MONETTE
BEBOW-REINHARD
- Guest Author -
G'day folks,
Today, I interview an interesting author from the USA.
Welcome, Monette ...
1.
TELL US A LITTLE
ABOUT YOURSELF AND YOUR WRITING JOURNEY.
I think I was pretty
much born into it. My mother was a writer. My grandmother was a Grimm. When I
found that out, I decided at a very early age that I was going to publish my
own Grimm Fairy Tales. I still remember
my first story, it had a cave in it. Now
I’ve contracted to publish Grimms
American Macabre with All Things that Matter Press for this fall, and
there’s a story with a girl and a cave!
2.
WHEN AND HOW DID YOU
BECOME A WRITER?
I did some writing in
high school. Once we performed a Monkees’ sketch I wrote, and I adapted a
Smothers Brothers routine for Christmas that we performed. I also love acting, and writing scripts. I
got to write my own graduation speech, and performed an Easter story over the
PA. My first post-high school writing was in adapting my favorite novel into a
movie script. I actually got a response from the author of the book, who said
he’d already adapted and made it into a movie!
I checked it out and thought it was awful. I wrote him back and said we
could do better. He never responded. Was that the wrong thing to say?
3.
WHAT TYPE OF PREPARATION DO YOU DO FOR A MANUSCRIPT? DO YOU PLAN
EVERYTHING FIRST OR JUST SHOOT FROM THE HIP?
Shoot from the hip and
then plan! Seriously, that’s the only
way. I believe that we should go with our flow, with our idea, as far as it can
take us, and then, when (if) we get stuck, write up the outline, the story
treatment – the nugget of what it’s supposed to be in the shortest words
possible from beginning to end. So many writers think that planning kills
inspiration and creativity – it doesn’t! The creativity is not in the idea or
the basic plot that you want to develop. It’s in the way you write it. Believe me, characters DO take over, and the
outline can be adapted to them along the way. But I know a lot of writers (I
used to run a support group) who get stuck in chapter three and never get any
farther. That’s where I say, write out what you want the rest of the book to
be. That always keeps me going.
4.
WHAT DO YOU ENJOY
MOST ABOUT BEING A WRITER?
Writing. I’m not very sociable and it gives me an excuse to
be alone! Seriously, where’d all my friends go?
I’ve got a lot of “stuff” in my head. I’ve travelled around the country
doing research and I rarely listen to music. I just need to hear what my head
wants me to hear. That stuff from deep
in the soul that keeps clamouring to get out. (I love all this spellchecking to
the British style.)
5.
WHAT IS THE HARDEST
THING ABOUT BEING A WRITER?
Marketing – both trying to find a publisher and trying to
find a reader. A lot of authors focus on
getting reviews, and a lot of reviews are lies.
I only want honest ones. And I really hate it when someone takes a free
copy and then refuses to review, as promised.
I really hate that. I tell them a
bad review is better than not doing it.
All my reading now is to review, and I never let anyone down. If I end
up not reviewing, I tell them why. Mostly it’s because they’re self-published
and I can’t get beyond the first chapter. I won’t waste my time. Let it be
known that from hereonin (isn’t that a word?), I will not accept a review copy
of a self-published novel. I do, however, edit them for people. It’s like a
side job. I think it’s become harder to
get our novels read, once published traditionally, since so many people now can
self-publish, and many do so too quickly.
Good novels get lost in a swamp of bad material.
6.
WHAT WERE YOU IN A
PAST LIFE, BEFORE YOU BECAME A WRITER?
Currently I have an editing job. I’ve been paid to edit
other people’s work, too. But I’ve had a long office career, because I like to
type. I’ve been “becoming a writer” for 30 years. It’s a process. My first
official submission came when I created a short story while being bored on a
temp office job. And boy, did I do that wrong!
7.
WHAT IS YOUR
GREATEST WRITING ACHIEVEMENT?
I think sticking with
my vampire, Arabus Drake, through his many incarnations, and finally seeing
that book published. The comments I’ve
been getting, too, mean that I’ve accomplished what I’ve set out to do with
it. I’ve got several readers reading
review copies. One was blown away by the
beginning and I’ve not heard from him since, and another says she’s still
reading but it’s slow (meaning, I think, that the read is an unusual one for
her. I hope.)
