Hi Kids, I’m Charmaine Gordon happy to be with Plotting Princesses today. A funny thing happened backstage where I had the lead in a wonderful play Off Broadway a few years ago. An idea popped in my head and wouldn’t let go. When the run of the play ended I began to write. And that’s how it all began. A new career.
I write romance/suspense about women who survive & thrive and yet my taste in books is murder and mayhem. Robert B. Parker is one of my all time fave authors-especially his westerns.
I’m an all day/all night person trying to make the best of every hour I can. A little nap helps once in a while and then I’m raring to go again.
Now What?, my third book, was written in first because it had to be. The others in third POV.
Usually I dig in and finish one book at a time but I’ve had a difficult time the past two years with surgery and stuff and now my head is full of ideas I can’t quite put together. So I must cut myself some slack and say, “It’s okay. Don’t force the story. It will come or try another. No biggie.”
I sleep write. That’s the best. A story comes in the night so clearly; beginning and end. In the morning I begin to write. If you let them, the characters lead the way and tell the story. That’s my experience.
Being a tidy person, I tend to revise as I write and by the time I type The End, my publisher, Vanilla Heart, has little work to do.
Titles come to me just as names and places do. Maybe it’s my acting background; all the scripts I’ve read; I don’t know.
The best advice is GO FOR A TEN, no matter what you do. You never want those who judge to call out, “NEXT” and not give you a chance.
My ideal fictional hero would think me gorgeous no matter how loud I screamed during labor.
Chocolate mousse. Two helpings, thanks.
I write at home on a laptop; anytime I have to wait like in a doctor’s office. Oh, the chapters I’ve written sitting there. Hairdresser getting the roots touched up. Yes-more chapters. Why waste precious time when there’s a story cooking.
Hero’s and heroines are like wounded birds sometimes. That’s something I had to learn. I don’t like conflict in real life and found when I write I needed to search for problems to resolve.
Blurb from RECONSTRUCTING CHARLIE:
Charlie Costigan has a secret. Home life gone from bad to the worst when she protects her mother from another vicious attack by her drunken father. Midnight. Clothes thrown into an old suitcase, she races for the bus with a letter to an unknown aunt and uncle. “This is my daughter. Embrace her as if she were your own.”
Determined, Charlie begins again. Alone with her secret.
Determined, Charlie begins again. Alone with her secret.
Find Charmaine at:
Twitter: http://twitter.com/#!/CharJGordon
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/charmaine.gordon
Find Charmaine's book at:
B&N, OmnilitPDF, Kindle, Smashwords & Amazon at: http://www.amazon.com/Reconstructing-Charlie-Charmaine-Gordon/dp/1935407910
13 comments:
Hi Charmaine,
Great to have you today. Your book sounds very intriquing. Your writing process sounds different and I like different.
Good Morning, Charmaine, and Welcome!
I also used to do some acting - community theatre following school plays. I used to love it, but my career took a much different path.
My ideas come to me just as I'm about to drift off to sleep. I've taken to having a notebook handy as I'll never remember it once I'm awake!
I so glad to learn about you. Best wishes on all your writings!
Nice blurb. And thank you for letting us in on your writing process.
Patti
Charmaine,
Thanks so much for sharing your story and your writing process with us this morning!
I LOVE the idea of sleep-thinking about your characters. Do you do anything special or specific like focus on the character before you go to sleep, or do you just hope for the best and let it happen?
Cheers and thanks again!
now doesn't that blurb sound intriguing!
Sounds like a fascinating story to match the author's fascinating background!
Have you ever used your theatrical history to set a story in a theater background?
Hi, Charmaine. Congratulations on your book. The blurb is quite fascinating.
Hi Charmaine,
Welcome to the Plotting Princesses. The book sounds really interesting.
I wish I could be more like you and utilize every spare minute writing. In a way I do, but it's typically in my head. I don't sit down to the laptop un til the characters and scene are clear in my head. But you are so right, if you let them, they will tell the story for you. So fun.
Best of luck with your writing!
I bet all the acting techniques about getting into character really help in developing your characters!
Hi Charmaine,
Thank you for stopping by today! I enjoyed reading about how you put together a story. Sleep-writing sounds like a great thing, I wish I could do that. Your book sounds interesting! Best of luck with your writing!
Charmaine, I'm a mystery person myself. Love Robert E. Parker but I can't wait to read your next book. Good luck. Marian
Hi absolutely everyone and thanks for stopping by with good wishes. I started a book about an actor and the a sleep-write thingy happened. A character from Reconstructing Charlie said, "Hey, did you forget about me, the hunky athlete in love with Charlie way back?" And so, setting my actor aside for a moment, I began a new story-working title-The Catch. Meanwhile if you read Reconstructing Charlie, my latest release is a sequel. Sin of Omission. Thanks again, my new friends, for all your encouragement and good will.
"Wounded birds," that's for sure. That's a nice way to see it when trying to createa hero or heroine.
Malcolm
Another excellent interview, Charmaine!! :)
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