In
JD: How long did it take you to write your novel and could you tell us a little bit about your process?
HR: Finders, Seekers, Losers, Keepers was an idea scrawled on a diner placemat, in red ink, folded up in my purse and carried around for two years before it actually got going as anything more than a cast of characters and a wish. When I finally was ready to sit down and write, it poured out of me.
I wrote every day, usually at night, after my daughter went to bed. I was working full time as a school social worker in two different elementary schools, but because I had been threatened with the loss of my job, I was back in graduate school full time pursuing a psychology degree. I was also a single mom, trying to hold together a relationship that demanded a lot of time and care. I wrote in spiral notebooks, and always had one with me. I wrote during my daughter's riding lessons, and sitting in the food court while she wandered around the mall. I wrote at night, at my carefully feng shui-placed writing desk, and I wrote on my lunch hour. Nine months after I started, I had a first draft.
JD: You gave birth!
HR: Yes! But, I had to set it aside, though, because I didn't have the money to publish it myself, and nowhere near enough time to court an agent and pursue the traditional route. It wasn't until I got married in 2007 that I could even begin to think about publication. It finally was the right moment in 2008.
JD: What was your writing experience before and did the idea of writing a novel intimidate you?
HR: No, I wasn't intimidated by the idea of writing a novel, despite having basically zero formal creative writing experience. Amazing chutzpah? Ignorance? A bit of both, I guess. I have always written - journals, poetry, essays, bits and pieces of stories -- ever since I could hold a pen. I chose to commit to writing a novel as I had been reading up a storm with my daughter - first baby books and classics (Little Bear - sigh), but we got more and more sophisticated in our tastes, and more and more critical the more we read. By the time she was 12 or so, we were reading some excellent work and really getting into it. I guess it was a two person book club. Anyway, the idea that I would write a novel was born there, with my daughter. She was a co-collaborator at the beginning - she actually created several of the characters.
JD: What writers have influenced you the most?
HR: Tough question - I can be faddish in who I read and why. I have precious little time to read - between full time employment, and managing a household full of teenagers with rich and complex lives in a world where the car is the only transportation option. I find reading time to be in direct competition for writing time, and lately, writing wins!
In general I prefer young adult fiction, and have been inspired by Dia Calhoun - I maintain that her novel Firegold is a perfect story. It is among the most satisfying books I have ever read. I also adore Bambi - the original novel by Felix Salten. I find it as rich and multilayered as
I also read a lot of nonfiction, including recently working through The Tao of Physics, The Dancing Wu Li Masters, and Time Space and Beyond. And, of course, I also am addicted to Sherlock Holmes!
Complete Sherlock Holmes, Volume I (Barnes & Noble Classics Series)
JD: What is your favorite stage of the writing process?
HR: While I don't think I have a favorite, I can honestly say that there is no part I dread or despise! Writing Finders, Seekers, Losers, Keepers was an incredibly fluid process for me, start to finish. It was easy and fast. The story poured out of me. I felt like I was jogging alongside that story, panting, trying to keep up. That first draft was sheer pleasure. I definitely got high on the excitement of rushing to the page each day to release the flood gates. I wanted to spend time with those characters, I wanted to go hang out at The Eft, I wanted to hear the Gil Knight Trio on my cd player as I drove to the mall with chattering twelve year olds in the back seat. There were times during the first draft, where I would get stuck, and then I'd coach myself - "Go ahead, just write it badly, but KEEP MOVING!" And I did.
Honey Melon Fudge, the novel I am currently writing, has not been that kind of experience... It has been more of everything - more frustrating, more disappointing, more thrilling, more satisfying... I have been terribly stuck at times, and am finding that I need to dig deeper and find greater courage than Finders Seekers required. All of it is great.
I am self-published, which I confess as if it were some shameful secret, but I have been delighted by the positive reception Finders, Seekers has earned. Every negative prediction about self-publishing has been untrue for me - book stores have been welcoming (at least re: doing readings and events), I have been able to garner a few reviews, and each time I have put myself out there and asked - the answer has been yes. I will definitely self publish Honey Melon Fudge - my experience has been that positive.
JD: Thanks, Heather! And folks, for info on this author's upcoming readings go to: http://www.heatherrolland.com
So what do you say, writers? Is there an environment you'd love to capture on the page? And to self-publish or go the traditional route? Weigh in! And for more writerly tips, exercises and chat, please visit my website: http://www.bangthekeys.com
And check out my new book for writers,
Happy hiking and happy writing!
And finally:
INSTRUCTIONS FOR POSTING COMMENTS (by popular demand):
Posting comments on the blog is simply a matter of signing into the Book Clubs and then clicking on the "Post A Comment" link that appears on the bottom of each blog entry. In order to sign into the Book Clubs you have to have a BN.com account. You can create that by using the Sign In link at the top of any page on BN.com. Once you have a BN.com account and are signed into that, you'll need to click the Sign In link on the Book Clubs (it's below the image of a bookshelf). Again, this club is called Unabashedly Bookish. Any problem - try the Help board.
Thank you, Jill, for the opportunity to be a part of this community!
Not much is more exciting and inspiring to me than to catch a glimpse of my work as seen through someone else's eyes. Perspective is everything... getting the chance to stand back and view Finders Seekers from a new vantage point is invaluable.
It only gets better - getting FSLK out into the world, and now in the final stages of completing the first draft of Honey Melon Fudge (my second novel) - I can safely say that I am loving this busy, intense, writerly life. It does get a little nuts, but my almost 15 year old daughter has started work on her own project, and to hope/believe that I have inspired her to go for it feels superb.
Gotta run 
Heather
