BIO: Author Laura Hogg grew up in Colorado. She spent most of her childhood living in a large, antique house behind a mortuary. The neighborhood kids kept telling her the house was haunted. She and her sisters would trek in their uniforms to their Catholic school and make an adventure of it. It wasn't until college where she studied music and modern languages that she turned to her writing seriously, doing more than just writing songs. After graduation, she dared to submit work for publication. Many rejections later, she finally got a book deal, and there's a good story behind that. Now she has short stories to full-length novels published mainly in the romance genre. Blending genres at times, her work covers historical eras, a dash of sci-fi, and the paranormal since her childhood brings such inspiration there. Time travel is a pleasure to write, and she has great fun with her Romeo vs. Juliet series.
Thanks for being here, Laura. It’s a pleasure.
#1- Tell us a little about yourself outside of your writing career…I work in a school during the day, have two sisters, play two instruments, speak French and a little Spanish, have been married for about twenty-one years, have a kid in college, love to invent games, am introverted, take the bus and the train a lot because I don’t drive, believe in angels, am related to a famous singer, and had an unusual childhood because of my unusual mother.
#2- What gave you the idea and/or inspiration for this unique Romeo vs. Juliet series? I saw a picture of a tattoo that said courage and wrote a short story about that. It turned into a novel. RvJ is a romance, but not a typical time travel romance. The television/movie series “The Highlander” was an inspiration. In that series, the main character is immortal and lives through the centuries. My characters aren’t immortal, but they travel to many different eras. In the first of my series, Romeo vs. Juliet, my Elizabethan hero marries a modern-day American. She ends up chasing him through time to stop him from doing bad things. The ending is inspired a little by the play Romeo and Juliet, but there’s a very happy twist. The second in the series is a bit different than the first, and I’m working on the third.
#3- How do you handle the negative reviews and critiques you receive? Go in a corner, cry and eat peanut butter and chocolate…no really, it feels like a punch to the gut and hurts, but I say a little prayer, dig deep to get past it, and try to apply the advice given by the reviewer to my next work. I constantly read books on the art and craft of writing to improve. And…I’m a reviewer myself. I put my criticisms in the most gentle but helpful way I know how.
#4- Any plans to write in a different genre? Yes. I read a lot and will cross to different genres when inspired. For RvJ II: The Questrist, I studied the sci-fi genre before attempting to touch upon it. I’m also looking into other genres but love romance for the happy endings.
#5- You’ve worked with a few different publishers now. What were those experiences like? Varying. Some excellent, and some not so good. Some are quick to respond and some hardly respond at all. Some are much nicer to work with than others.
#6- Are there any upcoming releases we would like to know about, and could you give us your web site so readers can check it out? Well, I just released Romeo vs. Juliet II: The Questrist with Eirelander Publishing: (A speculative fiction, time travel)
http://www.eirelander-publishing.com/romeovsjulietii.htm
My historical novel Descent into Darkness is set during the Napoleonic Wars. It can be found at Moongypsy Press: (A passionate romance between a naval captain and a shopkeeper, set in London and Russia, 1811-1812)
http://www.moongypsypress.com/hogg.php
I have a post-apocalyptic romance coming out with Eternal Press in July called Why, My Love? If you like the idea of a strong woman who can use a sword, you might like this one.
http://www.eternalpress.ca/index.html
A paranormal short story collection coming with Midnight Showcase in June (stories about karma and a story about a lady who has to go to hell, steal the keys from the gatekeeper, and then is shocked when she discovers who he is)
http://www.midnightshowcase.com/index.html
And more. Please check me out at these sites. I love making new friends, and if they’re authors, reading about their work. It’s fun to discover new authors.
http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?ref=profile&id=62648343
http://twitter.com/lovebooksmusic
http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B003F977GI
http://traveltheages.blogspot.com/2010/04/hello-and-good-evening-to-you-im-happy.html
#7- This about concludes it. Thank you again for joining us. Is there anything else you would like to share?
Thank you very much for having me. I also want to say that I’m grateful to have the inspiration to write, and one of the best parts has been meeting other writers and readers, making new friends. Best regards to all of you.
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