Q & A with Carina Press author Cathy Perkins

Thanks for being here today, Cathy. Would you please share a short bio about yourself?

Hi Becky, thanks for inviting me to be part of the blog today. I spend most of my time submerged in a financial geek day-job and escape into stories – mine or one of the millions of authors whose stories I love – in the evenings. I was born and raised in South Carolina, but moved to the Pacific Northwest when my kids were in high school. They survived. J

About a year ago, we bought land in the mountains (to the intense amusement of more than one of my friends, I’ve learned to drive a tractor and do battle with the beavers over the height of the pond). It’s a writer’s paradise though - weekends this winter included snow outside, a fire inside and my trusty laptop.

Do you consider yourself a shy and/or introverted person? In what ways has being shy or introverted hindered your writing career? In what ways has being shy or introverted helped your writing career?

I’m not sure if you’d call me an introvert (I do!) or just a quiet person. After mumble, mumble years in consulting (and playing the corporate-wifey role), my husband has a hard time believing that claim. He’s seen my Chatty-Cathy mode.

With the day job, I’m doing two things: I’m listening to what the client needs – introverts listen well – and I’m ‘selling’ a product or solution to a known issue. With the corporate requirements, it really is a role. Again, it’s listening to people who are more nervous than you are about meeting the Boss’s Wife. Trust me, I’m not intimidating!

Once I started writing, I found it easy to network because we were all excited about a common passion. People who don’t roll their eyes when I talk about my story or struggle with a character arc or motivation or… I’ll stop now.

The promo aspects of writing are another story. Whew, I had to talk about my book and myself, instead of something tangible and separate from my personal identity. Social media was like an introvert’s nightmare – a giant cocktail party where you didn’t know a soul! I’m sllllooowwwlllyyyy finding I enjoy Facebook and Twitter – the impromptu conversations can be a lot of fun. 

Tell me about a time that you had to step outside your comfort zone either in your writing career or in your personal life?

I went to Bouchercon (a huge mystery reader/author conference) for the first time last fall and didn’t know a soul. On the plane, I had a major case of ‘what am I doing?’ compounded by crossed wires (and a dying cell phone) over where I supposed to meet my new roommate. I’d only spoken with this woman on-line, but she and her friend graciously allowed me to crash on the sofa in their suite. They both turned out to be wonderful people who let me tag along to all the parties they were invited to. As soon as we entered the room, though, I knew they needed to ‘do their thing.’ I peeled off and acted as if I knew what I was doing. Rather than treating it like that introvert’s nightmare, I simply walked up to a lost looking person and started talking. And guess what – they were so happy someone broke the ice and talked to them! I ended up working the room and met so many fantastic people. While I’m terrible with names, I’d see them later in a session or the bar and it made it easy to meet whoever they were talking to. Sometimes, it’s forgetting about your own worries and just relaxing. Maybe that’s my ‘tip’ – focusing on the other person makes it easier for me to forget I’m nervous. 

Would you please share a short blurb of your book and where my readers can buy it?

Set in South Carolina, stopping the serial killer who is terrorizing college campuses drives the plot of THE PROFESSOR. The tension and stakes build as the characters’ wants and needs set them on a collision course: Charismatic State Agent Mick O'Shaughnessy wants more from life than work and a pretty face. Fiercely independent graduate student Meg Connelly always wanted a loving family and professional success, but has to learn to trust in order to get either. The Professor knows the only way to get what he wants is to take it—and taking Meg’s life will destroy Mick with the same stroke of his knife.

Buy links:

Link to amazon   http://amzn.to/tm7uf6

Link to B&N  http://bit.ly/rQKCHp
Carina http://bit.ly/AeUQWx

Where can my readers find you on the web?

www.cperkinswrites.com

http://facebook.com/CathyPerkinsAuthor

http://twitter.com/cperkinswrites

Confessions of a Wallflower

by Anne Marie Becker
(FYI: Anne Marie's debut novel, Only Fear, releases from Carina Press on Monday, Sept. 5! Congratulations, Anne Marie.)

I confess… I’m a wallflower at heart. Circumstances beyond my control have pushed me (shoved, really) into the spotlight repeatedly over the years, but I’m happiest when I retreat to my cave to write about things that only occur in my imagination.

The problem is… I’m precisely 6-foot-1-and-3/4-inches tall, and have been since the ninth grade. It’s hard to fade into the background when the gene pool has dealt me such a strand of DNA.

And I have been president of my local Romance Writers of America chapter for the past three years, and still have one more year to serve.

And having a debut book coming out has forced me into promo-mode.

So, I’ve learned to shove my wallflower-ed-ness aside and step out onto the dance floor when I must. Sort of like an anti-ninja. (Well, I still love wearing black. I mean, it is very slimming and all.) I’ve adapted to fit my circumstances. Instead of stealthy, fade-into-the-background, security-blanket mode, I’ve forced myself to get out there and be seen. To confront my shyness head-on.

