DENISE AGNEW

What genres do you write?

I write paranormal romance, romantic suspense, contemporary romance, and historical romance.

What genres would you like to write?

I have some ideas for horror novels with romance as an element that I'd like to pursue sometime in the future.

Where do you get your ideas?

From everywhere. From things that have happened to me, that I've seen over the years, and from things I've seen happen to others. I don't use the "what if" method as often as some authors do. I'm more likely to get an idea from something that has always intrigued me. For example, I've always been interested in earthquakes, and in particular the 1906 San Francisco earthquake. This interest led me to write LOVE FROM THE ASHES, a historical romance set before, during, and after the earthquake. I got the idea to write my time travel, BRIDGE THROUGH THE MIST, after visiting the Tower of London. One of the scenes in the books, when the heroine first visits the castle dungeon, was inspired by an event that happened to me in Edinburgh.

Do you pattern your characters after any real people?

I must admit that I have. I never pattern one hundred percent of a real person into my characters, but a mixture of people I've met.

What authors do you admire?

There are so many! A handful would be: Linda Howard, Diana Kirk, Pauline Jones, Lissa Michaels, Jennifer Dunne, Christina Skye, Susan Andersen, Suzanne Brockmann, Debra Cowan, Deanna Padilla, Christine Janssen, Donna Sterling, and dozens of others. I'm leaving out a lot of people!

What authors do you read?

All of the people I listed under the "who do admire" question, plus a lot more. :)

What genres do you read?

All romance genre's especially paranormal and romantic suspense. I like romance with a "peril" as a part of the entertainment. I also read some horror and science fiction.

What other genres do you see yourself writing?

Everything I write will have romance in it somewhere. One area I want to delve into more is horror.

What do you see yourself doing in 10 years?

Plugging along in the writing field, as healthy, happy, and content as I am now. Richer wouldn't hurt. :)

Do you see yourself ever not writing?

No.

What books do you have planned in the near future?

I've been writing two books at once...something that can be "crazy making." One is a romantic suspense that leans heavily on humor. The other is a romantic suspense/paranormal/historical set during 1888 London and Jack The Ripper's reign of terror. I've dozens of ideas after that.

How did you get started writing?

When I was fourteen a teacher read a story to the class called The Wall. A science fiction story with no ending; she asked us to finish the story. I found it fun and exciting to complete the story my own way. I discovered that I loved writing and I've been doing it in one form or another since then.

What age were you when you started to write?

Fourteen.

When is your next book due?

My next book comes out March 2001. It's a reincarnation romance set in Scotland...a contemporary called FOREVERMORE.

Was there any author or authors that helped you get your in start writing, or helped you break into the field?

I've had a lot of help from a variety of authors, but I don't believe any one of them gave me a particular push that broke me into the field. I've had fantastic critique partners, some published writers and some not that I continue to show my work and get feedback. Critique is important to me.

What do you feel makes your books unique or stand out from others in your genre?

As an electronically published author, I'm allowed more freedom to mix elements in a story. For example, two of my upcoming romantic suspense novels (DANGEROUS INTENTIONS and TREACHEROUS WISHES) have multiple characters and also feature complicated subplots. The heroine and hero are the most imporant elements of these books, but there are other characters that I've made important to the overall story. I like to read stories with richness of character and plot, as well as deepness in the details and setting. So I try to convey that in my stories as well. Characters with flaws and deep emotions always capture my interest in a good read, so I bring those facets to the people I create. I love being able to write what is in my heart, and you can bet each of the stories I write comes straight from my heart.

What made you choose the genres you write?

I loved reading romance as a teen, especially gothics, so that "something that goes bump in the night" feeling influences all my work.

Do you have a special subgenre?

Paranormal and romanti suspense are my favorites to read and write.

Do you have a favorite place you like to write?

My office. It's a nasty jumble and not very organized, but it's got everything I need! :)

In what order do you write? For example starting beginning to end, combining parts, in random order or in development cycle?

My writing plan would probably seem highly disorganized to most people. What I've found, though, is if I use too much outlining and organizing what is going to happen from beginning to end, I can create a writer's block. Often when I get an idea for a story, I'll write a bunch of scenes that may be out of order. I keep them on a disk and when I start the novel I'll insert those scenes when the time comes. Or, if that scene isn't "right" anywhere in the story, I may not use it at all.

Do you feel that the e-books afford authors a bit more freedom of expression in their books?

Absolutely! More than a bit. If I had to follow strict guidelines my work would suffer. When I tried to write for guidelines in terms of what people said would sell, my writing wasn't as fresh, or as interesting. The first book I sold was my time travel BRIDGE THROUGH THE MIST. I wrote it just when people were telling me I shouldn't. It's been one of my best sellers.

What do you feel is, or isn't being done to promote authors?

That depends entirely on the publisher. Authors really have to do most of their own promoting unless they are a very big name. That's the reality of the situation. I think successful authors realize this and do their best to promote themselves. Waiting for the publisher to do it isn't a good idea. Most publishers in the electronic arena don't have time or money to promote individual authors.

Do you feel that the marketing departments have their finger on the pulse of readers?

No, I don't feel print publishers have their pulse on the market at all. :) It's the chicken and the egg theory. Do readers buy X, Y and Z because that's all the publishers offer, or do they buy X, Y, and Z because they really, really are dying to read another story about that same situation, place, time period. I'm constantly hearing readers scream they want more paranormal romance, and they can't get much in the print world. They've started to turn to electronic publishing houses which are now offering ghosts, vampires, fantasy, science fiction, and combinations thereof. I've found that I have less interest in print books because they've all started to follow particular trends that don't interest me. My Rocketbook is filled with wonderful books by electronic authors who've written unique, fantastic tales.

How do you feel about review rating systems?

Reviews are subjective, no doubt about it. I think reading what the reviewer says about a book is better than paying attention to the number of stars a book gets.

Through what venues do you feel most of your books are being sold?

Mostly through the individual websites run by the publishers.

What do you feel is the best part of the publishing industry?

Giving the reader a vast variety of selection to suit a lot of reading tastes (except when they get stuck in rut and say the only thing people are buying is X, Y, and Z).

What do you feel needs to be changed about the industry?

This depends entirely on whether you're talking about the print industry or the electronic industry. :)

Do you think small press and e-books will be the wave of the future?

No doubt in my mind. Like any technology...like everything in life...things move, evolve and progress. Someday print books will be a rarity. It is difficult to say when this transition will occur, but it will happen.