow?
It varies from project to project. Mostly, it depends on what else is happening in my life at the time I’m writing. I like writing short chapters, because I love reading books with short chapters. I may only write two or three days each week, but I’ll write a chapter a day. I also walk a couple of miles each day, and it’s when I go walking that I think through exactly what I want to accomplish with the next chapter and how it might play out. Then, when I write it, I have a good road map in my head of what I want to do.
- What is your writing routine once you start a book?
Again, it varies. I wake up when the sun rises, whether I want to or not—I’m just wired that way. I’m sharpest at the beginning of the day, and I’m dragging by afternoon. For that reason, I almost always write in the morning. Again, I typically write just a few days each week, because I spend most of my “writing” time walking and thinking about what’s about to happen next in the novel.
- What do you do to relax and recharge your batteries?
I’m a movie freak. I love to sit back, relax, and enjoy somebody else’s hard work. My local video store has a 2-for-1 rental day, so every Monday I rent two movies I haven’t seen and watch them on Monday and Tuesday night. I see movies in theaters at least once a month. I’m also a big fan of museums.
- Where do your ideas come from?
Life experience. Ideas are everywhere, but I’m not going to write a novel unless I come up with an idea for a story that I feel passionate about. I have to love the characters and the journey they’re going to take with my whole heart, because I’m traveling on that journey with them. One of my fortes is coming up with good ideas, and I think that goes back to my childhood experience in a summer writing school (which was actually a teacher training program in Language Arts—they needed children as guinea pigs). But having a good idea is just the catalyst. It’s what you do with that idea that matters.
- Do you feel humour is important in women's fiction and why?
Absolutely. An ex-boyfriend once told me that if you’re writing anything serious, it’s important to balance it with as much humor as you can muster. Otherwise, you risk writing melodrama. I think that’s true, so I’m constantly looking for every opportunity to inject humor into my work.
- What are your thoughts on love scenes in romance novels, do you find them difficult to write?
I don’t write sex scenes, because I’m more interested in how my characters treat each other in everyday life. I focus more on love than romance. For my money, anyone can talk a good game, but it’s the man who walks the talk that gets my attention. I swoon when a male character shows kindness and genuine caring.
- What kind of research do you do?
I do lots of book research, but I especially like doing physical research. For example, Astrid is a female blacksmith. Before I started writing the novel, I thought, how can I possibly write about a blacksmith unless I learn how to do it myself? So I took a 10-week course in blacksmithing, which was helpful in both expected and unexpected ways. I also felt that just reading about medieval weapons wasn’t enough—I needed hands-on experience. I considered taking a course in sport fencing (and I did end up studying foil fencing for a year), but I also discovered that a nearby museum offers courses in historically accurate techniques for using medieval weapons. I took some courses at that museum, joined its sword guild, studied weapons with the guild, and became a weapons demonstrator at the museum!
- Would you like to write a different genre than you do now, or sub-genre?
I experiment all the time. Like a lot of writers, I write what I want to read. My first published short story was a mystery. I’ve sold a lot of science fiction, fantasy, and horror short stories. My most recent novel, Our Lady of the Absolute, is very close to being mainstream. I’ve always wanted to take a shot at writing a Stephen King-like novel like Salem’s Lot or The Shining, but I’ve never come up with a good idea for one.
- Please tell us about yourself (family, hobbies, education, etc.)
My degrees are in Education and Sociology. When I was growing up, I knew I wanted to do one of three things: write novels, dance in Broadway musicals, or be a concert pianist. Because writing is what I love the most, it won. But I’ve studied dance all my life and have learned most forms of dance from ballet to jazz to tap to ballroom. One dance that I don’t already know and want to learn is flamenco. I live near Boston, so I go into town as often as possible to go to the museums, see the Boston Ballet perform, and catch some musicals. The last one I saw was Wicked, and I’m hoping to see Dirty Dancing while it’s previewing in Boston before it goes to Broadway.
- Fill in the blank favorites -
Dessert. City. Season. Type of hero. Type of heroine...
