Laurie, thanks for taking some time to answer our questions. Let's get to it...
1) What
were your favorite books growing up?
My parents
signed me up for a monthly book club when I was little. Four brand new books a
month! I still remember the day Miss Twiggley’s Tree arrived in the mail. I’ve loved treehouses ever since. Homer Price stands out, too. Maybe because it
involved doughnuts. I loved all the Little House on the Prairie books. I would save up my money and when a new
Trixie Belden book would come out I would rush to the store and buy it. When I
was about ten, my oldest brother dated a girl who loaned me her entire
collection of The Bobbsey Twins, Nancy Drew, and The Hardy Boys. I was in book
heaven!
2) Now
that you have, let’s say—some life experience, what would you tell your younger
self?
I would
tell my younger writer self to believe in myself and learn all I could about
the craft of writing, ask my now deceased writing mentor more questions (too
shy to ask – thought I was bothering her too much), and ask for help when I
needed it. In my personal life, I’d tell
my younger self to enjoy every moment of my childhood and enjoy every moment of
being with the people I love the most. Time flies. Life is too short.
3) Describe
your typical day.
I have a
day job, so those nights are light on writing and focused more on edits and
business details. When I’m off, my typical writing day begins around 6 a.m. I
like to write first thing in the morning before anything else tries to steal
away my attention. On good days, the words come easily and I write 20 or more pages
until I’m at a nice stopping point. (I stop at a place where I know what will
happen next. The following day I reread a few pages and I can pick up writing where
I left off.) I take a break and go back to handle the business side of writing.
On the days the words don’t come as easily, I write what I can, maybe 5 pages,
edit or revise, and put more time in the business side of writing. I take
another break and go back for an hour or two at night before calling it a day.
4) Who
is your favorite character in your books?
That’s a
tough question. I have to say the one who “haunts” me (in a good way) right now
is Griffin James from Taming McGruff. I was busy with edits on another book
when his name came to me. I wrote it down and put the sticky note aside. I went
back to my edits. But Griffin James would not leave me alone. He stayed and
lingered until I gave in and wrote his story – in three weeks! He’s a wounded
military hero who finds love with a fun-loving heroine and the redemption he
desperately needs. The way he transforms from a “McGruff” to a “McHero” still
makes me sigh with happiness.
5) What
do you do when writer’s block shows up, settles in, and makes itself
comfortable?
Writer’s
block. Those are fighting words. I have experienced that dreaded disease. I
think, for me, it was a combination of things. I had published, had 2 agents, 4
editors, books sold, lots of books rejected, my line folded, switched from
writing historical romance to contemporary romance, and had a book stalled in
the industry process for more than a year waiting for a green light to only end
up rejected when the editor left and a new one came in. Also, I felt the sweep
of changes in the publishing industry weren’t the best for writers at the time.
Frustration and doubt hit hard. I had to put everything aside and question if I
wanted to write. It took quite a while to make the choice to continue. Once I
accepted I was a writer even if I would never publish again, the ideas rushed
back. I realized I had to write even if it was just for myself. I haven’t had
writer’s block since (knock on wood).
6) Do
you find yourself pulling details from “real life” or does your imagination
rule the roost?
I use both
real life and my imagination for characters and their stories. As a child I was
painfully shy, so I’d sit and watch everyone, absorb what they said, how they
moved, why they did or said something, the undercurrents between people, etc.
That was the backdrop to my character research, I guess you could say. Also, if
I got bored, I’d start to daydream and make up stories to keep myself
entertained. Now, a lot of my traveling experiences add to my books. For
example, years ago, while on a road trip, my husband and I got lost in Colorado
(we are directionally challenged) and stumbled upon a modern day ghost town.
Eerie! That town has stayed with me all this time. I just wrote about it in a
recent romantic suspense novella, Murphy’s Law, Book 1 in The Bounty Hunter
series.
7) What
was the first manuscript you wrote (even if it never saw the light of day)?
I wrote my
first manuscript in longhand on spiral bound legal pads! That was my first
historical romance. It did get published. I do have 3 more historical romances
that are collecting dust and won’t see the light of day.
8) Have
you ever pursued traditional publishing? Or did you go straight for indie
publishing?
I did the
traditional publishing route. I tried to stay there, but things changed,
including me! I’m indie publishing now. In the future, I’ll consider hybrid
publishing, if there’s a way it works for me.
9) What
Works In Progress are brewing? Any
target dates for publication?
I’m writing
a novella for my romantic comedy series, Once Upon A Romance. That will be out
in February. 2014 will be a busy year
for me. I have two more in that series slated for the new year, 3 women’s fiction novels, another romantic
suspense novella in The Bounty Hunter series, a new 6 book series (the first
out in 2014), and a romantic comedy, Wanted: Fairy Godmother out in January. Plus, I have 14 story ideas swimming around in
my head that I haven’t gotten to write yet!
10) How
can fans reach you? A
website, blog, and newsletter are in the works! Until then, follow me at https://twitter.com/LeClairbooks or https://www.facebook.com/laurie.leclair.75
