Diane's Interviews:

Ms. Daring Do of Fiction Tells How, Why, What, and When

GENA SHOWALTER

Di: Tell us what your next yummy ead to hit the stands is all about?

Gena: My next book is Animal Instincts and it's my first contemporary.

There is - gasp! -- nothing paranormal in it. It's simply a story I had to tell and is about a woman's journey to empowerment and love with the aid of a self-help book - and all the delicious sex had with the hero, of course. It does have a chick lit tone, but it is a romance at heart. Di: If we can't have a poster of this hero, preferably scantily clad, can you give us 'a to die for' description.

Gena: He's absolutely, one hundred percent edible. Black hair, electric blue eyes, and yes, he works out. A lot. His name is Royce and he's mine, all mine. What I love most about him is that he's not afraid of love. He actually wants marriage and babies and happily ever after. He's passionate and tender, yet just the right amount of alpha.

Di: How many books published do you have at this time?

Gena: My fifth book, Jewel of Atlantis, hit bookstores in February 2006. This book features a government agent who enters Atlantis to steal a jewel but steals a woman instead.

Di: How many books have you sold and when will they be released?

Gena: I've sold a total of fifteen. Animal Instincts, my first contemporary, will be released May 1st, Enslave Me Sweetly, the sequel to Awaken Me Darkly, will be released June 1st, followed by Mysteria and Oh My Goth in July, then Playing With Fire in September, and The Nymph King in February 2007. There are more coming out in 2007 and 2008 but I don't have release dates or titles.

Di: When you write your books, do you plot them out ahead of time or just write and discover the story as you go?

Gena: I discover characters and story as I write. Lately, though, I sell my books on proposal - which means I need three chapters and a synopsis - so I have to plot something. But here's a dirty little secret: I rarely follow the direction of the synopsis.

Di: What is your writing process like once you begin writing a book?

Gena: In a word, obsessive. Once I start a draft, I can't stop. There's a feeling of 'must finish' that refuses to leave me. It haunts my sleep, my entire day, and becomes all I can think about. In fact, I nod in and out of conversations as scenes play through my head. I know people think I'm weird or rude, but that's okay. Once the rough draft is done, I relax and go back to being human. Kind of.

Di: Do you write on more than one book at a time?

Gena: Yes. I'd prefer to work on one at a time but many of my deadlines overlap. And just as I'm digging into one book, revisions, copy edits and/or galleys will arrive for three more.

Di: What do you wish you had known earlier about writing?

Gena: That it's okay to write a book the way you see it and not the way that will make it most - I'm just going to say it and probably get hate mail - marketable. We can make the trends. Time travels were not popular when Karen Moning sold Beyond the Highland Mist, but readers went crazy for that book. When I sat down to write The Stone Prince and The Pleasure Slave, I really downplayed the alien aspects. Those types of books were not selling at that point in time. But agent Deidre Knight - who did sign me with those books -- told me that the aliens were her favorite part of the stories. Let your passion shine through.

Di: Were you ever taught that something that held you back in finding your own writing process?

Gena: Not very many people offered me advice, to be honest. Mostly I was told not to switch point of view in the middle of a scene, not to use the word "was", and things like that. Those are the kind of rules it's best to discard. There are times when a POV switch will have the most impact for your reader and there are times when the word "was" is the best choice.

Di: Is there any advice you would give to unpublished writers?

Gena: Write your book all the way to the end before starting another project. You learn so much. And don't think about "the rules" or what's popular at the moment. Just write the book the way it needs to be told. Who knows, you could start the next trend.

Di: What is your website so that readers can check out all the cool info you have on your site?

Gena: Check out my website at www.genashowalter.com and join me in the fun at my blog: at www.genashowalter.blogspot.com.

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Copyright © 2005 Diane Dishman