So, you want to be a writer, eh?

I don’t know how many times I’ve heard people say they want to be a writer. You know, in that wistful, far-off look that says they wish they could, but you know they never will. Why? Because, they don’t really want it. It’s just a thought to them, not a real dream. If they really want it, they would be out there doing what we’re doing right now, working for it.

Becoming a writer is not an easy job. It takes a lot of hard work. We write and write and write, and then, we still have to go back and redo it. It’s never good on the first try, at least not for me and most writers I know. We revise it multiple times before we’re even ready to send it out to a publisher. If we’re lucky enough to get an acceptance, there are even more revisions after the sale.

Most of the time, we’re doing this after working our day jobs, or in some cases, night jobs. :D We’re tired, yet driven to finish this book or those edits. We get up an hour early just to get in writing time. Or, we stay up an hour or two later, getting by on less sleep, because we have to if we want to keep writing. Sometimes, family time gets missed because we need to get another thousand words before bedtime. Does this sound familiar?

It all depends on how bad you want it. What are you willing to give up in order to reach your dream. Sleep? Family time? Cleaning house? (One of my favorites to forgo) But, one of these days, that will pay off. If you’re really willing to work at it, you can make a living writing.

It’s not easy, and you will probably never make it rich, but it is possible. It goes for any dream. If you want it bad enough, you can achieve it. This is my motto in life. I teach that to my daughter. I tell my mother all the time, she’s a lot more pessimistic than I am. But, I believe it to be true. There isn’t anything in life you can’t accomplish if you set your mind to it.

What do you think? Do you agree with me, or do you think I’m full of crap? Don’t worry, it won’t upset me if you disagree. ;-) Leave a comment and let me know how you feel about it. I’d love to hear your ideas.

Interview with Gracen Miller

First off, a big THANK YOU to the bloggers of Wicked Thorn and Roses for allowing me to join their home on the internet. I look forward to getting to know all of you.



Tell us a little about yourself.

*straight faced* I’m a self-made millionaire. *laughs* Okay, okay, you got me, that’s my dullest fantasy. My spiciest fantasy is…Tsk..tsk…tsk…I am so not sharing that with you. *grins* Seriously, I’m an obsessed writer and a part-time paralegal masquerading as a mother to two very active boys. Both my boys are black belts in Tae Kwon Do, so I’m not a soccer mom, but a karate mom and all the other sports in the rainbow that involve hitting someone (i.e. basketball, football, karate and I think that’s about it, but that’s enough, right?). Basically, I’m a shuttle bus between sporting events. I’ve been married for 16…no 17 years to my best friend from high school. Yeah, corny, but true. Anything else you want to know, just ask. I’m pretty open, so long as it’s not about my spicy fantasies. ;-)


Please list places we can find you online…websites, myspace, facebook, blogs, etc.

My publisher: www.firedrakesweyr.com
My website: www.gracenmiller.com
Myspace: http://www.myspace.com/gracenmiller
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#/profile.php?id=1219953540&ref=profile


Is there anything your family or friends pick on you about?

*coughs* No. I’m perfect. *looks around innocently* What? No one ever believes me! *grumbles no one told me I was going to be confessing everything here* My husband and two sons are always cracking blonde jokes about me. First off, let me mention I am NOT a blonde, but my husband and both of my sons ARE blondes. The “why” they make blonde jokes, well…um…*cringes*…must I really confess that—Look! There’s a purple elephant in the room with a green monkey cart-wheeling across his back! *laughs* Did I distract you away from the question? *grins hopefully* Guess not. Okay! I admit sometimes it takes me a moment to process stuff. My defense…they’re all guys and they speak “guy lingo” and sometimes that’s a bit confusing for the lone non-blonde girl in the household. So, maybe they’re speaking “blonde guy lingo”. Yeah, that’s my story and I’m sticking with it! =)


When and why did you begin writing?

I’ve been writing since my elementary English teacher (sixth grade) forced us to write a story. I went home grumbling that night about the homework. How dare she make us use our imagination! *gasp* Shocker! We had to broaden our minds. *another shocked gasp* It had never been required before. I wrote about an evil race rising up from Atlantis determined to take over the world. *laughs* It was horrid stuff, but what I discovered was so much more important and life changing. No, I’m not being dramatic. I found a world of open-ended possibilities. Pardon the analogy, but writing is little like playing God. I live through them, I maneuver their lives…er…okay my muse is shouting that SHE maneuvers their lives, so basically I’m just living through them and being the muse’s puppet. I can create and become characters that I would never dream of being outside my mind. I can be gusty, bold, deadly and really, really passionate to name a few. Writing helps me find the peace of being whomever I want, whenever I want and it is the best escape from the overwhelming realities of life. For me, I don’t need drugs to create euphoria because there is nothing better than the high I get from writing.


