IndieView with T.L. Haddix, author of Firefly Hollow

I truly think it takes a village, of sorts, to produce a good book. I’m too close to my own work to see potential problems. Most authors are. I don’t think it’s possible to effectively self-edit your own work.

T.L. Haddix – 31 January 2013

The Back Flap

The mysterious recluse…

Owen Campbell holds himself apart from other people. Badly scarred from emotional wounds that have never healed, he doesn’t expect to find true love or happiness. He remains isolated in a prison of his own making, determined to not let anyone close enough to hurt him again.

But his willpower is shaken to the core when Sarah Browning enters his world.

The girl next door…

Sarah Jane Browning is three years into her college degree when a call from home changes everything. Back at the family homestead in the heart of Appalachia, she’s forced to reevaluate her hopes and dreams for the future.

Distraction from her heartache comes in the form of her parents’ neighbor. Whispers about “odd Owen Campbell” abound in their small community, and Sarah’s curiosity is aroused. When she breaks the rules and trespasses onto his land, what she finds is beyond her wildest imaginings.

As Sarah struggles to overcome tragedy and loss, her burgeoning relationship with Owen is sorely tested. Will love conquer all, or will the secrets from Owen’s past tear them apart forever?

About the book

What is the book about?

Firefly Hollow is, on the surface, a boy-meets-girl book. Sarah Browning and Owen Campbell are neighbors in eastern Kentucky. The majority of the book takes place in 1960, when Sarah has returned home from college after the death of her father. Owen’s a little older than Sarah. They’ve never met before, at least not as far as Sarah knows, and they have a somewhat rocky start.

Owen’s a recluse, and he and Sarah are mutually intrigued by each other from the beginning. However, he has a lot of secrets, a lot of hangups, and he pushes her away pretty hard. He’s a shapeshifter, and he doesn’t expect that he’s ever going to find someone who will accept that part of him, so he doesn’t even try. But Sarah seems to be everywhere he turns.

In addition to the normal ups and downs of a new relationship, they have to struggle through several serious tragedies, and what starts out as a simple romance gets very complicated, very quickly.

When did you start writing the book?

The first part of Firefly Hollow was written about a year before I sat down in earnest to develop the story. I wrote about 1,500 words, showed it to a few people, and really liked the feel of the story that I was developing. But I wasn’t ready to write it then, and I put it aside for about a year. In May of 2012, I was in between books, and it just felt right to continue Firefly. So late one night, about two a.m., I sat down with pen and paper and did the outline in about an hour. It was very basic, hit all the high points, and if I recall correctly, took up two or three pages of paper, front and back. The next day, I sat down and started writing in earnest.

How long did it take you to write it?

This number just doesn’t seem real to me, but it is – I wrote Firefly Hollow in three and a half weeks, start to finish. The words were there, the story was flowing, and for six or eight hours a day, I was actively writing. Fingers pounding keyboard. I didn’t get much of anything else done, only the essentials, but the book poured out of me. I didn’t know what to think, as it usually takes me about two months to do a first draft, but it was a good confusion. Of course, I also sat on the couch and drooled for about a week after it was finished. Writing that first draft was heavy lifting, and took a bit out of me.

Where did you get the idea from?

Honestly, I have no idea. It was just there. It may have been as simple as thinking about home (eastern Kentucky), thinking about the complex relationships between neighboring families there, and then taking it a few steps further. I wanted to make Firefly Hollow a little different, and I do know where the idea for making Owen a shapeshifter came from. A lot of the folklore of the central Appalachian region focuses around Native American and Scotch-Irish traditional beliefs. People who have special abilities, everything from shapeshifting to the ability to communicate with animals to the gift of mystical herbal healing. I have a lot of that history in my own family’s ancestry, and I drew on that.

I wanted to create characters who were normal, everyday people, but just had a little something extra that was part of them. I didn’t want them to be so focused on their abilities that the abilities took center stage. The fact that Owen can change into a deer, or into a wolf, that’s just part of who he is. He is somewhat emotionally crippled, but it’s more a result of other people’s reactions to him, than his reactions to his abilities.

Were there any parts of the book where you struggled?

Yes. There were two huge points of conflict, both of which take place later in the book. One was the destruction and reconstruction of Owen and Sarah’s relationship. The other is a tragedy that tears apart Sarah’s family. As to the tragedy, I needed to make sure I handled it in a way that didn’t minimize the impact or sensationalize what happened. I had to show the devastation that it brought on everyone involved.

