Author Interviews

Authors on Editing: Interview with Dean King

People don’t always think of wordsmiths as adventurers, of book writing as exploration, or of fine-tuning a manuscript as a process of discovery, but if that’s the case, they probably haven’t heard from award-winning, bestselling, documentary-producing author Dean King.

From the subject matter he chooses to investigate to his extensive research to the captivating storytelling that results, Dean is a master writer. I’m thrilled to welcome him to my Authors on Editing interview series.

Authors on Editing: Interview with Lisa Wingate

Some writers pen works you fall head-first into, making you not want to climb out until the very last page. Lisa Wingate is one such author, who has been able to achieve this feat time and time again. Lisa’s novels have been translated into over thirty-five languages, and on top of her skills as a novelist, the group Americans for More Civility, a kindness watchdog organization, selected Lisa along with six others as recipients of the National Civics Award, which celebrates public figures who work to promote greater kindness and civility in American life.

For these reasons, and many more, I am absolutely beside myself to present the following interview, which is full of inspiration and valuable writing and editing advice.

Lisa Wingate Editing Interview

Authors on Editing: Interview with Jennifer Delamere

What is a question that can bring a novelist to hysterical laughter? What is sometimes a writer’s nemesis and sometimes a friend? The following interview with historical romance novelist and editor Jennifer Delamere provides the answers.

I met Jennifer at one of my Grammartopia events last fall in Durham, North Carolina, where she didn’t just compete, but her grammar prowess won the day. I admired her work before that time, of course, but getting to banter with her about the plural of mongoose and Oxford commas made me realize I’d found a kindred editorial spirit. Enjoy this interview, writers. There are a lot of great nuggets inside.

Jennifer Delamere writes tales of the past…and new beginnings. Her Victorian-set novels have won many accolades, including finalist for the Romance Writers of America RITA® award, a starred review from Publishers Weekly, and the Georgia Romance Writers Maggie Award for Excellence. Jennifer earned a B.A. in English from McGill University in Montreal, Canada, where she became fluent in French and developed an abiding passion for winter sports. She’s been an editor of nonfiction and educational materials for over two decades. She loves reading classics and histories, which she mines for the vivid details to bring to life the people and places in her books.

Authors on Editing: Interview with Lee Savino

Some writers take years upon years for a single project, and some writers produce a library in just a few rotations around the sun. Lee Savino falls into the latter category. She released seven books in 2017 and expects to release about ten novels in 2018, not to mention a few novellas.

Successful writers like this amaze me, not just for their impressive output but in their editing processes as well. All writers know that editing is an essential piece of the publishing process, but when you’re publishing so frequently, efficiency is essential.

How does she do it? The following Authors on Editing interview was set up just so I could find out!

Authors on Editing: Interview with Cheryl Pallant

Years ago, someone told me that taking a writing class with Cheryl Pallant would be unlike any workshop I’ve ever taken, and whoever that person was—I wish I remembered!—he or she was absolutely right. Tapping into the creative energy of your body as it moves stimulates the writing mind in ways I hadn’t experienced before.

Ask me, and I’ll tell you a story about the astounding mind-body connection of that first class with Cheryl seven years ago. But in the meantime, I’m honored to showcase author, teacher, and creative guru Cheryl Pallant and to share her thoughts on her editing process.

Cheryl Pallant is the author of several books of poetry and nonfiction, most recently Ginseng Tango, Her Body Listening, and Writing and the Body in Motion: Awakening Voice through Somatic Practice. Her stories, poems, and essays have appeared in places like New York Quarterly, Confrontation, and Fence and in anthologies like An Introduction to the Prose Poem. She teaches at University of Richmond and offers her somatic workshop, “Writing From the Body,” at retreats and art centers across the U.S. and abroad.

Authors on Editing Interview with Jacqueline Woodson

We all have certain writers we’re a bit in awe of, because of their stories and because of the power of their words. To be able to hash through the revision process with such an author is an absolute honor, and I’m thrilled to present you with the following Authors on Editing interview with National Book Award, Newbery Honor, and Coretta Scott King Award recipient Jacqueline Woodson.

Jacqueline Woodson Editing Interview

Authors on Editing: Interview with Katherine Neville

Many writers aspire to craft intrigue, to evoke a fascination in history and the world that we live in through page-turning plots and three-dimensional characters, but few make an impact as great as international bestseller Katherine Neville, who I am honored to have joining me for the following Authors on Editing interview.

Katherine Neville Interview

Katherine Neville’s colorful, swashbuckling adventure novels, in the epic “Quest” tradition, have graced the bestseller lists in forty languages. But her books remain hard to pigeonhole:

Neville herself has been dubbed “the female” Umberto Eco, Charles Dickens, Alexandre Dumas, and Stephen Spielberg. Her work has been reviewed and has received awards in categories as diverse as Mystery, Thriller, Historic, Romance, Science Fiction as well as classical literature. Publishers Weekly described Neville’s works as having “paved the way for books like The Da Vinci Code.” In a national poll by the noted Spanish journal, El Pais, her novel, The Eight, was voted one of the top ten books of all time.

Authors on Editing: Interview with Douglas Jones

No matter how experienced a writer may be, there’s magic that can happen when you join a creative workshop with a masterful teacher. Artistic juices—no matter how active or how dormant—can come alive, and inspiration is rekindled.

This is how I feel whenever I have the pleasure to hear Douglas Jones speak about the creative process—whether in a workshop, a literary salon, or a conversation over lunch at a writing conference. I’m honored to present the following interview with him, which is chock-full of valuable advice and inspiration.

Douglas Jones has written and seen produced more than forty plays and screenplays, including the musical Bojangles (music by Tony Award-winning composer Charles Strouse, lyrics by Academy Award-winning Sammy Cahn), The Turn of The Screw, and his award-winning Songs from Bedlam. His docudrama 1607: A Nation Takes Root is on display every day at the Jamestown Settlement & Yorktown Victory Center. He was awarded the Virginia Commission for the Arts Playwriting Grant in 2006, the Martha Hill Newell Playwrights Award in 2015, and the Emyl Jenkins Award for Promoting Writing and Writing Education in 2016. He teaches memoir, playwriting, and other classes at the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts and The Visual Arts Center in Richmond, Virginia, and is a voting member of The Dramatists Guild. He lives in Richmond with his wife Harriett and his daughter Emma.

Authors on Editing: Interview with Sadeqa Johnson

When people think of writers, they don’t always think of the work ethic that it requires to sit down and make a creative project come to be. There is more than just imagination required. There is dedication, determination, and a seemingly endless drive that separates a hobbyist from a professional.

Talking with a wordsmith like Sadeqa Johnson reminds me of this creative truth. Many have a literary calling, but not everyone moves from a dream to a reality, from black page to ink-covered manuscript, and from rough draft to polished final project ready to share with the world. A masterful storyteller, teacher, and inspirational speaker, Sadeqa is a writer to pay attention to. I’m honored to present you with the following interview.

Authors on Editing: Interview with Joanna Lee

Writers can be gifted in so many ways–in the way they create characters that readers are attached to from page one, in the way they pace their stories without a wasted word, in the way their settings come alive, in the way they make readers reimagine the world around them or reexamine old subject matter in a new light, and in so many more capacities.

Joanna Lee‘s poetry shows what happens when every single word is chosen with the precision of a scalpel’s slice through skin. She has a gift with language and metaphor; plus, she knows how to throw a book launch like nothing I’ve ever seen before (ask her about it sometime if you get the chance).

This is an Authors on Editing interview that I’m incredibly excited to share.