Lori Devoti, paranormal romance and urban fantasy author

I could really go for a Twinkie right now…anyone else?

Maybe I’ll try those Pudgefree Brownies instead….

Lori

What with printing and binding ARCs of my new release and finishing up a couple of proposals, I’ve gotten a bit behind in blogging. To make up for it, I’ve got a great interview today with Shelley Bradley. In addition to being a writer, Shelley is the creator of plotting parties–an idea I just LOVE. So, here you go…

Q: In November Karin Tabke stopped by my email loop, plotspot–and did a presentation on plotting parties. She said they were your baby. Where did you get the idea, and how do you use them? Can you share a success story or two?

SB: You know, it’s been so long, I don’t remember exactly how the idea came about. I know my critique group at the time (4 of us) plotted together during out usual 2-3 hours together bi-weekly and it wasn’t enough. It may have been born out of that frustration. I just know that the first time we got together in a hotel room for a day and a half, we all came away with useful plots and had a great time doing it.

Typically, we’d draw names to see who would go first. From there, it differed. Some people only came with ideas. Others came with plots half or mostly formed and just wanted help fleshing out. 3 of the 4 of us used storyboards and would fill it in as things were discussed and decisions made. We eventually got so proficient at it that we’d start on a Sunday morning at 9 and finish by 5 that day and have anywhere from 4-6 plots either mostly or wholly completed. My
preference, however, is to allow a bit more time. Getting some fun in-between the hard work of plotting actually makes things flow a bit more easily. Weekend parties are the best! Bring wine and snacks and be prepared to work hard.

Once we started doing these several times a year and writing the resulting stories, the 4 of us collectively sold over 30 books in the next 4 years. Once things started clicking, we were all on a roll!

Q: Left to your own devices, would you call yourself a plotter or a panster?

SB: When I very first started writing, I was a panster all the way. Now, I’m the polar opposite. I know 90% of my plot before I ever begin putting words to page. I find there’s 3 advantages to this:

1. From a practical standpoint, I think it’s easier to sell on synopsis and develop your editor’s trust if you’re able to fully explain the book you plan to deliver.
2. Knowing where you’re going frees you up to focus on the finer elements of the book: character, description, dialogue, wordsmithing. When I write a first draft, I’m at that level because I’m not trying to decide if I want event A or event B to happen and what the repercussions of that choice will be. A lot of writers say that once they know the story totally, they feel like it’s been told and they don’t want to write it. I look at that as, I know the story but no one else does, and since I know it, I can concentrate on making it the best possible so it’s ready to share.
3. I’m extremely time-challenged. Lots going on in my life! I don’t have time to write and re-write and re-write. I don’t do multiple drafts of a book. I write it, polish it, send it out for critique, read it one more time, then send it to my editor. I don’t ever re-write a whole scene, much less a chapter or more because I’ve already determined the outcome and point of every scene, cut anything extraneous, saw where I could add more for some oomph–all in the plotting process. I do make a few modifications as I go, but usually to logistical things, rather than overall plot itself. The result? In the 11 books I’ve turned in over the course of my career, I’ve done 4 hours of revisions for my editors total, all books combined. For me, once I type The End, I want the book to be over and ensuring a tight plot in advance, getting my editor’s buy in, then delivering what I promised generally ensures that I don’t do much in the way of revisions.

Q: Can you tell us about your newest release, Bound and Determined?

SB: Wanted for kidnapping:
To prove her brother innocent of embezzling three million dollars, Kerry Sullivan abducts hunk-of-the-month computer security expert Rafe Dawson. The attraction between them sizzles, resulting in a deal: the price of his services in exchange for hers. After forty-eight hours of Kerry’s passionate surrender, infectious optimism and unwavering loyalty, Rafe is emotionally alive for the first time in his life. But can he win the girl once her brother is freed, the real embezzler is caught and their deal expires?

BOUND AND DETERMINED is my first contemporary, so I’m really thrilled to be doing something so different for me and so fun. I’ve received lots of rave reviews and am writing more books in the series–and having a great time doing it.

Q: Your tagline is “Sizzle from the Heart”. Is that the common thread in all your books? What can readers expect?

