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It
is with great pleasure that I get to introduce you
all to Debbie
Macomber, the TRRC December Author of the Month.
I suspect that I really
DON'T need to introduce Debbie to many people who
read romance. Her
prolific writing has resulted in countless books
with over sixty million
books in print around the world. Debbie is
truly a writing sensation; her
books are sure to delight. Please join me in
welcoming Debbie Macomber to
TRRC.
JN: I've read your website
information about your beginnings as a
writer, using a typewriter, and sending out novels
for five years before an
editor finally became interested. That
certainly takes fortitude and
endurance! Did you always want to be a writer,
even as a young person, and
was there any point during that five years when you
thought of giving up the
attempts to become published?
DM: I've always wanted to write, for as long as I
can remember. I started
writing in a journal early on, a practice that I
still keep up with to this
day. But it was a dream I didn't share with
anyone for fear they would tell
me I couldn't do it. I had trouble with some
of my schoolwork early on,
because I was struggling with undiagnosed dyslexia
at the time, which
made me very hesitant to share my dream.
I didn't give up, but it was close a time or two.
My staying home to write
was expensive; I wasn't contributing to our family
income, and I was
spending money on typewriter rental and postage for
sending out manuscripts.
JN: Your novels are especially
diverse in terms of people and places.
What kind of background research do you end up doing
for your stories? For
example, my elderly mother wanted me to ask you if
you have had close
contact with people in the Navy since her favorite
series was the "Navy"
one. Do you find yourself using others as
resources, or do you do the
background research yourself?
DM: When
I gave a talk to the local senior center recently (a
fictional version
of this group is featured in my Cedar Cove series),
I described what I
consider are the three types of people who write.
The first group is the
storytellers, the second is the writers who have the
craft of writing down
pat, and the third group is a combination of both.
Now, it's the third
group that I think hasn't suffered enough, because
they have it too easy, in
my opinion. I fall into the first category.
I love to tell stories and
practiced my storytelling skills with the kids I
babysat while a teenager in
Yakima
,
Washington
, my hometown. I had to work very hard to
learn the craft
of writing, to put my story on paper. This is
a roundabout way of saying
that I do research, but the story and the characters
come first, and I flesh
out the story with research. Some of the
research comes first-hand, as in
every day activities and people I meet. Some of it I
rely on my assistant to
locate for me; some of it comes from research books.
When I initially wrote the Navy series, I relied on
a group of friends who
have firsthand knowledge of Navy life, as they were
Navy wives. For my last
Navy book, coming out in July 2005, I relied on Geri
Krotow, who is a former
Naval Intelligence Officer. Geri in turn
checked with a number of nurses
currently stationed at the U.S. Naval Hospital in
Naples
,
Italy
for
accuracy.
JN: Will you eventually return
to writing category romance?
DM: I
will always have a soft spot for category romances,
as that is where I
received my start and honed my craft. Aside
from the Navy book in July
2005, I don't anticipate many additional category
titles. I'm having too
much fun telling stories in a larger format.
JN: What are your thoughts
about the movement in romance novels toward
more sexually explicit themes? How do you
decide the amount of detail to
put in a book in terms of the intimate
relationships?
DM: I don't write explicit details when it comes to
sensuality in my books - I
can write a romantic story without getting too
specific. I write within the
context of my Christian beliefs, and that pretty
much guides all of my
writing.
JN: When Christmas Comes
was a delightful story of holiday mix-ups and
romantic capers. Do you see yourself writing,
for example, a story
involving Heather and her friend, Ben? When
you write a book do future
books just seem to emerge from the storyline, or do
you plan your books with
future writing in mind?
DM: Most of my books are written as single-title,
stand-alone books with no
thoughts of a series or sequel in mind. But,
there's always the exception
to the rule, and there are several. The
"Heart of Texas" and "Midnight
Sons" series were intended to each be a series
of six from the start. They
were plotted from book one to book six straight
through and were all written
- almost - one after the other. The angel
books featuring Shirley, Goodness
and Mercy I wrote as stand-alones, but they were
such fun to write, and were
so popular, that I reprised my zany angels, but not
the storylines. THE
SHOP ON BLOSSOM STREET
received such a warm reception and requests for
more, that my editor encouraged me to write a
sequel. I dropped everything I was
working on and dived into the new book. I'm
proud of how it's come
together. A GOOD YARN will be published in May
2005. And then there are my
Cedar Cove books, which turned into an open-ended
series after the first
book. This series will end when all the
stories are told, and who knows
when that will be!
JN: Do you sit down and write a
book from beginning to end, or do you
write, for example, the ending first? How well
plotted are your stories
before you begin the actual writing process?
DM: Every
writer will give you a different answer to this
question. My
preferred method is to write a detailed synopsis of
the characters and the
story. This becomes my outline, my reference,
for the story. I can veer
away from the original, but I do need a framework
that I can flesh out and
build upon as I write. I've learned to do this
so I don't write myself into
a corner.
JN: Do you listen to music
while you write, and, if so, what are your
favorite artists?
DM: No,
I don't listen to music while I write. My
first books were written at
home with lots of background noises and children's
voices, so I've learned
to tune it all out.
JN: What was the inspiration
for the Cedar Cove series?
DM: Years after the "Heart of Texas,"
"Midnight Sons," and the angel series were
published, I kept getting letters asking for more!
So I came up with Cedar
Cove, a town full of stories waiting to be told.
The inspiration is endless
as it's based on Port Orchard, which has been home
to me for years. Of
course, all the characters are fictional, but the
locales are factual.
JN: What can readers expect
next from Debbie Macomber?
DM: 2005 will be a busy year with lots to look
forward to. In April THE SHOP ON
BLOSSOM STREET will be available as a mass market
paperback. In May, A GOOD YARN, the follow-up
to THE SHOP ON BLOSSOM STREET, will be published.
And - I'm just beaming from ear to ear about this -
Leisure Arts, which publishes knitting patterns,
contacted me to put together a book of patterns to
be
released the same time as A GOOD YARN. It's
tentatively titled "Debbie
Macomber Presents Patterns from A Good Yarn and The
Shop on
Blossom Street
."
I'm thrilled about this and am moving forward with
the project! I will
donate all my proceeds from the pattern book to Warm
Up America, and Leisure
Arts will also make a donation to Warm Up.
How's that for a win/win
project!
July is the month for the final, brand new book in
the Navy series. The
title is NAVY HUSBAND.
In September we'll see the fifth installment in the
Cedar Cove series,
titled
50 HARBOR STREET
and in October (or November-I haven't received final
word yet) I'll have another Christmas romantic
comedy published.
JN: What holiday message would
you like to leave with your readers?
DM: At this Holiday Season my thoughts turn with
gratitude to those who have
made my success possible. It is in this spirit
I'd like to say thank you
and all my best wishes for the Holidays.
JN: I want to sincerely thank Debbie Macomber for
such a delightful interview.
I know that The Romance Readers Connection readers
will thoroughly enjoy
this interview!
(Click
here for a review of WHEN CHRISTMAS COMES)
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