An Interview with Author, Claire Croxton

Nobody is better at mixing batches of snarky humor with dashes of poignancy than Claire Croxton, aka Patty Stith. Her stories and novels are full of three-dimensional characters who are funny, even snarky, on the outside. Yet, she teases the reader by subtly exposing the characters' internal pain. Claire's perfect blend of highs and lows captures every spectrum of emotion, drawing the reader in, page by page.

As she prepares for the release of two books in early 2012 by The Wild Rose Press, I am happy to introduce you to this talented author.

1) You are an artist in a variety of ways--in your writing, quilt-making and cooking. Many people have enjoyed both your writing and your cooking. Both are superb! I'm curious. How would you say writing is like cooking?

How is writing like cooking? That’s a good question. I approach both with the same methodology—total abandon. I’ll glance at a recipe to see what it suggests and then do it my way. Most of the time, the results are edible. I’ve learned to curtail that free-spirited approach with writing. There are guidelines for every genre and if you don’t pay attention to those you end up with a book that isn’t marketable. Of course, I keep telling myself that I’ve created the newest, hottest, bestselling genre,(soul-searching snark) but most likely authors need to get established before they can start breaking rules.

For me, cooking is a mindless outlet for creative energy. I love the challenge of cooking a meal for 10 on short notice—investigating the contents of my pantry and freezer in order to whip up a delectable meal. Writing offers a similar challenge. For example, a scene that needs to convey a certain emotion. I sit before a blank computer screen and let my fingers fly. No real thought to it. Unlike cooking though, the results aren’t always readable.


2) Was becoming a writer an inevitability for you? What was your path to becoming a writer?


Yep. It was destined. My brother taught me how to read when I was four. Both of my grandmothers lived within 2 blocks of the public library and I spent most of my childhood there. I still have my first library card. I got it when I was 6. By the time I was 8, I was writing stories in notebooks and I always kept a journal.

It never occurred to me that I could be a “writer.” I always thought I had to have a real job. So, I taught high school, English and History. When I moved to Alaska, I worked as a grant writer/administrator for years. I loved the job because it combined my two favorite things, writing and project management (I get a perverse pleasure from getting things done ahead of schedule.) It was a very stressful job though and the writing was strictly technical.

One day at lunch with a friend in Anchorage, I was bemoaning the fact that I never got to write fun stuff anymore. He encouraged me to write a book. The thought had been running around in my mostly empty brain for years. He was the right person at the right time to encourage me and boom! Three years later my first books are being released.


3) Your book, The Redneck Ex, will be released by Wild Rose Press on January 20, 2012. Is it true you wrote your first draft during NaNoWriMo? Give us the pitch that hooked The Wild Rose Press editor, Rhonda Penders.

I did write the first draft of Redneck Ex during the 2009 NaNoWriMo. I have the chiropractor bills to prove it. I was writing so much that I lost feeling in my right arm. I was having too much fun to stop. The final version of the story is vastly different from the frenzied first draft, but I loved process.

I started my current WIP, Ex-Ray, during the 2010 NaNoWriMo. I was busy editing this year, so I wasn’t able to participate, but I really appreciate the idea behind NaNoWriMo—setting aside time to give yourself permission to write garbage. Don’t stop. Don’t edit as you go. Get it out there.  Then go back and perfect it.

I described Redneck Ex to Rhonda Penders as: Northern Exposure meets Sweet Home Alabama. I’m not sure if that sold the book or if it was going to dinner with her. It didn’t take her long to realize that the voice in Redneck was authentic. It was either the story of my cousin the rodeo queen or my tale of cooking up a snapping turtle that convinced her I was writing from the redneck experience.


4) Many of your stories take place in Alaska and Arkansas. You've lived in or visited many other places in the world. Santorini Sunset, which will also be released by The Wild Rose Press early next year, takes place in Greece. Any other plans for stories with worldly setting?

Oh, do I ever have worldly plans! The hero in Santorini Sunset, Raul Sobrevilla, is from Peru. I want to do a sequel to Santorini set on Raul’s family’s ranch in Peru. I’m also working on a story, Loch Lonnie, that takes place in Scotland and Arkansas.

And I’m working on two short stories—one set in Japan, the other set in Dubai. The bulk of my stories are set in Arkansas and Alaska simply because I know those places so well. There’s still a lot of research involved to get facts correct, but I can close my eyes and see the settings. That helps speed things along when I’m writing scenes.


5) What's the best piece of advice on writing you've ever received?

I can’t narrow it down to one piece of advice. There have been so many people involved in my writing career who have taught me valuable lessons.

My parents: You can do anything you set your mind to, sugar dumpling. Just do it.

Dusty Richards: If you edit while you write, you’ll never get the damn book finished.

Velda Brotherton: Sense of place…make the reader feel, see, smell, touch everything the character is.

