Thursday, April 26, 2012

Interview with Author Valerie Commer


 Hey Folks, Please welcome fellow author Valerie Commer as she shares a little about herself and her work with us. 

Joana: Valerie, welcome to my blog! I’m so excited you could join me for a chat. When did you first decide to submit your work to be published? Tell us what or who encouraged you to take this big step.

Valerie: Thanks, Joana! I appreciate the invitation. I started writing in 2002. It always seemed logical that if I was going to do this gig, getting published was the goal I should work for. I may be a slower learner than most, but I knew that my first few books were not good enough. I started entering (and finaling in) contests in 2007 and seriously seeking an agent in 2009 with my seventh novel. So I guess you could say it's been a process!

Joana: Please tell us a little about your book/one of your books without giving too much of a spoiler away.

Valerie: At the moment, I have only one release. My debut, a novella from Barbour Publishing, releases on Tuesday! Only a few more days. It's called "Topaz Treasure" and is the first novella in a 4-in-1 called Rainbow's End. The over all premise of the collection is:

Join a geocaching adventure in the spectacular Lake of the Ozarks wilderness, with Lyssa, the reluctant volunteer whose former nemesis is now her chief sponsor; Madison, a city girl paired with an outdoorsy guy who gets on her very last nerve; cautious Reagan, who meets an equally cautious guy; and Hadley, who doesn’t know enough about guys to realize she’s met a womanizer. Will they find the treasure they’re looking for … or something else entirely?

My novella features Lyssa, a closet believer who steps out of her comfort zone to help run her church's geocaching challenge, but runs into her former humanities professor who made fun of Christians, only to discover he's seeking truth--and romance.


Joana: Do you plan all your characters out before you start a story or do they develop as you write?

Valerie: I'm a believer in understanding my characters' GMC before I start writing. Not the truck! Goals, motivation, and conflict. I have to know what they want, why it matters deeply to them, and why they can't easily get it. It also helps if the main characters' goals collide.

I know many authors who do detailed character sheets before writing. I don't. As I write and discover certain things--like what kind/color of car they drive--I make a note of it, but I don't try to figure everything out in advance. Where's the fun in that?

Joana: How much research do you do for your books? Have you found any cool tidbits in your research?

Valerie: I write contemporary romance, but there's still always something that needs researching. For "Topaz Treasure," my main research was setting oriented. I haven't been to the Lake of the Ozarks area in a lot of years, so I tracked down information two ways. One, through their Chamber of Commerce. The gal I emailed with was very helpful and put me in touch with the owner of On the Rise Bakery and Bistro, which is the setting for a scene or two in each of the four novellas. She couldn't help me with the specifics of a particular trail in a nearby state park, but I tracked someone down through a Facebook group who was eager to give me the details I needed.

Joana: What is your writing process? Do you outline, write by the seat of your pants or a combination of both?

Valerie: I'm a combo writer. I "pantsed" my first novel, and it was a disaster. Then I tried plotting the next few, and that didn't work so well, either. I found I was forcing characters to do what I needed them to do. After nine full length novels (and a novella!) I'm still trying to find the happy balance of how much information I need ahead of time. In Real Life I'm a bit of a control freak, so it's hard to trust that my muse will come up with all the good stuff if I just let it roll!

Joana: Do you write full time? What did you do before you became a writer or still do?

Valerie: God really blessed me with the perfect job for a writer. I'm the only employee in a small-town flooring shop. Most weekdays I have 5-7 hours to myself, so long as I get the door and the phone, etc. My bosses got me internet and are delighted that I can occupy myself. So you could say I write full time.

Joana: Do you have a ritual when it comes to writing? Example….get coffee, blanket, paper, pen, laptop and a comfy place.

Valerie: I arrive at work at 9 am. I plug in my laptop and open up the shop, check for messages, etc. Sometimes I have a few business phone calls that need to be made right away. But I'm usually at my desk by 9:30 with the mocha I brought from home in my thermal mug at hand. After a quick look at my email and Facebook, I'm ready for the day's task, whether it's working on my newest story, doing edits, answering interviews, or other marketing-related work. Lots of that right now with THE BOOK about to release! :)

Joana: Describe a typical writing day for you.

Valerie: I do most of my actual writing during work hours, as that's when my mind is the freshest. I try to use evenings for setting up blog posts, research, and cruising other people's blogs. It sounds like I'm really productive, and I wish I were. In reality, I spend way too much time on Facebook and Pinterest.

Joana: Please give us a sneak peek at your future books. What’s on the horizon?

Valerie: There's nothing I can share at this time. My agent has sent out several proposals on my behalf, and I continue to write while I wait.

Joana: What is your favorite genre to read and who is your favorite author?

Valerie: For many years I read mostly speculative fiction. Two of my favorite authors there are Jill Williamson and Kathy Tyers, though I cut my teeth on Anne McCaffery. More recently, I read a lot of romance, and my favorites make me smile. If I had to pick ONE go-to author, it would have to be Sandra D. Bricker, but others I gravitate to include Janice Thompson, Jenny B. Jones, Mary Connealy, and Lorna Seilstad. Life is short and full of hard stuff. A smile makes everything better.

Joana: Is there anything else you would like to tell the readers we have not touched on?

Valerie: My novella is part of the Romancing America series from Barbour Publishing. They hadn't been doing non-seasonal 4-in-1 collections for several years, and then relaunched the line. I worked with the marketing department at Barbour to create a website and blog for all things Romancing America. Each book--and its four authors--are featured for four weeks with a variety of posts that include anything from research tidbits to setting photos to excerpts and interviews. It was great fun to kick off this venture, and we'll be starting in with posts about Rainbow's End in a couple of weeks. Meanwhile, there's lot of cool stuff from the preceding books. Come visit!

Joana: Where can the readers learn more about you and find your books on the web?

Valerie:


Thank you Valerie for sharing with us today. I wish you all the best with your future endeavours. 
 Here's some more information about Valerie: 


Valerie Comer's life on a small farm in western Canada provides the seed for stories of contemporary inspirational romance. Like many of her characters, Valerie grows much of her own food and is active in the local food movement as well as her church. She only hopes her imaginary friends enjoy their happily ever afters as much as she does hers, gardening and geocaching with her husband, adult kids, and adorable granddaughters. Check out her website and blog at http://valeriecomer.com.



Rainbow's End (4-in-1 collection published by Barbour, May 1, 2012):

Join a geocaching adventure in the spectacular Lake of the Ozarks wilderness, with Lyssa, the reluctant volunteer whose former nemesis is now her chief sponsor; Madison, a city girl paired with an outdoorsy guy who gets on her very last nerve; cautious Reagan, who meets an equally cautious guy; and Hadley, who doesn’t know enough about guys to realize she’s met a womanizer. Will they find the treasure they’re looking for … or something else entirely?







"Topaz Treasure" (first novella in Rainbow's End) by Valerie Comer

Closet believer Lyssa Quinn steps out of her comfort zone to help coordinate the Rainbow’s End geocaching hunt her church is using as an outreach event. She’s not expecting her former humanities prof–young, handsome, anti-Christian Kirk Kennedy–to be at the Lake of the Ozarks at all, let along in a position to provide sponsorship to the treasure hunt. How can she trust someone who once shredded her best friend’s faith?

Kirk’s treasure hunt takes him down a path he hadn’t intended as he searches for opportunities to connect with Lyssa and her intriguing sparkle. How can he convince Lyssa there is more than one kind of treasure? And can she remind him of the greatest prize of all?

Buy Rainbow's End: (various links)

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