Tuesday, September 28, 2010

Inquiry XIX: Anne Broyles


Today I am pleased to welcome MA author, Anne Broyles.

Originally from Arizona, Anne Broyles lives in Andover MA. She is the author of "Shy Mama's Halloween," and "Priscilla and the Hollyhocks." As a scholar of theology, Anne has written and co-authored nine other books in the religious field. Her current focus is primarily on middle grade and picture books. When Anne isn't writing she enjoys doing school visits, hiking, traveling and, of course, reading.

EEM: Did you always want to be a writer?

AB: I thought of myself as a writer from the time I was small, and still have one of my first “books”—two pages of colored paper stapled together of very short stories and illustrations. Yet it didn’t occur to me that writing was a career choice until I was in high school. Even then, I didn’t know anyone who made a living writing until I’d made my own decision of career. I became an ordained minister after college and seminary because it combined many of my gifts: helping people, writing, public speaking, drama, music, dance.

EEM: When you began writing, was it instant success and riches or did you find you had to work other jobs in order to continue your dream of being a writer?

AB: I write for the pleasure of writing, not for fame or money (though if either of those came, I’m up to the task!) My two children’s picture books have received what Cynthia Leitich Smith calls “non-revenue-producing awards” and I enjoy the rewards of satisfied readers, interacting with students and teachers at school visits, and connections with other writers. I’ve published 17 books for adults and youth in the Christian devotional field and that has given me lots of opportunities for travel, public speaking, and interaction with authors and editors.

EEM: What jobs have you held, current or in the past, to help sustain your writing career?

AB: I was a hotel chambermaid and cashier at the Grand Hotel on Mackinac Island, housecleaner, nanny for 3 British kids, and worked at numerous churches during college. After I got my B.A. I went right to seminary, ordination and work as a solo pastor in a local church parish when I was 26.

EEM: Which job was the most challenging or strange to you?

AB: During seminary, I spent one summer as a bar and nightclub minister in the resort area of Lake Okoboji, Iowa. I worked 9 p.m. until 2 a.m. and was supposed to go from bar to bar looking for people to help. What made this job tricky? I was undercover; I could not tell anyone I was a minister, so only the bartenders knew why I was there. As a young, single woman, cruising from bar to bar drinking only OJ and chomping down beer nuts, there was a fine balance between looking approachable enough to be a listening ear, and appearing ready to be picked up for a one-night stand. I didn’t always strike that balance and had to fend off some persistent men!

EEM: What was your favorite thing about this job?

AB: Working nights meant days off to enjoy the lake and recreational activities.

EEM: Least Favorite?

AB: I had to walk home at 2 a.m. in the midst of all the drunk and disorderly men who had stayed until the bars closed. I always carried my keys between my fingers to protect myself, and walked really fast, but I never felt safe until I was inside my cottage with the door locked behind me.

EEM: Did your day job(s) allow you to write regularly? Or did you have to get creative to get those word counts in?


AB: No matter what my job, I have always written, but it has sometimes been hard to find the energy to work all day and also create quality writing time (plus relate to family and friends, exercise, and have time for reflection/thinking/daydreaming).


From the first year of my professional life as a United Methodist minister, I wrote magazine articles and high school curricula in addition to my 60-hour a week ministry. I couldn’t NOT write. But I often felt pushed and pulled between the two careers, time-crunched and stressed at not being able to give enough time to writing.


What other effects did it have on your writing?


AB: In 1996, as I madly typed away on an impending deadline assignment, I received a call that a 21-year-old woman from our church had accidentally overdosed on alcohol and heroin. I left my computer, drove to the hospital, and spent the next twelve days going back and forth to Bridgette’s hospital bed until she was taken off life support. Those were stressful, emotional days as I tried to do my other church work, interact with my family and complete the writing assignment. I felt an anguished push and pull between responsibilities, and didn’t get much sleep.

The following year, an emergency surgery saved my life and kept me in the hospital for eight days. Having almost died brought clarity. I realized that while someone else could do my job as a church pastor, no one else could write the stories in my head. Five months later I took early retirement from ministry and began to write full-time. I’ve never regretted the decision.


EEM: Have you ever based a loved protagonist or an evil villain on one of your co-workers? Wished you had?

AB: No.

EEM: What are you working on now and is the process any easier than your first work?? If so, in what capacity (people noticing it, the writing itself, the confidence?)

AB: I am working on several picture books and an historical young adult novel. The process is easier than it was in the beginning because I know more about the craft of writing and have two great critique groups, but it is a hard time to sell some of what I write.

EEM: Would you change anything if you could begin your writing journey over again?

AB: Sometimes I wish I had started writing and working on craft sooner.

EEM: Thank you for taking the time to answer these interview questions!


Thursday, September 16, 2010

The Lanternlight Dreamers

I am so pleased to announce that it is official! The Lanternlight Dreamers has been scooped up by Jill Santopolo at Philomel/Penguin. The release date is not yet available, but as it becomes available I will post! I am so excited to work with Jill once again and am so thankful for having a wonderful agent, Ammi-Joan Paquette, who supports my projects so well.

Good news, but off to work all the same!!

Monday, September 6, 2010

Inquiry XVIII: Laurie Adams


Today we are pleased to welcome Laurie Gifford Adams.

Laurie Adams was born in New York State, but currently resides in Connecticut where she works as a teacher and writes her stories. Author of Finding Atticus, Laurie Gifford Adams is a member of SCBWI, IWWG and RWA. She is currently working on a collaborative project about internet safety. She has a husband, a daughter, a son, a cat and a dog. When she is not writing she is reading, gardening horseback riding, walking or coaching.

