Interview with Author Siri Mitchell

Oh Siri,


I can’t tell you how happy I am to have you on The Writers Alley. Casey’s the one over there waving with excessive vigor. She’s your second biggest fan. I, of course, am your first ;-)

Hugs to all. (Okay, an extra one for Pepper!) And thanks so much for inviting me to Writers Alley.

As you and I were sitting in the lobby of the hotel at ACFW and sipping our Starbucks Salted-Caramel Hot Chocolates, the word that popped in my head to describe you was – kind. You are very kind. I have evidence of your kindness sitting on my bookshelf in the form of a signed copy of Kissing Adrien. Sigh. Which is only second to She Walks in Beauty, in my opinion.

Pepper, you’re the one who’s kind! (She introduced me to Salted-Caramel Hot Chocolates and now they’re my new favorite.) We’ve exchanged e-mails so often and you’ve said such encouraging things about my books that I couldn’t wait to have the chance to sit down and spend some time with you.

You are as sweet as that Salted-Caramel Hot Chocolate!! And it was good, wasn't it? Yum. You were sharing a little bit about your writing process at ACFW. I’d love for you to give the folks here a glimpse into it.

How do you come up with your novel ideas?

I honestly feel as if I don’t find them; they come looking for me. Often I’ll get the grain of the idea in the process of researching an entirely different book. For spring’s book, I stumbled on a website about the Tirrochi Dressmakers Project while I was looking for information about Victorian dressmaking. What caught my attention was the fact that in this dressmaking shop, the seamstresses sewed each others’ wedding gowns. That didn’t turn out to be part of the book at all, but that’s where the idea first started.


With the grain of an idea usually comes a woman. And generally she’s caught between her desires and her culture. There’s usually a feeling that comes as well. The desperate struggle she’s in to free herself from some impossible situation. It’s that feeling that I want to understand and explain. That desperation that I want to capture in my novels. How she got into the situation she’s in. And why her culture seems to want to keep her there.

You write both contemporary and historical novels. Do you have a preference of the two genre?

Not really. My novels all seem to deal with the same issues: a girl coming to terms with the person God has made her to be. At the moment, the stories which grab me most are historicals. I feel like women have asked themselves the same questions and struggled with the same issues since the beginning of time. It’s less confrontational to work through them in a historical context. We can judge people in the past easier than we can ourselves in the present.

You talked a little about The Moral Premise as a foundation of many of your books. Could you explain that a little bit?

The Moral Premise idea comes from a book written by Stanley D. Williams, PhD (appropriately titled The Moral Premise). It’s simply a way to define what a book is about. A way to harness what it really is that you’re trying to say as an author. The idea is that your book is composed of a pair of competing motivations. One virtue and one vice: The Moral Premise Statement. The characters are rewarded for choosing the virtue and punished for choosing the vice. The key is that all the characters in your book should be dealing with this same premise. In other words, everyone in your book is working through the same thing in ways both large and small, internal and external, consciously and subconsciously. If your novel is about corruption, for instance, then one of the characters could be dealing with it on a physical level, another on a political level, a third in business, and a fourth in terms of spirituality. Add to these levels, the corruptibility of their most important relationships, perhaps a house that is falling down around them, a favorite purse that’s wearing out…you can see how everything in your book, every scene, every character, is leading to one undeniable conclusion. What is this book about? It’s about corruption.

I know you are working on a new novel about immigrants, Italian immigrants, if I recall correctly. Could you give us a sneak peek into that story? When will it be out for reader consumption?

The story is A Heart Most Worthy and it is, indeed, about Italian Immigrants in the North End of Boston in 1918. I love this story! For each book I write, I give myself a challenge. For A Constant Heart, it was to have the main characters communicate their love for each other without using words (for those in the know, this was the Salad Scene). For Love’s Pursuit, it was to have the characters deepen their intimacy in a communal setting (the Nitpicking Scene). For She Walks in Beauty, I wanted to try and write a scene in which the main character was naked (This was the Corset Interview with Aunt. For those who haven’t read this book, the scene had nothing to do with sex. It was written to communicate the character’s complete and total vulnerability.). For this book, A Heart Most Worthy, it was (drumroll please), to write it in omniscient. And to have three main characters. I write an A story very well, but I’m not that great at subplotting. I suppose that, technically, I’m still not great at subplotting. Even though there are more characters in this new book than is normal for me, they share the spotlight equally. (Maybe I’ll have to re-visit that last part of my challenge.) In any case, it’s a book filled with love stories and characters that struggle with being who they are. The book is due to be released in March, but I would keep an eye out for it as early as February.

