Welcome to The Cover Contessa's stop on the Siren's Song blog tour!
Jule Welsh can sing. She enthralls people with her bel canto voice. But it takes more than practice to reach her level of exquisite song; it takes siren's blood running through her veins. Jule is starting her senior year at Cougar Creek High when her relatively normal world begins to resemble a roller coaster flying through a carnival scare house. Her mother is diagnosed as insane and committed, a psycho-stalker is snapping pictures of her to put into his homemade Jule-shrine, her voice is suddenly putting people into comatose trances, oh and the gorgeous new guy in town, Luke Whitmore, is interested in her . . . but also wants to kill her.
Today we welcome author Heather McCollum to the blog for an interview!
So great to have you back again, Heather. Take it away!
Thanks so much for having
me here today in honor of my first Young Adult paranormal romance, Siren’s
Song! I’m ready and excited to answer your questions, so fire away.
Did you always know
you wanted to be a writer or did you want to be something else?
I suppose, as with most
writers, I’ve been putting pen to paper since I was a little kid. However, by
the time I was in high school, I’d decided that I didn’t want people telling me
how to write (LOL!), that criticism would take the fun out of it.
So I decided to major in
Biology in college, much to the dismay of my English teachers. After earning a
BA in Biology, I was accepted into graduate school, working toward a PhD in
Cellular Immunology. After a year and a half working in a lab while attending
classes, I decided that I didn’t want to work with petri dishes and melanoma
cells. I went to work at a pharmaceutical development company.
But most nights when I
came home and on the weekends, I’d write. And somewhere along the way I
realized that criticism wouldn’t crush me. At last I became brave enough to be
a writer.
How long does it take
you to write a book from start to finish?
My typical book length is
100K words so it takes me a little time to weave in all my sub plots. The
fastest I’ve written a full-length book is four months, but six months is more
typical. A 40K novella takes less time, maybe a month if I already know the
characters.
How many books have
you written so far? Do you have a favorite?
I have six full-length
adult, historical paranormal romances out and two novellas. I have a seventh
adult historical (in my Highland Hearts series) coming out at the end of the
month. I’ve also just finished writing the sequel to Siren’s Song, which should
release in January. So if I add all those up, along with Siren’s Song, I’ve
written ten books so far (not to mention being part of a non-fiction book on
writing).
My favorite book is
always the one I’m writing : ) They all have a special place in my heart.
That’s like asking me to choose a favorite kid out of my three. Just can’t do
it.
How are you able to
balance other aspects of your life with your writing?
Balance – now that’s a struggle! And
even though I actually give work-life balance workshops, I struggle to plan out
my days carefully in an attempt to stay in the middle of life’s teeter totter.
I have three kids in three different
schools (high school, middle, and elementary), so I spend a lot of my time running
them to sports practices, meet-ups with friends, and school functions. I’m also
an ovarian cancer survivor so I spend time educating women on the symptoms. I
live by my calendar and try to find time between all my obligations to exercise
too. Whew – yes, a struggle. More like a war!
What was the hardest
thing about writing a book?
Finding uninterrupted
time to write. Breathing life into fictional characters takes a lot of mental
energy. And mental energy is non-existent when one is frazzled. Thank goodness
for school days when the house is quiet and my frazzled level lowers. Only then
does my muse come out to play : )
Where do you
write?
Just about anywhere I can find some
peace. I do have a lovely little writing desk, which I’ve named Eleri. I can
see my tulips coming up outside the window in front of me. I just bought a
second-hand tiffany style lamp to set on Eleri, making her even lovelier. I
named the lamp Jule after the heroine in Siren’s Song. Now if I start talking
out loud to myself, I just tell my family I’m talking to Eleri or Jule so they
don’t think I’m crazy ; )
I also escape with my lap top onto the
screened back porch if the weather is nice. I can listen to the wind and birds
out there. During my lengthy health issues, my back porch was my sanctuary, and
it still is today.
Have you gotten
feedback from family about your book(s)? What do they think?