But I have to say that
getting meet David Dortort and getting him to agree to allow me to publish my
two Bonanza novels was the greatest moment of my life.
8.
WHAT ARE YOU WORKING
ON AT THE MOMENT?
Two more Arabus Drake books: Misadventures in Death & Friendship, and BloodLove. Kind of working
on them simultaneously. The nice thing is that the three books don’t have to be
read in any special order, although it’s nice to read Death & Romance and anticipate BloodLove. It works better that way. I also have a publisher reading Sylvan Liberty, a fantasy romance. I
also have two other books waiting for editing, and two other books that I’m
querying on.
9.
WHAT INSPIRES YOU?
I write with a lot of spirit and culture. So I think
reading things that have happened in history are inspiring, since I write a lot
of historical material. Bonanza was
actually my first inspiration. I just loved watching them put fictional
characters into real historical events.
10.
WHAT GENRE DO YOU
WRITE?
I got a master’s in
history in 2006 and have focused on that kind of material. But throw in some fantasy, romance, and
intrigue. I don’t write genre, actually, every one of my books is different. But they all have some elements in common
that I think readers will come to recognize and appreciate, if they like that
style.
11.
DO YOU HAVE ANY TIPS
FOR NEW WRITERS?
Do your homework and practice your craft. Stop expecting
riches and overnight success. PLEASE
submit to small presses and traditional press before self-publishing. If you do
not have or cannot develop the thick skin for rejection, because you’ll get it
from readers, too, find some other hobby.
12.
DO YOU SUFFER FROM
WRITER’S BLOCK?
Never. I always have
too many projects to worry about that. Not to mention articles and other
things, always something to work on. Inspiration is nice though, and it doesn’t
come along too often. You have to work for it.
13.
DO YOU HAVE A
PREFERRED WRITING SCHEDULE?
I have a preferred social schedule. Otherwise, I’m always writing.
14.
DO YOU HAVE A
FAVOURITE WRITING PLACE?
Anywhere, anyplace, anytime. I actually don’t like my desk much. It’s not
cozy since I had to move to an apartment last year.
15.
WHAT IS YOUR
GREATEST JOY IN WRITING?
Creating characters and seeing them take on a life of their
own.
16.
WHO IS YOUR
FAVOURITE AUTHOR AND WHY?
You know, I used to be in love with Stephen King’s
work. Little by little I stopped
admiring him. Oh, I know he creates
great characters and settings. But for heaven’s sake, is it that hard for him
to write a satisfying ending? I still
hate Pet Semetery. I don’t devour
everything he writes anymore. I love Umberto Eco’s work, partly because he’s
hard to read. You don’t read and toss, but say, hmmm, I think I missed
something, I’ll have to read it again. I like to think I create work that’s
re-readable, with depth and layers.
Otherwise, no, no one comes to mind.
Except Heinlein. I’ve always loved Heinlein. I wrote a story treatment
for one of his novels, tried to get permission for the script, found out
someone else has it and it’s in “development hell.” Shame.
17.
WHAT’S THE GREATEST
COMPLIMENT YOU EVER RECEIVED FROM A READER?
That my book stirred up all sorts of emotions, or that
she’s read it three times already. I also recently did a new beginning to my
KDP book, based on early reader responses, and the reader thought the changes
were awesome.
18.
WHAT WAS THE WORST
COMMENT FROM A READER?
Oh, I have faced a lot of one star reviews for Bonanza
because there are so many jealous fanfic writers out there! I mean, you can tell when someone is just
being mean or trying to bring you down. It just makes them look petty, and
actually probably even aids in more sales. But other than that, I guess what’s
most hurtful, especially with Mystic Fire,
is that there’s one element early in the book that it seems some readers can’t
get past. I mean, it’s real, and it happens, but they think it doesn’t belongs
in a Bonanza novel. But it’s there for a reason, and I’m always very sorry when
they don’t see that.
19.
WRITERS ARE
SOMETIMES INFLUENCED BY THINGS THAT HAPPEN IN THEIR OWN LIVES. ARE YOU?
