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Anne-Louise: When did you first start writing and what sorts of
things have you written?
Valerie:
The first thing I had published was a poem written when I
was seven. At fourteen I had my first article published in the
Australian Woman’s Weekly, which, now I think about it, is
probably a bit unusual.
At the
beginning, what was the hardest part of writing for you?
Being born in England and the English being
notably conservative, the hardest part of writing for me has
always been creating enough emotional intensity in my stories.
It’s something I struggled with earlier on, though I’ve well and
truly overcome that now, to the point where I cried writing the
end of CODE OF THE OUTBACK! On the other hand, I’m a natural
storyteller, and plotting is one of my strengths. This is
probably what sold my earliest stories.
What is the
best advice you’ve ever received?
My favourite piece – one that still stands
out vividly in my mind, probably because it applied to me
personally - was from the late Frank Brennan, husband to Wendy
and one half of the Emma Darcy team. He said, ‘Put as much
emotion as you think you need into your story, then double it.’
I’ve always found this very good advice, and it’s something new
writers should think about.
When
judging contests you must have seen lots of new writers’
manuscripts. What, in your opinion, is the biggest mistake new
writers make?
Pulling back from the emotional intensity
and dabbling around the edges of emotional issues. This is
especially obvious in loves scenes. For example, sometimes
writers will begin to slip into the omniscient viewpoint during
a love scene, saying things like ‘they did this, they did that…’
This immediately puts some distance between the writer and
what’s going on in the love scene, and emotional intensity is
lost. New writers might benefit from reading over their scenes
to see if they can catch any snatches of omniscient viewpoint.
Once you see it you’ll realise how much it tempers the intensity
of your scenes.
What advice
would you give to novice writers?
Apart from doubling the emotional
intensity, I’d say write what you love. If you love a certain
line you’ve probably read widely in it and should have a good
grasp of its requirements – the level of emotional intensity,
types of characters, how scenes are handled, and the tone.
When you
began your romance writing career with Mills & Boon, were you
writing Sweet or Sexy books?
When I began writing for Mills and Boon I
wrote both sweet and sexy – called Presents and Romance. In
those days authors submitted their stories and the editors would
judge which line they slotted into. If your story and/or
characters had more of a sweet tone, then it was marketed under
the sweet banner. If it had a sexier feel it was published as a
Presents. We were lucky in those days to be able to move between
the lines like this, as it gave us a bit more latitude with the
type of stories we could write.
This
doesn’t happen now!
No. These days each Harlequin line has a
distinct identity, depending on tone, handling of scenes,
characterisation etc and you really need to concentrate on one
line, reading widely in that line to get the feel for it.
What if a
writer doesn’t know which line her voice fits? Does this make
her chances of publication harder?
In some ways there is now more opportunity
for writers with Harlequin than ever before. Harlequin’s mission
statement says they want to dominate the world of women’s
fiction, and they’re doing this by expanding their market and
creating new lines like Luna and HQN. This means that if you’ve
got a great voice and good stories but don’t fit into the
conventional lines, you might find a place in one of the newer
lines.
You now
write for Silhouette Romance and Silhouette Intimate Moments
lines. What prompted the change? Did you have to change your
writing style or were you naturally drifting towards a more
American voice?
The change to Silhouette was really a
natural progression for me. I was interested in trying new
things that were more suited to the American lines, trying to
evolve and grow. I also felt increasingly drawn to the
relationship structure in the American lines, where the
characters are more evenly matched and the heroines are
stronger. I also felt there was more scope for humour in the
American lines. All in all, moving from Mills and Boon UK to
Silhouette felt like a natural progression.
How do you
juggle writing for those two lines?
Actually, I don’t juggle them. I find I
can only focus on one book at a time so I tend to write through
each one and complete it before starting on the next. That’s
excluding outlines and sample chapters, which might need to be
sent off for approval and also copy edits, which come back later
and need to be attended to promptly. The only exception to that
rule is that I can have a non-fiction book going alongside a
fiction one. That’s not a problem, but I would never be writing
an IM and Silhouette Romance simultaneously.
