March spotlight - Liana Laverentz
Could you please start by telling us a little about yourself?
I’m the author of two contemporary romances with The Wild Rose Press, Thin Ice and Jake’s Return. Thin Ice is a 2007 New Jersey Romance Writers Golden Leaf Award winner, a 2008 EPPIE finalist, and was a nominee for Best Romance of 2007 at Long and Short Reviews. My next release, a re-release of my first novel, Ashton’s Secret, a murder mystery romance, will be available from The Wild Rose Press in late 2008.
I’m also a member of Romance Writers of America, the Washington Romance Writers, and Pennwriters, Inc. In 1998, I won the Pennwriters Meritorious Service Award.
If you could be one of your characters – Who would you be? And why?
If I could be one of my characters, I’d have to be Emily Jordan in Thin Ice. She’s everything I would like to be. She’s strong, independent, feisty, kind, caring, talented, protective, and puts her family first. She knows what she wants out of life, but isn’t quite sure how to get it. She takes her responsibilities seriously, and doesn’t just think about herself when she makes a decision. And she stands up to those who need standing up to. She also has a really great relationship with Eric, an equally strong and caring man who totally adores her. Who wouldn’t want that? In fact, that seems to be the overriding sentiment when it comes to reading Thin Ice—readers want their own Eric J.
What author would you want to meet?
I continue to be totally blown away by the work of suspense author Eileen Dreyer, http://www.eileendreyer.com
whom I have met several times, but only in group settings. I tend to hang on every word she says when she speaks at a conference. I’m the one sitting in the front row nodding and getting really fired up to write inside. She just makes so much sense to me in her approach to storytelling. If I could write books as consistently compelling and satisfying to read as she does, I would be one happy camper. Reading one of her books is like checking in with old friends at the end of the day. She gets you that involved in the hopes and dreams and lives of her characters. She also writes equally wonderful and totally lyrical romances for Silhouette as Kathleen Korbel.
What would you like to tell your readers?
Thank you for all the emails and reviews and encouragement you have given me over the years. That you would take time out of your busy life to drop me a note about one of my books means more than I can say. We’re all busy…but writing is a lonely profession and those little notes can and do really brighten a writer’s day.
Do you belong to a critique group?
I have had critique partners in the past and expect to again, but right now I don’t have anyone specific I exchange my work with. Still, it always helps to have a fresh set of eyes reading your work. Sometimes we can develop tunnel vision about our stories. Another pitfall is reading what you think you wrote instead of what is really there. This can happen after your manuscript has been through several revisions. You remember a scene that was cut, and forget it’s not still in the story. Then you refer to it in the current version, and when you read it, you know what the characters are talking about, but a critique partner will say, “Hey, what’s this all about?” Critique partners are great for keeping you on track that way. Right now, I have a couple people I can call on to read the finished manuscript—but if I get stuck while writing it, I also have a few friends I can call on to read the scene in question and offer brainstorming ideas. Nothing official or formal or even structured, but I don’t let my work go out without having 2-3 others read it first. We exchange work by email.
In 5 years, where do you see yourself, in general and in your writing career?
In five years I see myself as earning enough money with my writing to support myself. Right now I am in the process of quitting my day jobs and taking that leap of faith. It’s totally scary, but the time has come to follow the dream full time. I only work during the school year, and over the last Christmas break, I spent so much time with my writing and got so much done, and had such a good time with it, that it’s been very hard to get back into the flow of going to the day job. So about a month ago, I put in my notice and as of the end of the school year, I will be a full-time writer.
What would be the best way for readers contact you? Do you have a website?
www.lianalaverentz.com
Email address?
liana[at]lianalaverentz.com
MySpace site?
www.myspace.com/authorlianalave
I am also part of a growing community of writers at www.thepolkadotbanner.com
Blog? Message Board? Group?
I don’t do blogs yet, other than the very occasional guest appearance here at SRN, but hope to get more into it when I’m writing full time. I do have a Balance With Liana chat that I do on the Long and Short Reviews Yahoo Group http://groups.yahoo.com/group
the first Thursday of each month. We get together and talk about ways we can balance our writing lives with our other commitments and responsibilities. The chat came out of two articles I wrote for Long and Short Reviews on Finding Your Balance. You can find the first one, here: http://longandshortarchives
How can readers find out more about you and your books?
Everything you could want to know (and probably more!) can be found on my website, www.lianalaverentz.com
Thank you so much for having me. It was a pleasure.