ask an author | Dani Jace. Romance Author

This week’s questions for authors of Romance Writers Weekly are from Jeanne McDonald. Hope you’ve already visited Susan Scott Shelley.

1. Describe that moment you first felt like a true author (not just an aspiring one). When I received a message on Facebook from my soon to be editor at Lyrical saying she’d sent me an e-mail and they were offering me a contract on Hot as Blazes.

2. Name three authors who you inspire you.

Jo Davis, because of her prose and love scenes. Lori Foster’s ability to whip them out and keep changing up the characters with equally good writing. Lastly, the authors of my chapter. I was unpublished when I joined my Chesapeake Romance Writers. Now that I’ve been published and it is amazing to hear my chapter sister’s stories of getting their first book published!

3. Describe your favorite fan moment (either you as the fan or one of your readers approaching you as a fan).

Oh my God, this recently happened. The founder of a blog reviewing site who’d read Hot as Blazes through NetGalley sent me a private e-mail that blew me away. It read:

Thank you. I grew up on the OBX. I have friends who are firefighters, police officers and I worked for the Town of KDH in the municipal center. My husband and I owned our first home in Grandy. You reminded me of my home, friends and family. Your story was awesome and I loved Ray and Jo. I always request books from netgalley that feature the beach. Yours was the first that rang true for me. I run Romancebookworm’s Reviews if you ever need something feel free to ask.

For a local to give me kudos on the setting and characters of my book is probably the best compliment I will ever receive! BTW, KDH is Kill Devils Hill, one of the towns on the Outer Banks. What a total fan girl moment!

Now let’s see about Kate Robbins’ fan girl moment and when she felt like an author for the first time!

This week Vicki Mixon ask authors of Romance Writers Weekly questions about their writing life. Hope you have already visited with Victoria Barbour for her answers.

Was there a defining moment in your life when you knew you were going to become a writer? If so, what was it? Definitely not. I loved writing as a kid until the red pen slashed my spirit. Decades later, a movie incited me to write a fan fiction story, which turned into its own entity. I wasted way too much time editing, however, I learned perseverance for other manuscripts to come.

My first beta reader (who read all types of book) encouraged me to continue refining my skills. Still scarred by the bloodletting red pen, I hesitated to join a writers’ group. When I finally took the plunge, the chapter had just restarted a critique group. The three of us who joined were all pretty close in skill and continued on our own after our leader quit. In those two years we’ve all grown in our writing and two of us are published. Our critique group has increased from three to seven. Using Google documents to submit our chapters, we’ve streamlined the process and stay current with technology, too.

When you write a story do you see it unfold as one big picture, or do you add layering in subsequent drafts? Although I see my stories as scenes from a movie, they’re not a complete film. In the beginning there’s a basic idea and evolves from there. Nothing is set in stone.

How many drafts do you usually write before you send your work to your editor? I’ll write a few chapters then put to the critique group. After incorporating their suggested edits, I’ll leave those chapters and move on. Once the group has critiqued most of the book, I’ll run through once more before sending to my PRO mentor and make edits on her suggestions.

This equals about four times for a book or novella. All for a dollar or less profit on my current release. I must be a masochist. BTW my novella, White Doe, is currently free on All Romance.