Welcome Angela Strong to the Mine!!

Let’s welcome Angela Strong to the Mine! It’s so awesome she could join us during such a busy holiday season!!

Let's start by asking you to tell us a bit about yourself.

I live in Idaho with my hubby and three teen/tweens. I've taught group fitness classes like yoga and kickboxing for over half my life. This Christmas I worked a seasonal job in the mall to make some extra money for gifts, but because I wasn't writing I couldn't sleep at night. It's so nice to be home and able to create once again. And last, I won a hamster ball race a couple summers ago. That may not be an important fact, but it will give you an idea of where I get ideas for the crazy situations my characters have to deal with.

Since it’s New year’s Eve, you get a special question:  Can you give us any gems of wisdom for the coming new year concerning writing, publishing, advertising, or any of the many other facets of the publishing world?

Have fun. Be passionate. Never stop learning. Try new things. Support others. Stay balanced. Give God all the glory. (This works in writing as well as life in general.) 

What made you want to be a writer? I know some people have a burning desire from an early age, and others kind of slowly realize that’s where they’ve been heading their whole lives.

My mom was a writer, so I grew up with stories about myself (and pictures of me with really bad haircuts) in magazines like Women's World. So when I wrote a story in high school, I submitted it to a magazine because that's what you do. They paid me $100, and I was hooked. Wish it was always that easy. I studied journalism at University of Oregon and sold my first novel Love Finds You in Sun Valley, Idaho ten years later.

What genre do you write under and why did you choose that particular one?

I write fun and fast-paced stories for both women and children. Right now I'm focusing on romantic suspense as well as my middle-grade Fun4Hire series. I think writing for kids makes me better at writing for adults, and writing for adults makes me better at writing for kids. I love them both. 

Can you give us the rundown on how hard it was to be published, and why?

I'll just start by saying that Walt Disney was once fired from a newspaper for not being creative. My kids remind me of this every time I get a rejection letter. Helps me put the difficulty of publishing back into perspective. 

Here are a couple of examples from my year. One of my favorite publishers took my manuscript to acquisitions after confirming that I would be willing to add another 25,000 words. They rejected it even though they liked the idea and the last book on that subject sold over 100,000 copies. Blah. Then I entered the Love Inspired Suspense Killer Voices contest. I made it to the final round. The editor requested revisions. I made them. Everyone said she'd buy it. Other LIS authors said I "nailed it." Rejected. Double blah.

So now I will be reworking both stories for another publisher that is looking for romantic suspense starting next month. I keep improving and hoping that I will find that perfect fit. Not every publisher is going to be a perfect fit, and I would honestly prefer to wait to work with one that believes in my work as much as I do.

What other books do you have in the works?

Book #3 in my Fun4Hire series, The Food Fight Professional, is due January 9 with The Pillow Fight Professional to follow shortly after. Then I have my novella False Security coming out in an anthology along with stories by three other local romantic suspense authors. (Check out Teamloveontherun.com.) Plus I've got another novel I've started because the editor at LIS said she'd like to see more of my work and they have very specific guidelines.

 What book will you be giving one of our lucky readers this week?

The Snowball Fight Professional is about a twelve-year-old boy who wants to make more money with his snowball fighting business than his cousin makes shoveling sidewalks so he can buy his grandma the better Christmas gift and hopefully get one of her husky puppies in return. It's a fun book that deals with what it means to be a family. This story is especially endearing to me because of the kid who is being raised by a single mom, which is something I know too much about. I care so much about these characters that sometimes I think about them and cry.

The world outside our small ‘writing spaces’ is huge and daunting. What kind of advice would you give to those of us who’re still trying to get published? I know there are so many do’s and don’ts.

Before I published, Bette Nordberg told me that selling your first book is like a dolphin jumping through a hoop. You end up right back in the same pool trying to sell your second book. That was the best advice I could have gotten with my career, especially since the first two publishers I sold to ended up shutting down. It hasn't gotten easier, but I've gotten more comfortable/confident with the show. And I've made some great pool buddies. So now I'll quote Dori from Finding Nemo: "Just keep swimming."