They are fabulous and
very proud of my writing. My mom talks me up to her bible study groups. And
even though my adult books usually have large, naked, male chests on them, her
friends buy them.
My husband carries my
bookmarks around with him and hands them out. He’s wonderful about that since I
never seem to have a bookmark on me. In fact I usually have a tissue sticking
out of the book I’m reading. Geesh – you’d think that when you order 2000
bookmarks, you’d actually have one to use! When I do book signing for my
Scottish books, he comes in his kilt. He’s my Highland hero!
What kinds of things
do you like to do outside of writing?
I’m an ovarian cancer survivor. I was
diagnosed in 2011, underwent major surgery, fought my way through fifteen
months of hellish chemo, and worked hard for six more months to recover the
ability to walk. I was stage II (having found it early due to a completely
unrelated accident), so I was given a 70% chance of living 5 years. If I had
been stage III, I’d have only been given a 20% chance. So early detection is
hugely important. Unfortunately the symptoms are very quiet.
My husband and I started the SHOUT Against the
Whisper campaign to educate women on the whispered symptoms of this sneaky,
vicious disease that strikes 1 in 72 women. We hand out symptom cards to
thousands of women each year and I speak to women’s groups about it.
The main symptoms of ovarian cancer include:
Persistent bloating
Pelvic pain
Eating less & feeling fuller
Urinary tract issues
Other symptoms may include: fatigue, constipation, indigestion, back
pain, pain during intercourse and menstrual issues. If you experience one
or more of these symptoms every day for three weeks or more, please see your
GYN.
I am now thankfully in remission and hope to
stay that way forever. The youngest survivor I’ve met was sixteen when she was
diagnosed, so this is a disease that can strike any woman. Please listen to
your body.
What kinds of advice
would you give to someone who wants to start writing?
1. Keep
writing. Don’t give up if it feeds your soul.
2. Listen
to critiques, sometimes the reviewer is spot on. I came in third place in a big
contest. The final judge was an editor and told me I’d written the ending wrong
based on my heroine’s motivation. At first I was upset, but then I realized she
was right. I rewrote the ending and sold that book.
3. Try
different processes for producing pages until you find what works for you. I
collage, listen to a soundtrack, walk my dog and diagram out the plots on a
huge white board. Some people use index cards or computer programs to keep
track of their scenes.
4. Use
positive affirmations to convince yourself that you will sell. Once you are
certain, it’s just a matter of when. “I am a successful, published author.”
That was one of my favorites. I used to say it to myself in the mirror every
day.
What elements do you
think make a great story line?
Conflict – an amazing
story requires huge conflict. This is the mountain that might be too big to get
over, but somehow the characters manage to do it. The stronger the conflict,
the more intense the story becomes. In Siren’s Song the conflict could very
easily kill the main characters. Can’t get much stronger than that.
Fully authentic and
interesting characters – if the plot is fantastic but the characters are flat, no
one will care about the story. It’s like watching a thrilling movie with bad
actors. No matter how great the script is, if the characters can’t convince the
audience that they are real, with true emotions and actions, then the whole
story fails.
Paradox- definition: something absurd or contradictory: a statement, proposition,
or situation that seems to be absurd or contradictory, but in fact is or may be
true. I love using paradox at the crux of my themes. Examples
include: to keep something you
must set it free, one must give away everything to be rich, and one can become
strongest in spirit when they are weakest in body. The paradox in Siren’s Song:
the more Luke loves Jule, the more he wants to kill her.
Do you have any go to
people when writing a book that help you with your story lines as well as
editing, beta reading and such?
My 15yo daughter is my
beta reader for my YA books. She reads YA fiction constantly so she has a very
good feel for the genre. She’s also a blatant teen with all the slang,
alternative rock band names, and fashion advice I could possibly need. She’s a
live teen reference book texting on her phone in the next room. She also helps
me with social media (she’s an expert) and brainstorms with me about future
projects. I think one day we might collaborate.
Thank you so much for having me here today! For more
information about me, my books, and/or ovarian cancer,
please check out my web site at www.HeatherMcCollum.com. I
can also be found here:
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