Spotlight on...Laura Drewry

I first met Laura Drewry in Reno in 2005. It was at the Moonlight Madness event at RWA's National Conference. I was working the booth for my local chapter and Laura was hanging out with another writer, Jessica Trapp. Dawn Temple (whose book is now out but she'd just found out she'd sold right before the conference) was trying to take a picture with me and I didn't want my picture taken. Well, she put her arm around me and put her cheek up to mine and said something about what the photo would represent. This was about the time Laura was walking up and she overheard the comment. Let's just say the look on her face was priceless. I burst out laughing and the picture was snapped, and then I officially met Laura. I don't think she remembers it - and that's okay - but that's when I officially became a Laura Drewry stalker-fan. And I can't wait to stalk her again in San Francisco this summer. :-)

Laura's latest book, The Devil's Daughter, is out this week. I have my copy already and can't wait to sit down and read it. I've loved her previous books and know I will love this one too.

Anyway, I did a little "interview" (online style) with her, and here it is below.

Tell us about your story.

The Devil’s Daughter will do whatever it takes to win her freedom, even if it means claiming the soul of sexy Jed Caine. There’s no question he wants her, but he wants more than just her body; he wants her heart, too, and he’ll settle for nothing less. His stubborn ways and gentle touches are too much – even for the devil’s own daughter. She was sent to steal his soul, yet there he is. . .capturing her heart.

How is she ever going to explain this to her father??

What's a typical day like for you?

Once I get the little darlings off to school, I take my breakfast and coffee up to my office and spend a little time reading emails, catching up on computer stuff and, yes, okay, playing a few rounds of Spider Solitaire or Mah Jong. But I try to make sure I’m down to work by 9:30, and then I do whatever I need to be doing. Sometimes it’s researching, sometimes it’s working on my newsletter, and sometimes –though not nearly often enough – I actually write! LOL I go until about 2:30 when I have to go get the little darlings and once I do that, the rest of my day is usually shot, so I try to get as much done as I possibly can before they get home. Sometimes I can get more done after supper, but by the time we get through that and any homework they might have, my brain is pretty frazzled.

How long have you been writing? How many books did you write before you sold?

I’ve always been scribbling in some form or another, but I didn’t make the conscious decision that I wanted to write novels until about ten or eleven years ago. I was 8 months pregnant with Darling #2 and we’d just moved hundreds of miles away from our families, so it seemed like a good time to start. LOL I had written 3 complete novels before I sold one. The first two were (are) total crap, but each a great learning experience in its own way. The third one sold to Hilary Sares at Kensington in September ’04.

What is the best part of writing for you?

My favourite parts are writing the beginning and the end. The beginning, because . . .well. . .because it’s a new beginning. Everything is fresh and anything is possible at that point. I love writing the ending because I’ve been waiting so long to see my characters finally reach their happily ever after and I finally get to write it. Of course, having said that, I hate writing the ending because I know it’s the end and I have to wave those characters goodbye. It’s like saying goodbye to a good friend.

Are you a plotter or a pantser?

LOL Every book, to date, has been written completely by the seat of my pants. I enjoy the not-knowing, the adventure, and the excitement of discovering who my characters are page by page. However. . . after this last book I just handed in to my editor, I now know that I need to try a different track. I will never be one of those people who is able to plot everything, scene for scene, but I spend so much time rewriting, editing, rewriting, editing and rewriting some more that I could probably write 3 plotted books in the time it takes me to write 1 by the seat of my pants. So I am making a concerted effort to find a way to plot my next book that won’t be too restrictive.

What was it like getting "the call"? Who was the first person you told?

Oooh, I love “call” stories. LOL My call came on September 7 2004. I’d just dropped the older 2 at school and then met a friend for coffee. When I got home, I had a voice mail and an email from Hilary Sares. Saying I was stunned is like saying the ocean is deep. Once I was able to pick my jaw up off the floor, I set my 4-year old up in front of the TV with a snack and shook like the proverbial leaf while I called Hilary back. To be honest, I don’t actually remember most of the conversation. It was more like a dream than anything else. But the moment I hung up from that call, I called my husband who was out of town. Got his voice mail.

