Avalon Books - Author! Author!


	Read some interviews from past editions:
		S.J. Stewart June, 2008
		Zelda Benjamin April, 2008
		Shirley Marks December, 2007
		Donna Wright December, 2007
		Carolyn Brown August, 2007
		Roni Denholtz June, 2007
		Tara Randel April, 2007
		Sydell Voeller February, 2007
		Sheila Robins December, 2006
		Ann Holt October, 2006
		Cynthia Danielewski July, 2006
		Jane McBride Choate March, 2006
		Kathryn Meyer Griffith January, 2006
		Mel Taylor November, 2005
		Kathleen Fuller September, 2005
		Tracey J. Lyons July, 2005
		Ludima Gus Burton May, 2005
		Holly Jacobs March, 2005
		Sandra D. Bricker January, 2005
		Kathryn Quick November, 2004
		Cheri Jetton September, 2004
		Heather S. Webber July, 2004
		Karl Fieldhouse May, 2004
		Shelley Galloway March, 2004
		Ilsa Mayr January, 2004
		Kathy Carmichael November, 2003
		Dorothy P. O'Neill July, 2003
		Joani Ascher May, 2003
		Patricia DeGroot March, 2003
		Nancy J. Parra January, 2003
		Barbara Meyers November, 2002
		Christine Bush September, 2002
		Debby Mayne July, 2002
		Jean C. Gordon May, 2002
		Charles E. Friend March, 2002
		Norma Seely January, 2002
		Glen Ebisch November, 2001
		Gina Cresse September, 2001
		John Paxson July, 2001
		Terri Alcock May, 2001
		Clifford Blair March, 2001
		Amanda Harte January, 2001
		Kent Conwell November, 2000
		Carolyn Brown September, 2000
		Annette Mahon July, 2000
		Marjorie McGinley May, 2000
		Jack Lewis March, 2000
		Amanda Harte January, 2000
		Joyce and Jim Lavene November, 1999
	Return to the current Author! Author! interview:
		Sherry Lynn Ferguson August, 2008


Author! Author!: May, 2006
Click on image to learn more about these books. An Interview with Patricia Azeltine


How long have you been writing and how long did it take to get published?
	I have been writing for fifteen years. It took me ten years to get published in book form, although I had written a few articles that were published in newsletters and magazines.
Have you ever used real people as characters?
	I have definitely used habits and personality traits of people I know. But the first time I’ve ever used real people was in my latest book, Traces of Love, a historical romance. There are two minor characters in the book, Fermer and Jenny Walkley. They are my great-grandparents, who lived on Mt. Hood, where they ran a hotel. I put them in the story, because when I was researching my family’s genealogy and about their lives I came up with the location for this story. So I thought it was fitting to put them in the book.
How do you name your characters?
	This is very difficult for me. Some writers are so good at coming up with great character names, but I’m not one of them. So, I first determine what nationality my characters are, and then I look through my baby name books and try to find a good fit. My writing mentor, Frank Lambirth, an incredibly gifted writer and teacher, suggests that every writer make a list of names of characters they use from all of their books. I think that’s a wise idea, so you don’t use the same first and last names for your characters.
Where do you get ideas for plots?
	This is a common question writers get asked. I get ideas from anything and everything. Sometimes my ideas come from movies or books, but they can also come from places, like seeing a warehouse and thinking what if someone got murdered in that warehouse? Then I would expand on that idea by asking why was that person in the warehouse, why would someone want to murder them, and who would murder them? For Traces of Love, I read the nonfiction book, The Tracker, by Tom Brown, Jr., and I knew I wanted to write a romance where the hero was a tracker. From that point I asked myself, what if he had to track a woman he fell in love with? The next question that followed was why would he have to track her? She could have gotten lost in the woods, but that wouldn’t have given me much of a story. So I had to come up with something more. Another way to get ideas for plots is to brainstorm with another person. This person does not have to be a writer. Brainstorm with a spouse, daughter, son, or friend.
How do you develop your characters?
	Here again, I got this idea from my mentor and friend, Frank Lambirth. First I make a list of my characters and determine how major they are to the story. Then I write a biography about them, starting with their physical features like eye and hair color, height, etc. Then I determine their emotional conflict and how it came to be. I often will add to the characters biography as I flush out the story.
What can you tell us about your latest book for Avalon?
	Traces of Love took me over a year to research. I read books on Astoria, a biography on DeWitt Ireland, visited Astoria and the Astoria Historical Museum, researched and visited Portland’s historical museum, researched and visited Fort Vancouver (Vancouver Barracks), flora and fauna of northwestern Oregon, vessels that traveled the Columbia River, and researched tracking, etc. I love history, so for me researching is fun. I have a binder in my office that’s over three inches thick with research information for this story, not to mention all the research books I bought. Most of the streets, buildings, and vessel’s mentioned in the book existed in Astoria during 1873, although some had to be changed or modified to accommodate the story.
Are you working on anything else for Avalon?
	I submitted another historical romance many months ago and I am waiting to hear back on it.
Do you have any advice for aspiring writers? Or for anyone wanting to submit to Avalon?
	n “Sister Act 2: Back in the Habit”, Whoopie Goldberg’s character, Deloris Van Cartier a.k.a., Sister Mary Clarence tells one of her students that if she thinks about singing, dreams about singing, and sings all the time, then she is a singer. That’s how I feel about writing. If you think about writing, dream about writing, and write because you have a passion for it, then you are a writer! You don’t have to be published to be considered a writer. I have a friend, who I consider one of the most gifted writers I know, but she chooses not to be published. However, if you want to be published, I highly recommend submitting to Avalon Books. The reason I recommend Avalon Books is because they publish wholesome, fun, and entertaining books. They are also very patient with first-time authors, and even though they have due dates, I have never felt pressured by any of the editors. Just remember that if you submit to Avalon or any publishing house, it will take time to get a response, even on a query. It is not unusual for a writer to have to wait six to twelve months for a reply on a completed or partial manuscript, even if you are published with them. So my advice is to submit, and then begin working on to your next project. And if your goal is to get your book published, don’t give up. Try other publishing houses. What one house won’t like another one will love. Before I sent my manuscript, The Marriage Scheme to Avalon, best selling author, Debbie Macomber had read my first three chapters and loved it so much that she had me sent it to her editor at Silhouette. Unfortunately, her editor rejected it. But when I sent it to Erin Cartwright at Avalon, she bought it. A lot depends on what the house recently published, what’s selling on the market, and what the house is looking for at the time. And the last bit of advice I can give a writer is to work at your craft. Don’t just read other people’s work, study them. This was the best advice I was given by Frank Lambirth, and my writing improved by leaps and bounds when I followed it. Study their plot, subplots, characterization, dialogue, narrative, and description. It is hard work, but if you want to get published, I believe it is essential to study other good writers. And study works in different genre, not just romance. I wish all writers (and readers) reading this the best of luck. If you would like to contact me with further questions, feel free to go to my web site at www.patriciaazeltine.com and email me from there.