Jodi Thomas: Triumph Comes Through Perseverance

The best writing tip came from my mother. We both make quilts. When you’re working on a sewing project, you stop mid seam so that when you return you know where you are and you can start right back up again with no problem.  One time when I was fussing because I could remember where I was in a story that I’d set aside for a few weeks, she recommended I stop writing mid-sentence.  That little tip has helped me tremendously. No matter how long I’m away from a story, I’m able to resume writing quickly and relatively pain-free.


6)  You recently created Trailer Trash Productions, a resource for writers who would like to create a book trailer. You've produced several beautiful trailers, some of which are shown in this blog. Please tell us about Trailer Trash Productions and the services you provide for authors.

Trailer Trash Productions works with authors to create book trailers that reflect the voice, setting and tone of their books. There are several different ways to approach a book trailer and many different elements that can be incorporated. You can go with a simple slide show with text set to music or you can be as elaborate as making video, composing your own music and narrating the trailer.


Anyone can do her own book trailer. It’s fairly simple, but the problem lies with copyright issues. Going online and downloading pictures from Google Images just won’t work. It’s impossible to know if the pictures you select are copyrighted or not. Same goes for music. Lots of people download the karaoke version of their favorite song, but even that is copyrighted.  Most people don’t think it’s that big of a deal, but if you’re using your book trailer to promote your book you’ll be making money from the end product. That’s going to get those folks whose copyright might be infringed upset.  That’s one reason why hiring a book trailer professional is a good idea. The other reason is producing a trailer takes a lot of time. Wouldn’t you rather be spending that time writing?


Here's an example of a Trailer Trash Productions:

7) What's next for Claire Croxton?

New York Times Bestseller, novels to screenplays to Hollywood-A-list blockbuster movies, vacation home in Tuscany.  Or…I’m getting another batch of feeder pigs whose care will cut into my writing time.  Either way, I’m happy.

Thank you, Claire, for some great insight into you and your writing. It's cold outside and I have a cozy fire and  a glass of wine. Now all I need is the release of your books!

Have a peek at Claire's book trailers by Trailer Trash Productions:

Visit Claire Croxton's blog, Claire Croxton, Romance Author

Getting to Know Velda Brotherton

Writing has been Velda Brotherton’s passion for more than 25 years. She was born in Arkansas and has lived many places, including Kansas, Colorado, Missouri and New York. Velda and her husband now live in Arkansas in a home she designed and helped build. It sits on ten acres and to the north is the Ozark National Forest. They have two children, three grandchildren and a great-grandchild.


Velda has been published in historical romance, regional non-fiction, articles in newspapers and magazines, short stories in anthologies and non-fiction in anthologies. Her book, Fly With the Mourning Dove was a Willa Award Finalist, and she was recently honored as Distinguished Citizen of 2010 by the Washington County Historical Society. Her latest books are The Boston Mountains – Lost in the Ozarks and Arkansas Meals and Memories.

She is a member of several writers’ organizations, including Women Writing the West, Ozarks Writers League, Northwest Arkansas Writers and Oklahoma Writers Federation.

Velda has been a writing mentor to hundreds of writers, sharing her knowledge of writing, marketing, blogging, publishing, and anything "writerly."
 
I hope you'll learn something new about Velda from the following interview:
 
Q. You’ve written several fiction (Images in Scarlet,) and non-fiction books (Fly With the Mourning Dove, Arkansas Meals and Memories, The Boston Mountains: Lost in the Ozarks.) Do you prefer writing fiction or non-fiction?


A. I am totally into writing fiction. It carries me away into the world I’m creating and it’s fun. However, writing and recording our history in nonfiction form is so enjoyable I have to continue doing it. I’m fascinated by the lives that went before us and the paths that were taken to make us who we are. So I guess I have to say I prefer writing period. Rather than say mowing grass, cleaning house, knitting, or the like.

Q. Do you have a single favorite book that you’ve written, and if so, why?

A. I can’t say I do. In the fiction books, I think the best one was Images In Scarlet, but I enjoyed writing them all and still enjoy remembering the stories. I think the Boston Mountain book is my best achievement in nonfiction. It’s the culmination of 20 years work and I’m very proud of it.

Q. I still remember the thrill of being notified of my first publication. In your career, you’ve been a Willa Finalist for Fly With the Mourning Dove, and you were recently designated as a Washington County Historical Society Distinguished Citizen. What has been your biggest thrill as a writer?

A. You know what? I so appreciate and am honored by the awards I’ve won, but my biggest thrill still today is being with other writers and sharing their expertise. So many wonderful writers have passed through my life, many I may never see again. But I’ll never forget a single one of them.

Q. Can you describe your typical writer’s day?

A. It begins after our mid-day meal. I’m not a morning person and can only manage things like cleaning or staring out the window at the valley below before noon. My brain kicks in after we eat and I’m in my office from 1 til 3 when hubby insists I get up a while and take a break. We chat for 15 minutes or so, then I’m back to work till anywhere from 4:30 to 6, depending on what I need to work on. I have a weekly schedule that I try to stick to except during emergencies. On Mondays I’m on the Internet promoting: Facebook, Twitter, website and other sites that need work; Tuesdays I work on articles on deadline for newspapers; Wednesday through Saturday I work on my WIP, which is usually works in progress because I often have a short story, a novel, and a nonfiction book underway at the same time. On Sunday that’s my day and I play. I don’t even like to take phone calls to do with the business of writing.