The actual destruction of Owen and Sarah’s relationship was harder, though. As someone who has read romance novels since I was in my teens (so more than twenty years now), one of my biggest pet peeves is when a hero or heroine does something atrocious to the other person, yet there are very few consequences for that offender. A hurt that takes four chapters to detail only takes four pages to make right. I know that’s a problem a lot of romance readers have. I didn’t want to do that to Owen and Sarah. I needed to make their conflict realistic. The thing is, without the horrible tragedy that befalls the Brownings, I don’t think Sarah would have been able to forgive Owen for what he does. I don’t think she would have had the perspective. So in order for their love to prevail, they had to suffer great loss. One wouldn’t have worked without the other.

What came easily?

Compared to my other books, it was all easy, the exceptions being the two parts I outlined above. Really, looking back, it was just astonishing how quickly it came together, and how the manuscript just felt right.

Are your characters entirely fictitious or have you borrowed from real world people you know?

All writers borrow from the real world, of that I have no doubt. It’s impossible to not. That said, none of my characters are exact representatives of any one person.

Developing characters is something that usually starts in a pretty nebulous fashion for me. It could be as simple as hearing a name I like, and imagining the person who would go with the name. It can be taking note of an interesting character trait, like watching the way a person smiles at their spouse, and building a profile from there.

Probably the way the real world influences me the most insofar as it applies to building fictional characters is that I don’t take anyone at face value. I expect that people are hiding parts of who their true selves are. They have faces they don’t show to the world. Some of them have faces they don’t even show to their families and closest intimates. And that, for me, is the exciting part of character development–discovering the characters’ secrets. Oftentimes, fiction is nowhere near as odd and surprising as real life.

We all know how important it is for writers to read. Are there any particular authors that have influenced how you write and, if so, how have they influenced you?

There are several writers I suppose I have observed over the years, and taken note of how they build stories. Nora Roberts. Elizabeth Lowell. Tami Hoag. Lisa Kleypas. Although I don’t read much by Ms. Roberts now, I used to devour her books. She’s a queen of character and familial development, and I think that is one of the subconscious notes I took from her writing.

Elizabeth Lowell is great at tying things together, Tami Hoag at building suspense. Leaving plot holes open or not building the suspense in a proper fashion can leave a book flat, and leave readers dissatisfied. I strive to not do that. It’s up to my readers to decide whether I pull it off or not, but from all indications, I do okay at that.

Lisa Kleypas is a master at the intricacies of building a romance that is full of tension, full of hope, and makes readers yearn for the couple to make it. I’ll read just about anything she writes, and all her books are on my keeper shelf. I’ve re-read a couple of her series so many times, I can almost recite them in my sleep. They never get old. The moment when the hero realizes how much the heroine means to him, and that he may or may not have her heart? Wow. That’s the kind of moment that lives on in a reader’s mind, as much as that moment when they finally get together in the end.

Do you have a target reader?

Not so much. I think my books have the broadest appeal to romance readers, and romantic suspense readers (for my Shadows/Leroy series), but I’ve had contact with people who don’t normally read either genre, and they’ve been very enthusiastic about what I’ve written. Amazingly enough, not all my readers are women. That’s a dynamic I wasn’t expecting when I started writing. Finding out that I’ve produced something male readers enjoy as much as females? That’s a bonus.

About Writing

Do you have a writing process? If so can you please describe it?

I do have a writing process, yes. I’m constantly writing, no matter what else I’m doing. When I’m managing the small business my husband and I own together, playing with our cat children, going to the grocery store, anything,  really, the wheels are always turning.

Once I get an idea, I just toy with it in my head. Maybe write it down somewhere and try to develop it further, or maybe just make a few notes. If it’s meant to be developed, it will come.

If the idea presents itself as viable to me, then I’ll outline. Depending on what my writing schedule is looking like, meaning whether I’m in the middle of a current book or not, I’ll either start developing characters, or put the idea on the back burner. But the outline is tucked away, safe and sound, until I’m ready and able to continue it.

I may or may not flesh out an outline once I’ve picked up an idea to develop. It just depends on how clear the idea is in my brain at that point. If it’s very clear, I start writing. I write the majority of my work in our living room, in a comfortable recliner that is big enough for me and a couple of cats. I tend to write late into the night, oftentimes until four or five a.m.

The furry purries are often my muses. I find it hard to concentrate if I don’t have at least one cat within arm’s reach. I have to have a cup of ice water sitting nearby, also, and prefer to have the TV on in the background.

