At what age did you realize you wanted to be a writer?
I don’t really know because I don’t remember there ever being a time I wasn’t writing. From the time I could make letters, I was writing stories!
What has been your biggest influence on becoming a writer?
There was just something inside me that demanded I write whether it was little girl stories, or morose teen poetry, or song lyrics, or bedtime stories for my kids, I had to write.
How did you feel when you got your first publishing contract?
Stunned! I couldn’t believe anyone would want to publish me, let alone actually buy and read something I wrote!
How many novellas/novels have you published to date? When did you have your first sale?
I have 5 works out right now. Three are novels and two novellas. Sheesh, I don’t remember when the first sale was.
Tell me about your latest release. Please include if it is part of a series or a stand alone book.
TWO FOR HIRE was released 9/28. It’s a novella where the lead characters are introduced by the male leads sister trying to marry her brother off. The two like each other, have hot sex and could probably fall madly in love, except there’s one little thing standing in the way…
ANCIENT BLOOD is being released 10/19 and it’s the sequel to my paranormal werewolf book BLOOD LINE that was released a year ago.
What was your inspiration for this book?
LOL Every time someone asks me that question I feel like I’m supposed to have a wonderful inspirational story behind the book. Unfortunately, TWO FOR HIRE has no such story, it’s really just a funny look at a situation and a really good excuse for hot sex!
ANCIENT BLOOD however, is a different story—so to speak! BLOOD LINE came from a dream my truck driver husband had about being attacked by werewolves while on the road…he’s a big sci-fi fan! So while I was writing that one, the character of Ganda became a story in herself and ANCIENT BLOOD picks up her story where BLOOD LINE left off. And there’s probably a third book in this line because Ganda’s uncle, Garan, is now demanding his story be told. After all, even a 2,000 year old werewolf deserves happily ever after!
How do you categorize yourself: pantser or plotter?
Kinda both! I don’t sit down and write out a plot or outline, but I roll the story around in my head for a long time until the characters begin to take on a life of their own and start telling me what to write about them. Once I start writing the voices in my head take over and, depending on the story, I sometimes write it straight through. Other times the characters go to the Caribbean and lay on the beach for a while, so the story sits until they finish partying and come on home to tell me the rest of their story!
How do you handle the editing/revision process?
Sometimes I edit as I go, sometimes I write straight through and then go back and edit. But I’m one of those writers who love it when an editor gets going on one of my stories. I constantly learn new things about writing and readers perception from being edited, and I love that!
You’re received some fantastic reviews...how do you feel about them and why?
The first time I was reviewed, it was a great review and I cried. I was like, oh my, somebody likes what I wrote! Now that I’m a reviewer as well as a writer, I am able to see reviews from both perspectives. I think honest reviews are important, but there’s a difference in an honest review and a bad or mean review. I think any reviewer who writes mean reviews is a very petty person and probably jealous of the fact that they aren’t a writer. A review can be honest, point out the faults of the work, but also point out what was good about the work. I don’t mind getting a review that says, I loved the story, but didn’t buy the logic in why John and Jane disliked each other so much…as an example. To just say, this author wrote an illogical story that had John and Jane disliking each other for no real reason just didn’t do it for me…isn’t constructive. And from the authors I know, a constructive review is very much appreciated.
Did anything odd happen while you were researching this story?
As far as TWO FOR HIRE…hmmm, the research was more of a closed session! LOL For ANCIENT BLOOD, there was a lot of research on Egypt, pyramids, etc. but nothing odd happened, unless you count that 3,000 year old mummy I found. (Kidding!)
Did you do anything special after that first sale?
Not really. Unless doing the naked happy dance through the house for a week counts as special!
If you could take the place with one character in your books, who would it be and why?
Ganda from BLOOD LINE & ANCIENT BLOOD. Ganda is half witch and half wolf. She is one of a kind. She’s beautiful, (I kinda modeled her after Catherine Zeta-Jones), she’s soft spoken, a real lady who takes care of everyone and is more concerned with others than herself, but piss her off and the consequences are swift and severe! Ganda also fell in love only once and when he was killed, she never loved again, never had another lover, and longed only to join him. What she gets is something she never expected!
