Monday, August 18, 2014

Does Your Spouse Read Your Writing?

I'd like to welcome author, Vicki Crum to my blog today. She has been coerced agreed to share a little about her writing journey, her new release, some writerly camaraderie, inspiration, and (with much arm-twisting) some husbandly humor.

Suzanne -- Tell us, Vicki, what INSPIRES your writing creativity?


Vicki -- the oddest things will inspire a storyline from seemingly out of nowhere. 
Loving Luc is my first published novel, and the idea for it came as I was taking out the trash one day and saw a string of crows eyeing me from atop the electrical wires. 


There was an odd stillness in the air, an eerie feeling of déjà vu that I couldn’t quite explain. I saw my heroine clearly in my mind, along with the first few lines of the story, and I knew I had to write it. 

Suzanne -- how interesting. It's so true that you can find inspiration in the simplest of tasks. I don't think I'll take back the trash chore from my teenage son, just yet. :) 

You've been writing for a while, Vicki. Where did your first inspiration come from and how do you keep it going over the years?







Vicki --  my writing journey actually began in my late teens when a friend loaned me her copy of Kathleen Woodiwiss’ The Flame and the Flower. 

I became a voracious reader of romance novels from that day forward. It was several years later, when I was married with young children, that I found myself mentally rewriting various scenes I had just finished reading. This usually happened when I was out jogging, and my thought process went something like this: I wish (insert hero) would have said this, and (insert heroine) would have done that… Oh yeah, I would have liked that much better! 

Eventually I decided that instead of mentally rewriting other people’s scenes to suit myself, maybe I should try writing some of my own. I quickly learned it is much, much harder to create interesting characters and put together a cohesive plot that will keep the reader tuning pages late into the night than it is to write a few random scenes here and there! 

As for where I find the inspiration to keep writing year after year, I attribute that to my wonderful critique group and their constant encouragement, as well as that of my family, whose advice has always been ‘do what you love’. 

Suzanne -- you know I love famous author quotes, are there any that inspire you?


Vicki -- I have lots of favorite writing quotes. Here are two. 

        “A professional writer is an amateur who didn’t quit.” 
                                                                Richard Bach 

        “The question isn’t who’s going to let me; 
                                it’s who’s going to stop me.” Ayn Rand 

And I read a terrific quote a few years back that has stayed with me, though sadly I can’t remember to whom it is attributable. It goes something like this, 

“I can’t imagine how many truly great writers the world will never know because they simply gave up and went away.” 

This has been a great reminder to me to never, never give up!

Suzanne -- thanks so much for those wonderful quotes. Let's move on to where you find your writerly camaraderie?

Vicki -- Belonging to an excellent organization like Romance Writers of America has also helped tremendously. It is an organization filled with professional writers, some published, some not, who are always eager to help and support fellow writers. I've been a member of the Orange County Chapter (OCC) of RWA since 1997 and have served on the board of OCC as Programs Director, co-chaired the Ways and Mean Committee, and worked as a co-oordinator for the special OCC author receptions.

Suzanne -- that sounds like a wonderful way to support and share the writing journey. Now, tell us your hilarious humor story.

My husband has always been supportive of my writing, but he has never read any of my manuscripts. He’s not a big reader, unless it’s sports-related. My husband’s best friend, Dave, who is a voracious reader across all genres, wanted to be the first to buy and read Loving Luc. My husband and Dave went to our river house to take care of some repairs, and one afternoon, sitting out on the dock, Dave was relaxing by reading Loving Luc on his Kindle. He decided to read a passage from a particularly intimate scene to my husband. Now, I feel that my sex scenes are fairly mild, certainly not what I would call overly-explicit. But apparently upon hearing what I had written, my husband’s face turned beet red and after a paragraph or two, he said, “Whoa—my wife wrote that?” His discomfort brought a quick end to the oral recitation. I guess that’ll teach him to pay more attention to what I’m writing!


Suzanne -- thanks so much for sharing that bit of husbandly humor. And now here's how we can all read Loving Luc by Vicki Crum --A contemporary romance with futuristic elements

Available on Smashwords, Create Space, and Amazon.com 


Maggie McAllister’s short, troubled marriage ended in tragedy the night her husband splintered his sailboat on a submerged reef. Remnants of David’s bloody clothing were found in the wreck, but his body was never recovered. Now, six months later, Maggie has come to terms with her shock and grief, but guilt over the contentious state her marriage was in at the end still haunts her. 
When a beguiling stranger from David’s past shows up on her doorstep and then manages to insinuate himself into her life, Maggie is forced to deal with an intense, unwanted attraction to the man, and worse, she can’t shake the feeling that Luc is hiding something, that he knows a lot more about David’s fate than he’s willing to admit. Despite Maggie’s best effort to remain indifferent to Luc, she finds herself falling in love with him. Little does she know that the very act of loving Luc sets Maggie up as a pawn in a battle between good and evil---a battle being waged by entities from another world---with Maggie as the ultimate prize.