I read the previous day’s work to my husband every evening before I start writing again, both to review what I had done and where I was, and to get his reaction. It’s a great way to hear my words, and to get feedback from a sounding board I trust.

Do you outline? If so, do you do so extensively or just chapter headings and a couple of sentences?

I do outline, as I mentioned. And I can go into extensive details or keep it down to a sentence or two. It just depends on how clearly I can “see” the story.

Do you edit as you go or wait until you’ve finished?

When I read back over my previous day’s work, I make minor corrections–fill in missing words here or there, correct misspellings, clarify meanings. I don’t go back and do major rewrites, though. I wait until the first draft is completely finished. Then I re-read, make corrections and fill in plot holes, and go from there.

Did you hire a professional editor?

I do. I also have a team of beta readers who get eyes on the manuscript before it’s ever edited. I truly think it takes a village, of sorts, to produce a good book. I’m too close to my own work to see potential problems. Most authors are. I don’t think it’s possible to effectively self-edit your own work. Authors who do might get the details correct, but often, they’ll miss the big picture. That can ruin a book as quickly as typos and grammatical errors.

I’m very fortunate in that I have a great team assembled for beta reading and editing. I would not put anything out for public consumption without sending it through the ranks first. Too many people do just that, and it isn’t fair to readers. They aren’t there to serve as our beta readers, editors, etc.

Do you listen to music while you write? If yes, what gets the fingers tapping?

Sometimes. Most of the time, though, it’s just the TV in the background. I concentrate better if I have something visual to look at while I’m trying to figure out how to word a sentence or make a character get from point A to point B.

About Publishing

Did you submit your work to Agents?

No. At this point, I don’t have enough of a following to do that, and have no intention of trying for a traditional publishing contract. It would be neat to have an agent, but right now, I don’t see the need.

What made you decide to go Indie, whether self-publishing or with an indie publisher? Was it a particular event or a gradual process?

When I was about halfway through my first book, I started looking into how to submit to publishers. I happened across Joe Konrath’s blog about self-publishing, and that was it for me. After seeing what he had to say, and researching self-publishing, it just wasn’t logical to consider giving all the control over my books, both written and unwritten, to someone who didn’t have my best interests or even that of my books, in mind. When I realized it was possible to be a publishing success without having to do the publishing dance, I was enthralled by the idea. It just felt right. I might not ever seek a traditional publishing deal. I have no plans to at this moment in time. I’m doing better on my own than I think I ever would with a traditional deal, and there’s less stress because I’m in control as much as possible.

Did you get your book cover professionally done or did you do it yourself?

Actually, the answer is both, kind of. My husband had dabbled in graphic design for years (he was an engineer by trade), and he did my first covers. Word got out on an author’s forum I frequent, and we soon had other self-published authors asking if he could do their covers. Two, almost three years later, he’s now working full time providing covers, formatting, and a host of other services, to authors. I manage the business, and he drives the creative end.

Do you have a marketing plan for the book or are you just winging it?

I’m sort of winging it. I’m an introvert, and I don’t much care for social networking. I’m hoping to learn a few things this year that I’ve been putting off, and we’ll see how that goes. I know I have to do it. I’ve reached a point where, if I want to see continued growth, it’s necessary. I don’t have to like it, but I will do it.

Any advice that you would like to give to other newbies considering becoming Indie authors?

Do your research. Don’t jump in blindly, and for goodness’ sake, don’t release a book as soon as you finish a first draft. Put time and care into the work, treat it like a job, a profession. Act professionally, and you’ll be rewarded. Lastly, it’s a marathon, not a sprint. Don’t expect to be an overnight sensation and instant millionaire. With very few exceptions (numbers akin to winning the lottery), self-publishing is hard work, and an investment in time and money that may or may not pay off in the long run.

About You

What are you working on now?

I’m working on a new series for a pen name I’m developing. I have one more book to finish for that, and then I’ll be writing the next Firefly Hollow book (or two.) After that, I have another Shadows/Leroy’s Sins book to do, and I’d like to do a couple of independent projects this year, as well. I’m aiming to release 6-8 books in 2013. It’s going to be interesting to see if I can achieve that.

I’m also working on improving my health, as that is something that I have neglected for a while. It’s time, and my determination to succeed, both personally and professionally, is stronger now than it has ever been.

End of Interview:

Get your copy of Firefly Hollow from Amazon US (paper or ebook) or Amazon UK (paper or ebook).