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Read some interviews from past editions:
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S.J. Stewart
June, 2008
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Zelda Benjamin
April, 2008
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Shirley Marks
December, 2007
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Donna Wright
December, 2007
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Carolyn Brown
August, 2007
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Roni Denholtz
June, 2007
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Tara Randel
April, 2007
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Sydell Voeller
February, 2007
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Sheila Robins
December, 2006
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Ann Holt
October, 2006
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Cynthia Danielewski
July, 2006
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Jane McBride Choate
March, 2006
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Kathryn Meyer Griffith
January, 2006
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Kathleen Fuller
September, 2005
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Tracey J. Lyons
July, 2005
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Ludima Gus Burton
May, 2005
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Holly Jacobs
March, 2005
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Sandra D. Bricker
January, 2005
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Kathryn Quick
November, 2004
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Cheri Jetton
September, 2004
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Heather S. Webber
July, 2004
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Karl Fieldhouse
May, 2004
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Shelley Galloway
March, 2004
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Ilsa Mayr
January, 2004
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Kathy Carmichael
November, 2003
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Dorothy P. O'Neill
July, 2003
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Joani Ascher
May, 2003
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Patricia DeGroot
March, 2003
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Nancy J. Parra
January, 2003
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Barbara Meyers
November, 2002
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Christine Bush
September, 2002
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Debby Mayne
July, 2002
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Jean C. Gordon
May, 2002
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Charles E. Friend
March, 2002
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Norma Seely
January, 2002
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Glen Ebisch
November, 2001
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Gina Cresse
September, 2001
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John Paxson
July, 2001
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Terri Alcock
May, 2001
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Clifford Blair
March, 2001
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Amanda Harte
January, 2001
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Kent Conwell
November, 2000
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Carolyn Brown
September, 2000
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Annette Mahon
July, 2000
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Marjorie McGinley
May, 2000
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Jack Lewis
March, 2000
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Amanda Harte
January, 2000
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Joyce and Jim Lavene
November, 1999
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Return to the current Author! Author! interview:
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Sherry Lynn Ferguson
August, 2008
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Author! Author!: November, 2005
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Click on image to learn more about this book.
An Interview with
Mel
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How long have you been writing and how long did it take to get published?
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I’ve been writing for 9 years, finally getting published in December 2005.
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How do you name your characters?
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I spend a lot of time looking for uncommon names. Sometimes they will just come to me or I will hear something that sounds appealing in conversation.
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How did you start writing?
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I have always enjoyed writing, going back to the age of 12 when I won a citywide writing contest in Chicago. After years of covering news stories as a television reporter, I wanted to take my experiences to the pages of a book. I crafted the characters and plot and relied heavily upon friends who were already published. They gave me much needed direction and one friend submits stories to magazines and is an editor, so his help was extremely important. I attended conferences, stayed late talking to the speakers, and conversed with authors. For me, a key turning point was the day I joined a critique group. I got support from fellow writers and the guidance of the award winning author who first started the weekly sessions.
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What’s the hardest part of writing?
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Quite simply, finding the time to write. I work a 40 hour-plus week in television news and what works for me is I have created my writing space. For me, trying to write after an 8 to 10 hour day was hard to do. I set certain times when I am devoted to my writing, like a Saturday morning. So now I write on weekends and I’ve found I can edit my pages after work during the week. I have also used vacation days to finish a book. I keep a note pad in the car to write down ideas and dialogue. When I really want to think about characters, I turn off the car radio. I let my ideas and plot points build up during the week so that when I get my chance to write, it all flows.
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How do you develop characters?
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Many of my characters are a compilation of people I have met. I take different traits, skills and flaws and mold those ideals into a person in the book. One thing I try to do is put my characters in some very tough situations and see how they figure a way out. The journey for that character from meeting a problem on page one, to resolution at the end of the book, will show the reader a great deal about the make-up of the people I’m trying to illustrate.
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Are you working on anything else for Avalon?
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Yes. I have finished a manuscript featuring the characters from Murder by Deadline. This time, my protagonist Matt Bowens is called on to help a friend. Her husband is missing, and there is the discovery of two rather large diamonds.
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Do you have any advice for aspiring writers? Or for anyone wanting to submit to Avalon?
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One, be patient. Two, don’t stop writing. Three, attend writing conferences to learn all you can. Four, bounce your questions about writing off someone who has been published. You will probably find that they are eager to help you. If you want to submit to Avalon, carefully read the directions for contacting Avalon Books, and also go out and read some of the books already published by Avalon to get a good idea of what they are looking for in a manuscript.
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What are you working on right now?
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I am writing a short story, a mystery involving a police procedural, perhaps 30 pages or less.
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