If you could time travel, where would you go?
There are so many eras I would love to travel to. The city of Atlantis (before it was lost), ancient Scotland to the Highlands (Karen Marie Moning made those Highland men so sexy, I want one of me own!) I’d travel to Pompeii, to Israel during the life of Christ, ancient Greece, and I’d love to see America before any white man ever stepped foot on it!
Share a little bit of the ‘real’ you with our readers. What do you do besides writing? Any hobbies? Dark secrets?
The real me! lol I always said I’m 1% evil but my husband told me I’m 10% evil and I think we settled on 9%!
I have 12 kids, my 25th grandchild is due later this month, and I’m going to California to be there for the birth. I rescue abused and abandoned dogs, get ‘em nursed back to health, shots, spay/neuter, and try to find them good, loving homes, but usually wind up keeping them! My youngest daughter just got married in September, so now I am living alone! YAY! Now we can spend all our time naked and not just special occasions!
I don’t have an evil day job. I used to drive big trucks cross country, and I worked as a drug and alcohol counselor for the Dept. of Corrections—yep, you don’t know what life really is until you’ve been the only female on a unit with 120 male inmates! Lol
But mostly I’m a wife and Nana who finds time to write on occasion.
Is humor important in today’s women’s fiction?
Absolutely. And not just women’s fiction, but all fiction. Sure some things are serious in nature, but so is real life and I think it’s the humor we find in every day life that gets us through the serious parts.
Here’s Rie’s bio:
Rie McGaha was born and raised in northern California along the shores of Humboldt County where her grandmother often took her to search for seashells and watch the humpback whales migration. Though her father was a bit of a gypsy and moved his family all over California and Oregon, Rie always enjoyed the trips back to Eureka, California where many of her 12 children and 24 grandchildren still live.
As a dreamer of dreams and being born with a a gypsy soul, Rie has lived all over the United States. Settling in SE Oklahoma with husband, Nathan, she enjoys a quiet life in the Kiamichi Wilderness where she takes in abused and neglected animals, nurses them back to health and tries to find them new homes. The ones that don’t find new homes remain with Rie and she currently has 18 dogs and 2 cats.
Between her husband, children, grandchildren and all of the animals, Rie tries to find a few moments to write. Ancient Blood, the sequel to Blood Line, is due out in the fall, along with Caleb and Arion the second and third installments of the My Soul To Keep Trilogy.
Her latest work, TWO FOR HIRE was released on September 28, 2009. She is also one of the authors featured in the western anthology, Cocked & Fully Loaded, due out in the fall.
Where can readers find out more about you and your work?
www.riemcgaha.com
Twitter me!
www.twitter.com/Rie_McGaha
My Space
www.myspace.com/novelsbyrie
Face Book
http://www.facebook.com/RieMcGaha
Erotic Romance
http://eroticromance.ning.com/profile/riemcgaha
You Tube
www.youtube.com/NovelsByRieMcGaha
Author Offerings
http://authorofferings.blogspot.com/
Review Site
http://riesreviews.blogspot.com/
Yahoo Group
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/eroticpromo/
Rie is having a contest that’s running through Halloween, the info can be found at www.riemcgaha.com/contests.htm
Thanks Rie for taking part in my 2 for Thursday promotion. I will let you know when the interview is up.
Lynn
There will be a few times where I interview a dual personality...LOL! Today, I inteview my good friend, Debbie Fritter. Debbie and I have know each other for a few years. A while ago, she asked me to critique the first book of what would become the Blue Moon Magic series. I pouted because I wanted to play with her and the other two authors in the series. I came up with a secret brother and was very lucky they invited me to play. The Blue Moon Magic series from Loose Id still garners a lot of attention to this day.
So help me in welcoming my good friend, Debbie Fritter/Debi Wilder to XtraOrdinary Romance!
At what age did you realize you wanted to be a writer?
I dabbled a bit in high school when I took a creative writing class, at that time I did more poetry and songwriting. It wasn’t until a friend’s sister became published in the 1980s that I figured I could do it too…and I did.