Oh boy, oh boy - can't wait to get my hands on that one! I'm rooting for February :-)
I know that as a Christian, our faith plays a role in every aspect of our lives (or should). How does your faith play a role in your writing?

In researching my historicals, I’ve found it fascinating to discover how the faith practices that we have today were created over time. I try to be faithful in my writing to the faith of our fore-mothers. Sometimes that faith was expressed differently and sometimes it didn’t look like our faith looks today. But no matter how people have expressed their faith through the centuries, they’ve always yearned to be known, yearned to be found worthy, and yearned to know that someone loves them just the way they are.


I also find that I’m not as often interested in ideals as I am in realities. People—Christians even—often don’t respond to life the way they ought to or do the things they should. That’s what makes them interesting: the dichotomy between who they are and who they ought to be. In my writing, I think my faith most often finds voice in the becoming.

What’s the story behind your first ‘Call’? The news that you were going to be a published author?

The story leading up to the first call is that I had written 4 books and received 153 rejections. I was demoralized about writing and becoming embittered. I had a talk with God and told him writing wasn’t worth it. I said I’d follow up with every lead that was still outstanding and then I’d call it good. One of the people who had liked my writing early on was Chip MacGregor. At that time, however, the market wasn’t buying the kind of thing that I’d written. I e-mailed him, telling him I’d kept on writing in the meantime and wondered if he could refer me to anyone who liked the sort of thing I did. In fact, he responded that he still liked it and could he have another look?


Concurrently, Harvest House was looking at a non-fiction manuscript I’d written. They asked me if I would consider turning it into a novel. (They wanted me to write another book? With no guaranteed sale?!? I typed out a nice, ‘Let me think about what that would look like and I’ll get back to you’ e-mail, though I had already determined that it was something I didn’t want to do.) Several months later, after I’d gotten over myself, I realized that Harvest House was one of those leads I needed to follow up, so I wrote some sample chapters and put together an outline. Chip offered to represent me. Harvest House offered a 2-book contract based on my proposal and things went on from there!

What a great story to where you are today! So, that leads me to another question - you have quite a few books out and...I know you’re probably going to hate this question, but of which historical books are you most proud? Contemporary?

You’re asking me to call one of my babies ugly? I love them all. For different reasons. Now if you ask me to tell you which one I’m most excited about, it’s the one I’m currently writing (spring 2012’s release). If you ask me next month, as I start my second draft, it will be the one I’ll start writing next fall (spring 2013’s release). The infatuation stage is always filled with giddy excitement, but I find it’s in the commitment stage of drafts 2 – 6 where the real book comes into being.

You write about a book a year, is that right? How does that fit into your ‘real’ life outside of writing?

I start my writing cycle in the fall (after having spent the summer reading up for it). I plan my first draft to be done before Thanksgiving, the second draft before Christmas. I hope to send my manuscript to my critique partner (the extraordinarily talented Maureen Lang) in January. While she reads it, I try my best to forget that I ever wrote it. When I get it back from her, I take it through a few more drafts before I submit it in March. My editors read it in April. I usually get some feedback in May. I try my best to get the edits done before school gets out in June. That way I can spend the summer reading up for the next book.

This question is from Sherrinda, because she’s always curious about it – Are you a plotter or a pantster?

 I’m a pantser who’s looking more like a plotter with every book. There’s nothing wrong with being a pantser. I’m proud to own it. I just got tired of getting the same feedback from my editor (first half moves too slowly, give the heroine a goal, and bring out that spiritual thread.) By using The Moral Premise Statement, I make sure I’m not including extraneous scenes, I give the reader a person to root for from the start, and the spiritual thread starts getting woven into the story from the beginning.

Go Plansters Unite!! :-)  I have a strange feeling I'm becoming a planster...at least a little - the more I write :-)There are a lot of unpubbed authors reading this today. What advice would you give to them to encourage them along this journey?