I think it has to be yes for all writers, right? But I
still remember the day I had four active projects, all dealing with death, when
I first noticed my “theme.” My sister
died when she was four, back when I was six and had just started watching
Bonanza. I think that’s part of what led
me to being a Bonanza writer, because to get to sleep at night, I used to
rewrite the episodes in my head. Then a couple years after Adam (my favourite)
left the Ponderosa, my dad died. You begin to look for ways to keep people
alive in your writing, or deal with death in unusual and sometimes remarkable
ways, with a loss so great. I’ve never felt loved like that since. Now, as I
write this, I face the funeral of my mother ahead of me. And while hers is not as traumatic as the
other two, I think my lifelong dealing with death is what’s keeping me sane now
and grounded in my grief. And yes,
there’s a lot of pagan and reincarnation spirit in my books, for that reason,
too. We do not die. Our matter disperses
into another plane and reassembles. I
think there is such as a thing as a soul atom.
20.
OTHER THAN WRITING,
WHAT ELSE DO YOU LOVE?
Horses. Bikes. Being outside. Doing anything outside. Except ticks. I don’t like ticks. I need to be active, especially since writing
is so sedentary. Now that I have a
full-time editing office job, it’s even harder. The weight is slapping itself
back on, so now it’s diet down time again!
And my granddaughters – but I rarely get to see them, since they leave
in Seattle. But they are so precious.
It’s hard to explain how they make me feel.
21.
DID YOU HAVE YOUR
BOOK / BOOKS PROFESSIONALLY EDITED BEFORE PUBLICATION?
I’m actually a
professional editor myself. And I tend to put them through a lot of drafts. So
that answer is definitely no. I do know how hard it is to edit your own work,
though. I try to find an interested reader or two. But it’s another reason I
don’t self-publish. We always benefit from other eyes. Always.
22.
DESCRIBE YOUR
PERFECT DAY.
I get a response to a
submission and it’s a yes. Everything is
cherry after that.
23.
IF YOU WERE STUCK ON
A DESERT ISLAND WITH ONE PERSON, WHO WOULD IT BE? WHY?
Alive or dead? I have four heroes in life and would love to
chat with any one of them. If alive, I would have to say Armand Assante, just
because he fascinates me, and is the role model for Arabus Drake. I once wrote
and told him he’s that role model, and he sent me a glossy back, autographed,
“Monette, I embrace you.” I wish.
24.
WHAT WOULD YOU SAY
IF YOU HAD THE CHANCE TO SPEAK TO WORLD LEADERS?
PEACE PEOPLE! What are you waiting for? We can share the planet, but we have to stop
fighting first. Oh, and find a way to
give the Black Hills back to the Sioux, okay?
25.
WHAT ARE YOUR PLANS
FOR THE FUTURE?
I am in the third
“trimester” of my life, so to speak. My 30-year plan is to work until I’m 70,
travel until I’m 80 and then write my memoirs. I don’t believe in having a
bucket list. Death, of course, could
interrupt those plans.
26.
WHAT ARE YOUR VIEWS ON BOOK TRAILERS? DO THEY
SELL BOOKS?
My thought is no. But
then I don’t feel like doing them, so I’ll never know. I put some nice videos at YouTube about the
Ponderosa Ranch, when it was still open and fun to visit. But I don’t think it
helped me sell a single Bonanza novel.
27.
DO YOU SEE YOURSELF
IN ANY OF YOUR CHARACTERS?
I think I do. I believe in honesty and truth above all
things. I hate violence, so I have a
vampire who is very conflicted about his demonic thirst. We all have conflicts
in us, I think, so he was pretty easy to write. The Cartwrights reflect all my
moral values, so that was a natural for me. They often say not to shoot if
there was another way out of a problem.
And Ben Cartwright sure knew how to raise his family without playing
favorites. Family is very big in my
books.
28.
DOES THE PUBLISHING
INDUSTRY FRUSTRATE YOU?
I just had a conversation
with a publisher before he agreed to read my submission. He won’t work with
bookstores anymore because they return the unsold copies in unusable condition.