What has been your biggest influence on becoming a writer?
I don’t know if I can pinpoint one particular person or event. I believe a writer was somewhere inside just waiting for the right moment, so maybe is was Cori that influenced me in the ‘80s.
How did you feel when you got your first publishing contract?
The third greatest thing to happen to me … behind giving birth to my son and then marrying the love of my life.
How many novellas/novels have you published to date? When did you have your first sale?
My tenth publication came out this past September by Red Rose Publishing. My first book was published in 2005 by Whiskey Creek Press.
Tell me about your latest release. Please include if it is part of a series or a stand alone book.
HEARTBEAT is the sequel to the adult romance, Eternal Pleasures. It tells Paige’s story about finding her own sexual freedom with Russell. See Paige feels responsible for putting her best friend, CJ, in the hospital. CJ was always giving herself pleasure, and Paige just couldn’t figure out what the big deal was and she kept criticizing her for it. When CJ was ready to come home, Paige promised her that she’d shed her inhibitions…problem is she doesn’t know how. But Dr. Russell Canterbury is more than happy to teach Paige his wicked ways. Russell wants to use Paige by making her thirst for him sexual and take his revenue on CJ for getting his closest friend killed.
What was your inspiration for this book?
It felt like Paige and Russell needed their own story, one that made them complete.
How do you categorize yourself: pantser or plotter?
If by “pantser” you mean by the seat of my pants, that’s me. I tend to let my characters guide me through their world. I may have an idea of where I want to go with a new book, but ultimately it’s the characters that give me direction…I only suggest.
How do you handle the editing/revision process?
As you know, I have a couple of writing buddies (Honey Jans, Sherry Derr-Wille, and yourself) I’ll run things past before submitting to the editor of that particular house. All my editors have free rein to change any doing with grammar—my big downfall—anything else they need to run past me first. I usually give them a quick turnaround, usually within 72 hours.
You’re received some fantastic reviews...how do you feel about them and why?
Thank you. I’ve received some not so glowing ones as well. Reviews are subjective to the reviewer. What one reviewer may not get, the next one will. I think it’s a way of knowing how your readers might look at your story.
Did anything odd happen while you were researching this story?
Not on this particular one, One of my other stories BY THE BLUE MOON, is based on a legend where I live about werewolves living in the area. That “what if” became a four book series, Blue Moon Series, with three other talented authors.
How do you get your ideas for your stories? Do they come all at one or in bits and pieces over a period of time?
From just about anywhere, and usually when I’m in the middle of my current project. I’ve got an idea in my database that came from a story on the front of one of our local papers about the roller derby, too bad I didn’t beat Drew Barrymore to the punch though. A another one came while my husband and I were on vacation in St. Louis and we were looking around Union Station. I get that glazed over look in my eye when it happens, my husband gives me a minute, and then we talk a few minutes about it. I usually get some sort of opening for a new idea. Sometimes characters will come to me first, then the rest follows. There’s no rhyme or reason to it, just happens.
If you could time travel, where would you go?
There are two time periods that are my favorite … medieval and Victorian eras. I’ve always loved the lure of castles and the whole idea of knights, etc. Riding through the countryside on a big black Fressian…SIGH. The Victorian age was pretty carefree and elegant in its own right. But then so was the Deco age (20s/30s).
Who and what are you reading now?
Right now I’m reading THE KEY by Jennifer Sturman. It’s an older Red Dress Ink book about a woman whose boys dies right in front of her during a meeting. The thing is everyone in the meeting wouldn’t have minded seeing him dead at one time or another. I picked it up at the local Dollar General. I’ve found that I’ve been picking up more chick lit mysteries these days.
Share a little bit of the ‘real’ you with our readers. What do you do besides writing? Any hobbies? Dark secrets?
I work full time as a legal secretary for a state agency. I’m married to a wonderful man, have four grown children and two beautiful grand-daughters. Being a horse lover, in the early spring I replaced my aged Arabian mare with a younger Quarter Horse gelding…it is definitely Men are from Mars, Woman are from Venus syndrome here. There’s a sort of peace being with horses that’s hard to explain, and I think every horse owner out there would agree.
