Oh hey! You came to find me, but today I’m over on The Strong Sunflowers podcast to talk about my author journey up til now and discuss what’s next for me.
Check out episode 83 wherever you get your podcasts!
Howdy folks! You came to find me, but I’ve been over talking with the good people over at Chosen By You Book Club, where I gave a little interview and where you can enter to win a giveaway of my novel Portrait of Woman in Ink: A Tattoo Storybook.
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Today I have the distinct privilege of hosting my new author friend, Denise DeSio for a little chat. A while back, I got a glowing review for The Redheaded Stepchild on Goodreads – the first one from someone I didn’t know. This kind soul was Denise DeSio, and I figured that if she liked my book, odds are I would like hers, too. It did not disappoint in the least; I can honestly say it’s probably the best book I’ve read this year. We began chatting back and forth about our books, our writing processes, and the ridiculous heat of the Southwest, so today’s just a little continuation of this chat. I was anxious to get an interview going with DeSio, and I welcome her today!
KH: You mentioned to me that you didn’t even know you were writing a book until you threw the characters of Ricky and Eli into the mix. What did you start out thinking you were writing?
DD: I started out doing what I always do with my emotions, putting them to the page. I’m not the type to cry on anyone’s shoulder.
KH: How long did it take, from the first word you wrote to publication, to complete Rose’s Will?
DD: I started writing in September of 2001 and got published in September of 2011.
KH: Why did you choose to go with 48fourteen as your publisher?
DD: 48fourteen’s submission process is respectful of an author’s work. They ask for 3 sample chapters, provide an online form to fill out with room to add unsolicited comments, all of which they read in a timely fashion and deliver a personal response to the submission. They were about to open a new eBook division when I submitted and offered to feature Rose’s Will on the launch. I liked the idea of being a big fish in a small pond, but most of all I really appreciated their sense of commitment to the process. They were also very good about negotiating the contract.
KH: In Rose’s Will, Glory is what you might consider a late-in-life lesbian, after a conventional marriage and children. What kind of message do you think Rose’s Will has for late-in-life lesbians?
DD: Glory is in her mid-twenties when she enters her first lesbian relationship, so yeah, maybe a bit of a late bloomer. I didn’t intend to convey a particular message about that, but if you want a message, here it is: Everyone has the power and the right to fully explore life at any age. We come through this way only once and there is absolutely no reason to be constrained by fear and narrow minded beliefs. So, go for it.
KH: Rose’s Will is a perfect example of how we continue to seek our parents’ love and approval long after childhood, no matter what they do to us. If you could say anything to someone dealing with parentally-inflicted childhood scars, what would it be?
DD: The first and most important thing to say to people who have been wounded is to validate the experience. After that, support whatever way they choose to deal with it. Instead, we often urge adult victims of childhood abuse to let it go or move on, as if that’s all it takes to solve the problem, even when the physical abuse turns to verbal abuse in the adult relationship.
KH: God, the gay gene, writer’s block. Which of these is real?
DD: <Laughing!> I’m going to have to choose writer’s block.
The whole god thing seems no less a myth than Santa, Tooth Fairies and Unicorns. In Rose’s Will, Eli, my Bulgarian Holocaust survivor is an existentialist/humanist. He is one of the most moral characters in the book.
As for the gay gene, I’m not a scientist but I don’t think it’s a gene. I do think that A) sexuality is fluid, B) there might be a physiological component, and C) even if we choose not to play the “born this way” card, no government or religion should regulate love. The world would be much more pleasant if we put our energy into improving the well-being of humanity instead of policing affinities.
KH: What’s your next great project, and when can we expect to see it?
DD: I can’t decide whether I want to edit the novel I wrote for NaNoWriMo last November or edit my Tenants Straight From Hell series. The novel is kind of heavy and TSFH is horrifying and hilarious. I guess I’ll see how I feel after the move. We just bought a house today, so for the next two months I’ll be re-nesting. I’m hoping to have something ready to go by the end of the year, but look for the release of the print version of Rose’s Will in the next couple of months. My publisher just finished re-formatting it.
KH: And finally, if you could have any superpower, what would it be?
DD: I probably would have said something entirely different 20 years ago, but right now I’d like to zap politicians with a truth serum. I’m seriously sick of their lies and I am dreading this election year. It doesn’t mean I’m not going to vote, though. DO NOT MAKE THE MISTAKE OF BECOMING SO DISGUSTED THAT YOU DON’T VOTE! There truly is such a thing as the lesser of two evils.
A big thanks to Denise DeSio for giving me an interview right in the middle of house shopping. You’ll hear me talk more and more about Rose’s Will, but if you haven’t picked it up yet, do it. Today. Or when you get paid next, whatever. It is a recent winner of the Reader’s Choice award for general lesbian fiction, an award well deserved. I’d tell you more of my opinion of it, but I think you get the point. You can always check out my Goodreads review of it as well.
