Monday, February 11, 2013

Writing Life & Tidbits & Sneak Interview Peek: Alethea Spiridon-Hopson, Entangled Editor

Wow, I've been a busy bee these past few weeks. The Physicist has been gearing up for a very long trip overseas to parts unknown, and the College Kid has had some health issues I've had to wrangle long distance so my free time to blog has been minimized.

I love blogging and connecting with my cyber world. It's another water cooler for me, but if I have less time in my day it means setting the blog aside. Why? Oh, that writing thing I do? The stories I need to generate? They always come first. I've put myself on a series romance schedule of 3 books a year. I'd like to add to that schedule, but quality is important as well. I'm dedicated to mastering my craft and becoming even more adept at revising. More about that on Wednesday as I tease you about my current WIP.

In addition to real world interferences and my writing taking on a life of its own, I've been coordinating the 2013 Linda Howard of Excellence Contest. The deadline is approaching fast! February 22nd is just around the corner. I'm excited about the final judges and who will win this prestigious award. I won it last year and my interview about the Linda Howard Contest is running concurrently with today's blog. I've never been interviewed about my writing experiences before. It was fun. So check out www.magiccitywriting.blogspot.com for that interview.

Though I've only given one interview, I have interviewed so many of my wonderful friends who have had debut novels and achieved their dream of publication. I love their stories because they give me hope that the dream is attainable. And now, in another new thing for me to do, I have interviewed four delightful people on the other side of the publishing fence: 3 editors and 1 agent. All this for the Linda Howard Award of Excellence.

I learned a lot from these wonderful women. The main thing was that they care about writing and the stories and the craft as much as I do. And they're also very generous with their time and energy even though they have real lives and work demands, too.

My first interview will be up tomorrow on www.romancemagicians.blogspot.com with Entangled Editor Alethea Spiridon-Hopson who is judging our Contemporary Series finalists this year. Here's a sneak peak at what she has to say when I asked Alethea this question:

What do you consider the most important qualities of an author?

Flexibility, professionalism, cooperation, patience, and kindness in how they deal with you. Sounds simple and what should be, but you have no idea... it's often not the case.

Wow. Kindness. The Golden Rule. Let's hope we all apply it regardless of where we are in our publishing and writing journeys.

To find out what Alethea's looking for and more, visit the Romance Magicians Blog at www.romancemagicians.blogspot.com on Tuesday, February 12th. Polish your entries now. The 2013 Linda Howard Award of Excellence is still open for your diamond waiting to be discovered. Check out www.southernmagic.org for details.

Happy Writing!

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