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Lillian Caldwell: Good Morning. What
genres do you write?
Laura:
I primarily write historical fiction, although I have dabbled in horror with
short stories in the past, and probably will again.
Lillian Caldwell: Where do you get your ideas?
Laura: I love to read history and
biographies, so most of my "seed" ideas, and concepts for
characters, come from there. (Some are thinly or not-so-thinly
disguised real people, or amalgams of several real people.)
However, once I start the process, I get ideas from anywhere and
everywhere. I like to compare the creative process with tossing
everything and anything into a blender. What comes out is
unrecognizable as what went in.
Lillian Caldwell: Do you pattern your characters after any real people?
Laura: See above. I also
draw from real life here, and like to give my people characteristics of
family and friends.
Lillian Caldwell:What
authors do you admire?
Laura: A
whole passel. I cut my teeth on Edgar Allan Poe, Mark Twain, and
Louisa May Alcott as a kid reading the "classics." As a
teenager, Herman Hesse was the big thing, and I find he still wears
well. I also liked James Leo Herlihy's dirty little novels.
I love the "noir" voices of Raymond Chandler and James M.
Cain. I've read James T. Farrell's Studs Lonigan trilogy over and
over, for inspiration and just because I love the story. For
contemporary authors I like Tom Wolfe, John Irving, A.S. Byatt, Annie
Proulx and Pauline Gedge.
Lillian Caldwell: What authors do you read?
Laura: See above.
Lillian Caldwell: What
genres do you read?
Laura: I
love horror, and enjoy Stephen King's earlier stuff (pre-THE
STAND). I never get sick of reading "real-life" ghost
stories and any accounts of the the paranormal, although I guess these
aren't a genre. And I love pulp fiction detective stories fromthe 30's and 40's.
Lillian Caldwell: What other genres do you see yourself writing?
Laura: See
above.
Lillian Caldwell: What
do you see yourself doing in 10 years?
Laura: I'd
love to quite my day job writing about insurance topics and devote
myself to fiction, but to be realistic, Idon't
think this will happen. more realistically, I'd like to
teach fiction writing at the college level
and write more novels. Oh, and getand
get them published, too!
Lillian Caldwell: Do
you see yourself ever not writing?
Laura: I
can't "not write," because I write nonfiction (business
writing) for a living. As far as writing fiction, I had
pretty much given it up after I had kids until several years ago, when I
revisitedunpublished
novel I'd put aside and realized it was still pretty good. When
revamping it, I realized that what I really enjoyed is the
revision process. Now I live to get first get first
drafts over and done with so I can get to the fun stuff.
Lillian Caldwell: What
books do you have planned in the near future?
Laura: I'm
about halfway through with the first draft of THE LATHAM LOOP, which is
a prequel to my '20's Hollywood novel, SLAPSTICK. There's a
third installment in the pipeline called LITTLE UMBRELLAS, which takes
several of the original characters or their children into the '60's,
which I've already started outlining. After that, I'd like to
write a novel set in the 1890's about a medium based on Eusapia
Palladino. And a friend and I keep trying to collaborate on a
combination/historical/contemporary based
on a real-life incident involving an eccentric old lady and a trunk full
of dead babies, which might satisfy both my historical and horror
desires.
Lillian Caldwell: How
did you get started writing?
Laura: When
I was about 9 years old. I wish I was as prolific as I was as a
teenager, when I wrote poetry (all right, some of it was pretty bad), satires, song parodies, and drew
cartoons, too.
Lillian Caldwell: What
age were you when you started to write?
Laura: See
above.
Lillian Caldwell: When
is your next book due?
Laura: I
hope to have a first draft of LATHAM
LOOP finished by the end of the year. Of course, then I have to
get a publisher...
Lillian Caldwell: Was
there any author or authors that helped you get your start in writing,
or helped you break into the field?
Laura: I'm
very grateful to Sharon Woodhouse, the publisher of Lake Claremont
Press, who worked with me on my nonfiction
book, A NATIVE'S GUIDE TO CHICAGO'S WESTERN SUBURBS. Even though a
nonfiction doesn't open doors into the fiction world, it does lend you
plenty of credibility. I only wish Sharon would publish fiction!
Lillian Caldwell: What
do you feel makes your books unique or stand out from others in your
genre?
Laura: I'm
first and foremost a story-teller, and my prose is pretty
straightforward and journalistic. I don't know how unique this is,
but it definitely contributes to my style of writing.
Lillian Caldwell: What
made you choose the genres you write?
Laura: I
didn't -- it chose me. I was always fascinated with the 1920's,
and in order to recreate that world, the quickest and most efficient way
was to write about it.
Lillian Caldwell: Do
you have a special sub-genre?
Laura:
No clue.
Lillian Caldwell: Do
you have a favorite place you like to write?
Laura: When
I'm on a roll I can write anywhere and everywhere. My favorite spot, however, is
probably on the beach at a beautiful 1920's-era resort in New Buffalo,
Michigan.
Lillian Caldwell: In
what order do you write? For example, starting beginning to end,
combining parts, in random order or in development cycle.
Laura: I
do admit to skipping around when I'm stuck, but I actually prefer to
write straight on from beginning to end.
Lillian Caldwell: Do
you feel that the e-books afford authors a bit more freedom of
expression in their books?
Laura: I
think e-books are a fantastic door-opener, especially for authors who
are doing something a little bit different and out of the accepted
mainstream of the publishing world. It's a wonderful way to get
reviews and get your name out there.
Lillian Caldwell: What
do you feel is, or isn't being done to promote authors?
Laura: I
think authors need to promote themselves, although too much of this
definitely takes time away from writing,
unfortunately.
Lillian Caldwell: Do
you feel that the marketing departments have their finger on the pulse
of readers?
Laura: No,
I think they're providing readers with what they think they want.
Too many times they underestimate the public's intelligence, which
is why oddball novels like THE NAME OF THE ROSE become
hits out of the blue.
Lillian Caldwell: How
do you feel about review rating systems?
Laura: Great,
as long as they're giving my book a
good review!!!!
Lillian Caldwell: Through
what venues do you feel most of your books are being sold?
Laura: Probably mostly through Amazon, although I'm trying to get it out into bookstores
as fast as I can.
Lillian Caldwell: What
do you feel is the best part of the publishing industry?
Laura: The
small independent publishers, who
can still afford to take a chance on an unknown author.
Lillian Caldwell: What
do you feel needs to be changed about the industry?
Laura: Stop
trying to find the next Stephen King and
make bookselling a personal experience once again.
Lillian Caldwell: Do
you think small press and e-books will be the wave of the future?
Laura: Small
presses are the lifeblood of the industry. There will be more and
more springing up in contrast to the dinosaurs. I don't think e-books will ever supplant dead
trees, but I think they will become increasingly common as the
technology improves.
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