People ask me questions. Some of those questions are asked more frequently than others. Here are the ones that pop up over and over.
Do you write full-time?
Nope. I teach high school Spanish during the day. Which is pretty cool, because I get to hang out with my target audience all day long.
Are you married? Do you have any kids?
Yes and yes! I’ve been married to my husband since June 2008. We have a daughter who was born in December 2010. If you join my Facebook page or follow my Twitter account, you just might see some pictures of her!
We used to be parents to a very ornery and entitled cat, but sadly (cough) she ran away when I was seven months pregnant with our daughter. The times, they were a-changin’, and Peach the Cat got the heck out of Dodge before she could be knocked down another notch on the totem pole.
How do you balance a full-time job, a family, and writing?
I find that ignoring housework provides me with the time I need to write. Just kidding . . . mostly. For real though, I take shortcuts wherever I can. I don’t separate whites and colors in the laundry, clip coupons, vacuum every day, cook every night, or make the bed.
If you’re looking for a more detailed answer, I wrote a blog post about how I manage my time. You can find it here.
Where are you from? Where do you live?
The answer to both questions is Birmingham, Alabama. I went to college in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, and spent a semester in Madrid, Spain, but otherwise I’ve never lived anywhere else.
What’s your favorite TV show / movie / book / color?
TV Shows: Arrested Development, How I Met Your Mother, Modern Family, Suburgatory, The Big Bang Theory, Community, and of course, Seinfeld.
Movies: Snatch, The Bourne Identity, any of the Harry Potter movies . . . and that’s all I can think of. Apparently I don’t see many movies.
Books: Your best bet here is to look in the sidebar of my blog under “YA Books I Love.” I update it pretty regularly with links to each book’s Amazon page.
Color: Green.
How old are you?
I was born in June of 1983. I’ll let you do the math!
How tall are you? (Yes, this is a FAQ.)
With no shoes on, I am 5’10″. In heels, I am terrifying.
Where did you go to college? What did you major in?
I went to the University of Alabama. I have a degree in advertising and a second major in Spanish.
Do you speak Spanish fluently?
Yes, I hablar the español.
I heard you’re a Christian. Is that true?
Yep.
Does that mean you’re going to judge me for stuff?
No.
Really?
Really. I promise. I don’t think I’m any better than you. Mostly, I think I suck, which is why I believe in the redemptive power of Christ. You don’t have to believe in it to be friends with me, though.
Where do you get the ideas for your books?
From the voices in my head. No . . . really. Writers are all a little bit crazy. We spend a lot of time worrying about people who don’t exist, and if that won’t make you batty as all get-out, I don’t know what will. The stories I write sort of sneak up on me and then, over the course of several days or weeks, take over my brain until I can’t think about anything else. At that point I have to make a choice: write them down or risk my head exploding. I usually choose to write them down.
Are your characters based on real people?
Many of them are, but I’ll never say who because those people would probably be horrified/feel embarrassed/hate me and then things would get awkward between us.
How did you get an agent?
I did a lot of research on www.agentquery.com. Then I made a list of agents I wanted to query. And then I queried them. I know that’s not particularly helpful, so now I will direct you to a book called Writer’s Market. There’s a new version every year and it will tell you exactly how to go about finding the literary agent of your dreams.
How long did it take you to find an agent?
It only took me a couple months to gain representation, but that isn’t normal. Usually it takes a very long time and, for many people, it never happens at all. I was extremely blessed to connect with Alanna Ramirez of Trident Media Group so quickly.
I heard you lost your agent. What happened? What are you going to do now?
Alanna left Trident unexpectedly in September 2011, mere hours before I was going to send her my new manuscript for review. As you might have guessed, I was shocked and SO sad. She did her best to place me with another agent at Trident, but it didn’t work out, so now I’m researching new options for representation. Alanna, bless her sweet soul, is doing everything she can to help me.
The good news is that there are LOTS of fantastic agents out there, so I’m looking on this as simply a new chapter in my writing career rather than a setback. It’s just like that song they used to play on the radio by that band: “Every new beginning comes from some other beginning’s end.”
Can you read my chapters, query, or synopsis and help me with them?
Nope. I apologize for having to say no, but I have to do so for two reasons: 1) I don’t ever want to be accused of plagiarism (not that anyone who is reading this would ever do that, but I have to be overly cautious) and 2) I just don’t have the time. So, unless you are a very good friend and I offer those services to you, I’m afraid I can’t help you out. If you send something to me anyway, I’ll delete it without opening it and then feel terrible about it, so please, just don’t send it.
Will you read my book and review it on your blog?
No, and I am so sorry. I got into some sticky situations back when I reviewed books–especially for author friends–and I just can’t do that again. So as of January 2012, I am closed to all reviews.
Can you give away my book or swag on your blog?
The only things I give away are: 1) ARCs, 2) published books that I love and believe in, and 3) the occasional non-book item that comes from a personal friend.
If you’re looking to send me an ARC for a giveaway, by all means, get in touch with me. Otherwise, I’m afraid the answer is no. I’m sorry!
I thought you had a book out. Why can’t I find it?
So, okay. After Alanna and I weren’t able to sell my first novel, we decided it might be good to self-publish it for a while. And it was a great experience–I had a lot of fun getting it out there. But at the end of the day, I don’t have the time or resources to be a successful self-published author. The Clearing had a limited run of one year, and after that, I pulled it from publication.
How long did you submit The Clearing to publishers, and why did you decide to stop?
We worked on The Clearing and submitted it to editors for about a year and a half. We weren’t submitting continuously that whole time, just on and off as the responses came in. We decided to stop when we ran out of editors. It was really that simple.
I read The Clearing and loved it! Are you going to write a sequel?
I’d like to, but it’s not really on my radar right now. I’m focused on pursuing traditional publication. But I’m so glad you enjoyed it!
Hey, you didn’t answer my question!
I’m sorry! If you still have a burning question for me, please email me through the contact page and I’ll get back to you as soon as I can.
You also might want to check the “Fun Facts” page. I wrote some random stuff about myself there.
