National and USA Today Bestselling author, Anna Stewart talks of procrastinating, the Tremayne Family Romances and writing in the kitchen–
•When did you first realize you wanted to be a writer?
In high school after reading my first romance (boy, back in the early 80’s). I’d always been a storyteller (as an only child, I had a very vivid imagination with lots of imaginary friends), but after reading Partners by Nora Roberts, I knew I wanted to write stories with happily ever afters.
•How long does it take you to write a book?
It’s funny, when I signed my contract for my Tremayne Family Romances (ASKING FOR TROUBLE is on sale now from Berkley), my editor asked me that. At the time, I was like, oh, two, three months, tops. And then I inched closer to deadline and hit panic mode. I think 4 months is a good time frame for me, at least for my single titles (which average 100K words). For my Harlequin books (one of which I’m working on now), about 2-3 months if I’m religious about hitting the keyboard (I’m a born procrastinator). My novellas…some have taken me 2 weeks, others up to a month. I think a lot depends on how the story flows and if it’s just “there” or if I have to really dig for it.
•What is your work schedule like when you’re writing?
As I said, I’m a born procrastinator, which seems to have gotten worse now that I don’t have my day job (the job went dark for a year sabbatical, so I’m writing full time this year–yikes!). On my excellent days (typically M-F), I write from about 8 in the morning until noon, but I produce better in the afternoon shift, which runs from about 2 – 5. I’m a pretty fast first drafter if I don’t let myself get caught in the re-writing cycle. It’s the editing that takes me more time, as it should.
•What would you say is your interesting writing quirk?
Probably the fact I write in the kitchen (I’m doubly productive if the dishwasher’s running). I have to because that ancient laptop doesn’t go online. I purposely don’t have virus protection on that machine so I can’t waste time on social media or email. I can spend hours looking for the perfect model car that will only be mentioned once (if it even gets to stay in the manuscript), so the more I keep off line, the better. My other quirk–all my heroines have Barbie representations sitting on my desk. It’s getting a little crowded…especially with Sam and Dean Winchester (FUNKO figures) standing guard.
•Where do you get your information or ideas for your books?
The info is either by Internet or books. I LOVE finding research books. In print, mind you. The second book in my Tremayne Family series (HERE COMES TROUBLE, August, 2015) features an art forger as one of the main characters, so I got to spend a lot of time reading about forgery techniques and artists.
The ideas, I wish I knew where they came from. For my Golden Heart finaling book (THE DEVIL SHE KNOWS, an Urban Fantasy/paranormal romance that’s not published…yet!), the idea came to me while I was walking around a photography exhibit of Georgia O’Keefe and Ansel Adams at the Crocker Museum here in Sacramento. I knew exactly how the book opened, what she looked like…and the story exploded from there. For my Tremayne stories, the idea of a woman who runs a children’s cancer charity was inspired by an infomercial for St. Jude’s. A lot of my other ideas have come from watching TV (I’m a TV junkie). I love watching CBS’s Sunday Morning. They have such fascinating news and informational stories you don’t hear anywhere else. That show more than any other, I think, has triggered story ideas.
•What does your family think of your writing?
They love it. They love it even more now that I’m published. I’ve always considered myself very fortunate that my family and friends have always been incredibly supportive and encouraging. Never once has anyone said “You want to be a what?”
•How many books have you written? Do you have a favorite?
Oh, boy. Officially, I think 7 are finished with one that never see the light of day (it’s a western inspired by The Magnificent Seven TV series that was on ages ago). When I got serious about writing, I was fully immersed in paranormal and UF and wrote 3 different books (each started a new series), but then the market turned away from that and I returned to the very first book I ever wrote, which turned into ASKING FOR TROUBLE.
My favorite? I’d have to say THE DEVIL SHE KNOWS because that book opened so many doors for me. From the time I started writing it, it felt like “the one”. Even though it hasn’t sold yet. But that’ll happen when it’s meant to. That’s the great thing about publishing right now. If the time comes and a publisher still hasn’t grabbed for it, I can do it myself. But for now I like the stability and the support I’m getting from my publishers. I still feel like a newbie (after 20+ years of writing), but once I get my legs under me, watch out!
•Do you hear from your readers much? What kinds of things do they say?
I’m still new enough that I haven’t really hear from very many (but my review team is growing!). I was very fortunate to have a number of fabulous writer friends who helped readers find me, especially with my first major release (ASKING FOR TROUBLE). The response I’ve gotten (and the reviews) made the twenty years to get here melt away. I wasn’t sure how readers would react to a heroine who surrounds herself with children who have very serious illnesses, but Morgan seems to have hit a chord with a lot of people. As has my hero’s mother. I think Theresa Juliano is going to need her own fan club soon.
I did recently get an email from a reader who read READING BETWEEN THE LINES, the first in my Lantano Valley novella series that’s included in the HEARTS & KISSES boxed set. My hero in that story has severe dyslexia and this reader was kind enough to tell me that I had mirrored her own experiences with dyslexia perfectly. In fact, she gave me some ideas for that character as he appears in later stories. It’s always a relief to know I got something write…and that my stories have touched them in some way. That readers would choose my books to lose themselves in…doesn’t get any better than that.
Check out Anna Stewarts’s webpage at http://www.authorannastewart.com/
And find her at her Amazon.com page http://ow.ly/JZ6DK or Barnesandnoble.com http://www.barnesandnoble.com/c/anna-j.-stewart