When did you first consider yourself a writer?

Sometime in high school I realized I wasn’t just a student, I was a writer. At that time I was writing lots of sappy and dark dreadful poetry. Also a girlfriend and I would create characters and write about their lives, passing them back and forth. Typically, she and I were sisters in the stories, but we would meet that special someone, fall in love and have babies. *rolls eyes and gags self* When one storyline was exhausted, we would start another set of characters and follow the same theme. By the end of our writing together, we had five different storylines. Really, I’ve always been a romance writer. I just didn’t realize that until later.


What inspired you to pen your first novel?

I knew by my senior year of high school that I wanted to write books for a living. I just got sidetracked by life and jobs. My first novel was written during a particularly difficult time early on in my marriage. We didn’t have kids, I was bored to death with life, with jobs, and I wanted some excitement back. All my husband and I ever did was sit and watch television after work and I was bored to tears. So, I sat down at the computer and started writing. I still have the novel. It’s horrid, but it was my first accomplishment and I’m proud of that. It also saved my marriage. Strange thinking, yeah, probably, but it is true. Writing that novel gave me the excitement I needed to be happy again with my marriage and with my life. I’ve learned over the years, writing keeps me happy, keeps me ground and believe me, you don’t want to be around me when I’m going through a long dry spells in my writing. I become demon possessed.


What genre are you most comfortable writing?

I love paranormal and it’s easier for me to get into the evil/dark spirit of things when writing paranormal. I grew up reading and watching everything horror genre I could get my hands on, so I am a dark girl in a lot of ways. I’m not a comedic writer. I wish I could write comedy, but my sense of humor is so dry, what I find funny others do not. And what others find funny, I’m rolling my eyes over. So, paranormal is my comfort zone.


What are your current projects?

Well, even though I love paranormal, I just subbed a sci-fi romance novel, based upon warring races and what was necessary to create peace. My girlfriend that I wrote all those stories with in high school challenged me to get out of my comfort zone and actually gave me the idea. So, I don’t have any idea how well it really works, but we’ll see when I hear back from subbing it. *bites nails* I’ve got two other books I’m about to sub as well, both in the paranormal genre. And I’m working on two different books, Demon Eyes and Dragon Blood. Obviously by the titles, they’re paranormal. Did I mention that I like the paranormal? *winks*


What are your hobbies?

Hobbies are not listed in order of preference: Writing, family, chatting with friends on forums and watching Supernatural on Thursday nights. I am obsessed with that show. It gives me my paranormal fix and it has two dreamy guys. *sighs*


What is one thing you could never live without?

Oh, wow! This question is so limited. My first thought was writing. Then my second thought was, “Wait! Sex!” Then I felt all guilty because I didn’t think of my family first. *kicks air* I am SO not letting my husband read this. *laughs* Actually he might approve of the second thought. *winks*

If anyone wants to know something about me, please ask away. I’m an open book just waiting to be read. :D

10 Reasons Why I’ll Always be a Writer

10. It makes it okay to have voices in my head. :D Yeah, I’m sure you’ve heard this one before. We writers like it, mainly because it’s true. We take our characters with us wherever we go. We mull them over in our minds while we shop, run errands, cook, clean, etc.

9. It’s very therapeutic to me. When life gives me crap, I can take it out on my characters. Not saying that I’m not crabby sometimes, I am, I admit it. But, if I’m in a bad mood, as long as I’m left alone to my writing, only my characters need to suffer. :D

8. The hours are great! That is, if you are lucky enough to make your living as an author. Now, I can’t speak for everyone. This is just for me, but I can write when I want to and not write when I don’t feel like it. If I have a migraine one day, I can take the day off and not have to worry about it. I can make up the lost time another day.

7. It’s something ingrained in me. I can’t remember a time when I didn’t write. Not just stories, but I’ve written poems and non-fiction, as well. When I was in grade school, I can remember writing small articles for the local newspaper at the request of my teacher and principal. They weren’t much, just little paragraph or two articles about what was happening in our small school. There were other things as well. We had a small newspaper (if you can call it that) that one of the teachers had us write stories, poems, or whatever we felt like. I really enjoyed doing this. In high school, there were more opportunities for writing. I took creative writing classes, and absolutely loved them. I was also on the yearbook staff. That was a blast!! Anyway, the point it, I’ve always written, and I always will.

6. I don’t have to get dressed. I can even stay in bed, if I want to. Just pull out the old laptop and type away. Pajamas are the most comfortable uniform ever!