That’s a very valid point. But there are
a lot of indie bookstores out there that don’t do that. They don’t carry more
than a couple copies of a book at time, of course, but they generally never
return. I think publishers need to start working with them, especially since
POD is more popular now. I don’t like the trend of making authors take on all
this expense. And, plus, they can maintain a database of these locations for
their many authors. There’s a lot to be frustrated by. Solstice recently put
out the print edition of Vrykolakas Tales
and the back cover has open space – they left off their logo! That makes it
look self-published when I sell it. I don’t get why the industry isn’t evolving
a little better than it is. We need to demand that authors who are
self-published have to relate that up front. It indicates lack of oversight, in
general.
29.
DID YOU EVER THINK
OF QUITTING?
All the time! But with two new contracts this year, and a
short story winning an honourable mention due out soon (and a cash award
coming), those days are fewer now. I just can’t think what else I’d do to fill
up my time. Take up crocheting again?
Ugh. I can’t watch a lot of TV, it puts me to sleep. I love movies, and writing scripts is fun,
but I can see myself giving that up if I can’t get anywhere with my newest
creation.
30.
WHAT WAS YOUR
FAVOURITE MANUSCRIPT TO WRITE? WHY?
I have to say Felling of the Sons because of the easy
way that novel fell together, and because, while I had the time to edit it, I
loved reading it every time. I felt it was so good that I had to pursue David
Dortort to get permission. And it started as short story! There was just too
much there, and it became a novel. But
yes, I did have an outline of sorts, and yes, it did change a lot from what I
had originally envisioned. I love my Vrykolakas Tales but the process was
agonizing. It was even agented. It went
from third person to first person to third person, I rejected four contracts, I
got advice on fixing the beginning – and it wasn’t until I listened to that
advice that it finally got a decent enough contract. I think Mystic
Fire really succeeds, but I had to write it too quickly and my publisher
wouldn’t let me make it as long as it needed to be.
31.
HOW WOULD YOU DEFINE
‘SUCCESS’ AS A WRITER.
Loving to write is
first. Paying attention to where you need to be at all stages of the process,
second. Doing things the right way,
third. And finding readers – actually that comes after the other three, but
without that, you have nothing.
32.
WHAT SHOULD READERS WALK AWAY FROM YOUR BOOKS KNOWING? HOW SHOULD
THEY FEEL?
I do like to think I imbue my books with a lot of
interesting information. I don’t believe in following any formulas, and use
lots of real history. In fact, in my first two Bonanza novels I used
footnotes! Although in Felling they
don’t look right in Kindle format.
I also put for further reading at the back of my Vrykolakas
book to show the research I used. The
death scene, for instance, was created from the Tibetan Book of the Dead. I like to think I make readers feel more
in touch with their humanity when they read my books. What it’s really like to be a human being, no
matter your skin color or culture.
33.
WOULD YOU LIKE TO HAVE YOUR BOOKS MADE INTO MOVIES? EVER WRITTEN A
SCREENPLAY?
I have about eight
movies scripts written. Several have won minor awards. My favorite one is based
on my nonfiction book that I haven’t found a publisher for. Following Orders tells the real story of
what happened to Custer at the Little Bighorn, but it’s fictionalized because I
put my research of my great-uncle into it.
The book is called Civil War &
Bloody Peace: following orders and follows the orders of my grandfather’s
great-uncle Henry Bertrand, who was in the Civil and Indian wars. It just
amazes me I can’t find a publisher. But then, how many want to learn that it
was Grant’s fault Custer got killed? I
wouldn’t mind if someone else wanted to adapt one of my books. I’m hoping
someone picks up Dancing with Cannibals,
because I won’t be doing that one myself.
34.
HOW MUCH THOUGHT GOES INTO DESIGNING A BOOK COVER?
Sometimes I get ideas
right off. Sometimes I don’t. With Vrykolakas Tales, the publisher went
with a safe bet. I had a different idea that I thought would have been cooler.
Since they didn’t use my idea, they should have at least had a bouquet of half
dead roses in that hand bursting from the grave. With Dancing with Cannibals, I wanted a mask on the cover, but
originally I thought of something a little more stereotypical. I was so happy of the work my son Adam did on
that cover. For Grimms American Macabre,
coming out in the fall, I really want the old house my dad grew up in, that was
in Grimms, Wisconsin. His mother was a Grimm. And for Sylvan Liberty, the one I just found a publisher to read, I need a
tree in a forest shaped like a woman. I
found one once, but I wasn’t sure how to get the rights to it. So I’ll need
someone who can draw.
