This week: Who’s my Rock of Gibralter and handling bad advice…
How do you find the appropriate setting for the story or does it find you?
Local beaches are part of my brand, so my stories are usually set in Southeastern Virginia or the Outer Banks of North Carolina. However, that doesn’t mean my characters don’t travel to other parts of the country and world.
Who is your support system for your writing, family, friends and or other writers?
Both my critique group buddies and our chapter’s PRO liaison have been my rock. I also bounce ideas off my son since he’s actually read a couple of my manuscripts. Hubby leaves me alone which is support from what I’m told.
What is the worst writing advice you ever received and how did you 
deal with it?
I don’t recall any outlandish advice. I’ve learned something from every critique and every rejection. Being in a critique group has shown me the wide variety of tastes in readers and I try to keep that in mind with regard to advice and reviews.
Thanks to Sharon Kennedy for this week’s Romance Weekly questions. Please click on LaNora Mangano to see who stands by her. I love hearing from you!
Dani Jace. Romance Author 
So important to remember all reading is subjective
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I grew up on a beach. I lurve them.
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Once it’s in your blood you can’t get hit out. Thanks for stopping by.
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I love that you consider your locations as part of your brand. I never thought of it that way before, but I can see how that would work.
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Thanks, it also helps that I’ve been in the area my whole life.
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I love the Outer Banks. What a wonderful place to set a novel!
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While vacationing and on weekend visits, I’ve met people from all over the US, Canada and even from Europe. With the area’s several millions of visitors each year, I figured the setting would be a good draw for a story. Thanks for visiting, Carrie.
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Bob will proofread when I make him feel guilty for not. I guess his leaving me alone is support too!
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Another writer told me this as some spouses complain about hours at the computer. Mine spends hours watching NASCAR so were even. 🙂
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My cooks a lot so I really can’t complain.
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I bought my husband an Xbox. It keeps him distracted and me from feeling guilty at how much time I spend on the computer! Awesome answers!
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Too funny! Mine is a NASCARaloic so it works out.
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I submitted my first novel knowing it was complete and utter crap. I figured getting a rejection on something I thought was awful would hurt less than having someone slash what I considered perfect. I have since receeved many rejections, and try to take the advice given with a grain of salt. Sometimes it works, sometimes no so much.
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I wouldn’t have thought of that, but yeah does hurt when it’s so close to the heart.
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I agree, you can learn something from most every critique.
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I had one of the members of the critique group correct me on a teenage girl’s dialog. I don’t usually write teens and I have a son, so I was especially glad for her catch. It will be a flag in the future.
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Chuckling about hubby leaving you alone which is support.
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I’ve been a NASCAR widow for too many years to count, so it’s fair play!
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I love the beach, hate being in the ocean, though. Funny, I’d never even considered creating a brand through the types of stories I write.
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I had the idea in my head when I attended a workshop by Bob Mayer. I asked him about making OBX and local beaches a part of my brand. He said he’d never considered a local as part of a brand, but thought it would work well. So here I am. OBX and Va Beach have millions of return visitors each year and some of them have to be romance readers 😉
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Great answers 🙂 I do love the beach, I can see why you’d wanna set stories there!
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After the horrible winter we’ve had in the US. I’m sure they’ll be flocking in hordes!
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I adore beaches myself 🙂 Enjoyed your blog!!!
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Thanks JJ!
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