I take dessert very, very seriously. Chocolate is The Most Important Thing In The World. I love bakeries and am always on the lookout for a good one. As much as I love Boston, I crave sunlight and heat, so I dream about someday living in Hawaii or some other tropical place. Obviously, this means my favorite season is summer, but I’ve learned to appreciate the change of seasons. I’m an amateur photographer, so I’m grateful for every opportunity to photograph the gorgeous fall foliage in New England. And I do love the history of the area. I think my favorite types of hero and heroines are the ones you least expect to step up to the plate and show courage and leadership.
- What are some of your favorite things to do?
I love getting up with the sun and spending the entire day at the beach doing nothing. I really love exercising—it charges my batteries for the day. I love swimming laps, because I can shut the entire world out and all that exists is the water and me moving through it. I love traveling to other countries with the intent of leaving my own culture behind and being open to whatever happens. I love hanging out with friends who make me laugh so hard that I cry.
- Do you have a favorite author? Favorite book?
For the past few years, I’ve been reading mostly mysteries. I love, love, love Harlan Coben’s work. His characters touch me. Their decisions and actions sometimes take my breath away. When I read, I’m making a decision about who I want to spend my time with, so I want to be with characters who are interesting people. One of my favorite Coben books is Tell No One”. And since childhood, I’ve been a big fan of Jane Austen.
- Who are some of your other favorite authors to read?
Scott Edelman writes mostly horror, and I’ve always loved his work. He writes mostly short stories. He’s always experimenting in a big, big way and is fearless about taking risks. I admire that greatly. Also, Mary Turzillo writes science fiction and fantasy (she won the Nebula Award for a novella called “Mars is No Place for Children”), and what I especially appreciate about her work is her sense of humor. When I’m lucky enough to be at one of her readings, I have to clap both hands over my mouth to keep from laughing too loud.
- Are you a member of any author groups - RWA, critique groups, etc.?
I’m a member of SFWA (Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America). I’m a Clarion SF Workshop graduate, and I’ve been in local critique groups for many, many years. Currently, I’m in one group, and we’re in the process of coming up with a new name for the group.
- What do you think of critique groups in general?
They can be dicey. There are two things I want to know when my work is critiqued. I want to know what works so I won’t edit it out. More important, I want to know everything that each person didn’t understand. What works best is when someone says, “When your character did this, I was surprised because the way you’ve set up this character made me think she’d do that instead.” This is helpful feedback. “Your character is an idiot” is not helpful. It conveys no information. For an unpublished writer who wants to become published, I think it’s critical to get in a group with people who write on a regular basis, who know how to give helpful feedback, and who are serious about their work. If you’re in a group where this isn’t true, my advice is to run for the hills.
- Where do you see yourself in five years?
My goal is to stay open to possibilities. Five years from now, I hope to have Book 2 and possibly Book 3 of the Dragonslayer series in print. Other than that, I haven’t a clue. But I’m also someone who likes to be surprised.
- How long have you been writing - have you always wanted to be a writer?
I started writing fiction when I was 8 or 9 years old, and I knew at that time that I wanted to be a writer.
- How many books have you written, how many have been published?
I’ve written four novels and am working on my fifth. The Dragonslayer’s Sword has been published, and Our Lady of the Absolute is scheduled for publication in 2010. The first novel I wrote initially sold, but the offer was withdrawn when the publishing house decided it was “too risky” to publish first novels. I was never able to sell that novel to anyone else, and I’ve decided that’s for the best. Because it was my first novel, I really didn’t know what I was doing. I’ve worked long and hard at my craft, so I now I have a pretty clear idea of what I want to do and how I want to accomplish it when I write a novel, but it’s taken me a long time to get to this point. My second novel didn’t sell, and I spent years trying to figure out why. I finally realized that I hadn’t given readers the context they needed to understand that novel! When I sat down and thought about how to provide that context, I realized that it would require writing a few other novels just to introduce and develop the concept. In other words, I realized that my second novel is actually the capstone novel in a series. I do plan to write the first books in that series, and then I’ll probably rework the novel I’ve already written.
- After you've written your book and it's been published, do you ever buy it and/or read it?