Tell us
about your writing routine.
I usually start at about 4 or 5 am and
write for three or four hours at a time, with short breaks to
rest my body. Then I’ll have a break for coffee or lunch, and go
back for another stint. Early mornings might not work for
everyone, but I strongly recommend that people find their best,
most productive time and utilise it. If it’s afternoon, great.
If it’s midnight, so be it. An hour of your best time can be
worth three of four of any other so it’s worth capitalising on.
What are
you writing now?
I’ve just finished a series of three books
for Intimate Moments which I’m very excited about. The series is
called CODE OF THE OUTBACK and the first book, HEIR TO DANGER,
is due for release in the US in August, October in Australia. I
believe the second and third books may follow at intervals of
two months. The series features lost diamonds and diamond mines,
babies on doorsteps, crocodiles and a tiger. There is a
continuing mystery thread running through all three books which
is not resolved until the third book. This is something new for
me so it’s been a challenge.
Have you
enjoyed writing them?
Yes, very much. I wrote them over the past
year, consecutively, and it was like writing one continuing
story – a huge 240,000 single title! It was a challenge keeping
all the threads together, but hugely satisfying at the end. I
am happy with all three books but the third one is a real
corker! Am I allowed to say that?
Of course
you are! I can’t wait to read them. Your Silhouette Romance
books are modern day fairy tales. What is your favourite story
line/theme? Do you have a favourite premise?
That’s an interesting question. I think
what I enjoyed exploring with my Silhouette Romances is the idea
of people trying to work out where they belong in life, where
they fit in. It is a thread that runs through many of my
stories, particularly the Carramer Crown series.
The second
edition of your 1993 ‘How to’ book THE ART OF ROMANCE WRITING,
published by Allen and Unwin, will be launched in August at our
“Love’s a Beach!” conference. What inspired you to write a ‘how
to’?
Prior to 1993 we didn’t have an RWAustralia.
I held Australia’s first romance writing workshop in Sydney, in
1988. We had an overwhelming response: 120 people packed the
room we had booked - it was standing room only. I realised then
that there was a great need for information on romance writing,
that people just couldn’t find useful information. In those
days we didn’t have the plethora of internet sites, books, email
lists and associations people have to fall back on now. So I
wrote THE ART OF ROMANCE WRITING to fill the need I saw.
What
feedback did you receive from the first edition? What prompted
you to revise? Is the new version substantially different?
I received a lot of excellent feedback with
many people telling me they were finding things of value on
every page. I saw evidence of this myself from some of the dog
eared, falling apart copies being carried about. When I
realised how much had changed in the field since 1993, and how
avidly people were still seeking information, I decided to
revise and update the 1993 version. I didn’t realise it would
be such a big job. I’ve virtually had to revise every line in
the book, adding some 15,000 new words. It took two days alone
to revise the index!
Will your
husband, Paul, be doing the illustrations again?
This edition is more modern in appearance
than the last, with new cover art, and won’t have illustrations
throughout. However the ‘snakes and ladders’ plotting chart was
designed by Paul, and is retained in the new edition. As a
point of interest, the State Library of NSW made postcards of
that plotting chart at the time.
And,
finally, do you see yourself continuing to write category
romance or do you think you’ll venture into single title
territory?
I’ve been giving some thought to single
title for a while now, and have a few ideas floating around. I
was recently trying to outline a story for an on-line read, only
to find that the plot became much too complicated and I had to
put it aside. This may turn into a single title. Actually, as
I mentioned earlier, my three Intimate Moments books were almost
like a single title so I’m definitely thinking that way.
However, I’m really enjoying the IMs, so won’t be giving up
writing them. My Silhouette Romances are starting to push the
edges of what’s permissible in the line, so I’ve enjoyed the
freedom and scope of IMs. They are really the best fun for
writers.
‘The best
fun’?
Intimate Moments combine murder and mayhem
with lust and love. What more do you need?
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