In this post, I’ll be answering questions from readers! So, get ready, get set…
Q1: When?
Submitted by Randy: “When did you know you want to an author?”
My quick answer is: Always!!! Ever since I was ten years old and writing up a complicated plot about a big family of superheroes, everyone who could morph into a different colorful animal and fight really nasty villains.
My longish answer is: I’m don’t consider myself an author. “Author” is the root word of “authority” after all, and I am NOT that! But I am a storyteller. Since becoming a mom, being a storyteller has become my superpower. How do you explain how it is wrong to hit another kid? By telling an emotionally-driven story! How do you explain the expansion of the solar system to a five-year-old, or the necessity of the grace of Christ? Through an analogy! (Why do you think Jesus used parables so often?! Cuz IT WORKS!)
Truth is, I’d give up storytelling, aka publishing books, in a heartbeat. I waste hours in front of a screen, typing away. HOURS! I call it a “waste” because there are errands to run (“give me five more minutes”), I I wish I could fully engage at small group instead of my mind racing with a new plot idea. And that’s just writing! It takes me eight hours to format a book … I’m not techy, so I went WEEKS of phone calls to update my website. And I’d really appreciate watching a movie for once without the need to analyze the “protagonist’s goal” and the black moment when “all is lost.”
But God gave me storytelling as a gift. And, as the precious gift it is, I plan on making a profit for my King.
Q2: Which genre?
Submitted by Cyndi: “Do you read a variety of genres or do you stick to one type?”
I’m a huge fan of “happily ever after”! In grade school through college, all I read was romance — and of that, mostly contemporary (modern-day) romance. No tears for me, thank you very much! And nothing terrifying or exciting! Give me Janette Oke every day and I’m happy.
But when I became a Christian at 22, it was a struggle to find CLEAN romance. I had hauled all my Victorian Harlequin romances to Salvation Army in one fell swoop. (The guy at the register said I could have picked all of these boxes of books up, but I couldn’t have waited that long. Another five minutes and I would have kept them all!)
I went an agonizing month with NOTHING to read. Agonizing! The books I eventually found were sweet but not punchy like what I was used to.
Eventually, I found Denise Hunter. Then, Susan May Warren (who writes romantic suspense, so I braced myself for those)…
But a feast of only one author makes a reader’s stomach rumble like mad.
Then a woman from small group suggested “Avid Readers of Christian Fiction.” Within a day, I had about fifty Christian authors I could drown myself in! Clean, contemporary romance!
Since joining two years ago, I’ve been won over by so many readers of Christian Thriller (Steven James), Women’s Fiction (Robin Jones Gunn, Charles Martin), and Historical Fiction (Jocelyn Green wrote a romance about the Chicago Fire, “Veiled in Smoke”! Whaaat?!)
Wow! Long answer!
Basically, what I want to say is this: Although I continue to read a lot of contemporary romance (sorry, Steven James, one book was PLENTY for me! I still make sure to never leave my keys in the employee breakroom … and I’m glad I’m not a redhead! Yikes!), I have a rotation of historical and women’s fiction, which I’ve found to increase my appreciation of romance.
Currently, I’m reading Mary Felkins’s novella, By Summer’s End. A perfect little romance for the end of August!
Q3: How long?
Submitted by Autumn: “How long does it take you to write a full novel, from the beginning outline up to your release day?”
The fast answer is: about six months.
The long answer is: It’s complicated.
“Stay with Me” (which is technically a novella) took three weeks to write (since there wasn’t much else to do while shut-in during Covid) and about a month to polish it up and throw it on Amazon.
But that is unusual. (I mean, the kids are back in their swim classes now.)
As for writing a new novel (60,000 words), if I rush it, I can pound it out in about three months. The editing though *sigh* takes so much longer. And that’s after I recover from a mini melt-down which always follows the first read-through. The rewriting, rereading (with subsequent meltdowns), deleting and adding scenes, etc can take three more months to as long as eighteen months.
To bring this back to the practical, I can take a real-life example of what I’ve been meaning to publish for the past three years: a contemporary romance that takes place in a hospital laboratory. I wrote the novel two years ago … spent a few months deleting and rewriting parts … and it’s STILL not ready for publication!
As long as there is a strong story line, I can get it *good enough* for others to read it! After all, art isn’t perfect. It’s a masterpiece!
Thanks for your questions!
There’s more!
Recently, fellow writer, Pauline Shen, picked my brain about being an author, including my tricks to overcome writer’s block (hint, it’s as easy as a gelatin treat) and where I pound out my novel.
I also spilled the beans about an upcoming novel, to be published in September, “Daniel’s Hope.” It’s set to be a the first of a three-book series!
Read all about it! Here’s the interview: Interview with Cheryl Kramarczyk
Your turn: Okay! Spill! If you could have coffee with your favorite author, who would he/she be? (Bonus question: what is the burning question you’d ask him/her?!)
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