Called each one of my 3 sisters. Got voice mail EVERY TIME.

Called my friend Wendy who gave me the shove to write way back when. Yup, you guessed it – voice mail.

I thought I’d go crazy!

What advice would you give to aspiring writers?

If you want to write, and I mean *really* want to write, then do it. Don’t go at it half-heartedly and don’t think for one second it’s going to be a cake-walk, because it’s not. If you want to write, then write. Literally and figuratively, just write. Sit your butt in your chair and write. Do it any way that works for you, whether that means starting at page 1 and writing straight thru to page 400 or if it means writing the middle of the book first. It doesn’t matter. Just write it. Don’t let yourself get caught up in all the stuff that happens online. Yes, in today’s world, you really should be part of it, but it’s too easy to get distracted with online groups and the latest scandal rocking the writing world.

If you want to write, and I mean *really* want to write, then do it. Write. Study your favourite authors, take classes if you can, and learn as much as you can. And while you’re doing this, write. And then write some more. The only way to get better is to practice, and there’s no other way to practice than to just write.

Where do you get your story ideas? What inspires you?

People inspire me. If you sit down in the middle of a park or a mall or something and just watch, it’s amazing what you see. That man’s trying not to yell into his cell phone; that lady’s laughing at something her friend just said; the couple over there looks like they’re breaking up; and that girl over there is crying.

Why? Who are they? What has happened up to this point in their lives to get them to this place?

There’s such a range of emotions all around us every day, from the lowest of the low to the height of happiness, and as we all know, you have to experience the lowest of the low to truly appreciate the heights of happiness, so how do people get from the low to the high, and what roadblocks do they have to get around before they get there?

How much of a role did contests play in your quest for publication?

Funny you should ask. I entered two stories in the Laurie contest in the spring of ’04 and placed 2^nd and 3^rd behind my friend Teresa Bodwell, who won. One of the final round judges was Hilary Sares, who had just bought the book Teresa won with, so that gave me a little head way. Hilary asked to see the complete of my 2^nd place finish and the rest, as they say, is history.

What do you wish you'd known before you reached where you are now - and would it have made a difference in the steps you've taken to get there?

Oooh, boy. LOL I started to answer this question, then stopped and deleted what I’d written. The truth is, I have stumbled my way through this, taking wrong turns and detours and somehow finding my way back to where I was supposed to be. But even if I’d known everything about everything beforehand, I still would have taken the same path because that’s how I learn. You can tell me anything you like, but I need to experience it myself in order to relate it to my work, and I think a lot of writers are similar. Just because Plan A worked for you, doesn’t mean it’s going to work for me, or her or him. We each have our own path and I can’t imagine taking any different steps than I already have. I’m sure that makes absolutely no sense whatsoever. J

What do you do when you're not writing?

I watch House on Tuesday nights. LOL Other than that, I’m just your typical wife/mother. I take the kids to their soccer and baseball practices and games, and I seem to spend a lot of time doing laundry. J I used to scrap book a lot because my sister was a Creative Memories rep, but it’s very time consuming, so I don’t do it nearly as much as I should. The kids and I like to take road trips and walk around the golf courses looking for eagles and discarded or forgotten golf balls. And, of course, I love to read. I’m usually months and months behind on that, though. My TBR pile is a little staggering. J

What's coming up next for you?

The Devil’s Daughter was just released this week, and the sequel, Dancing with the Devil, is scheduled for release in December, so I’ll have a bit of work to do on that one before it’s really finished. Besides that, my agent has a few proposals out for me and I’m working on a few more. Most of the proposals are historical westerns, but one is a contemporary and another is non-fiction, so we’ll see what happens with that.

The Devil's Daughter is available at Amazon and Barnes and Noble. Visit Laura at her website. Thanks for stopping by Laura! :)