Stop talking about it and start writing it! I can’t count the number of times I’m introduced in a social situation as an author and someone says, ‘I have this idea for a book that I’ve always wanted to write.’ I always let them know about the writing organizations I’m a part of and I give them the names of my favorite writing books. I also tell them to get in touch with me when they’re done writing. I can count the number of times I’ve heard back from any of them: None. You can’t get published in this market as a debut author if you don’t finish the book.


Work on your weaknesses. Most of us are plot or character-oriented. Rare is the writer who is equally adept with plot and character development. If you can become a plot writer who does a pretty good job at character development or a character writer who is pretty good at plot development, you’ll be able to write a page-turning novel.


Don’t despise your gifts. It’s easy to look at the books other authors have written and feel like you’ll never be a success because you just can’t write second-person urban historicals. And you know this because you’ve tried. Please! The world doesn’t need another (any!) second-person urban historical. The world needs you and the unique voice that God has given you. You aren’t like everyone else, so why should you write like everyone else? Stop focusing on who you’re not and start writing like who you are. Use your voice. You have it for a reason.


Hmm…perhaps that wasn’t the kindest sounding thing I’ve ever written. But there are some things I feel very strongly about. Being who you are is one of them.

Okay - nope, what you wrote was tough love. Some of us need a good kick in the pantster pants. Thanks so much for mixing up a bit of assertiveness with encouragement. And thanks even more for being our guest here at The Writers Alley.
If you guys haven't read a Siri Mitchell book - check out your wealth of choices at her website - http://www.sirimitchell.com/

Writing With a Formula (even if you're not a plotter)

When I started writing, I didn’t do formulas or plotting. I’d get an idea. Something like…A woman, we’ll call her Veronica, discovers her grandfather buried treasure somewhere in the town she currently resides. Along comes Archie who knows about the treasure, too, and wants it for himself. But of course they fall in love and end up searching for the treasure together.

All right, that would be a plot—under loose guidelines, of course. But, the point is, I didn’t plot extensively and the vague idea I had could miraculously make an entire story but that didn’t mean it was a good one. A good one being, one that a) agents/editors would be interested in and b) readers would be interested in.

So I started plotting my stories. I’m talking about a 9-step process that includes everything from a character sketch to chapter by chapter outlines. I still plan my stories this way, but writing both by the seat-of-my-pants and as a plotter has revealed to me that neither is right or wrong. In fact, it’s shown me that whether or not you’re a plotter, there’s a simple formula you can use to get your story off on the right track.

There are four questions you need to ask yourself—sort of like determining GMC before you begin writing.

1) What does your hero/heroine want or not want? (i.e. a new career, love, to never see their mother again, etc)

2) Why does your hero/heroine want or not want this? (i.e. because they never got it as a child, because they never want to end up like their father, etc.)

3) What will he/she do to get this?

4) What’s going to stop your MC from accomplishing this? (i.e. a competitor, a villain, lack of courage, etc.)

Even if you only have a vague idea what your story is about, you can still ask yourself these questions. And even better, if you can, try to put them into this formula below:

(MC name) wants/doesn’t want _________ because __________ but when _________ he/she _________.


For example:

Veronica wants to find the family treasure because no one believes that it ever existed, but when Archie shows up to hunt for the treasure, too, she must decide if he’s the enemy or she can trust him and they can work together before someone else finds it.

Or another, with a little variation:

Archie grew up with an abusive father who always told him he did everything wrong, and he never wants to see the man again. But when he discovers a family secret, he must return to his childhood home to find out what his father knows.

Okay, so these are a bit vague and definitely won’t work as hooks but they answer the four questions above. They give your characters goals, why they have those goals, and what’s going to make it hard to achieve them.

It’s a good formula to keep in mind as you begin writing, to make sure you always know why your character is the way he is and what he’s striving for. It will help propel the plot—whether or not you’re a plotter.

So when you think of your novel, can you answer the four questions? If you’d like, put your formula, with the blanks filled in, in the comments below. And feel free to use different verbs or descriptive words. Here’s mine:

Adventure novelist Andrew Grey would rather live in his imagination than in the real world because caring about people is another reminder of how quickly he can lose what he loves, just like he lost his family in a car accident. So when Drew returns to his childhood town to focus on his writing and makes friends with a 9-year-old, the last thing he wants is the boy to set him up with his mother—and the last thing he plans on is falling in love.

