Please
welcome fellow Kindle Scout winner Cindy Blackburn to the blog today. She
describes herself as hard-working, an introvert, energetic, a klutz, and a cat-lover.
Her writing is funny, cozy, lighthearted, feel-good, and screwball. Let’s see
which questions she chose and how she answered them.
You have a table for four at
your favorite restaurant and can invite any three people, living, dead or
fictional. Who are your guests (and why) and where are you eating (and why)?
We’d
eat in my favorite Italian restaurant because I love spaghetti, and apparently
it’s my party. I like the idea of fictional guests. Harry Potter would be lots of fun, and with his wand in hand, who
knows where the evening would lead! Miss
Marple would be a useful guest for me, a cozymystery writer. She could give
me some new ideas on amateur sleuths. On to actual people… How about Jim Parsons? I want to tell him how
much I adore The Big Bang Theory and learn about his and Sheldon Cooper’s
absolute genius use of comic timing. And number four would be Janet Evanovich. As I started writing
mysteries, a friend told me I should try to write funny, like Janet Evanovich.
The style and humor of her Stephanie Plum series gave me lots of incentive to
give it a try. I’d like to thank her.
[Editor’s
note: Cindy will apparently be serving her guests since she didn’t reserve one
of the four seats for herself, but heck with those four, the conversation
should be great, and Harry can do all the heavy lifting with his wand.]
Describe your most productive
writing venue. What makes it best for you?
I
thrive on routine, so sitting in the same spot every day really works for me. I
have a comfy armchair in my living room with a place to put up my feet and put
down my coffee. Unfortunately, that chair is my cat’s favorite also. She often
wins the fight. And yes—she can bully me out of the coveted spot.
What is your most productive
time of the day (and do you need caffeine)?
Again,
I thrive on routine, and so I hit that writing chair first thing in the morning,
coffee in hand. I try to write all morning, afternoons I’m fairly useless, but
often right before bedtime I can get some good ideas down. If I write a little
at night I find I’m more productive the next day.
How many books do you read in a
typical month? Do you read in your genre while you are writing? What’s your
most recent “great” book?
I
probably read about a book a month. I used to read tons more, but now that I
write, I read a lot less. I like to read humorous books—cozy mysteries,
chicklit, anything light. I’m not into deep or dark. I know I’m WAY behind the
times but have just discovered Lawrence
Block’s Bernie Rhodenbarr series. Block’s The Burglar in the Closet
was my latest read. Loved it!
What is the most challenging
area for you as a writer? What are you doing to address the issue?
The
first draft of each book is a killer. I dread first drafts! But I love revising
and perfecting. So my challenge is getting through the first draft. How do I
address the issue? I wish I knew. The first draft is always very slow going,
but I remind myself I’ve gotten through that stage with each of my books, and
once I’m there my reward will be all that fun revision stuff! {Ed. Note: I know
exactly how your feel.]
What motivates you to write?
I
like to make people laugh. I want to create stories that help people
(especially working women with stressful lives) escape their responsibilities
for a few hours. I promise you’ll find nothing edifying or educational in my
books. Silliness rules.
How did you develop the idea for
your most recent work?
Five Spot takes place at a romance
writers conference. Any romance writers I’ve ever hung out with are great fun
and very interesting people, so I knew I could make the thing funny! I’m a
pantser. So once I had that premise of a murder at the Happily Ever After
Conference, I started writing and let the story go where it would.
What was the best piece of
writing advice you ever received and why was it so valuable?
Write
every day. I guess it goes back to the old adage practice makes perfect. Also,
writing every day keeps the creative juices flowing, and it’s fun to always
have my latest story and characters keeping me company, day in and day out.
If
you’d like to keep Cindy company, please check out her website www.cbmysteries.com, or find her on
twitter (she’s a self-proclaimed fiend there!) @cbmysteries. See ya’ in
cyberspace! And here is a little blurb about The Five Spot.
At
long last! Jessie Hewitt is about to take her rightful spot in the Hall of
Fame. No, not the one for pool sharks. This is the Romance Writers Hall of
Fame. Jessie's so excited she's even convinced über-hunky cop Wilson Rye to tag
along for the induction festivities. But things don't go exactly as planned.
How could a conference called Happily Ever After take such a wrong turn? Take a
guess.
Cindy, your feelings about the first draft ring a bell with me. I have to keep reminding myself that I've done it before and somehow I'll do it again. Also like you, I find revision the easy and enjoyable part. Good to know I'm not the only one who's struggling with the first draft. All the best with your book.
ReplyDeleteAllan -- I too much prefer revision to writing the first draft.
Delete~ Jim
Good to know I'm not the only one. Right now I'm in the dreaded first draft of my next book. Ugh!!
ReplyDeleteNice review, Cindy. I'm always amazed at how disciplined you are. You make me feel unproductive, but that's because I am. I wish I could adopt your routine, then maybe I'd produce more.
ReplyDeleteLove your books, Cindy. I'm glad to know you dread the first draft and like revising. So much easier, I think, when there's something to revise. Just choosing a profession for a minor character can stop me cold.
ReplyDelete