It’s fun, it’s hard, it’s rewarding. And writing is in the enjoyment of the process, more than the product.
Velda Brotherton 7 July 2012
The Back Flap
Olivia dreams of running with the wolves, and she gets that chance when a young Cheyenne shape shifter shows up in the guise of a wolf.
About the book
What is the book about?
Wolf Song is a mainstream paranormal about a young Cheyenne shape shifter, his “keeper” Singer, and Olivia, the woman they help survive a family tragedy.
Olivia dreams of running with the wolves. She works for The Museum of the Mountain Main in Pinedale, Wyoming. The Game and Fish Commission have recently restored several gray wolf packs to the Yellowstone Area, which has caused problems with the ranchers who would rather all wolves were shot.
Because of a car wreck, Olivia’s sister lies in a vegetative state. Olivia is filled with guilt, and is unable to release her sister’s spirit and allow the machines that keep her alive to be turned off. The young shape shifter appears in the store room. The first sighting alarms Olivia, but as her troubles increase, she begins to welcome Wolf Shadow’s appearance. He remains with her through the release of her sister’s soul.
When she becomes involved with TenderCare, an organization that supports the gray wolf restoration program, she is threatened. Singer becomes a part of her life, but she suspects he might be involved in the threats which are carried out in the form of arson and murder.
When did you start writing the book?
About three years ago.
How long did it take you to write it?
About a year. Sometimes it takes longer to place a book with a publisher than it takes to write it.
Where did you get the idea from?
We visited the Museum of the Mountain Man, and I knew I had to place a novel there. For a while I couldn’t come up with anything concrete. Then I read an article online about the gray wolf restoration program, became interested and spent several months researching online before I actually created my characters and began the book. At first there was no shape shifter, but the more I wrote the more intrigued I became with that paranormal aspect. He began to appear in scenes as the young, sometimes bumbling Cheyenne shape shifter Wolf Shadow who morphed into a gray wolf. So I added him to the mix. Singer’s role is a mystery and I won’t spoil it here.
Were there any parts of the book where you struggled?
Oh, sure. There always are those moments when we wonder if we can go on in a certain direction, whether we should change the entire concept, rebuild the plot, add or throw away characters. After I added Wolf Shadow, then Tom, the Game and Fish agent who became Olivia’s best friend’s love interest, the book took off.
What came easily?
Writing about the wolves. I became invested in their dilemma. The gray wolves were extinct in the Northwest part of our country and the government had to bring them back from Canada to start the new packs in Wyoming, Montana and Utah. After reading about how the packs function much like a human family unit, and the love and understanding these magnificent animals have for each other and especially their young, I enjoyed so much writing about them.
Are your characters entirely fictitious or have you borrowed from real world people you know?
Often I do borrow from real life people. The Game and Fish agent was lightly borrowed from the guys I corresponded with online while researching the wolves. The others are purely fictitious except for the rancher. Knowing several ranchers, I drew on their beliefs for this man who is driven to dastardly deeds.
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?
I usually read out of the genre in which I’m writing. I am influenced by James Lee Burke and his gift for writing sense of place. Reading his work puts me smack in the middle of the setting. He’s spectacular and would that I could ever be half as good as he is. I’ve always admired Robert Parker for the way he creates characters who speak directly to the reader. Flaws and all, both Spenser and Stone are superb.
Do you have a target reader?
The ones who want to read books that are not simplified. So often writers are told to “dumb down” our books, but I think that is misjudging readers out there who want something that challenges their imaginations. This particular book is rated as an adult and a young adult novel by my publisher. Readers of Twilight, True Blood, The Vampire Diaries might like what I do with my shape shifters. They are entirely different from the roaring ugly beast that we see in werewolf novels. A kinder more gentle man to wolf to man depiction. Because, you know, there is no proof that a wolf has ever attacked a human.
About Writing
Do you have a writing process? If so can you please describe it?
Be glad to. It’s fun, it’s hard, it’s rewarding. And writing is in the enjoyment of the process, more than the product. I usually begin with the germ of an idea, and no matter how “out there” if I can’t let it go I start to work.
I never outline, but I keep copious notes as I create the first draft. Hero, heroine, villain, major and minor characters, are written down as they emerge from my mind. Being old fashioned, all my notes are handwritten on paper, but the first draft itself is created in the computer. By the time I finish that first draft, trying not to stop and become an editor because that interrupts the creative process, I have a big stack of papers with stuff jotted down all over them. What I’ve learned about my characters, my story, the setting, etc. Those remain beside me throughout the entire process.