Thanks again, Vicki for being so willing to share with us your writing journey. Good luck with your release.

As always, feel free to comment. 







24 comments:

  1. I love those quotes! Great cover!

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    1. Thanks for stopping by, D'Ann. I agree with you, I love romantic beach covers.

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  2. Hello, Vicki Crum--I'm one of your fellow authors writing for Rebecca Vickery. Welcome to our group.
    I laughed at your story about your husband. Mine, however is totally opposite. I have ten full-length published novels, several novellas, some put in a Collection so I would have the print, and several short stories. If the book is in print--as are the ten novels and the collection, he buys his own book, asks me to autograph it "with something special that you don't say for everybody else." Ahhh. He not only reads everything I write, during a recent health issue that kept him a little inactive, he brought out all his copies and read each one again. Now, you can't ask for a husband much better than that.
    Congratulations on your first release, and here's to many more! Celia

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    1. Thanks for stopping by Celia. What a wonderful supportive husband you have to share in all your successes.

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  3. Glenna Chandler CapeeAugust 18, 2014 at 12:40 PM

    My best friend and soul sister since 8th grade. I am so very proud of her.

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    1. Glenna, thanks for coming by and supporting your soul sister.

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  4. Encouragement from any source is helpful in this adventure we call writing. Vicki, kudos to your husband's friend for reading your work.
    Wishing you much success.

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    1. Can always count on my writing soul sister to stop by. Thanks Sandy.

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  5. I love visiting your blog because it's always entertaining and informative. Plus you post some really cool pictures! :)

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  6. Great interview! Your book sounds cool, Vicki! My husband didn't read my work, either, as he's not fond of fiction, but when I asked him to read a novella I wrote, and give me any pointers he thought of, he read the whole thing in one day and loved it. I was astounded!! Husband reactions can be so surprising, and it's so funny what happened with yours!

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    1. Those husbands can be surprising. :)
      Thanks for stopping by and sharing, Nancy.

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  7. Hi Vicki. I'm another member of your PbRJV family and want to say welcome to our close-knit circle. My husband read my first book galleys right along with me, all in one sitting, with lots of coffee to keep us going. (note, I did not say to keep us awake...as my books don't put readers to sleep!) And he has been available to proof any book requested since then. Isn't it great to have a husband's support? I wish you much success with this book and all your books to come.

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    1. Thanks for stopping by and visiting, Linda. Sounds like you have a very helpful and supportive husband, how nice.

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  8. My husband reads every novel I write, marks mistakes, and gives me feedback. He's the best beta reader ever. Since several of my books have airplanes he has piloted and one is based on WWII ("A Secret LIfe" coming out in 8 days!), I could never have written them without his help.

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    1. Thanks for visiting, Lee. Sounds like you have built in research, beta reader and grammar checker all in one with your husband. Lucky you. :)

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  9. Hi Vicky - What a funny story about your husband! Congrats on your book - it looks really interesting! :)

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    1. Thanks for stopping by, Kitty. I loved Vicki's story. I'm so glad she shared it with us.

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  10. I've never asked my husband to read my manuscripts because one of our daughters is a writer, and she's given me good feedback as well as plotting help. My best friend also has served as my beta reader, and bless her heart she has read every manuscript I've written! But after seeing all the comments, I may have underestimated hubby. Should have tapped him for some feedback, maybe! I just wasn't sure I could wait until he put me on the front burner!

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  11. Vicki, how lucky for you to have such wonderful support in your daughter and best friend. I hope you don't feel we were picking on you, or your poor husband. I just loved the story. :)
    And I knew others would too.
    My husband does read my work in progress, but he is a very meticulous and s-l-o-w reader. He's great for catching typos and things that don't make sense, but sometimes I've revised six times before he's finished reading and marking. Maybe that's another reason I write shorter pieces. :)

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    1. Love your comments about your husband, Suzanne. Bless their hearts...they do try!

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  12. Great story! Thanks, Suzanne for another interesting post.

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  13. I liked your eerie inspiration with the crows. It would have unnerved me. My family never reads my work or pays much attention to my career. I think that happens to many writers. I'm happy for you that you have your family to support you. Mine would probably drive me crazy if they did because they would be all into telling what to write. This way, I can hermitize (I know, not a real word) while I write.
    I wish you continued success in all you do.

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  14. Thanks for stopping by, Sarah. I like your made up verb. (We writers get to do this. Nice use of the rhetorical device called anthimeria.) I too am fond of hermitzing. :)

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