5. I’m not stuck in a cubicle. I can write anywhere, anytime. I can write at home, in bed, at the park, in my car, at Starbucks, etc, etc, etc. You get the idea. Scenery change is nice, not just in books!

4. It’s my excuse to be on Romance Divas practically 24 hours a day. LOL, well okay, I do sleep sometimes. And work pulls me away, but I do spend an awful lot of time there. Shhh. Don’t tell anyone.

3. I meet a lot of great friends. I’ve made a ton of friends online in various writing groups, social networking sites, and just all over the net. Lots of readers and writers! It’s so great getting to know people from all over the world. I love it!

2. I can’t not write. I’ve done it, for long periods of time, but I always come back to it. No matter what happens, I can never give it up completely. Life always manages to get in the way and stops my writing in its tracks, but regardless, I always return to it. Hopefully, I’ll never have to go through the not writing phase again, but that’s just a pipe dream. Even if it’s just for a few weeks or months, we all have spells of not writing. I just try to read more or work on editing, if I can during those “off times”.

1. I get to kill people (and it’s legal)!! Come on, you know you’d like that, too. We all get aggravated at people, nothing new there. But, sometimes we get so angry, we want to strangle someone. Well, I can. I can turn them into a character and do it, fictionally, of course. Now, I’m not saying I’d use someone I know in a book and kill them off (not saying I wouldn’t either), but it makes you feel better even if it’s just for yourself. Word of caution, if you are going to use them in your book, make sure you make them unrecognizable. Don’t want to be getting sued by someone who recognizes themselves as your victim.

Interview with Sierra Wolfe

Please list places we can find you online…websites, myspace, facebook, blogs, etc.

You can find me at…
My webpage
MySpace
Facebook

And of course…here at the Wicked Thorn and Roses blog

Where are you from?

Good ole Missouri. Of course, I work as a traveling nurse, so I’m not always home. You never know where you’ll catch me. ;)

What kind of jobs have you worked while building your writing career?

Oh, wow. I’ve worked a lot of jobs in my time. I don’t know if I’d say they were while I was building my writing career, but since I’ve been writing most of my life to some degree, I guess they were in a way. Anyway, I’ve worked as a waitress, a factory worker in several different kinds of factories, an accounting assistant, a nurse assistant, and a nurse. Let’s just say that I lose interest in things very easily (except writing, of course). Writing is the one thing I’ve never bored of.

When and why did you begin writing?

I don’t know if I have an answer for that. It seems like I’ve always written, in one form or another. I was about 4 years old when I wrote my first poem for my grandma. I remember how proud she was and she put it away to keep. Years later, she pulled it out to show it to me. I’ll never forget it.

Who or what has influenced your writing, and in what way?

One of the influences with me would be my grandma. She was an avid reader. She had a full wall in her bedroom full of shelves of books. She’d read each and every one of them, some of them several times. I was in awe of how many there were. That’s where I inherited my love of reading, and with that, came my love of writing.

What genre are you most comfortable writing?

Any kind of romance. Paranormal, inspirational, contemporary, romantic suspense, you name it, I would take a shot at it. I’d really like to write some young adult books, too.

If you had to choose, which writer would you consider a mentor?

Actually, I’m lucky enough to have one. The amazing and wonderful Gemma Halliday! NY published author of the “in High Heels” series. For more information, check out her site!
Of course, she's just got started with me, so my bad writing has nothing to do with her teaching, LOL. I know I will learn tons from her, though. And, I'm extremely grateful for her guidance and inspiration. I can't wait to learn everything she has to teach me!!!

What are your current projects?

Too many to mention. I’m the type who has about 5 projects in the works at one time. If I get tired of reading one over and over, I can move on to another for a while. It really works for me.

Do you see writing as a long- or short-term career?

Hopefully, long term. It’s my goal to make it my full-time career. Easier on the back and knees than nursing, LOL. But, I may have to keep nursing at least part-time. Don’t know if I could give it up completely.


If you had to do it all over again, would you change anything?

Yes, I would have started getting serious sooner. It took me too long to have enough faith in myself to work on it seriously. I still have plenty of moments of self doubt, but it’s getting better.

Do you belong to any writing forums or groups?

Absolutely, I belong to several. But, my favorite place in the whole world is Romance Divas.

Are you a plotter or a pantser?

Plotter. I’ve tried pantsing, just couldn’t cut it, I’m afraid.

Is there anything additional you would like to share with your readers?

I hope you enjoyed reading a little about me. I’d love it if you would come back often and see what we’re up to. In fact, if you’d follow our blog, I’d be ecstatic! Seriously! Oh, and I love comments! ;)