Most of my research, if needed, is done early on, but I’ve learned to stop before getting so caught up I’m wasting valuable writing time. Anything else I need, I either jot down on one of my pages, or put all caps where needed in the ms. I make a note on what page I needed something, so I can look it up, then find it quickly.
I write about three or four hours a day five days a week. The sixth day I work on promotion, marketing, answering interview questions, etc.
Do you edit as you go or wait until you’ve finished?
Because I worked as an editor for so long, I have a tendency to want to edit my work in process, but I fight that because being creative uses another part of the brain. A friend who is a prolific writer once said that editing should not be done in the same place as creating. He believes editors should work in “another office.” I don’t go that far, but do try to separate the two. However, it’s difficult sometimes.
Did you hire a professional editor?
No. I did ask a couple of writer friends to read and comment on the book. It’s different with each book, though. They say you can’t edit your own work, but the two books I have out now, I did my own editing, then sent them on to the publishers. One was accepted without changes, the other had a few suggestions. I was an editor for a newspaper for five years. Didn’t like it much, but I don’t mind editing my own stuff. I catch typos and the like, then a good reader can tell me if everything makes sense.
Do you listen to music while you write? If yes, what gets the fingers tapping?
It depends. When I need to get into a certain mood, I might listen to something that will help. A romance might call for Chopin, unless it’s a tough romance, then some country music might do. I like New Age music a lot, and never play anything with lyrics, or even that I know the lyrics to because that distracts me. As a rule, though, I don’t play music when I write. When I travel I play all kinds of music. Love old Elvis tunes, Jim Reeves, Waylon Jennings, Willie Nelson and those guys.
About Publishing
Did you submit your work to Agents?
Once upon a time I had agents, three or four in fact. But I prefer not to. I work a lot online and get to know editors who work for Indie publishers. I also like to approach editors who attend conferences, and that’s how I’ve sold all of my books, both fiction and nonfiction. None of my agents ever sold anything until after I’d done the heavy lifting. They vetted my contracts, did some overseas sales, that sort of thing.
What made you decide to go Indie? Was it a particular event or a gradual process?
My blog posts pretty well cover this area of my writing life.
Did you get your book cover professionally done or did it you do it yourself?
It was done by a wonderful artist in the UK. She contracts out to publishers and SynergEBooks hired her to do the cover. We spent some time online together while she designed it. One of the plusses of using an Indie Publisher. Big publishers rarely let the author in on designing the cover.
Do you have a marketing plan for the book or are you just winging it?
This has been the most difficult of my books to market because it’s out of my usual genre, which is Western Historical Romance. My plan is to continue to build my platform online, so that every time someone receives helpful information from me they will want to take a look at all my books. Wolf Song received some good reviews on Amazon, and I featured it in a recent radio interview with Elaine Raco Chase. That’s what I try to do. Look for opportunities online and take advantage of each and every one, just like I’m doing with this offer from you to do this interview.
Any advice that you would like to give to other newbies considering becoming Indie authors?
The best advice I can give, and I’ve been at this for almost 30 years, is to look where you’re going. You know that’s the advice they give to new shooters or horseback riders. And it holds true with writers. Focus on your goal and keep looking at it. Don’t send out anything until it is the very best you can do and has been professionally edited. And if you don’t love writing, then maybe you’d better do something else. You must be passionate about everything you write.
I don’t think the advice for Indie writers is much different than for those shooting at the big publishers. Aim well and don’t give up. There are more opportunities today than there have been in many years.
About You
Where did you grow up?
Wichita, Kansas
Where do you live now?
Arkansas Ozarks
What would you like readers to know about you?
I hate to shop, I go barefoot most of the time at home and outside, and sometimes I don’t get dressed before I begin writing. And there are only a couple of things I enjoy more than writing. I’ll leave them to guess what they are keeping in mind that I write romances.
What are you working on now?
I’m editing the first book in a western historical romance series about the Victorians who settled in Victoria, Kansas hoping to recreate England. They built stone castles and Victorian houses, they hunted fox, they brought with them their lace and silverware and their morals. The experiment failed, but many of them remained in America. The three books will be about two sisters and their cousin who came over under the guardianship of a Remittance man who has arranged to marry one of them in return for his protection. Of course, this doesn’t work out. Not at all.
Thank you for inviting me to your site. I really appreciate a chance to talk about my work and one of my latest books, Wolf Song.
End of Interview:
For more, visit Velda’s website.
Get your copy of Wolf Song from Amazon US, Amazon UK, or Barnes & Noble.
