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ABOUT WRITING AND BEING A WRITER
Q. Why do you write?
A. Because it keeps me out of trouble? Seriously, I can't remember ever not writing in one form or another. I write now because I enjoy thinking up 'what-ifs' and answering them via a story.
Q. How long have you been writing?
A. I've been making up stories since I was old enough to put pictures together in my mind.
I started writing plays when I was eight or nine, then coerced the neighborhood kids (or my cousins at holidays) to act them out. At one time I had as many as six penpals. I also kept diaries that should probably be burned or shredded. But they are good for a laugh...for me.
When I was eighteen, I wrote my first real book. I typed it on a second-hand portable typewriter I bought from a friend. Single-spaced. Mostly on onion skin paper. (Anyone remember that?) When complete, it was at least three inches thick. No, I did not try to have it published. I wrote it because I enjoyed doing it.
In the early 90s, when my oldest daughter was in middle school, I read and wrote Young Adult books, but life got in the way, and I put them aside. By 1996 I'd begun writing romance.
Q. How did you get started?
A. I blame my best friend of over forty years for steering me back to reading romance. After that, I decided it would be fun to try writing it. It was!
Q. How long did it take you to get published?
A. About five years, once I decided to get serious about it. I did a lot of writing in that time and entered many contests that helped me learn the craft.
Q. Why romance?
A. Because I love those HEAs (Happy Ever Afters)!
Q. How long does it take you to write a book?
A. About three to four months, if I stick with it and don't hit any brick walls. Those can really hurt and slow me down. ☺
Q. What's a typical day like for you?
A. Crazy. Most of my day during the week is spent with at least two of my five grandchildren. I'm up by 7:30, before they all arrive. I take the three oldest to school, then come back home to the two youngest ones. They keep me busy, but I try to use random free minutes to visit the various social networks, work on websites (I'm Designs by Delaney), and wish the house would clean itself. Writing doesn't happen until evenings and, of course, weekends.
Q. Do you know the whole story, including the ending, before you start?
A. I do now. Once upon a time, I was a seat-of-the-pants writer (aka 'panster'), who only had a vague idea of the story and created as I wrote. Now I'm a plotter, although it can take a unknown amount of time to get from the wisp of an idea to a full-blown story.
Q. Do you have a favorite character?
A. Several. Ellie Warren and Chase Brannigan, A Saddle Made for Two, and Kate Clayborne and Dusty McPherson, Bachelor Cowboy. Aggie Clayborne, Kate and Trish's aunt, always gives me a chuckle.
Q. What advice do you offer for new writers just getting started?
A. How about a list?
- Write, write, write.
- Join a writers' group or an organization such as RWA (Romance Writers of America), Mystery Writers of America, etc., and learn your craft. (Writers Associations)
- I had a sign over my desk that read: No one is born published. Keep that in mind.
- Remember, if you quit, you'll never know that your first sale was right around the corner.
- Get tough. Rejections can hurt, even helpful suggestions can hurt. Learn that constructive criticism should not be taken personally.
- Read, read, read.
Q. Where do you get your ideas?
A. Everywhere! From watching TV, movies, the news, and people. By reading books, newspapers, magazines. Check out The Inside Story for each of my books for more information on where ideas began.
Q. What do you like most about being a writer?
A. Because in my mind, I get to be whomever I want to be. It's a lot like playing a role in a play, but I get to put words in my characters' mouths and make them do what I want them to. Well, most of the time. ☺ And there's always the 'get to wear my p.j.'s all day. I don't, but sometimes I could.
ABOUT BEING ME
Q. Do you really live in Kansas? Are there really buffalo there?
A. Yes, I live in Kansas and have all my life. Yes, there are buffalo here, but most are raised the same way cattle are raised on a ranch. People here also raise domestic deer (for venison) and llamas, too. You never know what you might find on a Kansas farm.
Q. You have four daughters. Did you ever want a son?
A. I'd planned to have four sons. Sometimes we don't get what we think we want, and I now know that I've been blessed. After all, I do have two grandsons. ☺
Q. Where do you like living the most? City, small town, country? And why?
That's a really tough question, because there's something about each that I like, and there's also something I dislike. I like writing about small towns and enjoyed the years I lived in one. As a child, I lived in a city, and I'm back again. Everything is close, and I don't have to drive far. Living in the country means driving to anything, yet the solitude and quiet is wonderful. Each of them at one time were perfect and where I wanted to be.
Q. Did you enjoy being an only child?
A. Everyone with siblings imagines what it might be like to be an only child. I always wished for a sister, or even a brother. Looking back, I can't imagine growing up any other way. It's probably why I learned to imagine things. I wouldn't change that for anything!
Q. Are you still involved in theater?
A. Sadly, no. Living in the city provides more opportunities, but there isn't enough time to do everything.
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