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Lois Greiman is a multi-pubbed, award-winner author from Ana's home state, Minnesota. Her paranormal/historical, “Charming the Devil” hit bookstores in January, 2010.
Lois, thanks so much for being here today!
1. “Charming the Devil” is book 3 of the Witches of Mayfair series. Tell me more about the series.
The Witches of Mayfair series is about a coven of government witches in Regency London. Each book involves one of the women who lives in Lavender House and works for an agency that employees them to handle situations that can’t be dealt with by more conventional means.
2. You set your novels in palpably vivid settings. Do you research and build the story around specific details, or do you layer in details after a first draft?
The details come later for me. I’m a five draft writer, so with each pass the characters and settings become fleshed out. After the first draft I generally think, dear Lord in heaven, save me from myself. But eventually things smooth out and I begin to see some hope…usually.
3. Your heroes are strong, virile men--with backstory. Do you think there will there any difference between heroes in 2013 vs 1999? I ask because aspiring authors are writing with 2013 as our target?
Heros, and characters in general, will always change and evolve with society. As our mores and values flux, so does our fiction.
4. I have heard you speak of getting “the call” after persistence and a dash of “in your face.” What advice can you give on acquiring an agent or publisher?
Persistence is extremely important in this business. Granted, a little talent and luck are nice to have, too, but hard work is the backbone of getting published. So keep writing, meet people in the industry, go to conferences, keep honing your craft, exercise discipline, and eventually luck will find you.
5. Your very first novel was "Highland Jewel." If you were starting out now, would you e-publish “Highland Jewel?”
I’m still not very friendly with the techno universe. The printed page is my best friend. But I’m waiting to see where e-publishing goes. I’m certain it’ll be good for the environment to have less paper copies, and that’s always a positive thing, but for me the jury is still out as to whether or not it will be good for authors.
1. “Charming the Devil” is book 3 of the Witches of Mayfair series. Tell me more about the series.
The Witches of Mayfair series is about a coven of government witches in Regency London. Each book involves one of the women who lives in Lavender House and works for an agency that employees them to handle situations that can’t be dealt with by more conventional means.
2. You set your novels in palpably vivid settings. Do you research and build the story around specific details, or do you layer in details after a first draft?
The details come later for me. I’m a five draft writer, so with each pass the characters and settings become fleshed out. After the first draft I generally think, dear Lord in heaven, save me from myself. But eventually things smooth out and I begin to see some hope…usually.
3. Your heroes are strong, virile men--with backstory. Do you think there will there any difference between heroes in 2013 vs 1999? I ask because aspiring authors are writing with 2013 as our target?
Heros, and characters in general, will always change and evolve with society. As our mores and values flux, so does our fiction.
4. I have heard you speak of getting “the call” after persistence and a dash of “in your face.” What advice can you give on acquiring an agent or publisher?
Persistence is extremely important in this business. Granted, a little talent and luck are nice to have, too, but hard work is the backbone of getting published. So keep writing, meet people in the industry, go to conferences, keep honing your craft, exercise discipline, and eventually luck will find you.
5. Your very first novel was "Highland Jewel." If you were starting out now, would you e-publish “Highland Jewel?”
I’m still not very friendly with the techno universe. The printed page is my best friend. But I’m waiting to see where e-publishing goes. I’m certain it’ll be good for the environment to have less paper copies, and that’s always a positive thing, but for me the jury is still out as to whether or not it will be good for authors.
Lois is on a speaking/marketing tour today, but will be checking in to answer questions and comments.
She was born on a cattle ranch in central North Dakota where she learned to ride and spit with the best of them. After graduating from high school, she moved to Minnesota to train and show Arabian horses. But eventually she fell in love, became an aerobics instructor and gave birth to three of her best friends.
She sold her first novel to Avon Books in 1992 and has published more than twenty-five titles since then, including romantic comedy, historical romance, children’s stories, and her fun-loving Christina McMullen mysteries. A two-time Rita finalist, she has won such prestigious honors as Romantic Times Storyteller Of The Year, MFW’s Rising Star, RT’s Love and Laughter, the Toby Bromberg for most humorous mystery, and the LaVyrle Spencer Award. Her heroes have received K.I.S.S. recognition numerous times and her books have been seen regularly among the industries Top Picks!
Currently, she lives on the Minnesota tundra with her family, some of whom are human (she says).
Vist her website www.loisgreiman.com
She sold her first novel to Avon Books in 1992 and has published more than twenty-five titles since then, including romantic comedy, historical romance, children’s stories, and her fun-loving Christina McMullen mysteries. A two-time Rita finalist, she has won such prestigious honors as Romantic Times Storyteller Of The Year, MFW’s Rising Star, RT’s Love and Laughter, the Toby Bromberg for most humorous mystery, and the LaVyrle Spencer Award. Her heroes have received K.I.S.S. recognition numerous times and her books have been seen regularly among the industries Top Picks!
Currently, she lives on the Minnesota tundra with her family, some of whom are human (she says).
Vist her website www.loisgreiman.com
I'm interested in your 'five draft writer' comment, Lois. Please can you tell us what you do or look for in each draft?
ReplyDeleteHey Paula, I'm the kind of writer who does the first draft really fast. It's really kind of a brain dump. I rush through it so that my internal editor can't think too hard while I get down the bones of the plot. By the time I have 300 realllllly sucky pages I usually have some kind of sense of who my people are. So the second draft is fleshing them out. By the third draft things are starting to look a little better, I hope. That's when I begin making things make sense, filling in the whys and the hows, fleshing out the scenery. I generally read the fourth draft out loud to myself to get a feel for the rythmn and flow. The fifth draft is simply technical...typos, grammar...that sort of thing.
ReplyDeleteThis is pretty much how I've always written. I have to warn you that sometimes it works better than other. :)
Hope this helps.
Thanks, Lois, I find it really interesting to find out how other writers work. It seems that there as any many methods as there are writers!
ReplyDeleteBest wishes
Hey, Lois,
ReplyDeleteWhat are some MAJOR changes in the publishing business have you seen since being published in 1992? Are they better or worse, in your opinion of course? Thanks.