SB: Absolutely a common thread. Readers who dive into my books can expect steamy reads with a lot of emotion because, as a reader myself, that’s my favorite sort of book. The rest–whether it’s suspenseful, funny, poignant, otherworldly, etc. is only the back drop. I feel that my job is not just to entertain, but to evoke emotions in the reader, so I construct plots around that goal.

Q: What do you love about being an author? What could you do without?

SB: What do I love about being an author and what could I do without? The writing… It just depends on what day you ask me (g). I love that I can create people and situations and worlds and make it whatever I want it to be. But sometimes, the worry that it’s not coming out right or it could be better conveyed make owning your world stressful.

Q: Any new projects on the horizon? What would you like to try next?

SB: I have several projects on the horizon. The follow up to BOUND AND DETERMINED is called STRIP SEARCH and will be out in July. I’ll follow that up with my first trade paperback erotic romance, tentatively titled GOOD TO BE BAD. It’s due out next January. I’m hoping to continue both of these series later in 2007 and into 2008. I should know more soon.

Q: And finally, where can readers find your books?

SB: At their local or online bookstores, definitely Waldenbooks, Borders, Barnes & Noble or their online outlets. Chapters in Canada is carrying them, I’m told. For readers in Australia and the UK, Rendezvous Bookstore has you covered.

From Publisher’s Lunch

Alexandre Dumas’s newly discovered lost novel THE LAST CAVALIER: Being
the Adventures of the Count of Sainte-Hermine in the Age of Napoleon,
which Dumas completed during the last year of his life (1870), and the
long-missing third part of a trilogy chronicling the trials and
tribulations of a band of aristocratic adventurers during the
Revolutionary Terror and the Napoleonic wars, to Claiborne Hancock at
Pegasus, for publication in fall 2006.

I love Dumas, but there has to be a story here. A novel that has been hidden for over 100 years??? Anyone hear about this?

Lori

So tonight a new American Idol season starts. It’s the audition show, which isn’t my favorite, but I’ll probably watch it. It’s two hours long though which means it overlaps with Supernatural. That can be picked up on reruns–or more likely I’ll record it with my DVR and watch American Idol. Oh, and then after that, is the premiere of Love Monkey. Anyone planning on watching that? I am not a big Jason Priestly fan, but I do like Tom Cavanaugh. I will definitely give it a shot. :)

Lori

So, I went to lunch with a friend of mine today who recently sold her first book. As part of her prep, she has been cruising web sites looking for ideas. Well, when she hit mine she showed her husband the picture of me with my pet pig Toadstool. (star of Love is All You Need) She said he was rolling on the floor laughing. Now I realize that most people don’t have pet pigs, but is it THAT strange? And a lot of people have potbellied pigs–maybe not Hampshire hogs, but still… I told her to tell him I had a duck named Spud and a pony named Wishbone too.

I am sure someone out there can beat this line up. What pets did you have as a child? (Oh, I should probably mention my turtle and black snake too…)

Lori

I’m done with my galleys. I hate reading galleys. No matter how much you like the book, by the time the galleys arrive you are just sick of reading the thing. Plus you always find nit picky little things–change? don’t change? At the galley stage it is supposed to only be corrections–so your choices are limited. Funny how things slip by time after time. Luckily nothing major this time. Yay!

Off to Fed Ex tomorrow!! Now where are my Rita books. I’m ready to do some judging. :)

Lori

Did you read this book? Does this tick you off?

Lori

Lara Rios is part of Your Virtual Book Bag with me and her new book is out this month. It really appeals to me. It’s chick lit, which I like, and it’s different. The protagonist is Mexican-American. I took a ton of Spanish in college and even studied in Mexico one summer. BTW, my Spanish is dreadful. Anyway, love Latin music and the culture.

Here’s the blurb from Lara’s site:

“One’s ethnicity should be a given, but for Marcela Alvarez who was born into a Mexican-American family and has been accused one too many times of not being Mexican enough, the challenge becomes, how do you become more Latina?

Well, there are many ways to approach this goal and Marcela, being a creative Hollywood animator, figures she will have no problem devising ten easy steps to make her into a model Latina.

However, when she reaches for the ten easiest clichés rather than ten real steps, all she gets is a domino effect of one disaster after another.”

This sounds like a must read for me. I’m going to look for it on my next trip to Borders. In the meantime–anyone read it yet?

Oh, and for an excerpt go here.