What does your significant other think about your writing?
Randy’s probably my biggest fan…and critic. He looks at just about everything I write, letting me know where he doesn’t understand something. Although, sometimes he’s just way too literal for the situation…he’s more into the Grisham, Patterson, etc. type of books and sometimes doesn’t understand that romance is written differently. He’s always ready to take me where I need to go for research, making a vacation out of it. When I was writing A LEGACY THROUGH TIME, he said that if I was going to write about the Civil War, I was going to stand on the battlefields. It was amazing and you can’t believe the feeling you get being out there. The area hasn’t changed much over the years.
Debbie writes under two names, Debbie Fritter and Debi Wilder. Here’s there bios:
Debi Wilder
Although some like to think Ms. Wilder lives what she writes, it’s far from the truth. She has shelves filled with research books such as Sex Toy Tales, Lip Service and The Academy, which she gets from her sister-in-law from time to time. Thankfully her husband doesn’t think they have to try everything at least once!
Ms. Wilder loves the freedom that writing erotica brings. There’s a no holds barred attitude that suits her when her imagination and characters take over and run wild on the pages. And like her characters, Ms. Wilder believes romance and sex go hand in hand.
Ms. Wilder currently lives a quiet life with her husband nestled deep among the pyramids of Rock Lake.
Debbie Fritter
Ms. Fritter’s first book, The Perfect Match, was released in April 2005 by Whiskey Creek Press. It was followed by the award winning A Legacy Through Time, Fallen Angels Reviews 2005 Book of the Year, in August; Emerald, a short story in Tales From the Treasure Trove, 2006 EPPIE Winner for Best Anthology, in September 2005. In June 2005, Whiskey Creek Press Torrid published her award winning sci-fi erotica, S.P.A.R., which was voted 2005 Best Erotic Romance Ebook by www.Ecataromance.com. Her next release, By the Blue Moon, Book 1 of the Blue Moon Magic werewolf paranormal anthology, was released in September 2007 by Loose ID. In February of 2008, Whiskey Creek Press will release Joust in Time, a time-travel romance from 15th Century England to modern times. Ms. Fritter’s books are available in ebook and/or print formats, and can be purchased through her websites: http://www.debbiefritter.net/ / http://www.debiwilder.net/.
Ms. Fritter is a member of the Electronic Publishers Internet Connection, Romance Writers of America, and Wisconsin Romance Writers of America. Ms. Fritter became of member of PAN in August 2009. Ms. Fritter has lived in south-central Wisconsin all but six months of her life. She spent most of her days growing up in Madison where she was born, but never forgot about her childhood years in Lake Mills during the early 1960s. She and her husband, Randy, returned to Lake Mills approximately 4 years ago and plan to stay in the area until they retire to Oklahoma.
If it's one thing Debbie’s learned over the years of her life it's that you can never stop dreaming and reaching for the stars, because sooner or later you just may get to touch one and it'll bring you more happiness than you can ever imagine. She feels lucky, and blessed, that over the past couple of years to have been able to reach out and touch two stars ... and she’s still reaching for more.
Readers can find Debbie/Debi at the following places:
http://www.whiskeycreekpress.com/
http://www.whiskeycreekpresstorrid.com/
http://www.loose-id.com/
http://www.classactbooks.com/
http://www.redrosepublishing.com/
http://www.debbiefritter.net/
http://www.debiwilder.com/
Thanks Debbie/Debi for taking part in my 2 For Thursday promotion. I enjoyed having you here and look forward to hearing more about your future books!
Lynn
Last week, you all helped me welcome two fantastic authors to my first 2 for Thursday promotion, Erin Sinclair and C.R. Moss. Both have kindly donated a copy of their book to giveaway to commentrs of their blog interview.
The winner of Witch One? by Erin Sinclair is Margaret Tanner.
The winner of Holiday Spirits by C.R. Moss is Patsy.
Please email me offline at lynncrain@cox.net and I will email you your prize.
Thanks for all those who participated!
Lynn