I read it twice. First, I read the galley before it’s published. When I read the galley for The Dragonslayer’s Sword, there was a moment toward the end of the book where I shouted in surprise. When I’d done the last polish of the book, I’d been unhappy with a specific scene and had made a minor change that felt right. But it had been about three years since I’d made that change, and I’d forgotten about it entirely. When I read it in the galley, I was so moved by something that my characters did that I almost cried. That was great. Right now, I’m keeping a copy of the published novel at hand as a reference while I’m writing the sequel. I read through it after it was published and made notes about the characters and the story. Right now, I have about 22 novels in my head that I want to write, but there’s only enough room in my brain to keep the details for just one book at a time.
- Among your own books, have you a favorite book? Favorite hero or heroine?
Writing Our Lady of the Absolute was the biggest risk I’ve ever taken in my life. I knew it would either succeed in a big way or fail in a big way. I had to consider how I’d feel if it failed and I ended up throwing away one or two years of work when I could have spent that time working on a “safer” novel. When I decided to go for it, that experience was liberating. For that reason, it’s my favorite novel and the four main characters in that novel are my favorite characters.
- Which comes first, the story, the characters or the setting?
It varies from book to book. For example, one day my best friend and I were talking about my Dragonslayer series, and he said, “You should call the sequel The Iron Maiden.” I immediately loved the title. I already had a general idea for what the story was going to be and the role that story plays in the series. But as much as I loved the title, I had no idea what it meant. I spent about a year doing some preliminary research and thinking about the title and the story. One day, I had a great idea for what the title means. But as I kept thinking about it, I realized the title has a deeper meaning, and all of a sudden a new and unexpected character materialized. When I think about the title and what it has come to mean, I feel very emotional—and that’s when I know I’ve got a good novel.
- Are you in control of your characters or do they control you?
Again, every writer is different and works differently. For me, that’s like saying, “Are you in control of your friends or do they control you,” which makes me cringe. In other words, my characters are very real to me, and they’re my friends. I work in a very organic way, and my characters and I often work together. When they know what’s going to happen next, they drive. When they feel like sitting in the backseat and listening to the radio, I drive.
- Have you experienced writer's block---> If so, how did you work through it?
To me, that’s a really misleading term. I always listen to my intuition when I’m writing. Sometimes my intuition says, “Stop. Something’s wrong.” My job is to listen to my intuition and stop and then figure out what’s wrong. For example, I’m working on a chapter now where something just didn’t feel right, so I stopped for a few days and kept asking myself, “What exactly is it that feels out of kilter?” Because I kept asking myself this question—and considered different answers—I realized that my main character’s motivation for what she’s about to do next wasn’t strong enough. Once I realized that, it was quick and easy to come up with a better and more believable motivation for her. Along the same lines, when I had written about 100 pages of Our Lady of the Absolute, my intuition said, “Stop! You haven’t experienced enough to write any more.” I asked my intuition what to do, and it said, “Don’t write. Do something else.” So I stopped cold and just kept living my life … for the next year! Finally, I rented a documentary that changed the way I see a lot of things in everyday life. At that point, I realized that experience was what I’d been needing in order to write my book. I thought everything through for a few weeks and did a little bit a rewriting in the 100 pages I’d written, but I didn’t have to do much. Then I was off to the races. All in all, it took me 9 months to write that novel—but that meant that I wrote for two months, took a year off, and then wrote for seven months.
- What is the most rewarding thing about being a writer?
When I’m writing a novel, I feel pure joy. I feel like I’m doing what I’m supposed to be doing with my life.
- If you weren't writing, what would you be doing?
To me, writing is as important as breathing. So that’s like asking, “If you weren’t breathing, what would you be doing?” So my answer is, “Yikes!”
- Are there any words of encouragement for unpublished writers?
Sure. Over the years, I’ve learned that successful writers tend to do the following three things. (1) They work hard at their craft and never stop working at it. (2) They’re willing to make sacrifices and difficult decisions. (3) They refuse to give up.
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!
Resa's Website ContactResa@aol.com
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