 Did you always know you wanted to be a writer?
 To be honest, no. When I was a kid my mom said I could argue my way out of anything (which I took as great praise) so I decided to be a lawyer. In college I majored in English, but the creative aspect didn't hold interest for me. After being required to read the greats, or at least cram enough chapters for the test, I didn't consider I had much to add to the genre.
I graduated, married and had kids, then put career plans on hold until I could muster enough energy to finish scraping the play-dough off the kitchen floor. I always kept a journal and eventually got published with my "Practically Parenting" column—editorials about raising children, which I still write.
I think what changed my mind about writing fiction was being such an avid reader. With great stories and characters filling my time and attention, my brain started wanting to come up with some of its own. Eventually, I decided to have my own whack at it.
My career as a novelist began with an idea that wouldn’t let me go, so I decided I had to write it down, if only to see how it turned out. That story evolved into POTTER SPRINGS, my first novel published by Center Street.
How did you get published?
I started by writing the best book I could. That sounds simple, but the truth is a new writer has to sit down and do the work first, not just dash off a few chapters and expect the publishing world to come knocking on your door.
I learned this lesson the hard way, when I started out in journalism. After my column was accepted, it took over a year before the newspaper found space and money to print it, and even then I gave the first few articles away for free. Not quite the refrigerator-sized check and parade I expected upon acceptance, but it taught me something about endurance.
A writer also needs to treat the craft with respect, and study it just like he or she would any other occupation. After all, a person just doesn't one day pick up a scalpel and decide to be a surgeon. The beginning novelist has to write a book that's as good as, or better, than anything you'd find on the shelves. The publishing industry is a tough nut to crack, and it takes patience and persistence.
When I decided to write my novel, I read how-to books, took classes through continuing education, and joined a critique group. I wrote, and rewrote, went to writers' conferences, talked to authors, learned the craft and the business.
Once I had the book, and some common sense about how the process worked, I sent letters to a few agents and ended up landing my first choice, Marcy Posner of New York. After we worked through additional revisions, she sent my manuscript to the right publishers, several of whom expressed interest, and we eventually went with Warner and their new imprint, Center Street.
How long did it take you to write POTTER SPRINGS?
From start to acceptance: three years, and then another year for it to hit shelves. Which, believe it or not, is rather fast in the writing world for a first book. When I sold the book, everyone asked when they could buy it, as in, next month. Most were shocked to find out it takes about a year once a book is bought to actually make it to the stores.
How do you find time to write?
I make myself do it. I'm fortunate enough to have transitioned from a stay-at-home mom to a full-time writer. Like most women, I juggle career and family and strive for balance. Between traveling for talks and treating writing as a full-time job, I have to be careful with my time. I think the real battle with writing is carving out the time and making yourself sit down in the chair and do it. I'm the queen of procrastination, and everything from balancing our checkbook to promotional work to volunteering at my kids' school to computer solitaire can take precedence over my writing if I'm not careful.
For me, I have to make writing a priority. It's like sand and rocks in a jar. If you start your day with the little stuff, like errands and email and housework, that's the sand that fills up the life jar quicker than you'd think, and the heavier rocks of relationships, exercise, spiritual pursuits, and writing, tend to get edged out. There's simply no more room. If you put your priorities (the big rocks) in first, the littler sandy bits will filter their way around them, and you're not overwhelmed and overflowing with stress.
My writing goes best when I make it a big rock, and schedule it as a high priority in my day.
Where do you get your ideas?
My ideas always start with a situation, or a character, and then evolve. For POTTER SPRINGS, I was in the bathtub when my kids interrupted me by wiggling their fingers under the door, giggling "Mommy, mommy!" I had a momentary fantasy of running away to Mexico and taking a vacation from my life. Then I imagined what would happen if someone actually did step away from their real life and responsibilities, without warning, and how it would affect those left behind. To increase the stakes, the character became a preacher's wife with secrets, from a small West Texas town where everyone knows everyone.
Is POTTER SPRINGS autobiographical?
No. Although, because the story is filtered through my experience and imagination, I do share some common threads with some of the characters. I recognize bits of myself in each of them: Mark's perfectionist nature, Amanda's abhorrence of pantyhose, Ervin's understanding of a simple faith, even Katy's passion for her daughter to be happy.
There are smaller moments that have basis in reality, but none of it is lifted directly from a particular person or situation. Someone once asked if Mark and Amanda were my parents, which I loved and found quite romantic, but is not the case. It's mostly about people struggling with authenticity, forgiveness and the concept of grace, which are themes that interest me.
What advice do you give to writers?
First, read. Read everything. Bestsellers, critically-acclaimed novels, non-fiction, first fiction, newspaper articles, the classics, poetry, books outside your favorite genre, books from authors whose worldview totally opposes your own. There's something to be learned everywhere, and great writers are soaked with words. You can't pour out what you haven't absorbed.
Second, write. Talking about writing can be stimulating, but too much talk dries out the creative force. You must do the work. Give yourself permission to write a truly awful first draft, and get through the thing start to finish. You can always go back and tweak, but it's hard to rewrite words that aren't there.
Third, be persistent. Ask yourself why you want to be a writer, and listen closely to your own answer. If it's with publication in mind, be aware you will face rejection and tough times. But don't let anyone tell you you can't do it. If you hone your craft, learn the business, and are willing to listen to criticism and grow a tough skin, you can make it.
I have an author friend with over twenty books in print who explains that to be a writer requires persistence, luck and talent. If you have persistence, you only need one of the other two.
And if you have all three? Why, it's only a matter of time.
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