35.
WHAT’S YOUR ULTIMATE DREAM?
An academy award! Seriously! And giving a book presentation at
Barnes and Noble. Both seem out of reach.
36.
WRITING IS ONE THING. WHAT
ABOUT MARKETING YOU, YOUR BOOKS AND YOUR BRAND? ANY THOUGHTS?
Oh, such a tough
question. I just came through a book launch with little to show for it. I’m not
a big fan of advertising on social media anymore. I wanted to get press
releases in papers and my hometown paper said they don’t publish them anymore.
I found a site recommended by a marketing expert – newswire.com – a little
pricey but supposed to get you in newsprint.
I still think that’s where you get attention, because of how people
fight for space there. Anyone can do social media. It’s easy to tune out with
all those voices. What works? Well, I’ve had to buy quite a few copies myself
for reviews, and giveaways. Getting
people to read and spread the word is probably the best. But honestly, I wish I
knew. Bonanza novels continue to sell
because of the fan base and lack of competition. My Vrykolakas will just have
to catch on, somehow. I think it will. I
think it should.
37.
ARE YOUR BOOKS
SELF-PUBLISHED?
Just Dancing with Cannibals. Here’s the thing
– since it’s co-authored, and he lives in South Africa, and he was desperate
and didn’t want to wait for the traditional route, he forced me to self-publish
by finding another editor, leaving my name off, and publishing it at
Amazon. When I found out, I had it
removed, did a couple more edits and put it up there for us. He had no right to do that, but in his
defense, he was desperate. I feel bad about that. I’m trying to get the print
copy ready now.
38.
DESCRIBE YOURSELF IN FIVE WORDS.
I don't like me much.
39.
WHAT PISSES YOU OFF MOST?
When other people don’t
like me. I think I’m nice, most of the
time, but I have these negative thoughts; I tend to think the worst of people
sometimes. Not everything is about me! I have to keep reminding myself of that.
But I don’t make good first impressions and I don’t know what to do about that
so I have to accept me the way I am. Since other people don’t like me, I guess
I don’t like me either. I don’t do well in public, unless I’m performing or
presenting. I had a boyfriend once, who said something profound. He said,
you’re just acting all the time, aren’t you.
I love honesty but people see me as insincere. Did I mention conflict
earlier? We all have them.
40.
WHAT IS THE TITLE OF THE LAST BOOK YOU READ? GOOD ONE?
No, it was crap. I had
to read it for a review. Which is why I’m saying I won’t read self-published to
review anymore.
41.
WHAT WOULD BE THE VERY LAST
SENTENCE YOU’D WRITE?
Huh. Well, I do plan to
write until I die. I like Agatha
Christie in that respect, and some of her books are good, too, but after a
while they’re hard to tell apart. Who was it who always ended with “And so it
goes.” Garrison Keeler? I like that. Something like that. “Humanity as seen
from the eyes of Death” is the new pitch for Vrykolakas Tales. And maybe at the end, I’ll have that answer I’ve
been looking for – why do humans have consciousness?
42.
WHAT WOULD MAKE YOU
HAPPIER THAN YOU ARE NOW? CARE TO SHARE?
I just want to be
loved, I guess. But I think I’m too needy. If I could learn to accept myself,
maybe people could learn to accept me, and then I’d be happy. Honestly, when I
got the contract for Vrykolakas I expected to be ecstatic, I’d been trying for
so long. But instead, I felt like Droopy
Dog. So it’s not being published that does it—what will? I think being needed. It feels like no one
needs me. I have to work on that, but sincerely, with having to move away from
my husband to take this job, and him not caring, there doesn’t seem to be
anything else I can do. Here I am and this is what I have to deal with.
43.
ANYTHING YOU’D LIKE TO ADD?
Being a writer is not
all glamor and riches and fun. Don’t go into it for that. Be sincere in having
something to say. Or you’re just wasting everyone’s time. And if you have to write genre, find a way to
be different!
Clancy's comment: Many thanks, Monette. Love your answer to number 43!
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