When Characters Surprise You

What makes The Wizard of Oz so great? Sure, okay, many things. But one thing you’ll never forget is the diverse characters. The lion. Tin man. Scarecrow. The Wicked Witch. Glinda. The Munchkins. And the Wizard. Does it get any better than that?

And what did they do to Dorothy along the way?

They surprised her.

So what do you do when you’re writing a pre-plotted novel and, as your tapping away on the Yellow Brick Road, you bump into something or someone unexpected?

How do you continue when one of your characters throws you off guard?

You have several choices.

You can…

Let it flowI’ve read dozens of books on the craft that espouse this strategy. Some of these sound familiar? Don’t censor yourself. Write fast. Write hot. Shut out the internal editor while writing the first draft. You can simply go with the change. Invite the new character along in the adventure. Capture every detail of the new change. Let. It. Flow.

InvestigateYou can put on your Sherlock Holmes hat and try to figure out where the heck this character or unexpected change came from. The Wicked Witch flew on her broomstick from the West. But why is this important? It becomes important when Dorothy’s house lands on her sister, The Wicked Witch of the East. Dorothy created a new enemy. Is your new character an antagonist? Protagonist? How are they impacting your MC’s plight toward reaching their goal?
Is there an identifiable reason why your MC has suddenly become obstinate?

Track Point of Change—the Before & AfterOften we plunk down a scene wrought with conflict when we’ve reached a sagging middle. And sometimes this works. Sometimes it doesn’t. It helps to identify the before and after of the change. How you set the scene before and after matters as much as what happens during the change.

Check ConsistenciesDorothy never threw up her hands and fell back on that field of poppies saying, “I like it here. I think I’ll stay here forever. How ‘bout it, motley crew of creatures. You with me?” Nope. (Technically they all passed out for a bit.) Dorothy longed for home. This theme was consistent throughout the movie. It’s important when we allow change to enter our work that we make sure it doesn’t stray too much from the core of our characters and their goals.

Ask if You Can Find Meaning and Purpose in the ChangeEach of the characters introduced in The Wizard of Oz helped Dorothy to understand her ultimate mission. When one of your characters starts acting unpredictably, you need evaluate whether or not there’s a legitimate purpose for the diversion? Go with it if the change doesn’t mess with the entire story arc.

It’s wise to detect the motive for change. Yours first. Were you getting bored with the plot? Did your story need a new character? How about your character’s intentions—is it a realistic change the plot can hold weight under? Before you hop off on this exciting rabbit trail, taking the entire project in a new direction, assess whether it will strengthen your work or loosen it like a piece of unraveling thread.

It’s been said no one likes change. But this isn’t the case in fiction. We can embrace change when it jumps out at us from the forest. But it’s valuable to take a moment to understand what kind of change we’re dealing with and how it’ll impact our story.

So, go for it. Let change reign. But remember sometimes there really is no place like home.

Ever bump up against an unexpected change while writing a novel? If so, what did you do?

*photos from flickr

Deep Dark Secrets Revealed

I love the show Project Runway. Okay, love isn't quite the word. Let's see...addicted. That's it. I'm addicted.

A few weeks ago, there was an episode that has no equal in the history of Project Runway. And if you watch the show, you know exactly what I'm talking about, right?

The challenge was this: Design your own fabric using HP Smart Touch technology, then design a look using your fabric. The fabric design must represent something deeply personal to you.

So the designers set to work on their computers. One of my favorite designers, Mondo Guerra, is known for his bright fabric choices. So it was no surprise when he designed a colorful pattern with plus signs that linked together.

When asked what it meant, he kept it close to his chest. But in his private interview in front of the camera, he explained it like this.

"I used the plus signs because they represent..." He stopped talking. Opened his mouth and closed it again. Took a deep breath. "They represent my HIV positive status."

Whoa.

His voice wavered, and tears trickled from his eyes. "My family doesn't know..." He shared the misunderstandings in his family's history and the fact that he didn't want to hurt them with the truth.

At that point, I pretty much lost it. As in, I turned into a crying, blubbering mess reaching for the tissue box.