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LOOK FOR THE PRINT EDITION THIS SUMMER!
Like Denise on Facebook! http://facebook.com/ReadMyBooks
Tweet me up at @Topbee
Follow her blog at www.DeniseDeSio.com
Today I am excited to welcome a fellow women’s fiction author to my site for a little interview. L. M. Stull is the author of A Thirty-Something Girl, one of the most exciting new books I’ve read this year from a fellow indie author. I’d gush about it, but you can read my review on Amazon or Goodreads for yourself. Thanks for allowing me to interview you, Lisa! It was a real pleasure.
I knew from the very first line of the novel that I was going to love it…
“The sun is bright and hot, and the world seems far too happy for me to be in it.”
KIH: How many times did you rewrite this first line of A Thirty Something Girl?
LMS: None! The entire opening chapter of the book came flooding out of me late one night and very little was changed in it 🙂
KIH: When did you first get the idea for A Thirty Something Girl, and how long did it take to get from concept to publication?
LMS: It began bouncing around in my head while I was in the process of editing what was originally slated to be my debut novel. The idea soon became so strong that I couldn’t concentrate on anything else. So, I abandoned my first book and penned this in a month in a half. From first draft to publication, it took me about six months.
KIH: I know you’re a fellow runner; do you ever draw on it for inspiration, alleviating writer’s block, or for general self-abuse?
LMS: Running, for me, is a form of meditation. A chance for me to disconnect from everything and everyone… except myself. It also allows me to eat insane amounts of cheese and cookies… ha. Clearing your mind does allow the words to flow more easily as well. Don’t hate me, but I’ve never suffered from writer’s block, and, perhaps that is due in large part to the running and meditation 🙂
KIH: As a full-time working woman, where and how do you make time to write?
LMS: You used a very important word here… “make.” When something is important in your life, you fit it in. TV is not important to me, so I don’t watch much of it. That helps a lot. But, as with everything, you have to find a balance. And make it happen. If you want something bad enough in life… you’ll go over after it. There are enough hours in the day if you believe it 🙂
KIH: How did you know you wanted to self-publish A Thirty-Something Girl instead of going the traditional, soul-sucking publishing route?
LMS: Control. Freak. I wanted to see what I could do with it on my own. Also, writing is a hobby for me. It does not (and probably never will) pay for my bills (I eat a lot of cookies…. they get expensive), so I decided to go with self-publishing. Although a lot of work, it was a more relaxed route. I simply don’t have the time to query and wait and query and wait… okay, so I’m an impatient control freak! But, with all this said, I am contemplating going the traditional route with other novels in the future. We’ll see.
KIH: In A Thirty-Something Girl, there is a lot of juxtaposition of joy and despair; do you enjoy writing the joyful parts or the despairing parts more?
LMS: I actually enjoy writing both. But, if I had to pick, I’d have to say the despairing parts are more enjoyable. I guess because I truly believe that it is in our darkest hours that we are the most honest with ourselves (most of the time), the most raw, and the most able to learn and grow.
KIH: Your protagonist, Hope, draws a lot of strength from her close circle of friends; are any of the characters based on close friends of your own?
LMS: Yes! They are all based on several close friends of mine from over the years. However, it is ironic that the people they were based on in real life are… males! ha
KIH: I kept seeing Kristen Chenoweth’s face every time Clara spoke in the story. If you could pick any Hollywood actress to play Hope in the movie version of A Thirty Something Girl, who would it be?
LMS: I would have to say Abbie Cornish!
KIH: What kinds of crazy projects do you have bouncing around inside your head now for your next big literary masterpiece?
LMS: I am currently working on two novels. One is another lit fiction/romance and the other is a non-fiction novel that follows how I have changed (and am continuing to change) my life 🙂
KIH: What’s your favorite color?
LMS: Black! And White! And Pink! And sometimes blue!
KIH: And finally, if you could have any super power, what would it be?
LMS: Probably the ability to make everyone realize how easy it is to be happy. And how being happy can… change the world.
A Washington, DC native, L.M. Stull spends her days chained to a desk at a law firm in southern Virginia. When she’s not feverishly taking orders from attorneys, she writes. Her stories tell of the human spirit – sometimes sad, sometimes not – most can relate to them on some level or another. A Thirty-Something Girl is her debut novel.
There are several ways you can go about stalking her on the web if your little heart so desires: Twitter, Facebook, Goodreads and her Website. She also runs the Fellow Writer’s Group on Facebook.
L.M. also blogs about her own personal journey in life on her blog, Lisa’s Liberation.
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