It's the fourteenth, so it must be time for Seven Questions with Selah Janel! This month, we're talking to author Wynelda Ann Deaver!
SJ: As a writer, what is your
absolute favorite part? What's the part that makes you want to hide under a bed
and scream?
WAD: My absolute favorite part is
when my eyes go out of focus, the computer, tv, everything disappears and I’m
in the story. It’s like living your own movie, and nothing else is quite like
it, except perhaps the way children play and are in the action. Hide
under a bed and scream? That would definitely be revision and marketing. Revision
because I just want to scream when I do it, marketing only because I don’t know
how (that homework is superhard, mom!)
SJ: Is there a character you've
written that definitely comes from you and is a part of you? Who?
WAD: There are two. The first character I wrote,
Alex, was who I was and who I wished I was at the time (20 odd years ago).
Completely bad-ass, rides dragons, sword fights with the boys, loyal to the end
and interested in justice. She was also the heroine I was working with when my
mom died, so a lot of the grief, and the hitting and screaming… that came right
from me. Other than her, the character I’m currently writing is based loosely
on some of my experiences (she had some of the same, but I threw in a few Greek
Gods, a magic garden, and well… you get the idea.) So her past is similar to
mine, but what’s happening to her now? Not so much LOL.
SJ: Have you ever written any plot
point or scene that makes you blush for any reason at all?
WAD:Any and all love scenes make me blush to write. Always have, probably
always will. Since my primary genre is fantasy, I can get away with a lot of
fade to black.
SJ: If you had to have a cage fight
with a character you've written, who would you choose? If you got to kiss them
better at the end, would your choice change?
WAD: Someone I wanted to hurt, or who I wanted to hurt badly? That would be
the Blue Mage (aka Asshat) from Dragon’s Champion. I can’t stand people who
feed on the pain of others. Kissing of the boo-boos? Definitely Ares, the hero
of my current work in progress.
SJ: What is your biggest pet peeve
with yourself as a writer?
WAD: I don’t write
enough. I feel as if I should be writing reams and reams every day. Instead, I
wake up, get my son ready for the bus, go to work, come home, spend time with
the boy, and then possibly write. I’m getting better at it, making sure that I
get words down in the story every day. It’s slow, but you know what? I’m not a
single college student living with my parents anymore either.
SJ: What's the author that you hope
to live up to someday? Who's your inspiration?
WAD: There are too many to count! Frances Hodgson Burnett is one of the
reasons I wanted to start writing, along with Madeline L’Engle. Their stories
transported me. Now, of the writers I currently read, hmm… I love Lynn Flewelling,
Mercedes Lackey, Carol Berg… All of who write wildly different tales, set
in fantasy worlds.
SJ: Why MMP? What's your favorite
part about working with them?
WAD: Let me tell
you a story. I wrote a novella in college, and I was offered a contract on it
about 5 years later. Well, technically I never even received the contract. The
editing “help” I was getting was vague at best, and downright lazy in parts. I
grew so frustrated I pulled the novella (which I knew needed work, but I needed
help with it). A friend and fellow writer recommended I submit Dragon’s
Champion to MMP, and I am so glad I did. Not only has everyone been
professional (from getting the contracts, to cover art, to editing)… they’ve
also been incredibly kind (helping out, answering a newbie’s endless
questions).
Bright, funny Constance sets off to rescue herself when she first sets
foot on the Dragon’s Path. Along the way, she’ll encounter a merry band of
brigands, a shop full of dresses (and temptation) and a Golden Dragon. Constance
will find out that by taking that first step… she just might find her destiny.
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