Here's the thing. In the first episode when I first "met" Mondo, I didn't really care for him. He came across as socially awkward, a little geeky, very distant. As the show progressed, I saw shreds of light that slowly endeared him to me - like when he befriended the designer everyone loved to hate and apologized for misjudging him earlier on.

But there was something about learning Mondo's secret that shook me. It gave me insight into his social awkwardness, the distance he kept between him and the other designers. This secret ate away at him. When he finally revealed his secret to the other contestants, the physical change in him was palpable. He literally lost 100 pounds from his shoulders.

And it got me thinking about my characters. What deep dark secrets do they hide? Everyone has one, whether it's as serious as Mondo's or not. There's something each person holds inside that explains who they are and why they react to situations the way they do.

As writers, we have to explore our characters until we find the core issue that defines them, that secret that even their family doesn't know. And think about how we can bring those secrets out in our stories for maximum emotional impact (aka, making readers reach for their tissue box).

Do you get writing inspiration from watching TV? What deep dark secrets do your characters hide that you can use to enhance your story?

*Red Cross photo by Renjith Krishnan

Rewrite? Not Me!

Since I am the first newbie to post, I thought I would share a personal story (writing related) and give you a glimpse of the road I have been on, and also share some valuable lessons I learned along the way!

When you get that sudden knock-you-to-your-knees inspiration for a plot or character, it can keep you up into the wee hours, typing away. I remember the first moment of inspiration that led me down the road to writing- I was at my husband's grandmother's apartment about five years ago. She had recently moved from her home of many years, to be closer to her son. Her body was failing her in every way, but she often said she still felt like a young woman inside. Her struggles and life journey gave my heart such a tug, that one night, in her dimly lit apartment kitchen, I began to write. It started as a short story, and then I added to it. Soon I had a novel length manuscript.
It was a masterpiece! Or so I thought. I was so focused on getting my story out there, that I refused any cyber-advice I found when I googled, “publishing”. Some points I specifically ignored were:

• First book? Tuck it away and visit it in a year or two.
• Get in a critique group
• Go to a writing conference
• Rewrite!

Why would I do these things? I had poured my heart and soul into this piece and God had shown me the way! So, having patted myself on the back until I was sore, I began to skip all the steps needed to creating a worthy final product, and took the giant leap towards publishing.
I got a nibble from a co-publisher, but the price tag that went along with it was my first reality check. So I sat on it for a while. I continued writing, having a second story brewing in my head, but just couldn't resist trying to push my first manuscript forward. After several rejections from agents and editors (yes, I shamefully admit I queried with absolutely no exposure to what the industry was all about!), an editor referred me to a manuscript review service. I took the plunge and forked over the lesser amount on their price tag, and got my manuscript professionally reviewed.
At first, I saw all the wonderful things they said, and then considered the negative. But when their final advice was to, dare I say the word, ... REWRITE... I began to sit back and re-evaluate my masterpiece.
After a poor attempt to rewrite, and another pricey offer to co-publish, I received my comments from the ACFW Genesis Contest.
This was the final blow- in an absolutely wonderful and humbling way!
The judges gave me such specific suggestions and opened my dreamy eyes to what a rewrite really meant!
The inspiration I first felt at the beginning, welled up inside after the reviews, but this time it was from the challenge to write better. I was a little wiser, a little more harnessed for quality. I chose to only keep the characters from my first novel, and start from scratch. I couldn't even bring myself to use pieces from that first text because I cringed when I read it! Through the long process of pursuit, criticism, and writing as often as I could, I discovered many things that proved to me, the process to successfully write an exceptional story wasn't going to happen overnight.
Some things I finally took to my writing heart was:
what it means to write with a literary bent, but not flush your work with adjectives
AND...what “showing” versus “telling” was, and how my first manuscript was just one long “tale being told!”.
I am proud to say that I will never again let someone read my first manuscript...ever. And I am thankful that God gave me a big dose of humility over the five years I clung to my first endeavor.

I promptly got into a critique group, which led to my amazing experience at the ACFW conference. I know the path ahead is long, but I feel like I am open to growth and ready for the maturity that comes with every word written...and rewritten. Sometimes it hurts to have a crit partner rip to shreds the very sentence you were so thrilled with when it was first written. And sometimes, you just ignore suggestions and take them with a grain of salt. But to have the opportunity to learn line by line, scene by scene, only equips you to elevate your story to the next level, or create another story to be written and shared!