Thank you so much for being a part of our ‘Diamond Mine’ this week. I believe we’ve found a true gem in you.

Thanks. I love the idea that we are all diamonds in the rough. :)

www.angelaruthstrong.com

Interview with Marcy Dyer and a chance to win a signed copy of Down and Out!

Merry Christmas, everyone! Please join me in welcoming my good friend and crit partner, Marcy Dyer to the Mine. Marcy has graciously agreed to play Santa and give away a signed copy of her book Down and Out to one of our lucky readers. Make sure you leave a comment below (including your email address so you can be contacted if you win) to be entered in the drawing.

Marcy, welcome to the Diamond Mine. Tell the readers a little bit about yourself.

I’m a registered nurse turned suspense writer. I’ve been writing for most of my life but only began to take it seriously and learn the craft about ten years ago. Currently, I have three books published: Down & Out, Out for Blood & Blood & Lies

What genre do you write and why?

I write suspense/romantic suspense mainly because it’s my favorite genre to read. I love books that keeping me turning page after page to find out what happens next.

How much of your personal experience or your personality goes into your characters?

Some of the characters have a little of my personality, but many of them are conglomerations of people I know. I do however rely on some of my experiences for inspiration.

In the book I’m currently writing, a home health nurse walks in on a murder scene. In reality, I once walked into the wrong home. My notes said the patient couldn’t come to the door, the key would be in a drawer in the back yard. I misread the address, went to the home across the street and there was a key in the drawer in the backyard. I walked in and began calling the patient’s name. When a woman stepped out of the bedroom, I assumed it was his wife.

I don’t know who was more scared her, or me. She was so kind and gracious about having a strange woman walk into her home. Another time, I interrupted a burglary at my neighbor’s home when I was taking care of their dogs.

What is your favorite thing about writing?

I love getting into the mind of the character. Whether it’s the protagonist or the antagonist, I do an in-depth character interview before I start writing. I love watching the characters grow and develop and then I like to stick them in horrible situations that they have no comprehension of how to deal with it.


What was the biggest challenge for you on the road to being published?

Getting up the nerve to submit something to a publisher. I was terrified to take that step, but a good friend of mine kept pushing me and I finally took a deep breath and sent the email.
What do you hope readers take away from your stories?

I hope my readers are entertained. I once had a reader tell me she kept thinking about my book all night after she finished it. That made my day. Giving the reader something to think about and making the characters real to them are my main goals. As a Christian writer my goal is to not be preachy, but to present authentic characters who happen to be Christians. Of course not all of my characters are Christians. That would be totally unrealistic.


What's the next project you're working on?

I’m actually working on several things. I have a contract for the fourth novel in the Desert Winds Series, Lies & Alibis so I’m working on finishing it up and getting it polished for the editors. I also have a novel in progress that’s a little different for me. It’s a zombie book called The Horde: Contagion. A weaponized form of rabies is unleashed on the world causing a rabid zombie outbreak. I’m also working on a book set in the Big Bend area of Texas and starting to plot a Private Investigator series set in San Antonio.
Marcy's latest book, Blood & Lies, is available now on Amazon.


While JD Miller is chaperoning a group of teens on a mission trip to Kherson, Ukraine, one of the boys vanishes from the group without a trace. 

Leandra Davis hasn't seen her father in over twenty years when he shows up and asks her to fly to Ukraine to join the search for a brother she's never met. Anger at her absentee father compels her to walk out and ignore his pleas, but anguish at the thought of her brother all alone in a foreign country, at the mercy of kidnappers, convinces her to abandon her life in Odessa, Texas and join the search. 

When she and her best friend fly to Ukraine to search for the kidnapped teen, she meets the passionate paramedic, JD Miller. Together, they search for the missing young man and begin to uncover deadly secrets Leandra's father wants to keep hidden.