Back to the interviews! I have four planned for this month. First up is Debra Parmley. Debra is in RWAonline with me and is also a finalist in American Title II. Welcome, Debra!!

Q: First tell us about your book.

DP: Desperate Journey is a western historical romance set in 1867 along the old Chisholm Trail.
Sally Wheeler travels to Texas to find and retrieve her son from the husband who stole him and abandoned her on their failing Kansas farm. She learns he has another wife and her marriage is a sham.

Rob has thought of nothing for the last seven years except balancing the scales of justice on Luke Wheeler, the man who sent him to prison for a crime he didn’t commit.

Believing Sally will lead him to Luke, Rob follows her. When she discovers this, she asks him to travel with her. She’ll stop at nothing to find her son, even traveling with a handsome maverick bent on revenge.
Through the dangerous journey, Sally and Rob learn to respect each other. Love grows. But Rob is torn. Love for Sally puts his plans for revenge at risk. If he kills Luke, can he ever win her heart? And Sally doubts her ability to judge men. How can she follow her heart with Rob when she was badly mistaken in her first marriage? She knows from hard experience men aren’t always what they appear. And she fears her son will get hurt when Rob finds Luke.

Once her son is safe, will Sally dare to trust her heart just one last time?

Q: What made you decide to enter American Title? Had you entered any of the RWA contests with this book before that? What kind of results did you get with those contests?

DP: I first heard of the American Title at the RT conference last year in St. Louis. It was my first RT conference and my first experience with the magazine. I had also entered this manuscript in the Bobbi Smith contest last year and I was thrilled to be called up on stage at the RT luncheon as a finalist. Bobbi met with me and told me I needed to start the first chapter in a different place, so I went home and rewrote it. Then when I saw the category for the next American Title was historical, I thought why not?

I can count on one hand the number of RWA contests I’ve entered and I’ve never entered the Golden Heart. Chapter contests have been disappointing because I’ve had judges say they really liked this manuscript but they had to stick with the judging sheet. It seems ironic to me because I’ve heard editors say they want something different, yet the contests sort of require everyone to do things the same way. I’m not adverse to editing, cutting and completely rewriting, but only to serve the manuscript, not a contest.

Q: How do you feel about your first sentence, etc. being posted on the web for everyone to judge? Have you received any feedback or fan mail from voters?

DP: I have to wonder how many writers ever think about their first sentence standing alone. I know I certainly didn’t. So I was rather nervous about that one. But all the judges have been kind to me. I was probably harder on myself about that first sentence than they were. Fan mail is absolutely the most wonderful thing in the world. Especially when people you have never met write to say they hope to be able to read this story soon. I’ve been thinking of printing those emails.

Q: Once you are established what can readers expect from you in future books? Will you stick with historicals or would you like to try something else? What makes your books different from others?

DP: I haven’t stuck with anything yet. So far I have a completed historical, a completed contemporary and I’m working on a paranormal. From what I’ve heard, once you sell, you need to stick with one thing for a while. So my thought up till now has been to try everything until I sell. Then I’ll follow editor and agent advice. I don’t see myself as writing in only one genre though. One thing I’ve learned is that I’m happiest working on two projects at once. This means if I’m working on a historical and going through a bumpy patch I can switch over to the contemporary, keep writing and pretty soon the bumpy patch will iron itself out. It’s kind of like trying to think of someone’s name while at a party and then on the drive home it comes to you. Sometimes we try too hard and need to step away. But it’s important to keep writing.

I’m not sure what makes my books different from others. I’ve been trying to think about what make them alike since they’re different genres. Both heroines were previously married. So perhaps one of my themes is the idea that it’s never two late to find true love. I firmly believe that.

Q: If this book were to be published, what would your dream cover be like? And where can readers learn more about you and your books?

DP: Well, I’m no expert so I would just ask the art department to do their very best and I would trust my editor. Hopefully the cover would show something about the book. For a while there, flowers seemed to be the in thing on covers, and they’re pretty, but they don’t really tell you anything about what’s inside. Of course a handsome man on the cover always catches my attention.
Readers can visit my website www.debraparmley.com where I have a new feature I call Make-believe Mondays. I’ll interview authors and talk about creating fiction.

LD: Thanks for taking the time to visit with us and Good Luck!!!

DP: Thank you, Lori, and thanks for inviting me!

For my friends in small town America…Click Here.