How? I forced myself to volunteer. It started with my online RWA chapter, Kiss of Death, where I helped update the Librarian page and coordinate the judging for their annual contest. Then I was elected President of my local chapter, so I had to start standing up in front of a group on a monthly basis. Yikes! Then I began presenting workshops and pitching at conferences.

And it’s totally been worth the risk. Volunteering feels good, and puts you in touch with some amazing people. I’ve come to believe in karma, since the year I started putting myself out there was when I signed with an agent and finaled in and won the Golden Heart.

My mantra became: “Fake it ‘til you make it.” Portraying confidence is everything (even if you’re quaking on the inside). I learned this technique in graduate school as I was studying to be a mental health counselor. When I feel uneasy about presenting, I remind myself that I know my material, and that people coming to see me will want to learn that material. I pretend I’m some super-speaker who everyone is dying to hear, and that what I’ve written to say is the best thing since Shakespeare. (And then, of course, I wear my slimming black outfit that makes me feel confident.)

Wallflowers, unite! Let’s get out there and show them what we’re made of. Standing together, we’ll make very pretty, very smart wallpaper.

And a huge thank you to Rebecca for having me here today, and for providing this support system for wallflowers like me.

You can find more about Anne Marie and what circumstances she’s forcing herself into now on her website. You can also find her on Facebook (Anne Marie Becker, Author) and Twitter (@annemariebecker).

Teamwork for Introverts

Please welcome debut author Susanna Fraser to the blog. Her first book is out this week with Carina Press.

Here's Susanna: Since my first book released just this week, I’m nowhere near the “quit day job” point in my writing career. I’ve been out of college for over 15 years now, and in that time I’ve amassed quite the stack of performance evaluations.

They’re positive, for the most part. I’ve been praised as everything from meticulous to tactful to efficient to being good at defusing tense moments with deadpan humor. And a few bosses have valued my self-sufficient, independent work style.

But far more have said, “Susanna needs to work on her teamwork skills.”

Because, you see, I’m a classic introvert. I find it hard to be “on” socially all the time, and I’m not good at delegating or sharing responsibility for a task. To my mind, most meetings are big time-wasters--why spend an hour talking when you could just shoot each other emails that could be read and responded to in 5-10 minutes?

It’s not that I don’t like people. I just find it easier to work on my own. Even when my husband and I are, say, cleaning the house in preparation for a party, I find it easier to split the house into sectors than to clean side-by-side. My ideal job would be one where I sat in an office with my door closed, spitting out completed projects and reports, for which my boss would email her thanks and praise. I’d occasionally come out for lunch or happy hour with my colleagues, because I’m far better at socializing with people than working with them.

So you can see why, even aside from my love of storytelling, I dream of being a full-time author. Writing a book is the ultimate solitary project. (Except for the occasional sets of co-authors, and frankly, they baffle me!) Even if you have critique partners or brainstorming buddies, in the end it’s you and your words, all by yourself, at the moment of creation. I dream of getting up each morning, sending my husband and daughter off to work and school, and then spending the day sequestered in blissful solitude, curled up with my research books and churning out my daily page quota.

But if you want to sell your book, at some point you’re going to have to interact with other humans. You’ll have an editor, and you’ll also have at least some contact with legal/contracts, publicity/marketing, and possibly whoever is responsible for your cover art and back cover copy. And you need to treat these people as part of a team who share your goal of seeing your book find its readership.

You don’t need to give them everything they want--unless you honestly think they’re 100% right--but neither should you dig in your heels and refuse to cooperate. Because you really don’t want the people who can decide they don’t want to buy your next book to think your teamwork skills suck.

It helps that 99% of your interactions with your publishing team are likely to be by email. Remember that you don’t have to reply right away. In fact, if you’re feeling at all stressed, anxious, or angry about what just hit your inbox, then DON’T reply right away. Wait until you’re sure you’re capable of being calm, fair, and rational. Remember that YOU’RE ON A TEAM. Everyone wants your book to succeed. And while you’re the expert of your book, you’re NOT the expert on cover art or marketing strategy, for example. If you don’t like your editor’s suggestions, for example, try to understand what made her raise the issue and come up with a way to address her concerns that’s true to the story.

I want to stress in all this that I really enjoy being part of the Carina team. I had a blast working with my editor and I love how my cover turned out. But in a way I’m glad I got published now and not nine years ago when I first started writing, because all those workplace performance reviews from the past decade have made me much more aware of the challenges being a natural loner presents me when it comes time to be part of a team!

What about you? Is teamwork a challenge for you, too, or does your introversion manifest in a different form? Commenters will be entered in a drawing to win a free download of The Sergeant’s Lady, my debut historical romance release from Carina Press.

Susanna Fraser was born and raised in small-town Alabama, but now makes her home in Seattle with her husband and 6-year-old daughter. She manages research grants by day, writes on evenings, weekends, and lunch hours, and in her occasional spare time goes to baseball game and sings alto in a local choir. Her first book, The Sergeant’s Lady, is an Aug. 23 release from Carina Press. You can learn more about her on her blog.