I am so glad I never turned my back completely on the criticism, because it would have stunted my growth and I would found little encouragement to continue with such a passionate craft as this!

What's Up the Street For Next Week?

Oh What A WEEK!!! Anybody else enjoy those interviews? And what a great visit from Susan Meissner on Saturday. If you didn’t get a chance to read her post, check it out here.

Let’s start off this new week in COLOR!! That’s right – Autumn. As the world pulls on its autumn cloak, here are some pictures I took from our family hike last weekend. The trees are just starting to change and the sky is an amazing ‘blue’ color. An autumn blue.

Anybody guessed that this is my favorite time of year! What’s yours? Answer that question and leave your email in the comments section and we’ll place your name in the drawing for Nancy Moser’s fantastic Victorian novel, Masquerade.

WE HAVE WINNERS!!

Sandee6 is the winner of M.L. Tyndall’s newest book, Surrender the Heart. Send your snail mail to me at pepperbasham(at)yahoo(dot)com. Congrats!!

You’ve met our new Alley Shopkeepers, and now you get to read what they have to say about writing. Check out the lineup for the week:

Monday – Join Angie as she talks about rewriting in her post, Rewrite? Not me.

Tuesday – Storyboarding for Fiction Writers is today, with your host Julia.

Wednesday –Sarah brings mystery to our Wednesday with Deep Dark Secrets Revealed

Thursday – Expect the unexpected with Wendy’s post - When Characters Surprise You

Friday – Cindy adds method to madness with her post, Writing with a Formula (even if you’re not a plotter)

Saturday- Siri Mitchell is our guest – and let me tell you, she’s as wonderful in person as she is in cyberworld. Here’s a pic of Siri with me at ACFW. Isn’t she adorable?!? She’s a strong proponent of The Moral Premise in her writing. You can learn more about it on a recent (and very fabulous) post at Seekerville.

NEWSTAND

Keep Krista’s little angel, Annabelle in your prayers. Surgery is scheduled for Thursday.

Pepper’s series Seasons Change – Fall Into Love, continues with authors Margaret Brownley, Janet Dean, and Julie Lessman this week. Stop by Words Seasoned With Salt to learn more.

Stop by Mary’s blog to learn about the Helmet game and learn about how the Israelites leave the only home they’ve ever known.

Sarah’s blog is up and active: On Monday, she’s starting a two-part series called Turning Your Toddler Into a Helper and on Wednesday, author Jody Hedlund shares her secret for juggling life in 10 words or less.

Special Guest Saturday: Interview with Susan Meissner!

Susan, thank you so much for being with us today! What a treat. You write such poignant fiction as is proven in The Shape of Mercy, where do you come up with your ideas?


These last few years I have been intrigued by events in human history, like the Salem Witch Trials, and the Warsaw Ghetto during WW II, Lady Jane Grey, and the idea that there are things about us that don’t change from century to century, such as the things we hold most precious and the things we fear the most. When I identify something in the past that has story value to the present, I just start stretching the idea to see how a present-day situation could be influenced by a unforgettable moment in the past. Usually when I come across a poignant or pivotal moment in history, there is something about it that speaks to us right now.

You have taught on writing a novel in just 30 days, would you care to give us a brief glimpse into your work with that?

I have found that if you are on very intimate terms with your novel’s plot and cast of characters you are well-equipped to start writing and enjoy some awesome momentum that - at least for me – allows me to write fast. 10 pages a day. Sometimes it's best to approach a big project with little, organized steps. I think of it as learning to produce 1½ pages an hour or 10 pages a day or one nicely-worded paragraph every five minutes. Before I begin the novel, I get the plot cemented in my head. I make sure I know what felt need I am going to address, and which reader sympathies I am going to appeal to. Then I make a character sketch of each cast member. The first character I develop is the one who is going be driving the plot, usually the protagonist. When I can deeply visualize all my characters, I usually do a better and faster job of creating action and dialogue for them. I give them hobbies, likes and dislikes, quirks, habits, talents, etc. Then I spend some time on their internal characteristics, especially the ones that will figure into the story arc. When I’ve decided on these details ahead of time, I find that I can usually write 10 pages a day for 30 days and not hit upon very many road blocks. Usually.