Let's jump right in!

EEM: Did you always want to be a writer?


LA: I have always loved writing. I still have my earliest attempts at being published when I was 13 years old and sending horse stories to horse magazines. I received lots of form rejection letters, but what amazes me even now is that those rejections didn’t have a negative impact on my desire to write. I just kept at it.

EEM: When you began writing, was it instant success and riches or did you find you had to work other jobs in order to continue your dream of being a writer?

LA: Success? Riches? Well, to answer the latter first, if you’re expecting to get rich from writing, then you better readjust your expectations. The majority of people can’t even make a living writing, let alone get rich. If you’re writing because you are passionate about the experience, then you’ll be blessed with a different kind of “rich”. (That may sound trite, but for me, it’s true.)

EEM: What jobs have you held, current or in the past, to help sustain your writing career?

LA: I was a newspaper reporter for a few years, and I have written and published many freelance articles in magazines, but my main income is from teaching English in a public school.

EEM: What was your favorite thing about this job?

LA: As a writer, I have several favorite things about being a teacher. First off, once I got my masters, I no longer had to go to school during the summers so I was free to spend more hours writing. (However, I have discovered that I’m actually more productive during the school year because I’m on a tight schedule so I schedule in writing time. In the summer it’s easy to get distracted sometimes because I figure I have all the time in the world to get to those revisions or to start that next chapter.

My other favorite thing about this job is, because I’m writing middle grades/YA, I have a built in audience when I need to bounce ideas off others or when I need to research how teens would react to a situation or how they talk. It’s very convenient to just stand in the hallway and pretend I’m watching out for trouble in the halls when really what I’m doing is paying attention to how the kids interact with one another. Sneaky, I know, but so perfect!

EEM: Least Favorite?

LA: My least favorite part of teaching is the amount of time it takes me outside of school. Too often I have to grade papers or create a test or lesson for the next day when I’d rather be writing. There’s a whole lot of frustration connected to that when you have characters who are dying to be active.

EEM: Did your day job(s) allow you to write regularly? Or did you have to get creative to get those word counts in?

LA: I’ve worked on writing through a good many lunch periods at school because I couldn’t bear to be away from the story for the entire day. At night, because I also have two kids (who are now in their early 20’s) I’ve always had to specifically set aside time to write in between their activities and taking care of family life. It’s not easy to find that time and balance when you’re working full time and have the family, but if you dedicate a certain time that’s your writing time, then at least for me, as I see the clock getting closer to that time I find my mind starts to switch gears. Does it always work? No, sometimes there are too many distractions, but when I sit down to write, I make sure I’ve reserved myself at least a two hour block of uninterrupted time. It’s worked for me.

What other effects did it have on your writing?

LA: I’ll never forget several years ago after I’d been teaching about 6 or 7 years I was on my way to school one day and I had been able to eke out a little writing time before I left. I was so into the story and so upset that I had to leave my writing to go to school that I cried throughout the entire drive. That only happened to me once, but there have been many times over the years where I’ve been very frustrated to not be able to write when the creative juices are flowing.

EEM: Have you ever based a loved protagonist or an evil villain on one of your co-workers? Wished you had?

LA: I have never based a protagonist or villain on a co-worker, but I have based characters on kids I grew up with, my parents (as grandparents), my husband’s elderly uncle whom everyone loves after they meet him and, in FINDING ATTICUS, Atticus, the Golden Retriever is actually a combination of the Golden Retriever we had for fifteen years and our much beloved mixed breed dog that we have now. I do have one secondary character in FINDING ATTICUS who was named after a co-worker.

EEM: What are you working on now and is the process any easier than your first work?? If so, in what capacity (people noticing it, the writing itself, the confidence?)

LA: I am currently working on two projects. First, the project that is almost complete is an Internet safety book that I’m collaborating on with a cop. He approached me with the idea and after we spent several sessions brainstorming to see if we were compatible with our ideas, we decided to give it a go, and it’s worked very well. We are on our last round of edits and revisions now and hope to be done very soon.

The other book is a next in the series after FINDING ATTICUS. I love to write “issue” and “lesson” books, so this next book deals with an autistic child and bullying as the main conflicts.
As for the process, as soon as you start at the beginning with the next project, you’re starting from scratch with blank pages that need to be filled. As a result, I wouldn’t say the process gets easier; however, each time I complete a book, I bring away from it new learning as a writer, so I guess probably it’s a little easier because I use previous knowledge to start out one step ahead of the last book.

One very cool thing is that people are constantly asking me when I’m going to be finished with the next book. It’s a pretty cool feeling to know I have “fans” who are waiting. (It’s also a lot of pressure to know they’re waiting, so it’s a double edged sword, for sure.) Knowing people are waiting for it does make it more exciting to write, though. I just hope in the end the wait will be worth it for them.

EEM: Would you change anything if you could begin your writing journey over again?

LA: If I could begin my writing journey over again with the knowledge I have now, I would join writers groups sooner (because I’d find out about them) and I would take advantage of conferences and workshops. The more I write, the more I feel like I have to learn and that makes me want to take more classes. Networking is essential in this business. The more people you meet, the more information you’ll have for your writer’s toolbox. Maybe writing a book is a solitary job, but when you’re not at the keyboard, get involved with other writers. Once I figured that out, my confidence as a writer went up significantly.

EEM: Thank you for taking the time to answer these interview questions!

LA: Thank you for inviting me to participate. It’s always great to reflect on why I do keep at this despite the frustrations.