Thanks for being here Kate. It’s a pleasure.
Thank you for having me.
#1- Tell us a little about yourself outside of your writing career…
My primary career has always been music. I was a high school choral director and elementary general music teacher, and then went to graduate school and into higher education. I’m still a conductor and part-time professor of music and music education at a major state university.
As for my personal life, I have a husband, one daughter, one son, and way too many pets.
#2- One Scream Away is your debut novel. What was the publishing process like for you and what advice would you bestow other writers?
The publishing process is a journey. For me, it started on a whim and in the closet: I wrote novels for several years without telling even my family or friends what I was doing in my spare time. Eventually, I decided to see if anyone but me wanted to read my writing, so I sought out an agent, then waited for that magical day when she called with the news that we had a two-book offer. Since then, it’s been writing, editing, and promoting. Sometimes it’s all-consuming, but it’s very exciting.
Advice for other writers? I don’t know where it originated, but the best advice I ever heard on the subject of being an author was this: “If you can stop writing, do.” To that I would add that if you find you can’t stop writing, then put your best work on a page and go in search of a reputable agent. A good agent is the path to publication.
#3- As you know, I reviewed One Scream Away for Bookpleasures and loved it. But how do you handle the negative reviews and critiques you receive?
Stories are matters of taste—like food, décor, music, movies. I understand that some people won’t like the types of characters I like, or the plots, or the writing voice. I can’t count the number of times I’ve been engaged in a discussion about a certain movie or book, where we were talking about the same product, but one person loved it and another person hated it. That’s just the way it’s going to be.
#4- We are both members of the Romance Writers of America, where you have won some awards through them. What do you feel you have gained from being a member and would you recommend it to aspiring romance writers?
I recommend it to aspiring romance writers, and to writers in other genres of fiction, as well. I first joined RWA years ago when I was still in my secret tinkering-stage of writing, as a way of finding out if I wanted to think about publishing. I learned a little about the business, entered contests for feedback, and met a lot of really inspiring writers. Ironically, I learned so much I decided not to pursue writing. Getting published, as it turned out, was a long and arduous process, and it seemed to me I wasn’t cut out for that sort of heartache or commitment. After all, I had another career and small children, and writing had been sort of a fluke-hobby in the first place.
So I let my membership lapse, but somehow the characters in my head didn’t get the message. They wouldn’t let me quit writing.
So recently, I rejoined RWA, along with other writers’ organizations like International Thriller Writers (ITW), South Carolina Writers Workshop (SCWW), and Mystery Writers of America (MWA). And while I know a lot more now than I did the first time around (which isn’t saying much), I’m learning just as much this time as I did then—it’s just knowledge about different topics. Writers organizations serve their members at each and every stage of the writing process: whether you’re a beginning writer or experienced writer, new to publication or a veteran of publication. Not to mention that this is where you’ll make some of the best friends in the business.
#5- Assuming you get any time to read, what authors do you like to read, and were there any books that stand out from your childhood as favorites?
I wasn’t much of a reader in childhood. Worse, in early adulthood, my reading (and writing) was limited to professional works: articles on aesthetic education, theses on baton technique, reports on education assessment. Thrillers like that.
Now, though, I always try to make time to read. When I do, you’ll most often find my nose in (a) a straight solve-the-crime cop story, (b) a juicy romantic thriller, or (c) a gourmet cooking or home-and-garden magazine!
#6- Are there any other books you are working on that we would like to know about, and could you give us your web site so readers can check it out?
“One Scream Away” introduces the first of two brothers and a sister. My next book, “Last to Die” will come out in 2010 and uses the second brother as the hero—discovering that his own charitable foundation is housing a black market baby ring. An excerpt of both books can be found on my website, www.katebrady.net (live in June).
#7- This about concludes it. Thank you again for joining us. Is there anything else you would like to share?
Thank you for your time and your interest in my books. I enjoyed “talking” to you!
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