What inspires you in your writing life?

I guess you could say life inspires my writing life. I am wired to communicate, so as I observe life happening around me, I itch to say something about it, and the form of communication that scratches that itch best is writing. There is a world of truth out there that needs telling.

We all wish we could step back in time at one point or another, has there been any moments like that in your career that you wish you could go back and have a do over?

I can honestly say I can’t imagine doing anything differently and feeling okay with the unknown results. If I could go back and rewrite my own history, how would I know the results would be ones I would love or even like? With regard to my writing, if I did have the power to go back and take a different road, it would lead me to a place where I wouldn’t meet the same people I’ve met on this path. The friends I have made the past seven years I have been writing novels are so incredibly dear to me. I can’t imagine not knowing them or having them in my life to the extent I do now.

What advice do you have for the beginning/ struggling novelist?

First, surround yourself with other writers and begin to get some feedback from people whose opinion matters to you. Join the American Christian Fiction Writers (http://www.acfw.com/ ) and learn all that you can from the questions and answers that are posted to the main loop and in the forums and online chats. Novel-writing is a solitary pursuit so it’s wise to stay in community with other writers so that you can learn from them and grow as a writer.

When you have your novel finished or nearly finished, attend a writer’s conference so that you can share your concept one-on-one with editors and agents. There are many conferences to choose from. My favorite ones are the The Mount Hermon Christian Writer’s Conference (held every year the week before Palm Sunday) and The American Christian Writer’s Conference, held every third week of September. Both of these conferences are top-notch events, loaded with workshops to supercharge your writing. You can also sign up for 15 minutes of face-time with editors and agents at these conferences.

Subscribe to Writers’ Digest or another writing magazine that offers timely advice, interviews, and skill-building articles.

Keep writing, even when it seems like you are just swimming laps in a pool when no one is watching. Every Olympic medalist in swimming started out swimming laps in a pool when no one was watching.

How long did you write before getting “the call” and how did you make your writing available for the publishers?

I waited to post my proposal to an online site until my first book was finished. And while I waited to see if it would attract any interest I started researching for my second. I was found by my first publisher online, but the lion’s share of new writers are discovered at writers conferences during those 15-minute consultations with agents and editors. I definitely suggest you make your writing available for publishers to peruse after you’ve made it the best you possibly can. Have it finished, have it critiqued, have it edited. The competition is pretty stiff. You need to do all you can to have your project shine brighter than the thousands of other book ideas out there.

Of your books, does one stand out as being the “story of your heart” or a particularly moving one that has really stuck with you?

That answer changes every year when a new book comes out! Right now, Lady in Waiting seems the most personal and dear to me. It’s the newest and the closest to my heart. I suppose that might change in the fall of 2011 when A Sound Among the Trees is released!

Thanks so much for stopping by! I know I am very excited for your coming release, Lady in Waiting. Can you share a bit more about that before you go?

Lady in Waiting dovetails the historical account of 16-year-old Lady Jane Grey with a fictional woman named Jane whose husband becomes disillusioned with their marriage and walks out. Both women appear to be victims of other people’s decisions, but things aren’t always what they seem.

Lady Jane Grey was pushed to England’s throne in 1553 by power-hungry people who wanted a lot more than just a Protestant in power. Her story is one that shows the darker side of sixteenth-century politics. Lady Jane Grey is often remembered for being a pawn in doomed bid for power, bereft of choice and in the end a Protestant martyr, but she actually made significant life choices that impacted her fate as much as the choices that were made for her did.

My modern-day Jane, who finds an ancient ring that she believes belonged to Lady Jane Grey, sees parallels in her life and Lady Jane’s, especially when it comes to finding the courage to make a tough decision rather than defer. Through contemporary Jane, who is the collective “us” in the story, I want to convey that we can’t always choose our circumstances but we can always choose how we will respond to them.

We here at the Alley wish you the best Susan and look forward to more books from you in the future!

Thanks for having me!

Thank you for being here Susan, what a treat and honor! You can connect with Susan online here at her:

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