Q. For the last few decades, you have mentored hundreds of writers. I know I have learned so much from your classes, as well as our weekly critique group. With the wealth of information you’ve shared with writers, this may be a tough question, but can you summarize what you believe to be the most important thing a writer should know?

A. The craft of writing is important, of course, and polishing your work until it shines. That done, I believe once a writer has created her best work, the most important thing is perseverance. So many get a few rejections (100 or more) and they give up. I’ve seen writers give up when their first book doesn’t sell, and what a shame. Because it could be the third or tenth book that will be the one that sells.

Q. You’ve become very skilled in how to market your books. What do you think has been your most successful marketing technique?

A. I’m still trying to keep up with marketing online and have a lot to learn, but I’m working on it. I think personal contact with groups and word of mouth will ultimately sell more books for writers, but this is a difficult thing to achieve. I like marketing in small towns through libraries and independent bookstores because in most cases these people don’t have large book stores and welcome getting together with writers. Networking online gets the word out to more people, but when I’m marketing regional books it’s more important to remain within the area of highest interest in my product, so I concentrate on those places included in the book. It’s all a crap shoot, though. We do all we can to promote and market, and some things that work for me probably won’t work for others. Everyone needs to find their best promotional tools and stick with them. I’m going to speak on promotion and marketing of regional books at OWFI in May of 2011 and will do a lot of research this winter to find all the best ways.

Q. Can you tell us about some of your upcoming projects?

A. Yes, I’m really excited about trying to break into Ebooks, but I’m still working on selling a women’s fiction to a New York House. I don’t think print books will be killed by Ebooks, but I think they will exist side by side, equally. I’m also working on a biography for Old American Publishing and I have a memoir that I write on when the mood strikes me, or I recall a vivid story I want to include. I also have a new women’s fiction underway about a woman whose past tragedy is recreated in the life of her granddaughter. She must choose between the ghost of her lost lover and this girl she raised.

Q. If you could “pick the brain” of any writer (or anyone) living or dead, who would it be and why?

A. Most writers would choose someone well known, someone who has created classics, but I’ve always been fascinated by Ayn Rand’s beliefs. They were so “out there” for the times and she was such a strong woman who had survived dreadful experiences. I think she’d be one of my top choices, though there might be others. I’ll stick to writers here, since there are many great people who have literally changed the world and who would be fascinating to spend time with. I’d like to know what makes writers like James Lee Burke tick. How he can see and present the world with such exquisite precision is entrancing. I’d like to ask him how he does it, but I’d bet he couldn’t tell me.

If you'd like to learn more about Velda, her at the following sites:

http://www.veldabrotherton.com/
http://www.veldabrotherton.blogspot.com/
http://www.vbrotherton.blogspot.com/

Leave a comment for a chance to win Velda's book, Fly With the Mourning Dove. Drawing will be held on Monday, November 15. Watch for winner notification on Facebook and on this blog. Good luck!

Passing on the Write Stuff

On my four-hour drive home from the OWFI Writers' Conference in Oklahoma City this weekend, I had plenty of time to reflect. The common thread through all of my thoughts was how good I always feel after attending a writers' conference.

Probably the first good feeling that comes with attending a conference is motivation. When I see the list of contest categories, my mind often races with story ideas. Add my competitive spirit and a deadline to that, and you have one motivated writer!

Meeting new friends and getting reacquainted with old ones is another treasure of these conferences. I think all of us writers know we are a different sort, sometimes quiet, maybe a little introverted. Certainly we all live in our own imaginary worlds much of the time. But put a bunch of us together, and we open up and share to our hearts' content, as though "we were lost, but now we're found!"

But, I think it's the wealth of information shared by other writers that leaves me with the best feeling, long after the conference is over. I never cease to be awed by writers who continue to share knowledge in a variety of areas -- technique, marketing, motivation -- with anyone who asks, all for the simple reward of helping a new writer succeed. When you think about it, in this sometimes ruthless and competitive world, that really is amazing.

The conference was filled with such sharing writers, who brought a variety of up-to-date information to an audience hungry to learn. It not only inspired me to write, it gave me the confidence to go beyond my writing, to the necessary next step of marketing. (Oooh, not something that comes naturally to most writers!) And the biggest surprise was that I daydreamed about one day being one of those presenters who might share some valuable information with other writers.

On a personal note, Dusty Richards and Velda Brotherton, founders of our writing critique group, are two people who consistently help me (and countless others) with improving our writing skills, as well as keeping us motivated. They have set the example for all of us writers to help other writers -- to pass it on. As friends and mentors, they definitely have the "write stuff!"